3 ^(A)“Behold, I send ^(B)my messenger, and ^(C)he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord ^(D)whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and ^(E)the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. ² But ^(F)who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For ^(G)he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. ³ He will sit ^(H)as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring ^(I)offerings in righteousness to the Lord.^{[a] 4 (J)}Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

⁵ “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be ^(K)a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those ^(L)who oppress the hired worker in his wages, ^(M)the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.

Robbing God

⁶ “For ^(N)I the Lord do not change; ^(O)therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. ^7 (P)From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. ^(Q)Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. ^(R)But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ ⁸ Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. ^(S)But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ ^(T)In your tithes and contributions. ^9 (U)You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. ^10 (V)Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby ^(W)put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open ^(X)the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. ¹¹ I will rebuke ^(Y)the devourer^[b] for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. ¹² Then ^(Z)all nations will call you blessed, for you will be ^(AA)a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

^13 (AB)“Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. ^(AC)But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ ¹⁴ You have said, ^(AD)‘It is vain to serve God. ^(AE)What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? ¹⁵ And now we call ^(AF)the arrogant blessed. ^(AG)Evildoers not only prosper but ^(AH)they put God to the test and they escape.’”

The Book of Remembrance

¹⁶ Then those who feared the Lord ^(AI)spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and ^(AJ)a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. ¹⁷ “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, ^(AK)in the day when I make up ^(AL)my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. ¹⁸ Then once more you shall ^(AM)see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.

The Great Day of the Lord

4 ^[a] “For behold, ^(A)the day is coming, ^(B)burning like an oven, when ^(C)all the arrogant and ^(D)all evildoers ^(E)will be stubble. The day that is coming ^(F)shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. ² But for you ^(G)who fear my name, ^(H)the sun ^(I)of righteousness shall rise ^(J)with healing in its wings. You shall go out ^(K)leaping like calves from the stall. ³ And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, ^(L)on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.

^4 (M)“Remember ^(N)the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules^[b] that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.

^5 (O)“Behold, I will send you ^(P)Elijah the prophet ^(Q)before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. ⁶ And he will ^(R)turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and ^(S)strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”^[c]

¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for ^(A)your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ^(B)you shall call his name John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will ^(C)rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be ^(D)great before the Lord. And ^(E)he must not drink wine or strong ^(F)drink, and ^(G)he will be ^(H)filled with the Holy Spirit, ^(I)even from his mother's womb. ¹⁶ And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, ¹⁷ and ^(J)he will go before him ^(K)in the spirit and power of Elijah, ^(L)to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and ^(M)the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, ^(N)to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

¹⁸ And Zechariah said to the angel, ^(O)“How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” ¹⁹ And the angel answered him, “I am ^(P)Gabriel. ^(Q)I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. ²⁰ And behold, ^(R)you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” ²¹ And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in ^(S)the temple. ²² And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in ^(T)the temple. And ^(U)he kept making signs to them and remained mute. ²³ And ^(V)when his time of ^(W)service was ended, he went to his home.

²⁴ After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, ²⁵ “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, ^(X)to take away my reproach among people.”

Birth of Jesus Foretold

²⁶ In the sixth month the angel ^(Y)Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named ^(Z)Nazareth, ^27 (AA)to a virgin betrothed^[a] to a man whose name was Joseph, ^(AB)of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. ²⁸ And he came to her and said, “Greetings, ^(AC)O favored one, ^(AD)the Lord is with you!”^{[b] 29} But ^(AE)she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰ And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for ^(AF)you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, ^(AG)you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and ^(AH)you shall call his name Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of ^(AI)the Most High. And the Lord God ^(AJ)will give to him the throne of ^(AK)his father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob ^(AL)forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

³⁴ And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”^[c]

³⁵ And the angel answered her, ^(AM)“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of ^(AN)the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born^[d] will be called ^(AO)holy—^(AP)the Son of God. ³⁶ And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her ^(AQ)who was called barren. ³⁷ For ^(AR)nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸ And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant^[e] of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And ^(AS)the angel departed from her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹ In those days Mary arose and went with haste into ^(AT)the hill country, to a town in Judah, ⁴⁰ and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth ^(AU)was filled with the Holy Spirit, ⁴² and she exclaimed with a loud cry, ^(AV)“Blessed are you among women, and ^(AW)blessed is ^(AX)the fruit of your womb! ⁴³ And why is this granted to me that the mother of ^(AY)my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ And ^(AZ)blessed is she who believed that there would be^[f] a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Mary's Song of Praise: The Magnificat

⁴⁶ And Mary said,

⁵⁶ And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

The Birth of John the Baptist

⁵⁷ Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. ⁵⁸ And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord ^(BX)had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. ⁵⁹ And ^(BY)on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, ⁶⁰ but his mother answered, “No; ^(BZ)he shall be called John.” ⁶¹ And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” ⁶² And ^(CA)they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. ⁶³ And he asked for ^(CB)a writing tablet and wrote, ^(CC)“His name is John.” And they all wondered. ^64 (CD)And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue ^(CE)loosed, and he spoke, ^(CF)blessing God. ⁶⁵ And ^(CG)fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all ^(CH)the hill country of Judea, ⁶⁶ and all who heard them ^(CI)laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For ^(CJ)the hand of the Lord was with him.

Zechariah's Prophecy

⁶⁷ And his father Zechariah ^(CK)was filled with the Holy Spirit and ^(CL)prophesied, saying,

^80 (DP)And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was ^(DQ)in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

^27 (A)And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, ²⁸ and they said to him, ^(B)“By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” ²⁹ Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ³⁰ Was the baptism of John ^(C)from heaven or from man? Answer me.” ³¹ And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ^(D)‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ³² But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—^(E)they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was ^(F)a prophet. ³³ So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

The Coming of the Holy Spirit

2 When ^(A)the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. ² And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like ^(B)a mighty rushing wind, and ^(C)it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³ And divided tongues ^(D)as of fire appeared to them and rested^[a] on each one of them. ⁴ And they were all ^(E)filled with the Holy Spirit and began ^(F)to speak in other tongues ^(G)as the Spirit gave them utterance.

