The Advance of the Gospel

¹² I want you to know, brothers,^[a] that what has happened to me has really ^(A)served to advance the gospel,

^9 (A)for which I am suffering, ^(B)bound with chains as a criminal. But ^(C)the word of God is not bound!

²⁸ And we know that for those who love God all things work together ^(A)for good,^[a] for ^(B)those who are called according to his purpose.

The Church in Antioch

^19 (A)Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. ²⁰ But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists^[a] also, ^(B)preaching the Lord Jesus. ²¹ And ^(C)the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed ^(D)turned to the Lord.

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than ^(A)conquerors through ^(B)him who loved us.

22 ^(A)“Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.”

² And when they heard that he was addressing them in ^(B)the Hebrew language,^[a] they became even more quiet. And he said:

^3 (C)“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated ^(D)at the feet of ^(E)Gamaliel^{[b] (F)}according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, ^(G)being zealous for God ^(H)as all of you are this day. ^4 (I)I persecuted ^(J)this Way ^(K)to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, ⁵ as ^(L)the high priest and ^(M)the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to ^(N)the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.

^6 (O)“As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. ⁷ And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ ⁸ And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am ^(P)Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ ^9 (Q)Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand^[c] the voice of the one who was speaking to me. ¹⁰ And I said, ^(R)‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’ ¹¹ And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.

¹² “And ^(S)one Ananias, a devout man ^(T)according to the law, ^(U)well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, ^13 (V)came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And ^(W)at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. ¹⁴ And he said, ^(X)‘The God of our fathers ^(Y)appointed you to know his will, ^(Z)to see ^(AA)the Righteous One and ^(AB)to hear a voice from his mouth; ¹⁵ for ^(AC)you will be a witness for him to everyone of what ^(AD)you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ And now why do you wait? ^(AE)Rise and be baptized and ^(AF)wash away your sins, ^(AG)calling on his name.’

^17 (AH)“When I had returned to Jerusalem and ^(AI)was praying in the temple, I fell into ^(AJ)a trance ¹⁸ and saw him saying to me, ^(AK)‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ ¹⁹ And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another ^(AL)I imprisoned and ^(AM)beat those who believed in you. ²⁰ And when the blood of Stephen ^(AN)your witness was being shed, ^(AO)I myself was standing by and ^(AP)approving and ^(AQ)watching over the garments of those who killed him.’ ²¹ And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you ^(AR)far away to the Gentiles.’”

Paul and the Roman Tribune

²² Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, ^(AS)“Away with such a fellow from the earth! For ^(AT)he should not be allowed to live.” ²³ And as they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, ²⁴ the tribune ordered him to be brought into ^(AU)the barracks, saying that he should be ^(AV)examined by flogging, to find out why they were shouting against him like this. ²⁵ But when they had stretched him out for the whips,^[d] Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flog ^(AW)a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?” ²⁶ When the centurion heard this, he went to the tribune and said to him, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.” ²⁷ So the tribune came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he said, “Yes.” ²⁸ The tribune answered, “I bought this citizenship for a large sum.” Paul said, “But I am a citizen by birth.” ²⁹ So those who were about ^(AX)to examine him withdrew from him immediately, and the tribune also ^(AY)was afraid, ^(AZ)for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that ^(BA)he had bound him.

Paul Before the Council

³⁰ But on the next day, ^(BB)desiring to know the real reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them.

Paul on Malta

28 After we were brought safely through, ^(A)we then learned that ^(B)the island was called Malta. ^2 (C)The native people^[a] showed us unusual ^(D)kindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold. ³ When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. ⁴ When ^(E)the native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, ^(F)“No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, ^(G)Justice^[b] has not allowed him to live.” ⁵ He, however, ^(H)shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. ⁶ They were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune come to him, ^(I)they changed their minds and ^(J)said that he was a god.

⁷ Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days. ⁸ It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery. And Paul visited him and ^(K)prayed, and ^(L)putting his hands on him, healed him. ⁹ And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. ¹⁰ They also honored us greatly,^[c] and when we were about to sail, they put on board whatever we needed.

Paul Arrives at Rome

¹¹ After three months we set sail in ^(M)a ship that had wintered in the island, a ship of Alexandria, with the twin gods^[d] as a figurehead. ¹² Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. ¹³ And from there we made a circuit and arrived at Rhegium. And after one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. ¹⁴ There we found ^(N)brothers^[e] and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome. ¹⁵ And ^(O)the brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, ^(P)Paul thanked God and took courage. ¹⁶ And when we came into Rome, ^(Q)Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him.

Paul in Rome

¹⁷ After three days he called together the local leaders of the Jews, and when they had gathered, he said to them, “Brothers, ^(R)though I had done nothing against our people or ^(S)the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. ¹⁸ When they had examined me, they ^(T)wished to set me at liberty, ^(U)because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case. ¹⁹ But because the Jews objected, I was compelled ^(V)to appeal to Caesar—though I had no charge to bring against ^(W)my nation. ²⁰ For this reason, therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is ^(X)because of ^(Y)the hope of Israel that I am wearing ^(Z)this ^(AA)chain.” ²¹ And they said to him, “We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of ^(AB)the brothers coming here has reported or spoken any evil about you. ²² But we desire to hear from you what your views are, for with regard to this ^(AC)sect we know that everywhere ^(AD)it is spoken against.”

²³ When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening ^(AE)he expounded to them, testifying to ^(AF)the kingdom of God and ^(AG)trying to convince them about Jesus ^(AH)both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. ²⁴ And ^(AI)some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved. ²⁵ And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: ^(AJ)“The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:

²⁸ Therefore let it be known to you that ^(AO)this ^(AP)salvation of God ^(AQ)has been sent to the Gentiles; ^(AR)they will listen.”^[f]

³⁰ He lived there two whole years at his own expense,^[g] and ^(AS)welcomed all who came to him, ^31 (AT)proclaiming ^(AU)the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ ^(AV)with all boldness and ^(AW)without hindrance.

Philip Proclaims Christ in Samaria

⁴ Now ^(A)those who were scattered went about preaching the word.

The Jews Destroy Their Enemies

9 ^(A)Now in the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, ^(B)on the thirteenth day of the same, ^(C)when the king's command and edict were about to be carried out, ^(D)on the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, the reverse occurred: the Jews gained mastery over those who hated them.