until the day when He ascended to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given instruction to the apostles (special messengers) whom He had chosen.

who said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This [same] Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will return in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

Now on one of these days Peter stood up among the brothers and sisters (a gathering of about a hundred and twenty believers was there) and he said,

“Brothers and sisters, it was necessary that the Scripture be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the lips of David [king of Israel] about Judas [Iscariot], who acted as guide to those who arrested Jesus.

So of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus spent with us,

And they put forward two men, Joseph, the one called Barsabbas (who was surnamed Justus), and Matthias.

They prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know all hearts [their thoughts, motives, desires], show us which one of these two You have chosen

They were completely astonished, saying, “Look! Are not all of these who are speaking Galileans?

Therefore let all the house of Israel recognize beyond all doubt that God has made Him both Lord and Christ (Messiah, Anointed)—this Jesus whom you crucified.”

So then, those who accepted his message were baptized; and on that day about 3,000 souls were added [to the body of believers].

And all those who had believed [in Jesus as Savior] were together and had all things in common [considering their possessions to belong to the group as a whole].

praising God continually, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord kept adding to their number daily those who were being saved.

and a man who had been unable to walk from birth was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at that gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, so that he could beg alms from those entering the temple.

and they recognized him as the very man who usually sat begging for coins at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with wonder and amazement and were mystified at what had happened to him.

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His Servant and Son Jesus [doing Him this honor], the One whom you handed over and disowned and rejected before Pilate, when he had decided to release Him.

But you killed the Prince (Author, Originator, Source) of life, whom God raised [bodily] from the dead. To this [fact] we are witnesses [for we have seen the risen Christ].

And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health and complete wholeness in your presence.

and that He may send [to you] Jesus, the Christ, who has been appointed for you,

whom heaven must keep until the time for the [complete] restoration of all things about which God promised through the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.

Indeed, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also announced these days.

But many of those who heard the message [of salvation] believed [in Jesus and accepted Him as the Christ]. And the number of the men came to be about 5,000.

and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all others who were of high-priestly descent.

let it be known and clearly understood by all of you, and by all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you [demanded be] crucified [by the Romans and], whom God raised from the dead—in this name [that is, by the authority and power of Jesus] this man stands here before you in good health.

And seeing the man who had been healed standing there with them, they had nothing to say in reply.

for the man to whom this sign (attesting miracle) of healing had happened was more than forty years old.

And when they heard it, they raised their voices together to God and said, “O Sovereign Lord [having complete power and authority], it is You who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything that is in them,

who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David, Your servant, said,

‘Why did the nations (Gentiles) become arrogant and rage,
And the peoples devise futile things [against the Lord]?

For in this city there were gathered together against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,

Now Joseph, a Levite and native of Cyprus, who was surnamed Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement),

And hearing these words, Ananias fell down suddenly and died; and great fear and awe gripped those who heard of it.

Then Peter said to her, “How could you two have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Look! The feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”

And great fear and awe gripped the whole church, and all who heard about these things.

But none of the rest [of the people, the non-believers] dared to associate with them; however, the people were holding them in high esteem and were speaking highly of them.

More and more believers in the Lord, crowds of men and women, were constantly being added to their number,

But the high priest stood up, along with all his associates (that is, the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy and resentment.

When they heard this, they went into the temple [courtyards] about daybreak and began teaching.

Now when the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court), even all the council of elders of the sons of Israel, and sent word to the prison for the apostles to be brought [before them].

But someone came and told them, “The men whom you put in prison are standing [right here] in the temple [area], teaching the people!”

The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross [and you are responsible].

And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has bestowed on those who obey Him.”

For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody [of importance], and a group of about four hundred men allied themselves with him. But he was killed, and all who followed him were scattered and came to nothing.

After this man, Judas the Galilean rose up, [and led an uprising] during the time of the census, and drew people after him; he was also killed, and all his followers were scattered.

Therefore, brothers, choose from among you seven men with good reputations [men of godly character and moral integrity], full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.

They brought these men before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them [to dedicate and commission them for this service].

And the message of God kept on growing and spreading, and the number of disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem; and a large number of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith [accepting Jesus as Messiah and acknowledging Him as the Source of eternal salvation].

However, some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (freed Jewish slaves), both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and [the province of] Asia, rose up and questioned and argued with Stephen.

But they were not able to successfully withstand and cope with the wisdom and the intelligence [and the power and inspiration] of the Spirit by whom he was speaking.

They presented false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking against this holy place and the Law [of Moses];

Then all those who were sitting in the Council, stared [intently] at him, and they saw that Stephen’s face was like the face of an angel.

