He answered, "How in the world could I, unless someone teaches me?" And he begged him to get up and sit with him.

And the passage of Scripture which he was reading, was this; As a sheep is led to slaughter, and as a lamb before one that shears him is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.

Justice was denied Him in His humiliation, who can tell of His times? For His life is removed from the earth."

Then Philip opened his mouth, and starting from this passage, he told him the good news about Jesus.

Philip said unto him, "If thou believe with all thine heart, thou mayest." He answered, and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God."

So he ordered the chariot to stop, and Philip and the official both went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.

When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away; the official saw him no more, for he went on home rejoicing;

But Saul still breathing out threatnings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, came to the high priest, and desired of him letters to the synagogues at Damascus,

and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, that if he found any men or women belonging to The Way he might bring them in chains to Jerusalem.

As he traveled on he finally approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.

He dropped to the ground; then he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"

and he said, who art thou, Lord? and the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: [it is hard for thee to kick against the goad. Then trembling with the fright Saul said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? and the Lord said to him,]

And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go 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.

Then Saul got up off the ground, but he could not see anything, although his eyes were wide open. So they took him by the hand and led him into Damascus,

Now there was in Damascus a disciple named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias!" And he answered, "Yes, Lord, I am here."

And the Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called 'The Straight Street,' and ask at the house of Judas for one named Saul, from Tarsus, for he is now praying there.

He has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, to restore his sight."

But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name to the heathen and their kings, and to the descendants of Israel.

For I am going to show him how great are the sufferings he must endure for my name's sake."

And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.

And, straightway, there fell from him - from his eyes, - as it were scales; he recovered sight also, and, arising, was immersed:

And all who heard him were astounded and said, "Is not this the man who harassed those who called upon this name in Jerusalem, and has come here expressly for the purpose of putting them in chains and taking them back to the high priests?"

After several days had gone by, the Jews laid a plot to murder him,

but their plot was found out by Saul. Day and night they kept guarding the city gates, to murder him,

but his disciples took him one night and let him down through the city wall, by lowering him in a hamper-basket.

Now when Saul arrived at Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples there, but they were all afraid of him, because they did not believe that he was really a disciple.

Barnabas, however, took him up and presented him to the apostles, and he told them how on the road he had seen the Lord, and how the Lord had spoken to him, and how courageously he had spoken in the name of Jesus at Damascus.

and he continued to speak courageously in the name of the Lord, and to speak and debate with the Greek-speaking Jews. But they kept trying to murder him.

So when the brothers found this out, they took him down to Caesarea, and from there sent him back to Tarsus.

So Peter said to him, "Aeneas, Jesus Christ now cures you! Get up and make your bed!" And at once he got up.

Then all the people who lived at Lydda and Sharon saw him, and so they turned to the Lord.

As Joppa was near Lydda, the disciples heard that Peter was there, and sent two men to him, begging him to come to them without delay.

So Peter at once got up and went with them. When he reached there, they took him to the room upstairs, and all the widows took their stand around him, crying and showing him the shirts and coats that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.

But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up.

Then, giving her his hand, he raised her to her feet and, calling to him God's people and the widows, he gave her back to them alive.

This became known all over Joppa, and many came to believe in the Lord [that is, to adhere to and trust in and rely on Jesus as Christ and Savior].

And it came to pass for him to remain considerable days at Joppa with a certain Simon, a tanner.

New a certain man in Caesarea, Cornelius by name, a centurion of a band, called the Italian band??2 devout, and fearing God with all his house, giving many alms to the people, and praying to God continually??3 saw in a vision manifestly, about the ninth hour of the day, an angel of God coming in to him, and saying to him, "Cornelius!"

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.

One afternoon about three o'clock he had a vision and clearly saw an angel of God come to him and say, "Cornelius!"

He stared at him and in terror asked, "What is it, sir?" The angel answered him, "Your prayers and your deeds of charity have gone up and been remembered before God.

The angel answered him, "Your prayers and your gifts to the poor have arisen as a reminder to God. Send men now to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter.

After the angel who had spoken to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his household servants, and a religious soldier who was one of his devoted attendants,

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

and he became very hungry, and wished to eat; and they making ready, there fell upon him a trance,

And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:

A voice came to him, "Get up, Peter, kill something and eat it."

A second time the voice came to him, "The things that God has cleansed you must not call unclean."

While Peter was meditating on the vision, the Spirit said to him, "There are two men looking for you.

Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius; and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause wherefore ye are come?

And they said unto him, "Cornelius the captain, a just man and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the people of the Jews, was warned by a holy angel, to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee."

Then called he them in, and lodged them. And on the morrow Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him.

The next day he started off with them, and some of the brothers in Joppa went along with him. The day after that they reached Caesarea. Cornelius was waiting for him, as he had invited in his kinsmen and close friends.

