Acts 3-4

Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

3 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour (three o’clock in the afternoon),

² [When] a certain man crippled from his birth was being carried along, who was laid each day at that gate of the temple [which is] called Beautiful, so that he might beg for charitable gifts from those who entered the temple.

³ So when he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked them to give him a gift.

⁴ And Peter directed his gaze intently at him, and so did John, and said, Look at us!

⁵ And [the man] paid attention to them, expecting that he was going to get something from them.

⁶ But Peter said, Silver and gold (money) I do not have; but what I do have, that I give to you: in [the ^[a]use of] the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!

⁷ Then he took hold of the man’s right hand with a firm grip and raised him up. And at once his feet and ankle bones became strong and steady,

⁸ And leaping forth he stood and ^[b]began to walk, and he went into the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

⁹ And all the people saw him walking about and praising God,

¹⁰ And they recognized him as the man who usually sat [begging] for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement (bewilderment, consternation) over what had occurred to him.

¹¹ Now while he [still] firmly clung to Peter and John, all the people in utmost amazement ran together and crowded around them in the covered porch (walk) called Solomon’s.

¹² And Peter, seeing it, answered the people, You men of Israel, why are you so surprised and wondering at this? Why do you keep staring at us, as though by our [own individual] power or [active] piety we had made this man [able] to walk?

¹³ The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our forefathers, has glorified His Servant and ^[c]Son Jesus [doing Him this honor], Whom you indeed delivered up and denied and rejected and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had determined to let Him go.^(A)

¹⁴ But you denied and rejected and disowned the Pure and Holy, the Just and Blameless One, and demanded [the pardon of] a murderer to be granted to you.

¹⁵ But you killed the very Source (the Author) of life, Whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.

¹⁶ And His name, through and by faith in His name, has made this man whom you see and recognize well and strong. [Yes] the faith which is through and by Him [Jesus] has given the man this perfect soundness [of body] before all of you.

¹⁷ And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance [not aware of what you were doing], as did your rulers also.

¹⁸ Thus has God fulfilled what He foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ (the Messiah) should undergo ill treatment and be afflicted and suffer.

¹⁹ So repent (change your mind and purpose); turn around and return [to God], that your sins may be erased (blotted out, wiped clean), that times of refreshing (of recovering from the effects of heat, of ^[d]reviving with fresh air) may come from the presence of the Lord;

²⁰ And that He may send [to you] the Christ (the Messiah), Who before was designated and appointed for you—even Jesus,

²¹ Whom heaven must receive [and retain] until the time for the complete restoration of all that God spoke by the mouth of all His holy prophets for ages past [from the most ancient time in the memory of man].

²² Thus Moses said to the forefathers, The Lord God will raise up for you a Prophet from among your brethren as [He raised up] me; Him you shall listen to and understand by hearing and heed in all things whatever He tells you.

²³ And it shall be that every soul that does not listen to and understand by hearing and heed that Prophet shall be utterly ^[e]exterminated from among the people.^(B)

²⁴ Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel and those who came afterwards, as many as have spoken, also promised and foretold and proclaimed these days.

²⁵ You are the descendants (sons) of the prophets and the heirs of the covenant which God made and gave to your forefathers, saying to Abraham, And in your Seed (Heir) shall all the families of the earth be blessed and benefited.^(C)

²⁶ It was to you first that God sent His Servant and Son Jesus, when He raised Him up [^[f]provided and gave Him for us], to bless you in turning every one of you from your wickedness and evil ways.^(D)

4 And while they [Peter and John] were talking to the people, the high priests and the military commander of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them,

² Being vexed and indignant through and through because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in [the case of] Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

³ So they laid hands on them (arrested them) and put them in prison until the following day, for it was already evening.

⁴ But many of those who heard the message believed (adhered to and trusted in and relied on Jesus as the Christ). And their number grew and came to about 5,000.

⁵ Then on the following day, their magistrates and elders and scribes were assembled in Jerusalem,

⁶ Including Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander and all others who belonged to the high priestly relationship.

