Beginning
Peter Reports to the Church in Jerusalem
11 Now the apostles and the brothers who were in Judea heard that the gentiles had also accepted the word of God. 2 But when Peter went up to Jerusalem, those who emphasized circumcision[a] disagreed with him. 3 They said, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them!”
4 Then Peter began to explain to them point by point what had happened. He said, 5 “I was in the town of Joppa praying when in a trance I saw a vision: Something like a large linen sheet descended down from heaven, lowered by its four corners, and it came right down to me. 6 When I examined it closely, I saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild animals, reptiles, and birds of the air. 7 I also heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter! Kill something and eat it.’ 8 But I replied, ‘Absolutely not, Lord, for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth!’ 9 Then the voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘You must stop calling common what God has made clean!’ 10 This happened three times. Then everything was pulled back up to heaven.
11 “At that very moment three men arrived at the house where we were staying. They had been sent to me from Caesarea. 12 The Spirit told me to go with them without hesitating. These six brothers went with me, too, and we entered the house of the man from Caesarea.[b] 13 Then he told us how he had seen an angel standing in his home and saying, ‘Send messengers[c] to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter. 14 He will discuss with you how you and your entire household will be saved.’
15 “When I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as he was first given to us. 16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with[d] water, but you will be baptized with[e] the Holy Spirit.’ 17 Now if God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus, the Messiah,[f] who was I to try to stop God?”
18 When they heard this, they calmed down, and praised God by saying, “So God has given repentance that leads to life even to gentiles.”
The New Church in Antioch
19 Now the people who were scattered by the persecution that started because of Stephen went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 20 But among them were some men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began proclaiming the Lord Jesus even to the Hellenistic Jews.[g] 21 The hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
22 When the church in Jerusalem heard this news, they sent Barnabas all the way to Antioch. 23 When he arrived, he rejoiced to see what the grace of God had done,[h] and with hearty determination he kept encouraging all of them to remain faithful to the Lord, 24 because he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith. And so a large number of people was brought to the Lord.
25 Then Barnabas left for Tarsus to look for Saul. 26 When he found him, he brought him to Antioch, and for a whole year they were guests of the church and taught many people. It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.
27 At that time some prophets from Jerusalem came down to Antioch. 28 One of them named Agabus got up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a severe famine all over the world. This happened during the reign of Claudius. 29 So all of the disciples decided they would send a contribution to the brothers living in Judea, as they were able, 30 by sending it through[i] Barnabas and Saul to the elders.
An Angel Frees Peter from Prison
12 About that time, Herod arrested some people who belonged to the church and mistreated them. 2 He even had James, the brother of John, killed with a sword. 3 When he saw how this was agreeable to the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter, too. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4 When he arrested Peter, Herod[j] put him in prison and turned him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, planning to bring him out to the people after Passover season.[k] 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer to God for him was being offered by the assembly.[l]
6 That very night, before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, and guards in front of the door were watching the prisoners. 7 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on his side, woke him up, and said, “Get up quickly!” His chains fell from his wrists. 8 Then the angel told him, “Tuck in your shirt and put on your sandals!” He did this. Then the angel[m] told him, “Put on your coat and follow me!” 9 So Peter[n] went out and began to follow him, not realizing that what was being done by the angel was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They passed the first guard, then the second, and came to the iron gate that led into the city. It opened by itself for them, and they went outside and proceeded one block when the angel suddenly left him.
11 Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I’m sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from[o] Herod and from everything the Jewish people were expecting!”
12 When Peter[p] realized what had happened, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where a large number of people had gathered and were praying. 13 When he knocked at the outer gate, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer it. 14 On recognizing Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that she didn’t open the gate but ran back inside and announced that Peter was standing at the gate. 15 The other people[q] told her, “You’re out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. Then they said, “It’s his angel.”
16 Meanwhile, Peter kept on knocking and knocking. When they opened the gate, they saw him and were amazed. 17 He motioned to them with his hand to be quiet, and then he told them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. He added, “Tell this to James and the brothers.” Then he left and went somewhere else. 18 When morning came, there was a great commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19 Herod searched for him but didn’t find him, so he questioned the guards and ordered them to be executed. Then he left Judea, went down to Caesarea, and stayed there for a while.
The Death of Herod
20 Now Herod had been in a violent quarrel with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they came to him as a group. After they had won over Blastus, who oversaw security[r] for the king’s sleeping quarters, they asked for a peace agreement because their country depended on the king’s country for food. 21 Therefore, at a set time Herod put on his royal robes, sat down on the royal seat, and made a speech to them. 22 The people kept shouting, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man!” 23 Immediately the angel of the Lord struck him down because he did not give glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and died. 24 But the word of God continued to grow and spread.
25 When Barnabas and Saul had fulfilled their mission, they returned from[s] Jerusalem, bringing with them John (who was also called Mark).
