And when Jesus had said these things, just as the apostles were watching [Him], He was taken up by a cloud [and disappeared] out of their sight.

and said, "You men from Galilee, why are you standing there looking up at the sky? This Jesus who was received up from your presence into the sky will return in the same way you saw Him go there."

But God raised Him up, having released Him from the sharp pains [He experienced when dying], because it was not possible that He could be held in death's grip.

Peter looked directly at the man and, together with John, said [to him], "Look [at me]."

And Peter took him by his right hand and lifted him up. Immediately the man's feet and ankles became strong [enough to walk on].

And all the people [there in the Temple area] saw him walking and [heard him] praising God.

And they recognized him as the same person who had sat at the "Beautiful Gate" of the Temple begging for money, and they were filled with wonder and amazement over what had happened to him.

And when Peter saw [the crowd assembling] he gave this explanation: "Men of Israel, why are you so shocked at [what happened to] this man? And why are you gazing at us, as though it were by our power or godly qualities that we caused him to walk?

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob --- the God of our forefathers --- has highly honored His servant Jesus, whom you people turned over [to the Roman authorities] and denied [Him freedom] in the presence of [governor] Pilate, who had already decided to release Him.

[Then, at the hands of the Roman authorities] you killed the Prince of [never ending] life, but God raised Him from the dead, and we [apostles] were [reliable] witnesses of it.

Moses [expressed it when he] said [Deut. 18:15], 'The Lord God will raise up a prophet for you from among your brothers; He will be like me [in some ways] and you must all pay attention to Him in everything He says to you.'

You [Jews] were the first ones to receive this blessing when God raised up [i.e., selected] His Servant [i.e., Jesus] and sent Him to turn all of you [away] from your sins."

But Peter and John replied, "You decide whether it is right before God to listen to you men or to Him;

So, the large number of believers were united in heart and soul [i.e., mind and spirit] and not one of them said that anything he owned [really] belonged to him, but they shared all things in common.

Then young men wrapped up his body and took him out and buried him.

And instantly she fell dead right in front of him, and her spirit left her body. [Just then the] young men came in and found her dead. They carried her out and buried her with her husband.

The God of our forefathers raised up Jesus [from the dead], whom you put to death by hanging Him on a tree [i.e., the cross].

But God exalted Him at His right side to be a Prince and Savior and to give the people of Israel [an opportunity] to repent [i.e., change their hearts and lives] and [receive] forgiveness of [their] sins [through Him].

We apostles are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to every person who obeys Him."

For [remember that] some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be someone [important], and that about four hundred people rallied [to his cause], but he was killed and all his men left him and nothing ever came of it.

Later on another man, named Judas of Galilee, appeared during the census [Note: The time and circumstances of this census were probably known to the original readers], and led [a group of] people away after him, but he also was killed and all of his followers were scattered.

Then they enlisted men to say [i.e., to testify falsely against Stephen, verse 13], "We heard him criticizing Moses and [even] God."

And they stirred up the people, the elders and the teachers of the law of Moses and searched for him, seized him and brought him before the Council.

for we [ourselves] heard him saying that this Jesus from Nazareth would destroy the Temple and change the customs handed down to us by Moses."

and told him, 'Leave your country and relatives and go to the country where I will lead you.'

But God gave him no inheritance [here at that time], no, not even a place [of his own] to stand on. Yet God promised that He would [someday] give it to him and to his descendants after him [i.e., the Israelites], as a [permanent] possession, even though [at that time] he had no child yet.

And God gave Abraham the Agreement which required circumcision [as an identifying mark] so when Abraham fathered Isaac he circumcised him when he was eight days old. Then Isaac had a son, Jacob; and Jacob had [as sons] the twelve patriarchs [i.e., ruling fathers of families].

"[And when] these patriarchs, [still living in Canaan as young men], became jealous of [their brother] Joseph, they sold him [as a slave to traveling merchants who took him] to Egypt. But God was with him [during all that time],

and rescued him from all his troubles and granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him a governor over Egypt and his [i.e., the king's] household.

and then, when he was abandoned [as the Egyptians required], the daughter of Pharaoh took him in and cared for him as her own son.

assuming his relatives would understand that God was using him to rescue them [from such abuse], but they did not [seem to] understand.

"Then after [another] forty years passed, an angel appeared to him [one day] out of a flaming bush in the wilderness near Mt. Sinai.

And the Lord said to him, 'Take off your shoes, [Moses], for the place you are standing on is holy ground.

