Beginning
Peter’s Explanation to the Church in Jerusalem
11 Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had accepted the word[a] of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision took issue with him, 3 saying, “You went to men who were uncircumcised[b] and ate with them!” 4 But Peter began and[c] explained it[d] to them in an orderly sequence, saying, 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision—an object something like a large sheet coming down, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came to me. 6 As I[e] looked intently into it, I was considering it,[f] and I saw the four-footed animals of the earth and the wild animals and the reptiles and the birds of the sky. 7 And I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter, slaughter and eat!’ 8 But I said, ‘Certainly not, Lord! For nothing common or unclean has ever entered into my mouth!’ 9 But the voice replied from heaven for the second time, ‘The things which God has made clean, you must not consider unclean!’ 10 And this happened three times, and everything was pulled up into heaven again. 11 And behold, at once three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea approached the house in which we were staying.[g] 12 And the Spirit told me to accompany them, not hesitating at all. So these six brothers also went with me, and we entered into the man’s house. 13 And he reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and summon Simon, who is also called Peter, 14 who will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ 15 And as I was beginning to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as also on us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’[h] 17 Therefore if God gave them the same gift as also to us when we[i] believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to hinder God?” 18 And when they[j] heard these things, they became silent[k] and praised God, saying, “Then God has granted the repentance leading to life to the Gentiles also!”
Developments in the Church in Antioch
19 Now those who had been scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, proclaiming the message to no one except Jews alone. 20 But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they[l] came to Antioch, began to speak[m] to the Hellenists[n] also, proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 And the report came to the attention[o] of the church that was in Jerusalem about them, and they sent out Barnabas as far as[p] Antioch, 23 who, when he[q] arrived and saw the grace of God, rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with devoted hearts,[r] 24 because he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a large number were added[s] to the Lord. 25 So he departed for Tarsus to look for Saul. 26 And when he[t] found him,[u] he brought him[v] to Antioch. And it happened to them also that they met together for a whole year with the church and taught a large number of people.[w] And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.
27 Now in those days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 And one of them named[x] Agabus stood up and[y] indicated by the Spirit that a great famine was about to come over the whole inhabited earth (which took place in the time of Claudius). 29 So from the disciples, according to their ability to give,[z] each one of them determined to send financial aid[aa] for support to the brothers who lived in Judea, 30 which they also did, sending the aid[ab] to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.
Herod Kills James and Imprisons Peter
12 Now at that time, Herod the king laid hands on some of those from the church to harm them.[ac] 2 So he executed James the brother of John with a sword. 3 And when he[ad] saw that it was pleasing to the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. (Now this was during the feast[ae] of Unleavened Bread.) 4 After he[af] had arrested him,[ag] he also put him[ah] in prison, handing him[ai] over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him out for public trial[aj] after the Passover. 5 Thus Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer was fervently being made to God by the church for him.
Peter Rescued by an Angel
6 Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards before the door were watching the prison. 7 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood near him,[ak] and a light shone in the prison cell. And striking Peter’s side, he woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly!”[al] And his chains fell off of his[am] hands. 8 And the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and put on your sandals!” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me!” 9 And he went out and[an] was following him.[ao] And he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but was thinking he was seeing a vision. 10 And after they[ap] had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened for them by itself, and they went out and[aq] went forward along one narrow street, and at once the angel departed from him.
11 And when[ar] Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know truly that the Lord has sent out his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and all that the Jewish people expected!”[as] 12 And when he[at] realized this,[au] he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John (who is also called Mark), where many people were gathered together and were praying. 13 And when[av] he knocked at the door of the gateway, a female slave named[aw] Rhoda came up to answer. 14 And recognizing Peter’s voice, because of her[ax] joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and[ay] announced that Peter was standing at the gate. 15 But they said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting[az] it was so. And they kept saying,[ba] “It is his angel!” 16 But Peter was continuing to knock, and when they[bb] opened the door[bc] they saw him and were astonished. 17 But motioning to them with his[bd] hand to be silent, he related to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to James and to the brothers,” and he departed and[be] went to another place.
18 Now when[bf] day came, there was not a little commotion among the soldiers as to what then had become of Peter. 19 And when[bg] Herod had searched for him and did not find him,[bh] he questioned the guards and[bi] ordered that they be led away to execution. And he came down from Judea to Caesarea and[bj] stayed there.
Herod’s Gruesome Death
20 Now he was very angry with the Tyrians and Sidonians. So they came to him with one purpose, and after[bk] persuading Blastus, the king’s chamberlain,[bl] they asked for peace, because their country was supported with food from the king’s country. 21 So on an appointed day Herod, after[bm] putting on royal clothing and sitting down on the judgment seat, began to deliver a public address to them. 22 But the people began to call out loudly,[bn] “The voice of a god and not of a man!” 23 And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down because[bo] he did not give the glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and[bp] died. 24 But the word of God kept on increasing[bq] and multiplying.
25 So Barnabas and Saul returned to[br] Jerusalem when they[bs] had completed their[bt] service, having taken along with them[bu] John (who is also called Mark).
