Saul Persecutes the Church

8 Now Saul was consenting to his death.

At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and ^(A)they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, ^(A)we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷ If that is the case, our ^(B)God whom we serve is able to ^(C)deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we ^(D)worship the gold image which you have set up.”

^20 (A)And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by ^(B)consenting ^[a]to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’

⁵⁸ and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And ^(A)the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

⁴⁰ And they agreed with him, and when they had ^(A)called for the apostles ^(B)and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

^8 (A)But you shall receive power ^(B)when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and ^(C)you shall be ^[a]witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and ^(D)Samaria, and to the ^(E)end of the earth.”

⁴⁹ Therefore the wisdom of God also said, ^(A)‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,’ ⁵⁰ that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation,

The Sorcerer’s Sin

¹⁴ Now when the ^(A)apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them,

Gamaliel’s Advice

³³ When they heard this, they were ^(A)furious^[a] and plotted to kill them.