And this is, in effect, what God spoke [to him]: That his descendants would be aliens (strangers) in a foreign land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years.

‘And I will judge any nation to whom they will be in bondage,’ said God, ‘and after that they will come out and serve Me [in worship] in this place.’

and He rescued him from all his suffering, and gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he made Joseph governor over Egypt and over his entire household.

until [the time when] there arose another king over egypt who did not know joseph [nor his history and the merit of his service to Egypt].

Then on the next day he suddenly appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and he tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you wrong one another?’

But the man who was injuring his neighbor pushed Moses away, saying, ‘Who appointed you ruler and judge over us?

“This Moses whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the very one whom God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer, with the [protecting and helping] hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush.

This man led them out [of Egypt] after performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years.

This is the Moses who said to the children of Israel, ‘God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your countrymen.’

This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness together with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received living oracles [divine words that still live] to be handed down to you.

They said to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us; for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’

“Our fathers had the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness, just as God directed Moses to make it according to the pattern which he had seen.

who found favor (grace, spiritual blessing) in the sight of God and asked that he might [be allowed to] find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.

But it was Solomon who built a house for Him.

Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who proclaimed beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become;

you who received the law as ordained and delivered to you by angels, and yet you did not obey it!”

Now those [believers] who had been scattered went from place to place preaching the word [the good news of salvation through Christ].

For unclean spirits (demons), shouting loudly, were coming out of many who were possessed; and many who had been paralyzed and lame were healed.

Now there was a man named Simon, who previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great.

saying, “Give me this authority and power too, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch [a man of great authority], a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship,

“In humiliation His judgment was taken away [justice was denied Him].
Who will describe His generation?
For His life is taken from the earth.”

The eunuch replied to Philip, “Please tell me, about whom does the prophet say this? About himself or about someone else?”

And Saul said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He answered, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,

The men who were traveling with him [were terrified and] stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.

and here [in Damascus] he has authority from the high priests to put in chains all who call on Your name [confessing You as Savior].”

So Ananias left and entered the house, and he laid his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came [to Damascus], has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit [in order to proclaim Christ to both Jews and Gentiles].”

All those who heard him continued to be amazed and said, “Is this not the man who in Jerusalem attacked those who called on this name [of Jesus], and had come here [to Damascus] for the express purpose of bringing them bound [with chains] before the chief priests?”

But Saul increased in strength more and more, and continued to perplex the Jews who lived in Damascus by examining [theological evidence] and proving [with Scripture] that this Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed).

However, Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles, and described to them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road [to Damascus], and how He had spoken to him, and how at Damascus Saul had preached openly and spoken confidently in the name of Jesus.

Now as Peter was traveling throughout the land, he went down to [visit] the saints (God’s people) who lived at Lydda.

There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years and was paralyzed.

a devout man and one who, along with all his household, feared God. He made many charitable donations to the Jewish people, and prayed to God always.

When the angel who was speaking to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among his own personal attendants;

Now Peter was still perplexed and completely at a loss as to what his vision could mean when the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions to Simon’s house, arrived at the gate.

And they called out to ask whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there.

They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man well spoken of by all the Jewish people, was divinely instructed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear what you have to say.”

Therefore send word to Joppa and invite Simon, who is also called Peter, to come to you. He is staying at the house of Simon the tanner by the sea.’

but in every nation the person who fears God and does what is right [by seeking Him] is acceptable and welcomed by Him.

You know the message which He sent to the sons of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all—

how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with great power; and He went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.

not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen and designated beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank together with Him after He rose from the dead.

All the prophets testify about Him, that through His name everyone who believes in Him [whoever trusts in and relies on Him, accepting Him as Savior and Messiah] receives forgiveness of sins.”

While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all those who were listening to the message [confirming God’s acceptance of Gentiles].

All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.

Now the apostles and the believers who were throughout Judea heard [with astonishment] that the Gentiles also had received and accepted the word of God [the message concerning salvation through Christ].

And Cornelius told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, saying, ‘Send word to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here;

So, if God gave Gentiles the same gift [equally] as He gave us after we accepted and believed and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ [as Savior], who was I to interfere or stand in God’s way?”

So then [since they were unaware of these developments] those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with [the stoning of] Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, without telling the message [of salvation through Christ] to anyone except Jews.

But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks as well, proclaiming [to them] the good news about the Lord Jesus.

For Barnabas was a good man [privately and publicly—his godly character benefited both himself and others] and he was full of the Holy Spirit and full of faith [in Jesus the Messiah, through whom believers have everlasting life]. And a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

So the disciples decided to send a contribution, each according to his individual ability, to the believers who lived in Judea.