Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible



But Peter and the apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew by hanging him on a cross; him hath God exalted by his right hand, as a Leader and Saviour, to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. read more.
And we are his witnesses of these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit which God hath given to those who obey him.

And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all, nor teach, in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to hearken to you rather than to God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we saw and heard.


And the chief priests brought many charges against him. And Pilate asked him again, Dost thou make no answer? See what things they are testifying against thee! But Jesus made no further answer; so that Pilate marveled.

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people, and elders of Israel! If we are this day examined in respect to a good deed done to a cripple, by what means he hath been restored, be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead,by him doth this man stand here before you sound. read more.
This is the stone which was set at nought by you the builders, which is become a cornerstone. And there is salvation in no other; for there is not another name under heaven, that hath been given among men, by which we must be saved.

And the highpriest said, Are then these things so? And he said, Brethren and fathers, hearken. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, and said to him, "Go forth from thy country and thy kindred, and come into the land which I will show thee." read more.
Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Haran; and from thence, after his father was dead, he caused him to remove into this land wherein ye now dwell; and he gave him no inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on; and he promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his posterity after him, when as yet he had no child. And God spoke in this manner: "That his posterity should sojourn in a foreign land, and that they would bring them into bondage, and illtreat them four hundred years; and the nation to which they shall be in bondage will I judge," said God; "and after that they shall come forth, and shall worship me in this place." And he gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so he begat Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs. And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt; and God was with him, and delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt, and all his house. Now there came a famine over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and great distress; and our fathers found no Sustenance. But Jacob, hearing that there was grain in Egypt, sent out our fathers first. And at the second time Joseph was recognized by his brothers, and the kindred of Joseph became known to Pharaoh. Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, seventy five souls. And Jacob went down [into Egypt], and died, he and our fathers. And they were removed to Shechem, and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. But as the time of the promise drew near, which God solemnly made to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt, until another king arose, who knew not Joseph. The same dealt subtly with our race, and illtreated our fathers, so that they should cast out their infants, that they might not be preserved alive. In which time Moses was born, and was exceedingly fair; who was nourished in his fathers house three months. And when he was cast out, Pharaohs daughter took him up, and nourished him for herself as a son. And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in his worlds and deeds. And when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the sons of Israel. And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed by smiting the Egyptian. For he supposed his brethren would understand that God through his hand would give them salvation; but they understood not. And the next day he showed himself to them as they were contending, and urged them to peace, saying, Ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one another? But he who was wronging his neighbor thrust him away, saying, "Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? Dost thou mean to kill me, as thou didst kill the Egyptian yesterday?" And Moses fled at this saying, and became a sojourner in the land of Midian, where he begat two sons. And when forty years were completed, there appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai an angel in the flaming fire of a bush. And Moses seeing it wondered at the sight; and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came [to him], saying, "I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob." And Moses trembled and durst not behold. And the Lord said to him, "Loose the sandals from thy feet; for the place where thou standest is holy ground. I have surely seen the oppression of my people in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them; and now, come, I will send thee into Egypt." This Moses, whom they denied, saying, "Who made thee a ruler and a judge?" this very man did God send both as a ruler and a redeemer with the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. This very man brought them out, working wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years. This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, "A prophet will God raise up to you from among your brethren, as he raised up me." This is he that was in the assembly in the wilderness with the anger who spake to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers; who received the living oracles to give to us; to whom our fathers would not be obedient, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back into Egypt, saying to Aaron, "Make us gods who shall go before us; for as for this Moses, who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him." And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. But God turned away, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the Prophets, "Did ye offer to me slain beasts and sacrifices for forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? And ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of the god Rephan, the figures which ye made to worship them; and I will carry you away beyond Babylon." Our fathers had the tabernacle of the testimony in the wilderness, as he that spoke to Moses commanded that he should make it according to the pattern that he had seen; which also our fathers received and brought in with Joshua, at their taking possession of the gentiles whom God drove out from before our fathers, until the days of David; who found favor before God, and asked that he might find a habitation for the God of Jacob. But Solomon built him a house. Yet the Most High dwelleth not in [temples] made with hands; as saith the prophet, "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What house will ye build for me? saith the Lord; or what is the place of my rest? Did not my hands make all these things?" Stiffnecked, and uncircumcised in heart and ears! ye do always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they slew those who foretold the coming of the righteous one, of whom ye have now become the betrayers and murderers; ye who received the Law as ordained through angels, and did not keep it. But when they heard these things, their hearts were filled with rage, and they gnashed their teeth at him. But, being full of the Holy Spirit, he looked up earnestly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Lo, I behold the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

And Paul looking earnestly upon the council, said: Brethren! I have ordered my life in all good conscience before God to this day. And the highpriest, Ananias, commanded those who stood by him to smite him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, God will smite thee, thou whited wall! Art thou then sitting to judge me according to the law, and dost thou command me to be smitten contrary to the law? read more.
And they that stood by said, Dost thou revile Gods highpriest? Then said Paul, I knew not, brethren, that he was highpriest; for it is written, "Thou shalt not speak evil of a ruler of thy people." But Paul, perceiving one part to be Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, cried aloud in the council, Brethren! I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees; for the hope of the resurrection of the dead I am now tried. And when he had said this, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the multitude was divided.