Barnabas and Saul Sent Out from Antioch
13 Now there were prophets and teachers in Antioch in the church that was there: Barnabas, and Simeon (who was called Niger), and Lucius the Cyrenian, and Manaen (a close friend of Herod the tetrarch), and Saul. 2 And while[bv] they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart now for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then, after they[bw] had fasted and prayed and placed their[bx] hands on them, they sent them[by] away.
Confronting a Magician on Cyprus
4 Therefore, sent out by the Holy Spirit, they came down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed away to Cyprus. 5 And when they[bz] came to Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they also had John as assistant. 6 And when they[ca] had crossed over the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a certain man, a magician, a Jewish false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus, 7 who was with the proconsul Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and[cb] wished to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the magician (for his name is translated in this way) opposed them, attempting to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 But Saul (also called Paul), filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and[cc] said, “O you who are full of all deceit and of all unscrupulousness, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness! Will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord! 11 And now behold, the hand of the Lord is against you, and you will be blind, not seeing the sun for a while.[cd] And immediately mist and darkness fell over him, and he was going around looking for people[ce] to lead him[cf] by the hand. 12 Then when[cg] the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, because he[ch] was astounded at the teaching about[ci] the Lord.
Preaching in the Synagogue at Pisidian Antioch
13 Now Paul and his companions[cj] put out to sea from Paphos and[ck] came to Perga in Pamphylia, but John departed from them and[cl] returned to Jerusalem. 14 And they went on from Perga and[cm] arrived at Pisidian Antioch. And they entered into the synagogue on the day of the Sabbath and[cn] sat down. 15 So after the reading from the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent word[co] to them, saying, “Men and brothers, if there is any message of exhortation by you for the people, say it.”[cp]
16 So Paul stood up,[cq] and motioning with his[cr] hand, he said, “Israelite men, and those who fear God, listen! 17 The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and exalted the people during their[cs] stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it. 18 And for a period of time of about forty years, he put up with them in the wilderness. 19 And after[ct] destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave their land to his people[cu] as an inheritance. 20 This took[cv] about four hundred and fifty years. And after these things, he gave them[cw] judges until Samuel the prophet. 21 And then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22 And after[cx] removing him, he raised up David for their king, about whom he also said, testifying, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse to be a man in accordance with my heart, who will carry out all my will.’[cy] 23 From the descendants of this man, according to his promise, God brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus. 24 Before his coming[cz] John had publicly proclaimed[da] a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25 But while John was completing his[db] mission, he said, ‘What do you suppose me to be? I am not he! But behold, one is coming after me of whom I am not worthy to untie the sandals of his[dc] feet!’
26 “Men and brothers, sons of the family of Abraham and those among you who fear God—to us the message of this salvation has been sent! 27 For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they[dd] did not recognize this one, and the voices of the prophets that are read on every Sabbath, fulfilled them[de] by[df] condemning him.[dg] 28 And although they[dh] found no charge worthy of death, they asked Pilate that he be executed. 29 And when they had carried out all the things that were written about him, they took him[di] down from the tree and[dj] placed him[dk] in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from the dead, 31 who appeared for many days to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem—who are now his witnesses to the people. 32 And we proclaim the good news to you: that the promise that was made to the fathers, 33 this promise[dl] God has fulfilled to our children[dm] by[dn] raising Jesus, as it is also written in the second psalm,
‘You are my Son;
today I have fathered you.’[do]
34 But that he has raised him from the dead, no more going to return to decay, he has spoken in this way: ‘I will give you the reliable divine decrees of David.’[dp] 35 Therefore he also says in another psalm,[dq]
‘You will not permit your Holy One to experience decay.’[dr]
36 For David, after[ds] serving the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was buried with[dt] his fathers, and experienced decay. 37 But he whom God raised up did not experience decay.
38 “Therefore let it be known to you, men and brothers, that through this one forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and from all the things from which you were not able to be justified by the law of Moses, 39 by this one everyone who believes is justified! 40 Watch out, therefore, lest what is stated by the prophets come upon you:[du]
41 ‘Look, you scoffers,
and be astonished and perish!
For I am doing a work in your days,
a work that you would never believe
even if someone were to tell it[dv] to you.’”[dw]
Response to the Message in Pisidian Antioch
42 And as[dx] they were going out, they began urging[dy] that these things be spoken about to them on the next Sabbath. 43 And after[dz] the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and the devout[ea] proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who were speaking to them and[eb] were persuading them to continue in the grace of God. 44 And on the coming Sabbath, nearly the whole city came together to hear the word of the Lord. 45 But when[ec] the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and began contradicting what was being said by Paul by[ed] reviling him.[ee] 46 Both Paul and Barnabas spoke boldly and[ef] said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you, since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life! Behold, we are turning to the Gentiles! 47 For so the Lord has commanded us:
‘I have appointed you to be[eg] a light for the Gentiles,
that you would bring[eh] salvation to the end of the earth.’[ei]
48 And when[ej] the Gentiles heard this,[ek] they began to rejoice[el] and to glorify the word of the Lord. And all those who were designated for eternal life believed. 49 So the word of the Lord was carried through the whole region. 50 But the Jews incited the devout women of high social standing and the most prominent men of the city, and stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and threw them out of their district. 51 So after[em] shaking off the dust from their feet against them, they went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
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