Barnabas and Saul Travel to Cyprus
13 Now Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius from Cyrene, Manaen, who grew up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul were prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set Barnabas and Saul apart for me to do the work for which I called them.” 3 Then they fasted and prayed, laid their hands on them, and let them go. 4 After they had been sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went to Seleucia and from there sailed to Cyprus. 5 Arriving in Salamis, they began to preach God’s word in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John to help them.
6 They went through the whole island as far as Paphos, where they found a Jewish occult practitioner and false prophet named Bar-jesus. 7 He was associated with the proconsul Sergius Paulus, who was an intelligent man. He sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the occult practitioner (that is the meaning of his name) continued to oppose them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 But Saul, also known as[t] Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked him straight in the eye 10 and said, “You’re full of every form of deception and trickery, you son of the Devil, you enemy of all that is right! You’ll never stop perverting the straight ways of the Lord, will you? 11 The[u] Lord is against you now, and you’ll be blind and unable to see the sun for a while!” At that moment a dark mist came over him, and he went around looking for someone to lead him by the hand. 12 When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, because he was astonished at the Lord’s teaching.
Paul and Barnabas Go to Antioch in Pisidia
13 Then Paul and his men set sail from Paphos and arrived in Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them and went back to Jerusalem. 14 They left Perga and arrived in Antioch in Pisidia. On the Sabbath day, they went into the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue leaders asked them,[v] “Brothers, if you have any message of encouragement[w] for the people, you may speak.”
16 Then Paul stood up, motioned with his hand, and said:
“Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen! 17 The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors and made them a great people during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with a public display of power[x] he led them out of there. 18 After he had put up with[y] them for 40 years in the wilderness, 19 he destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan. Then God gave their land to the Israelis[z] as an inheritance 20 for about 450 years.
“After that, he gave them judges until the time of the prophet Samuel. 21 When they demanded a king, God gave them Kish’s son Saul, from the tribe of Benjamin, for 40 years. 22 Then God[aa] removed Saul[ab] and made David their king, about whom he testified, ‘I have found that David, the son of Jesse, is a man after my own heart, who will carry out all my wishes.’[ac] 23 It was from this man’s descendants that God, as he promised, brought to Israel a Savior, who is Jesus. 24 Before Jesus’ appearance, John had already preached a baptism of repentance to all the people in Israel. 25 When John was finishing his work, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I’m not the Messiah.[ad] No, but he is coming after me, and I’m not worthy to untie the sandals on his feet.’
26 “My brothers, descendants of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, it is to us[ae] that the message of this salvation has been sent. 27 For the people who live in Jerusalem and their leaders, not knowing who Jesus[af] was, condemned him and so fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. 28 Although they found no reason to sentence him to death, they asked Pilate to have him executed. 29 When they had finished doing everything that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and placed him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from the dead, 31 and for many days he appeared to those who had come with him to Jerusalem from Galilee. These are now his witnesses to the people. 32 We’re telling you the good news: What God promised our ancestors 33 he has fulfilled for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm, ‘You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.’[ag] 34 God[ah] raised him from the dead, never to experience decay, as he said, ‘I’ll give you the holy promises made to David.’[ai] 35 In another Psalm[aj] he says, ‘You will not let your Holy One experience decay.’[ak] 36 Now David, after he had served God’s purpose in his own generation, died[al] and was buried with his ancestors, and so he experienced decay. 37 However, the man whom God raised did not experience decay.
38 “Therefore, brothers, you must understand that through him the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and that everyone who believes in him is justified and freed from everything that kept you from being justified by the Law of Moses. 40 So be careful that what the prophets said doesn’t happen to you:
41 ‘Look, you mockers!
Be amazed and die!
Since I am performing an action in your days,
one that you would not believe
even if someone told you!’”[am]
42 As Paul and Barnabas[an] were leaving, the people kept urging them to tell them the same things the next Sabbath. 43 When the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who kept talking to them and urging them to continue in the grace of God.
44 The next Sabbath almost the whole town gathered to hear the word of the Lord.[ao] 45 But when the Jewish leaders[ap] saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to object to the statements made by Paul and even to abuse him.
46 Then Paul and Barnabas boldly declared, “We had to speak God’s word to you first, but since you reject it and consider yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we are now going to turn to the gentiles. 47 For that is what the Lord ordered us to do: ‘I have made you a light to the gentiles to be the means of salvation to the very ends of the earth.’”[aq]
48 When the gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord. Meanwhile, all who had been destined to eternal life believed, 49 and the word of the Lord began to spread throughout the whole region. 50 But the Jewish leaders[ar] stirred up devout women of high social standing and the officials in the city, started a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their territory. 51 So Paul and Barnabas[as] shook the dust off their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. 52 Meanwhile, the disciples continued to be full of joy and the Holy Spirit.
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