Daniel’s Friends Disobey the King

⁸ Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans ^(A)came forward and accused the Jews. ⁹ They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, ^(B)“O king, live forever! ¹⁰ You, O king, have made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the gold image; ¹¹ and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. ^12 (C)There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; these men, O king, have ^(D)not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up.”

¹³ Then Nebuchadnezzar, in ^(E)rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. So they brought these men before the king. ¹⁴ Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? ¹⁵ Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, ^(F)good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. ^(G)And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?”

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, ^(H)we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷ If that is the case, our ^(I)God whom we serve is able to ^(J)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 ^(K)worship the gold image which you have set up.”

Peter’s Sermon^(A)

¹⁴ But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. ¹⁵ For these are not drunk, as you suppose, ^(B)since it is only ^[a]the third hour of the day. ¹⁶ But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

²² “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you ^(J)by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know— ²³ Him, ^(K)being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, ^(L)you ^[b]have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; ^24 (M)whom God raised up, having ^[c]loosed the ^[d]pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. ²⁵ For David says concerning Him:

²⁹ “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you ^(P)of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. ³⁰ Therefore, being a prophet, ^(Q)and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, ^[e]according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, ³¹ he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, ^(R)that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. ^32 (S)This Jesus God has raised up, ^(T)of which we are all witnesses. ³³ Therefore ^(U)being exalted ^[f]to ^(V)the right hand of God, and ^(W)having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He ^(X)poured out this which you now see and hear.

³⁴ “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself:

³⁶ “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

³⁷ Now when they heard this, ^(Z)they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”

³⁸ Then Peter said to them, ^(AA)“Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the ^[g]remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For the promise is to you and ^(AB)to your children, and ^(AC)to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

A Vital Church Grows

⁴⁰ And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this ^[h]perverse generation.” ⁴¹ Then those who ^[i]gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. ^42 (AD)And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ ^[j]doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. ⁴³ Then fear came upon every soul, and ^(AE)many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. ⁴⁴ Now all who believed were together, and ^(AF)had all things in common, ⁴⁵ and ^[k]sold their possessions and goods, and ^(AG)divided^[l] them among all, as anyone had need.

^46 (AH)So continuing daily with one accord ^(AI)in the temple, and ^(AJ)breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, ⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And ^(AK)the Lord added ^[m]to the church daily those who were being saved.

Saul Preaches Christ

²⁰ Immediately he preached ^[a]the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.

²¹ Then all who heard were amazed, and said, ^(A)“Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?”

²² But Saul increased all the more in strength, ^(B)and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.

²⁹ And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the ^(A)Hellenists,^{[a] (B)}but they attempted to kill him.

⁷ For ^(A)God has not given us a spirit of fear, ^(B)but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Not Ashamed of the Gospel

^8 (A)Therefore do not be ashamed of ^(B)the testimony of our Lord, nor of me ^(C)His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God,

¹² For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, ^(A)for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.