but believers were the more added to the Lord, a multitude both of men and women,

so that they brought out the sick into the streets and put them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter, when he came, might overshadow some one of them.

But the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy,

And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison.

But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said,

And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught. But the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.

But when the officers came, and found them not in the prison, they returned, and told,

Saying, The prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors: but when we had opened, we found no man within.

Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people.

Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them, but without violence; for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned.

And [when they] had brought them, they made [them] stand in the Sanhedrin, and the high priest put a question to them,

But Peter and the apostles answered and said, We must obey God rather than men.

The God of our forefathers has raised Jesus to life, whom you crucified and put to death.

Him God has put on high at his right hand, as a Ruler and a Saviour, to give to Israel a change of heart and forgiveness of sins.

But they, when they heard this, were cut to the heart, and minded to slay them.

Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space;

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, there was Judas of Galilee, at the time of the numbering, and some of the people went after him: he was put to death, and all his supporters were put to flight.

And now I say to you, Do nothing to these men, but let them be: for if this teaching or this work is of men, it will come to nothing:

But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.

And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles unto them, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

But the Apostles left the Council, rejoicing that they had been thought worthy to suffer disgrace for that Name;

But they did not desist from teaching every day, in the Temple or in private houses, and telling the Good News about Jesus, the Christ.

But in those days, the disciples multiplying in number, there arose a murmuring of the Hellenists against the Hebrews because their widows were overlooked in the daily ministration.

So, brothers, select from among you seven men {of good reputation}, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we will put in charge of this need.

But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.

These they took to the Apostles, who, after prayer, put their hands on them.

But there arose certain of them that were of the synagogue called the synagogue of the Libertines, and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and Asia, disputing 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.

Then they privately put forward men who declared, "We have heard him speak blasphemous things against Moses and against God."

And they put forward false witnesses who said, "This man does not stop speaking words against the holy place and the law!

For he has said in our hearing that this Jesus of Nazareth will put this place to destruction and make changes in the rules which were handed down to us by Moses.

But he said, "Brethren and fathers, the God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, while he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran,

But He did not give him inheritable property, not even enough ground to take a step on, yet He promised that He would give it to Him as a possession, and to his descendants after him.

But God spoke like this: 'His descendants will be foreigners in a foreign land, and they will enslave them and mistreat [them] 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 the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him,

"But God was with him, and delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him grace and wisdom, when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him Governor over Egypt, and over all the royal household.

But a famine came upon all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and great distress, and our fathers found no food.

But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first.

And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem.

But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,

He, having evil designs against our nation, was cruel to our fathers, and they were forced to put out their young children, so that they might not go on living.

At length he was cast out, but Pharaoh's daughter adopted him, and brought him up as her own son.

But when he was well-nigh forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.

For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.

But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?

Will you put me to death as you did the Egyptian yesterday?

"But at the end of forty years there appeared to him in the Desert of Mount Sinai an angel in the middle of a flame of fire in a bush.

When Moses saw it, he was astonished at the sight; but as he went near to look more closely, the voice of the Lord came [to him, saying]:

saying, "I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." But Moses trembled and dared not look.

Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest 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.

To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt,

But God turned, and gave them up to serve the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, Did ye offer unto me slain beasts and sacrifices Forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

Nay! but ye took with you the tent of Moloch, and the star of the god Rephan, - the forms which ye made to bow down unto them: therefore will I carry you away beyond Babylon.

Which our fathers succeeding to, also brought in, with Joshua, when taking possession of the nations, which God put out from before our fathers until the days of David;

But Solomon built him an house.

But the Most High dwells not in places made with hands; as says the prophet,

Which of the prophets was not cruelly attacked by your fathers? and they put to death those who gave them the news of the coming of the Upright One; whom you have now given up and put to death;

You received the law by decrees given by angels, but you did not obey it."

But when they heard these things, their hearts were filled with rage, and they gnashed their teeth at him.

But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,

But they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and rushed upon him with one accord;

and having cast him forth outside of the city, they were stoning him -- and the witnesses did put down their garments at the feet of a young man called Saul --

And Saul gave approval to his death. Now at that time a violent attack was started against the church in Jerusalem; and all but the Apostles went away into all parts of Judaea and Samaria.

Devout men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him.

But Saul laid waste the church, entering into every house, and dragging men and women committed them to prison.

But those who had gone in flight went everywhere preaching the word.

But Philip, going down to a city of Samaria, preached Christ unto them.

The crowds paid attention with one mind to what Philip said, as they heard and saw the signs he was performing.

But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:

They all paid [a great deal of] attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is what is called the Great Power of God!”

They paid careful attention to him because he had thrilled them for a long time with his occult performances.

But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

But Simon himself also believed: and being baptized, was constantly with Philip, both seeing the miracles and the great dynamites performed, was astonished.

But the apostles in Jerusalem, having heard that Samaria has received the word of God, sent to them Peter and John:

for He had not yet fallen on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus [as His possession].

Then they put their hands on them, and the Holy Spirit came on them.

But Simon, having seen that by the laying on of the hands of the apostles the Holy Spirit was given, offered them money,

Give me this power, so that when I put my hands on anyone he may get the Holy Spirit.

But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

But Simon answered [and] said, "You pray to the Lord for me so that nothing of what you have said will come upon me."

But an angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza: the same is desert.

but was now upon his return, and sat in his chariot, reading the prophet Esaias.

And Philip ran up, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, Well, but dost thou understand what thou art reading?

But he said, "How, in fact, were I able, unless some one should guide me?" And he besought Philip, having come up, to sit with him.

Now the place in the book where he was reading was this: He was taken, like a sheep, to be put to death; and as a lamb is quiet when its wool is being cut, so he made no sound:

in his humiliation. The sentence against him was taken away; but who shall describe the men of his generation? For his life was taken from the earth.

But as they went on the road, they came to some water: and the eunuch said, Here is water, what forbids my being baptised?

And he bid the carriage stop: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptised him.

But when they came up out of the water the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, and the eunuch saw him no longer, for he went on his way rejoicing.

But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.

But Saul, yet breathing threatening and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,

And asked him to give him letters to the Jewish congregations at Damascus, authorizing him, if he found there any supporters of the Cause, whether men or women, to have them put in chains and brought to Jerusalem.

But as he was journeying, it came to pass that he drew near to Damascus; and suddenly there shone round about him a light out of heaven,

but rise, and enter into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.

And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.

(at that very instant Saul saw in a vision the said Ananias come in, and put his hand on him, to restore his sight.)