⁵ Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. ⁶ And ^(H)at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. ⁷ And ^(I)they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking ^(J)Galileans? ⁸ And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? ⁹ Parthians and ^(K)Medes and ^(L)Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, ¹¹ both Jews and ^(M)proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” ¹² And ^(N)all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³ But others ^(O)mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

Peter's Sermon at Pentecost

¹⁴ But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. ¹⁵ For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, ^(P)since it is only the third hour of the day.^{[b] 16} But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

²² “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, ^(Y)a man attested to you by God ^(Z)with ^(AA)mighty works and wonders and signs that ^(AB)God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— ²³ this Jesus,^{[c] (AC)}delivered up according to ^(AD)the definite plan and ^(AE)foreknowledge of God, ^(AF)you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. ^24 (AG)God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because ^(AH)it was not possible for him to be held by it. ²⁵ For David says concerning him,

²⁹ “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about ^(AO)the patriarch David ^(AP)that he both died and ^(AQ)was buried, and ^(AR)his tomb is with us to this day. ^30 (AS)Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that ^(AT)God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, ³¹ he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that ^(AU)he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. ³² This Jesus ^(AV)God raised up, ^(AW)and of that we all are witnesses. ^33 (AX)Being therefore ^(AY)exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from ^(AZ)the Father ^(BA)the promise of the Holy Spirit, ^(BB)he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. ³⁴ For ^(BC)David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,

³⁶ Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that ^(BE)God has made him ^(BF)both Lord and Christ, this Jesus ^(BG)whom you crucified.”

³⁷ Now when ^(BH)they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, ^(BI)what shall we do?” ³⁸ And Peter said to them, ^(BJ)“Repent and ^(BK)be baptized every one of you ^(BL)in the name of Jesus Christ ^(BM)for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive ^(BN)the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For ^(BO)the promise is for you and ^(BP)for your children and for all ^(BQ)who are far off, everyone ^(BR)whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” ⁴⁰ And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, ^(BS)“Save yourselves from this ^(BT)crooked generation.” ⁴¹ So those who received his word were baptized, and ^(BU)there were added that day about three thousand souls.

The Fellowship of the Believers

⁴² And ^(BV)they devoted themselves to the apostles' ^(BW)teaching and the ^(BX)fellowship, to ^(BY)the breaking of bread and the prayers. ⁴³ And awe^[d] came upon every soul, and ^(BZ)many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. ⁴⁴ And all who believed were together and ^(CA)had all things in common. ⁴⁵ And ^(CB)they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶ And day by day, ^(CC)attending the temple ^(CD)together and ^(CE)breaking bread in their homes, they received their food ^(CF)with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and ^(CG)having favor with all the people. And the Lord ^(CH)added to their number ^(CI)day by day those who ^(CJ)were being saved.

Saul Ravages the Church

8 And ^(A)Saul ^(B)approved of his execution.

And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and ^(C)they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. ² Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. ³ But ^(D)Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he ^(E)dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

Philip Proclaims Christ in Samaria

⁴ Now ^(F)those who were scattered went about preaching the word. ^5 (G)Philip went down to the city^[a] of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. ^6 (H)And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him ^(I)and saw the signs that he did. ⁷ For ^(J)unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. ⁸ So ^(K)there was much joy in that city.

Simon the Magician Believes

⁹ But there was a man named Simon, ^(L)who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, ^(M)saying that he himself was somebody great. ¹⁰ They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, ^(N)“This man is the power of God that is called ^(O)Great.” ¹¹ And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had ^(P)amazed them with his magic. ¹² But when ^(Q)they believed Philip as he preached good news ^(R)about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, ^(S)they were baptized, both men and women. ¹³ Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And ^(T)seeing signs and ^(U)great miracles^[b] performed, ^(V)he was amazed.

¹⁴ Now when ^(W)the apostles at Jerusalem heard that ^(X)Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, ¹⁵ who came down and prayed for them ^(Y)that they might receive the Holy Spirit, ¹⁶ for ^(Z)he had not yet ^(AA)fallen on any of them, but ^(AB)they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷ Then ^(AC)they laid their hands on them and ^(AD)they received the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸ Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, ¹⁹ saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” ²⁰ But Peter said to him, ^(AE)“May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God ^(AF)with money! ²¹ You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for ^(AG)your heart is not right before God. ²² Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, ^(AH)if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. ²³ For I see that you are in ^(AI)the gall^[c] of bitterness and in ^(AJ)the bond of iniquity.” ²⁴ And Simon answered, ^(AK)“Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”

²⁵ Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, ^(AL)preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.

Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

²⁶ Now ^(AM)an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south^[d] to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. ²⁷ And he rose and went. And there was an ^(AN)Ethiopian, a ^(AO)eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, ^(AP)who was in charge of all her treasure. ^(AQ)He had come to Jerusalem to worship ²⁸ and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. ²⁹ And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” ³⁰ So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” ³¹ And he said, ^(AR)“How can I, unless someone ^(AS)guides me?” And ^(AT)he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. ³² Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:

³⁴ And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” ³⁵ Then Philip opened his mouth, and ^(AW)beginning with this Scripture ^(AX)he told him the good news about Jesus. ³⁶ And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! ^(AY)What prevents me from being baptized?”^{[e] 38} And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. ³⁹ And when they came up out of the water, ^(AZ)the Spirit of the Lord ^(BA)carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰ But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.