When Peter went into the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet and did homage to him.

But Peter lifted him to his feet, saying, "Get up, I too am just a man myself."

As he continued to talk with him he went into the house and found a great crowd had gathered,

and he said to him, "You know that it is against the law for a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit one, but God has taught me not to call any man vulgar or ceremonially unclean;

but in every nation the man who reveres God and practices doing right is acceptable to Him.

you know how it spread over the whole of Judaea, starting from Galilee after the baptism preached by John ??38 how God consecrated Jesus of Nazaret with the holy Spirit and power, and how he went about doing good and curing all who were harassed by the devil; for God was with him.

how God consecrated Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and then He went about doing good and curing all who were overpowered by the devil, because God was with Him.

We are witnesses of everything that He did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. Yet they murdered Him by hanging Him upon a tree.

But God raised Him to life on the third day, and permitted Him to be dearly seen,

not by all the people but by witnesses whom God had beforehand appointed, namely, by us who ate and drank with Him after His resurrection from the dead.

To this very One all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in Him is to receive the forgiveness of sins through His name."

Peter was yet speaking, when the holy spirit descended on all that heard him.

So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they begged him to stay on there a few days.

So when Peter returned to Jerusalem, the champions of circumcision began to bring charges against him

and ask'd him, why did you go to eat with the uncircumcised?

Then he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say to him, 'Send to Joppa and invite Simon, who is called Peter, to come over;

And the hand (the power and presence) of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord [for salvation, accepting and drawing near to Jesus as Messiah and Savior].

Then Barnabas departed to Tarsus, to seek Saul: and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch.

and after he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. Now for a whole year their meeting with the church lasted, and they taught large numbers of people. It was at Antioch too that the disciples first came to be known as "Christians."

And seeing that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to apprehend Peter also,??nd it was during the days of unleavened bread,??4 and having seized he put him in prison, committing him to four companies of four soldiers each to guard him, wishing after the passover to bring him before the people.

He had him seized and put into prison, and turned him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, planning after the Passover to bring him out again to the people.

So Peter was being kept in prison, but earnest prayer to God for him was persistently made by the church.

Now just as Herod was going to bring him out, that is, the very night before, Peter was fastened with two chains and was sleeping between two soldiers, and the guards were at the door guarding the prison.

And suddenly an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in his cell, and by striking Peter on the side the angel woke him, and said, "Get up quickly!" At once the chains fell off his hands.

Then the angel said to him, "Tighten your belt and put on your shoes? He did so. Then the angel said to him, "Put on your coat and follow me!"

So he kept following him out, but he was not conscious that what was being done by the angel was real; he thought he was dreaming it.

They passed the first guard, then the second, and at last came to the iron gate which led into the city. The gate of itself opened to them, and they passed out and proceeded one block when all at once the angel left him.

But Peter, meanwhile, kept on knocking. So they opened the door, and when they saw him, they were astounded.

With his hand he motioned to them to be quiet, and then he told them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. He added, "Tell all these things to James and the brothers." Then he left them and went somewhere else.

Herod had search made for him, and when he could not find him, he examined the guards and ordered them to be put to death. Then he left Judea for Caesarea, and stayed there.

Now Herod cherished a bitter grudge against the people of Tyre and Sidon. So in a united body they came to meet him, and after winning the favor of Blastus, the king's chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended for its food supply upon the king's country.

And upon a day appointed, Herod arrayed him in royal apparel, and set him in his seat, and made an oration unto them.

But the angel of the Lord at once struck him down, because he did not give the glory to God; he was eaten by worms, and so died.

And having passed through the island to Paphos, they found a certain magician, a false prophet, a Jew, the name to him Barjesus:

who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of understanding. The same called unto him Barnabas and Saul, and sought to hear the word of God.

Then Saul, who was also called Paul, because he was full of the Holy Spirit, looked him straight in the eye

and fixing his eyes upon him, said, O full of all guile and all mischief, thou son of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?

Right now the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be so blind that you cannot see the sun for a time." And suddenly a dark mist fell upon him, and he kept groping about begging people to lead him by the hand.

The proconsul believed [the message of salvation] when he saw what had happened, being astonished at the teaching concerning the Lord.

Now Paul and those that were with him loosing from Paphos, came to Perga in Pamphylia: but John departed from them and returned to Jerusalem.

Then He deposed him and raised up for them David to be king, to whom He bore this testimony, 'I have found in David, the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will do all that my will requires.'

For the people of Jerusalem and their leaders, because they were ignorant of Him, by condemning Him have actually fulfilled the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath,

and although they could not find Him guilty of a capital offense, they begged Pilate to have Him put to death.

When they had carried out everything that had been written in the Scriptures about Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb.

But God raised Him from the dead,

and for many days He appeared to those who had come up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, and they are now witnesses for Him to the people.