⁶⁰ He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died.

⁴⁴ But I say, love your enemies!^[a] Pray for those who persecute you!

³⁴ Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”^[a] And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.^[b]

²⁰ But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.

The Hope of the Resurrection

¹³ And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died^[a] so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. ¹⁴ For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.

¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. ¹⁵ Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!

¹⁷ Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. ¹⁸ Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

¹⁹ Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,

²⁰ Instead,

²¹ Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

³⁶ When he had finished speaking, he knelt and prayed with them.

⁴⁰ But Peter asked them all to leave the room; then he knelt and prayed. Turning to the body he said, “Get up, Tabitha.” And she opened her eyes! When she saw Peter, she sat up!

²⁸ Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.

¹⁸ In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost!