Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹⁴ Peter stood up with the eleven apostles. He shouted, `You men of Judea and all who stay in Jerusalem, listen to me! I will tell you the truth.

¹⁵ You think that these men are drunk. That is not so. It is only nine o'clock in the morning.

¹⁶ The thing that has happened is what the prophet Joel told about.

¹⁷ He said, "God says, `In the last days I will send my Spirit on all people. I will speak through your sons and daughters. Your young men will see visions and your old men will have dreams.

¹⁸ In those days I will send my Spirit on the men and women who serve me and I will speak through them.

¹⁹ In the sky above and on the earth below I will show wonderful signs with blood and fire and clouds of smoke.

²⁰ The sun will be dark and the moon will be like blood. These things will happen before the day of the Lord comes. It will be a great day that will be remembered always.

²¹ And anyone who calls out to the Lord will be saved.' "

²² `You men of Israel, listen to this. God showed you that he was pleased with this man, Jesus of Nazareth. He proved it by the big works and the wonderful signs which he did by Jesus right here among you people. And you yourselves know it.

^23-24 This same Jesus was given up. You let bad men take him. You let them nail him to a cross and kill him. This is just the way God had planned it. He knew how it would happen. But God raised him back to life. He set him free from the pain of death. Death could not hold him.