⁷ And they set the men in their midst and repeatedly demanded, By what sort of power or by what kind of authority did [such people as] you do this [healing]?

⁸ Then Peter, [because he was] filled with [and controlled by] the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and members of the council (the Sanhedrin),

⁹ If we are being put on trial [here] today and examined concerning a good deed done to benefit a feeble (helpless) cripple, by what means this man has been restored to health,

¹⁰ Let it be known and understood by all of you, and by the whole house of Israel, that in the name and through the power and authority of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Whom you crucified, [but] Whom God raised from the dead, in Him and by means of Him this man is standing here before you well and sound in body.

¹¹ This [Jesus] is the Stone which was despised and rejected by you, the builders, but which has become the Head of the corner [the Cornerstone].^(E)

¹² And there is salvation in and through no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by and in which we must be saved.

¹³ Now when they saw the boldness and unfettered eloquence of Peter and John and perceived that they were unlearned and untrained in the schools [common men with no educational advantages], they marveled; and they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

¹⁴ And since they saw the man who had been cured standing there beside them, they could not contradict the fact or say anything in opposition.

¹⁵ But having ordered [the prisoners] to go aside out of the council [chamber], they conferred (debated) among themselves,

¹⁶ Saying, What are we to do with these men? For that an extraordinary miracle has been performed by (through) them is plain to all the residents of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

¹⁷ But in order that it may not spread further among the people and the nation, let us warn and forbid them with a stern threat to speak any more to anyone in this name [or about this Person].

¹⁸ [So] they summoned them and imperatively instructed them not to converse in any way or teach at all in or about the name of Jesus.

¹⁹ But Peter and John replied to them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you and obey you rather than God, you must decide (judge).

²⁰ But we [ourselves] cannot help telling what we have seen and heard.

²¹ Then when [the rulers and council members] had further threatened them, they let them go, not seeing how they could secure a conviction against them because of the people; for everybody was praising and glorifying God for what had occurred.

²² For the man on whom this sign (miracle) of healing was performed was more than forty years old.

²³ After they were permitted to go, [the apostles] returned to their own [company] and told all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.

²⁴ And when they heard it, lifted their voices together with one united mind to God and said, O Sovereign Lord, You are He Who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything that is in them,^(F)

²⁵ Who by the mouth of our forefather David, Your servant and child, said through the Holy Spirit, Why did the heathen (Gentiles) become wanton and insolent and rage, and the people imagine and study and plan vain (fruitless) things [that will not succeed]?

²⁶ The kings of the earth took their stand in array [for attack] and the rulers were assembled and combined together against the Lord and against His Anointed (Christ, the Messiah).^(G)

²⁷ For in this city there actually met and plotted together against Your holy Child and Servant Jesus, Whom You consecrated by anointing, both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and peoples of Israel,^(H)

²⁸ To carry out all that Your hand and Your will and purpose had predestined (predetermined) should occur.

²⁹ And now, Lord, observe their threats and grant to Your bond servants [full freedom] to declare Your message fearlessly,

³⁰ While You stretch out Your hand to cure and to perform signs and wonders through the authority and by the power of the name of Your holy Child and Servant Jesus.

³¹ And when they had prayed, the place in which they were assembled was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they continued to speak the Word of God with freedom and boldness and courage.

³² Now the company of believers was of one heart and soul, and not one of them claimed that anything which he possessed was [exclusively] his own, but everything they had was in common and for the use of all.

³³ And with great strength and ability and power the apostles delivered their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace (loving-kindness and favor and goodwill) rested richly upon them all.

³⁴ Nor was there a destitute or needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses proceeded to sell them, and one by one they brought (gave back) the amount received from the sales

³⁵ And laid it at the feet of the apostles (special messengers). Then distribution was made according as anyone had need.

³⁶ Now Joseph, a Levite and native of Cyprus who was surnamed Barnabas by the apostles, which interpreted means Son of Encouragement,

³⁷ Sold a field which belonged to him and brought the sum of money and laid it at the feet of the apostles.