⁵ “Be mindful of the Lord all your days, my son, and refuse to sin or to transgress his commandments. Do what is right all the days of your life, and do not walk in the ways of wrongdoing,^{(A) 6} for those who act honestly will prosper in all their activities. To all those who practice righteousness,^{[a] 7} give alms according to your circumstances, my son, and do not turn your face away from anyone who is poor. Then the face of God will not be turned away from you.^{(B) 8} Act according to what you have, my son. If you have much, give alms from it; if you have little, give alms in accordance with what you have. Do not be afraid, my son, to give alms.^{(C) 9} You will be laying up a good treasure for yourself against a day of need.^{(D) 10} For almsgiving delivers from death and keeps you from going into the darkness.^{(E) 11} Indeed, almsgiving, for all who practice it, is an excellent offering in the presence of the Most High.

¹² “Beware, my son, of every kind of sexual immorality. First of all, marry a woman from among the descendants of your ancestors; do not marry a foreign woman, who is not of your father’s tribe, for we are the descendants of prophets and true-born sons of prophets. The first prophet was^[b] Abraham, then Isaac and Jacob, our ancestors of old. Remember, my son, that these all took wives from among their kindred. They were blessed in their children, and their posterity will inherit the land.^{(F) 13} So now, my son, love your kindred, and in your heart do not be so arrogant against the daughters of the members of your people as to refuse to take one of them as a wife. For in arrogance there is ruin and great confusion, and in idleness there is loss and dire poverty, because idleness is the mother of famine.^(G)

¹⁴ “Do not keep over until the next day the wages of those who work for you, but pay them their wages the same day, and let not the pay of those among you be delayed overnight. Your pay will not be kept over if you serve God faithfully. Watch yourself, my son, in everything you do, and discipline yourself in all your conduct.^{(H) 15} And what you hate, do not do to anyone. May^[c] no evil go with you on any of your way.^{(I) 16} Give some of your food to the hungry and some of your clothing to the naked. Give all your surplus as alms, my son, and do not let your eye begrudge your giving of alms.^{(J) 17} Pour out your food and your wine on the grave of the righteous, but do not give it to sinners.^{(K) 18} Seek advice from every wise person, and do not be disdainful, since any counsel is useful. ¹⁹ At all times bless God and ask him that your ways may be made straight and that all your paths and plans may prosper. For no nation has good counsel, but the Lord himself gives it. Whom he wants to, he exalts, and whom he wants to, he casts down to Hades below. So now, my son, remember these commandments of mine, and do not let them be erased from your heart.^(L)

Paul Visits James at Jerusalem

¹⁷ When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us warmly.^{(A) 18} The next day Paul went with us to visit James, and all the elders were present.^{(B) 19} After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the gentiles through his ministry.^{(C) 20} When they heard it, they praised God. Then they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands of believers there are among the Jews, and they are all zealous for the law.^{(D) 21} They have been told about you that you teach all the Jews living among the gentiles to forsake Moses and that you tell them not to circumcise their children or observe the customs. ²² What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. ²³ So do what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow.^{(E) 24} Join these men, go through the rite of purification with them, and pay for the shaving of their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you but that you yourself observe and guard the law.^{(F) 25} But as for the gentiles who have become believers, we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled^[a] and from sexual immorality.”^{(G) 26} Then Paul took the men, and the next day, having purified himself, he entered the temple with them, making public the completion of the days of purification when the sacrifice would be made for each of them.^(H)

Paul Arrested in the Temple

²⁷ When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, who had seen him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd. They seized him,^{(I) 28} shouting, “Fellow Israelites,^[b] help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against our people, our law, and this place; more than that, he has actually brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.”^{(J) 29} For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.^{(K) 30} Then all the city was aroused, and the people rushed together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut.^{(L) 31} While they were trying to kill him, word came to the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. ³² Immediately he took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. When they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.^{(M) 33} Then the tribune came, arrested him, and ordered him to be bound with two chains; he inquired who he was and what he had done.^{(N) 34} Some in the crowd shouted one thing, some another, and as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks.^{(O) 35} When Paul^[c] came to the steps, the violence of the mob was so great that he had to be carried by the soldiers. ³⁶ The crowd that followed kept shouting, “Away with him!”^(P)

Tobit’s Thanksgiving to God

13 Then Tobit^[a] said:

Paul Defends Himself

³⁷ Just as Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, “May I say something to you?” The tribune^[a] replied, “Do you know Greek? ³⁸ Then you are not the Egyptian who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand assassins out into the wilderness?”^{(A) 39} Paul replied, “I am a Jew from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city; I beg you, let me speak to the people.”^{(B) 40} When he had given him permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the people for silence, and when there was a great hush, he addressed them in the Hebrew^[b] language, saying:^(C)

22 “Brothers^[c] and fathers, listen to the defense that I now make before you.”^(D)

² When they heard him addressing them in Hebrew,^[d] they became even more quiet. Then he said:^(E)

³ “I am a Jew born in Tarsus in Cilicia but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated strictly according to our ancestral law, being zealous for God, just as all of you are today.^{(F) 4} I persecuted this Way up to the point of death by binding both men and women and putting them in prison,^{(G) 5} as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. From them I also received letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I went there in order to bind those who were there and to bring them back to Jerusalem for punishment.^(H)

Paul Tells of His Conversion

⁶ “While I was on my way and approaching Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone about me.^{(I) 7} I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ ⁸ I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Then he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth^[e] whom you are persecuting.’ ⁹ Now those who were with me saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.^{(J) 10} I asked, ‘What am I to do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go to Damascus; there you will be told everything that has been assigned to you to do.’^{(K) 11} Since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, those who were with me took my hand and led me to Damascus.^(L)

¹² “A certain Ananias, who was a devout man according to the law and well spoken of by all the Jews living there,^{(M) 13} came to me, and standing beside me, he said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight!’ In that very hour I regained my sight and saw him. ¹⁴ Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear his own voice,^{(N) 15} for you will be his witness to all the world of what you have seen and heard.^{(O) 16} And now why do you delay? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name.’^(P)

Paul Sent to the Gentiles

¹⁷ “After I had returned to Jerusalem and while I was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance^{(Q) 18} and saw Jesus^[f] saying to me, ‘Hurry 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 every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you.^{(R) 20} And while the blood of your witness Stephen was shed, I myself was standing by, approving and keeping the coats of those who killed him.’^{(S) 21} Then he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the gentiles.’ ”^(T)

Paul and the Roman Tribune

²² Up to this point they listened to him, but then they shouted, “Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live.”