But the Hebrews refused [to acknowledge Moses as their leader], saying, 'Who made you a ruler and judge [over us]?' [Nevertheless], God sent him [to Egypt] to be both a ruler and liberator [of the people] through the direction of [His] angel who appeared [to Moses] from the bush.

This is the man who was with our forefathers and with the assembly [of Hebrews] in the wilderness [after] the angel had spoken to him at Mt. Sinai. He [is the one] who received the living messages [from God at Mt. Sinai] and gave them to us.

[And yet] our forefathers refused to obey him, but rejected [his leadership] and turned back to Egypt in their hearts.

Now when the Council members heard these things they were enraged and ground their teeth at him.

But they shouted loudly and refused to listen, and then all of them rushed at him.

They threw him out of the city and stoned him [to death]. Those who witnessed [the incident] placed their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

Everyone, from the least to the greatest [in importance], was being impressed by him. They were saying, "This man is being called Great [and has] power from God."

And people were paying attention to him because he had been amazing them with his magic for a long time.

And [this] Simon also believed [Philip's message] and was immersed. [After that] he continued [to travel] with Philip and was amazed by the [supernatural] signs and great miracles he saw [him perform].

But Peter said to him, "You and your money will both be destroyed for thinking you could buy the gift from God with money.

So, Philip ran over to it and [when he got near enough] he heard the Ethiopian eunuch reading from Isaiah the prophet and asked him, "Do you understand what you are reading?"

And the man replied, "How can I, except with someone's guidance?" Then he urged Philip to come and sit with him [in the chariot].

He was subjected to [terrible] humiliation and deprived of justice. Who will [there be to] trace His descendants, since His life was taken from Him, [leaving no posterity]."

So, Philip opened his mouth, and beginning [his message] from this Scripture [passage], he preached to him [about] Jesus.

And when they came up out of the water, the Holy Spirit of the Lord [supernaturally?] directed Philip to go elsewhere and the eunuch did not see him anymore, as he continued on his journey rejoicing.

to ask for letters [authorizing him to go] to Damascus and to enter [Jewish] synagogues looking for people of "the Way" [Note: This was a designation for Christians at that time]. And if he found any, whether men or women, he would tie them up and take them to Jerusalem.

And when he got close to Damascus, suddenly a [bright, See 22:6] light from the sky shone all around him.

Now [in the meantime] the Lord spoke in a vision to a certain disciple named Ananias [who lived] in Damascus. He called to him by name, "Ananias." "Yes, Lord, here I am" Ananias replied.

The Lord said to him, "Get up and go to Straight Street and ask for a person named Saul, from Tarsus, at the home of Judas; you will find him [there] praying."

(Now Saul had seen [in a vision] a man named Ananias coming in and placing his hands on him, restoring his sight).

But the Lord replied to him, "Go on your way, for Saul is someone I have especially chosen to carry my name to the [unconverted] Gentiles, kings and the Israelites.

I will show him how many things he will have to suffer for my name's sake."

And everyone who heard him was amazed and exclaimed, "Is this not the man who tried to destroy all the people who called on [Jesus'] name in Jerusalem and has now come here [to Damascus] for the purpose of arresting them and bringing them before the leading priests?"

but he found out about their plan. And so they watched the gates [of the city] day and night [looking for their chance] to kill him.

[However], his disciples lowered him in a basket over the [city] wall at night [and so he escaped].

And when he came [back] to Jerusalem, Saul attempted to associate himself with the disciples but they were afraid of him [because of his past], and could not believe that he was a [true] disciple.

So, Barnabas brought him to the [other] apostles and explained to them how he had seen the Lord [while] traveling on the road [to Damascus] and how he had boldly preached in the name of Jesus in that city.

preaching boldly in the name of the Lord [and] speaking and arguing with the Greek-[speaking] Jews, but they were out to kill him.

And when the brothers [in the Jerusalem church] learned about this, they brought him down to Caesarea and then sent him on to Tarsus, [his home town].

Peter said to him, "Aeneas, Jesus Christ is healing you, so get up and make your bed." And immediately he got up [out of his bed, completely healed].

When everyone who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him [i.e., that the man was healed], they turned [their lives over] to the Lord.

And since Lydda was very close to Joppa, the disciples [at Joppa], hearing that Peter was at Lydda [See verse 32], sent two men there to urge him, "Do not delay your coming [here] to us."

So, Peter got up and went with them. When he arrived they took him to the upstairs room [where Dorcas' body lay]. All the widows [i.e., her friends] stood near Peter, crying and showing [him] the coats and [other] clothing which Dorcas had made when she was alive.