And when it was morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people consulted together against Jesus, to put him to death. And having bound him, they led him away, and delivered him up to Pilate the governor.

And Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor questioned him, saying, Art thou the king of the Jews? And Jesus said, I am. And when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he made no answer. Then saith Pilate to him, Dost thou not hear what things they are testifying against thee? read more.
And he made him no answer, not even to one word; so that the governor greatly wondered.

And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests, having held a consultation with the elders and the scribes, and the whole council, bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him up to Pilate. And Pilate asked him, Art thou the king of the Jews? And he answering saith to him, I am. And the chief priests brought many charges against him. read more.
And Pilate asked him again, Dost thou make no answer? See what things they are testifying against thee! But Jesus made no further answer; so that Pilate marveled.

And the whole assemblage of them arose, and carried him before Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this man perverting our nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is the Christ, the king. And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the king of the Jews? And he answering said to him, I am. read more.
And Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, I find nothing criminal in this man. But they were the more violent, saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Judaea, beginning from Galilee, even to this place.

Then they lead Jesus from Caiaphas to the governors palace; and it was early. And they did not themselves go into the palace, that they might not be defiled, but might eat the passover. Pilate therefore went out to them, and saith, What accusation do ye bring against this man? They answered and said to him, If he had not been doing evil, we would not have delivered him up to thee. read more.
Pilate therefore said to them, Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said to him, It is not lawful for us to put any one to death. That the words of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spoke, signifying what kind of death he was to die. Pilate therefore went into the palace again, and called Jesus, and said to him, Art thou the King of the Jews? Jesus answered, Dost thou say this of thyself, or did others tell thee concerning me? Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thy own nation and the chief priests delivered thee up to me. What hast thou done? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have fought, that I should not be delivered up to the Jews; but now is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said to him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest what is true; for I am a king. For this end have I been born, and for this cause have I come into the world, that I may bear witness to the truth. Every one that is of the truth listeneth to my voice. Pilate saith to him, What is truth? And having said this, he went out again to the Jews, and saith to them, I find nothing criminal in him.


Doth our law judge a man, unless it first hear from him, and know what he doeth?

Then Paul, after the governor had beckoned to him to speak, answered, Since I know that thou hast been for many years a judge for this nation, I answer for myself cheerfully; for it is in thy power to ascertain that it is not more than twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship. And neither in the temple did they find me disputing with any one, or stirring up a tumult of the people, nor in the synagogues, nor in the city; read more.
nor can they prove the things of which they now accuse me. But this I acknowledge to thee, that according to the way [of belief] which they call a sect, so do I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and by the Prophets; having a hope in God, which they themselves also entertain, that there will be a resurrection both of the righteous and the unrighteous. On this ground do I also myself strive to have always a conscience void of offence toward God and toward men. And after some years I came to bring alms to my nation, and to make offerings; in doing which they found me purified in the temple, not with a crowd nor with tumult; but certain Jews from Asia [caused it], who ought to be here before thee, and make their charge, if they had aught against me. Or, let these men themselves say what wrongdoing they found in me when I stood before the council, except in relation to this one expression, which I uttered aloud while standing among them: Concerning the resurrection of the dead I am tried before you this day.

And Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor questioned him, saying, Art thou the king of the Jews? And Jesus said, I am. And when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he made no answer. Then saith Pilate to him, Dost thou not hear what things they are testifying against thee? read more.
And he made him no answer, not even to one word; so that the governor greatly wondered.

And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the king of the Jews? And he answering said to him, I am.

And Pilate asked him, Art thou the king of the Jews? And he answering saith to him, I am. And the chief priests brought many charges against him. And Pilate asked him again, Dost thou make no answer? See what things they are testifying against thee! read more.
But Jesus made no further answer; so that Pilate marveled.

And when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what must we do? But Peter said to them, Repent, and let every one of you be baptized to the name of Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sins, and ye will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all that are afar off, as many as the Lord our God shall call. read more.
And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this perverse generation.