^12 [a]At the hands of the apostles many ^[b](A)signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all ^[c]together in ^(B)Solomon’s ^[d]portico. ¹³ But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however, ^(C)the people held them in high esteem. ¹⁴ And increasingly ^(D)believers in the Lord, large numbers of men and women, were being ^(E)added to their number, ¹⁵ to such an extent that they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and pallets, so that when Peter came by ^(F)at least his shadow might fall on any of them. ¹⁶ The ^[e]people from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together as well, bringing people who were sick ^[f]or tormented with unclean spirits, and they were all being healed.

Imprisonment and Release

¹⁷ But the high priest stood up, along with all his associates (that is ^(G)the sect of ^(H)the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy. ¹⁸ They laid hands on the apostles and ^(I)put them in a public prison. ¹⁹ But during the night ^(J)an angel of the Lord opened the gates of the prison, and leading them out, he said, ²⁰ “Go, stand and ^[g]speak to the people in the temple area ^[h](K)the whole message of this Life.” ²¹ Upon hearing this, they entered into the temple area ^(L)about daybreak and began to teach.

Now when ^(M)the high priest and his associates came, they called ^(N)the ^[i]Council together, that is, all the Senate of the sons of Israel, and sent orders to the prison for them to be brought. ²² But ^(O)the officers who came did not find them in the prison; and they returned and reported, ²³ saying, “We found the prison locked quite securely and the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” ²⁴ Now when ^(P)the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them as to what ^[j]would come of this. ²⁵ But someone came and reported to them, “The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple area and teaching the people!” ²⁶ Then ^(Q)the captain went along with ^(R)the officers and proceeded to bring them back without violence (for ^(S)they were afraid of the people, that they might be stoned).

²⁷ When they had brought them, they had them stand ^[k]before ^(T)the Council. The high priest interrogated them, ²⁸ saying, “We gave you ^(U)strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and ^[l]yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and ^(V)intend to bring this Man’s blood upon us.” ²⁹ But Peter and the apostles answered, “^(W)We must obey God rather than men. ^30 (X)The God of our fathers ^(Y)raised up Jesus, whom you ^(Z)put to death by hanging Him on ^[m](AA)a cross. ^31 (AB)He is the one whom God exalted ^[n]to His right hand as a ^[o](AC)Prince and a ^(AD)Savior, to grant ^(AE)repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. ³² And we are ^(AF)witnesses ^[p]of these things; and ^(AG)so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

Gamaliel’s Counsel

³³ But when they heard this, they became ^(AH)infuriated and nearly decided to execute them. ³⁴ But a Pharisee named ^(AI)Gamaliel, a ^(AJ)teacher of the Law, respected by all the people, stood up in ^(AK)the Council and gave orders to put the men outside for a short time. ³⁵ And he said to them, “Men of Israel, be careful as to what you are about to do with these men. ³⁶ For, some time ago Theudas appeared, ^(AL)claiming to be somebody, and a group of about four hundred men joined him. ^[q]But he was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. ³⁷ After this man, Judas of Galilee appeared in the days of ^(AM)the census and drew away some people after him; he also perished, and all those who followed him were scattered. ³⁸ And so in the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and leave them alone, for if the source of this plan or ^[r]movement ^(AN)is men, it will be overthrown; ³⁹ but if the source is God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found ^(AO)fighting against God.”

⁴⁰ They followed his advice; and after calling the apostles in, they ^(AP)flogged them and ordered them not to ^[s]speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them. ⁴¹ So they went on their way from the presence of the ^[t](AQ)Council, ^(AR)rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame ^(AS)for His name. ^42 (AT)And every day, in the temple and ^[u]from house to house, they did not stop teaching and ^(AU)preaching the good news of Jesus as the ^[v]Christ.

Choosing of the Seven

6 Now ^[a]at this time, as the ^(A)disciples were ^(B)increasing in number, a complaint developed on the part of the ^[b](C)Hellenistic Jews against the native ^(D)Hebrews, because their ^(E)widows were being overlooked in ^(F)the daily serving of food. ² So the twelve summoned the ^[c]congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. ³ Instead, ^(G)brothers and sisters, select from among you seven men of good reputation, ^(H)full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. ⁴ But we will ^(I)devote ourselves to prayer and to the ^[d]ministry of the word.” ⁵ The ^[e]announcement found approval with the whole ^[f]congregation; and they chose ^(J)Stephen, a man ^(K)full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and ^(L)Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and ^[g]Nicolas, a ^[h](M)proselyte from ^(N)Antioch. ⁶ And they brought these men before the apostles; and after ^(O)praying, they ^(P)laid their hands on them.

^7 (Q)The word of God kept spreading; and ^(R)the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to ^(S)the faith.

⁸ And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great ^(T)wonders and ^[i]signs among the people. ⁹ But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both ^(U)Cyrenians and ^(V)Alexandrians, and some from ^(W)Cilicia and ^[j](X)Asia, rose up and argued with Stephen. ¹⁰ But they were unable to ^[k]cope with his wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking. ¹¹ Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” ¹² And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, and they ^(Y)came up to him and dragged him away, and brought him ^[l]before ^(Z)the ^[m]Council. ¹³ They put forward ^(AA)false witnesses who said, “This man does not stop ^[n]speaking against this ^(AB)holy place and the Law; ¹⁴ for we have heard him say that ^(AC)this Nazarene, Jesus, will destroy this place and change ^(AD)the customs which Moses handed down to us.” ¹⁵ And all who were sitting in the ^[o](AE)Council stared at him, and they saw his face, which was like the face of an angel.

Stephen’s Defense

7 Now the high priest said, “Are these things so?”

² And ^[p]Stephen said, “Listen to me, ^(AF)[q]brothers and fathers! ^(AG)The God of glory ^(AH)appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in ^[r]Haran, ³ and He said to him, ‘^(AI)Go from your country and your relatives, and come to the land which I will show you.’ ^4 (AJ)Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in ^[s]Haran. And ^(AK)from there, after his father died, God had him move to this country in which you are now living. ⁵ But He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground, and yet, ^(AL)He promised that He would give it to him as a possession, and to his descendants after him, even though he had no child. ⁶ But ^(AM)God spoke to this effect, that his descendants would be strangers in a land that was not theirs, and ^[t]they would enslave and mistreat them for four hundred years. ⁷ ‘And whatever nation to which they are enslaved I Myself will judge,’ said God, ‘and ^(AN)after that they will come out and ^[u]serve Me in this place.’ ⁸ And He ^(AO)gave him ^[v]the covenant of circumcision; and so ^(AP)Abraham fathered Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and ^(AQ)Isaac fathered Jacob, and ^(AR)Jacob, the twelve ^(AS)patriarchs.

⁹ “The patriarchs ^(AT)became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt. Yet God was with him, ¹⁰ and rescued him from all his afflictions, and ^(AU)granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he made him governor over Egypt and his entire household.

¹¹ “Now ^(AV)a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction with it, and our fathers ^[w]could find no food. ¹² But ^(AW)when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers there the first time. ¹³ And on the second visit, ^(AX)Joseph ^[x]made himself known to his brothers, and ^(AY)Joseph’s family was revealed to Pharaoh. ¹⁴ Then ^(AZ)Joseph sent word and invited his father Jacob and all his relatives to come to him, ^(BA)seventy-five ^[y](BB)people in all. ¹⁵ And ^(BC)Jacob went down to Egypt, and he and our fathers died there. ¹⁶ And they were brought back from there to ^[z](BD)Shechem and laid in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of ^[aa]Hamor in ^[ab]Shechem.