When the angel who spoke with him had left, Cornelius called two of his house servants and a soldier who was devoted [to God], men who worked for him regularly,

AM], while he was wide awake, he had a vision in which an angel of God came to him [and spoke his name] "Cornelius."

While Peter was thinking about [the meaning of] the vision, the Holy Spirit said to him, "Look, there are three men [here] looking for you.

They said, "Cornelius, a [military] man in charge of one hundred soldiers, [and] a man who does what is right, [and] who respects God and who has a good reputation among all the Jews [who know him], was urged by God through a holy angel to have you come to his house so he could hear you speak [about salvation, See 11:14]."

When Peter entered [the house] Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet [and attempted] to worship him.

But Peter lifted him up, saying, "I am just a man, myself."

but that whoever respects Him and does what is right, whatever country he may be from, is acceptable to Him.

This message was about Jesus from Nazareth and how God specially chose Him [and signified it] by giving Him the Holy Spirit and power. He traveled all over doing good [for people] and healing everyone who was [being] oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

And we [apostles] are witnesses of all that He did, both in the region where Jews lived and in Jerusalem [as well]. But they killed Him by hanging Him on a tree [i.e., the cross].

However, God raised Him up the third day and made it possible for Him to appear [following His resurrection],

not to everyone, but to us [apostles] who were specially chosen by God to be witnesses [of His resurrected body], and to eat and drink with Him after He arose from the dead.

All the prophets have testified [in their writings], that it is through the name of Jesus that every person who believes in Him will receive the forgiveness of sins."

And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those [believers] of Jewish descent began to argue with him,

and he told us about seeing an angel standing in his house and saying [to him] 'Send to Joppa for Simon Peter and bring him [here]

and when he found him, he brought him [back] to Antioch. So, for an entire year Saul and Barnabas gathered the church together and taught many people. [It was] here in Antioch that the disciples were first [divinely] called Christians.

So, Peter was arrested and put in jail with four groups of four soldiers each guarding him. Herod planned to have him brought before the people after the Passover Festival was over.

So, Peter was kept in jail, but the church continued to pray earnestly to God for him. [See verse 12].

Then on the night that Herod was planning to have him brought [before the court], Peter was asleep, chained between two soldiers, with guards stationed at the jail doors.

[Then it happened]: [Suddenly] an angel from the Lord stood beside Peter as a light shone into his cell. [The angel] gently struck his side, waking him up, saying, "Get up quickly." His chains fell from his hands.

The angel [then] said to him, "Put on your belt and sandals," so he did. Then the angel said, "Throw your [outer] robe around you and follow me."

And when they passed the first two guards, they came to the iron gate leading out into the city, which opened by itself. So, they went out and, as they walked down the street, the angel [suddenly] left him.

[Upon entering the house] he held up his hand to quiet them, then went on to explain how the Lord had rescued him from jail. He said to them, "[Go] tell all this to James [the Lord's half-brother] and to [the rest of] the brothers." Then he left [them] and went elsewhere.

When Herod's search for him turned up nothing, he questioned the guards, then ordered them to be led away and executed. He then left Judea and went to Caesarea, where he stayed for awhile.

Now Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon [Note: These were seaport cities not under his jurisdiction]. They came to him as a group, having befriended Blastus, an officer of the king [Herod], and tried to arrange a peaceful relationship [with him] because the country was dependant on him for their food supply.

Suddenly, an angel from God struck him [with a terrible condition] because he refused to honor God [by what he said in his speech], so he was consumed by worms and died.

But Saul, [now] also called Paul, being filled with [the power of] the Holy Spirit, looked at him intently

Now look, the power of the Lord is coming on you to cause [such] blindness that you will not [even] be able to see the sun for awhile." And immediately a misty darkness fell on him and he kept trying to find people to lead him [around] by the hand.

And when God removed him [from the throne of Israel] He raised up David to be their king. God said about him, 'I have found David, the son of Jesse, to be a man close to my heart [i.e., whom I loved very much] and he will do all that I want him to.'

They asked Pilate to have Him put to death, even though they could not find any [legitimate] reason to execute Him.

And when they had done everything that was predicted about Him, they took Jesus down from the tree [i.e., the cross] and placed Him in a tomb.

But God raised Him up from the dead

so that He was seen for many days by those [apostles] who came with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem. These men are now His witnesses before the people.

[Now] in regard to God raising Him up from the dead, never to decay, He said this about it [Isa. 55:3], "I will give you the sacred and certain blessings promised to David."

and [it is] by Him that every believer is made right with God in every way that he could not have been made right by [observing the requirements of] the law of Moses.