In those days, as the number of the disciples was increasing, complaint was made by the Greek-speaking Jews against the native Jews that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food.

But there were some of them, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who on reaching Antioch began to speak to the Greeks too, and proceeded to tell them the good news about the Lord Jesus.

Every sabbath it was Paul's habit to preach in the synagogue and to persuade both Jews and Greeks.

To Greeks and to all the other nations, to cultured and to uncultured people alike, I owe a duty.

For I am not ashamed of the good news, for it is God's power for the salvation of everyone who trusts, of the Jew first and then of the Greek.

for He who had been at work in Peter for his apostleship to the Jews had been at work in me too for the apostleship to the heathen --

for He who had been at work in Peter for his apostleship to the Jews had been at work in me too for the apostleship to the heathen --

There is no room for Jew or Greek, no room for slave or freeman, no room for male or female, for you are all one through union with Christ Jesus.

by His death in His human body, so as to present you consecrated, faultless, and blameless in His presence,

I am now glad to be suffering for you, and in my own person I am filling in what is lacking in Christ's sufferings for His body, that is, the church.

In everything you yourself continue to set them a worthy example of doing good; be sincere and serious in your teaching,

Now he went to Derbe and Lystra too. At Lystra there was a disciple named Timothy, whose mother was a Christian Jewess, but his father was a Greek.

Paul wanted this man to join him in his journey; so on account of the Jews in that district he took him and had him circumcised, for everybody knew that his father was a Greek.

Then they all seized Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and kept beating him right in front of the court; but Gallio paid no attention to it.

To Greeks and to all the other nations, to cultured and to uncultured people alike, I owe a duty.

They will fall by the edge of the sword and will be carried off as captives among all the nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled under the feet of the heathen, until the times of the heathen come to full measure.

At Iconium too they went to the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks came to believe.

So some of them were convinced, and they joined Paul and Silas; also quite a number of devout Greeks and not a few women of the first rank.

For I am not ashamed of the good news, for it is God's power for the salvation of everyone who trusts, of the Jew first and then of the Greek.

to every human soul who practices doing evil, the Jew first and then the Greek. But glory, honor, and peace will come to everyone who practices doing good, the Jew first and then the Greek;

What special privilege, then, has a Jew? Or, what benefit does circumcision confer? They are great from every point of view. In the first place, the Jews are entrusted with the utterances of God.

But there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is over them all, because He is infinitely kind to all who call upon Him.

I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall in utter ruin, did they? Of course not! On the contrary, because of their stumbling, salvation has come to heathen peoples, to make the Israelites jealous. But if their stumbling has resulted in the enrichment of the world, and their overthrow becomes the enrichment of heathen peoples, how much richer the result will be when the full quota of Jews comes in! read more. Yes, I now am speaking to you who are a part of the heathen peoples. As I am an apostle to the heathen peoples, I am making the most of my ministry to them, to see if I can make my fellow-countrymen jealous, and so save some of them. For if the rejection of them has resulted in the reconciling of the world, what will the result be of the final reception of them but life from the dead? If the first handful of dough is consecrated, so is the whole mass; if the tree's root is consecrated, so are the branches. If some of the branches have been broken off, and yet you, although you were wild olive suckers, have been grafted in among the native branches, and been made to share the rich sap of the native olive's root, you must not be boasting against the natural branches. And if you do, just consider, you do not support the root, but the root supports you. Then you will say, "Branches have been broken off for us to be grafted in." Very well, but it was for lack of faith that they were broken off, and it is through your faith that you now stand where you are. Stop your haughty thinking, rather continue to be reverent, for if God did not spare the natural branches, certainly He will not spare you. So take a look at the goodness and the severity of God; severity to those who have fallen, but goodness to you, on condition that you continue to live by His goodness; otherwise, you too will be pruned away. And they too, if they do not continue to live by their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is amply able to graft them in. For if you were cut off from an olive wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted on to a fine olive stock, how much easier will it be for the natural branches to be grafted on to their own olive stock? For to keep you from being self-conceited, brothers, I do not want to have a misunderstanding of this uncovered secret, that only temporary insensibility has come upon Israel until the full quota of the heathen peoples comes in, and so in that way all Israel will be saved, just as the Scripture says: "From Zion the Deliverer will come; He will remove ungodliness from Jacob; And this my covenant I make with them, when I shall take away their sins." As measured by the good news the Jews are God's enemies for your sakes, but as measured by God's choice they are His beloved because of their forefathers, for the gracious gifts and call of God are never taken back. For just as you once disobeyed God, but now have had mercy shown you because of their disobedience, so they too are now disobedient because of the mercy shown you, that they too may now have mercy shown them. For God has locked up all mankind in the prison of disobedience so as to have mercy on them all. How fathomless the depths of God's resources, wisdom, and knowledge! How unsearchable His decisions, and how mysterious His methods! For who has ever understood the thoughts of the Lord, or has ever been His adviser? Or who has ever advanced God anything to have Him pay him back?

but leave off the court outside the temple; do not measure it, because it has been given over to the heathen, and for forty-two months they will trample the city underfoot. And I will permit my two witnesses, clothed in sackcloth, to prophesy for one thousand, two hundred and sixty days." read more. They are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. If anyone wants to injure them, fire comes out of their mouths and consumes their enemies; if anyone wants to injure them, he must himself be killed in that way. They have the power to shut up the sky, so that no rain will fall upon the earth as long as they prophesy, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth with any plague as often as they please. Then, when they have finished testifying, the wild beast that is coming up out of the abyss will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, and their lifeless bodies will lie on the streets of the great city that is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord also was crucified. For three days and a half men of all peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will look upon their lifeless bodies, and will not let them be buried. The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and celebrate with feasts and the sending of gifts to one another, because these two prophets had tormented the inhabitants of the earth. After three days and a half the breath of life from God came into them again, and they stood on their feet, and consternation seized those who saw them. And they heard a loud voice from heaven say to them, "Come up here." And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies looked on as spectators. At that very hour there was a great earthquake, and one-tenth of the city went down. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were stricken with awe, and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe is past. See! The third woe is soon to come. Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and loud voices were heard in heaven, saying, "The sovereignty of the world has come into the possession of our Lord and His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever."

for he loves our nation, and he is the man who built us our synagogue."

The Jews then said to one another, "Where is He about to go that we shall not find Him? He is not going to our people scattered among the Greeks, and going to teach the Greeks, is He?

If we let Him go on this way, everybody will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and blot out both our city and nation."

Now the apostles and the brothers all over Judea heard that the heathen too had accepted God's message.

When they heard this, they had no answer to make, but gave God the glory, saying, "So God has given even the heathen the repentance that leads to life."

"So you must understand that this message of God's salvation has been sent to the heathen; and they will listen to it!"

to every human soul who practices doing evil, the Jew first and then the Greek. But glory, honor, and peace will come to everyone who practices doing good, the Jew first and then the Greek;

What is our conclusion then? Is it that we Jews are better than they? Not at all! For we have already charged that Jews and Greeks alike are all under the sway of sin,

There is no room for Jew or Greek, no room for slave or freeman, no room for male or female, for you are all one through union with Christ Jesus.

For He Himself is our peace, He is the one who has made us both into one body and has broken down the barrier that kept us apart;