Now when they met, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time you are going to restore the Realm to Israel?"

All were amazed and astonished. "Are these not all Galileans," they said, "who are speaking?

Some others sneered, "They are brim-full of new wine!"

these men are not drunk, as you imagine. Why, it is only nine in the morning!

When they heard this, it went straight to their hearts; they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what are we to do?"

For the promise is meant for you and for your children and for all who are far off, for anyone whom the Lord our God may call to himself."

But when Peter saw this, he said to the people, "Men of Israel, why are you surprised at this? Why do you stare at us, as if we had made him walk by any power or piety of ours?

Now you are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers when he said to Abraham, all families on earth shall be blessed in your offspring.

if we are being cross-examined to-day upon a benefit rendered to a cripple, upon how this man got better,

"What are we to do with these men?" they said. "It is plain to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem that a miracle has admittedly been worked by them. That we cannot deny.

However, to keep things from going any further with the people, we had better threaten them that they are not to tell anyone in future about this Name."

Peter said to her, "How could you arrange to put the Lord's Spirit to the proof? Listen, there are the footsteps of the men who have buried your husband! They are at the door, and they will carry you out as well."

However, someone came and reported to them, "Here are the very men you put in prison, standing in the temple and teaching the people!"

Brothers, look out seven of your own number, men of good reputation who are full of the Spirit and of wisdom. We will appoint them to this duty,

Next day he came upon two of them fighting and tried to pacify them. "You are brothers!" he said, "why injure one another?"

But the Lord said to him, 'Take the sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is sacred ground.

Stiff-necked, uncircumcised in heart and ear, you are always resisting the holy Spirit! As with your fathers, so with you!

For I see you are a bitter poison and a pack of evil."

When Philip ran up, he heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. "Do you really understand what you are reading?"

"Who are you?" he asked. "I am Jesus," he said, "and you persecute me.

So the Spirit said to Peter, who was pondering over the vision, "There are three men looking for you!

Then Peter went down to the men, saying, "I am the man you are looking for. What is your reason for coming?"

saying, 'Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, your alms are remembered by God.

So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Well now, here we are all present before God to listen to what the Lord has commanded you to say."

he will tell you how you and all your household are to be saved.'

"You are mad," they said. But she insisted it was true. "It is his angel," they said.

The inhabitants of Jerusalem and their rulers, by condemning him in their ignorance, fulfilled the words of the prophets which are read every sabbath;

For many days he was seen by those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem; they are now his witnesses to the People.

For these are the Lord's orders to us: I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the end of the earth."

shouting, "Men, what is this you are doing? We are but human, with natures like your own! The gospel we are preaching to you is to turn from such futile ways to the living God who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all that in them is.

and a keen controversy sprang up; but Peter rose and said to them, "Brothers, you are well aware that from the earliest days God chose that of you all I should be the one by whom the Gentiles were to hear the word of the gospel and believe it.

Well now, why are you trying to impose a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we ourselves could bear?

No, it is by the grace of the Lord Jesus that we believe and are saved, in the same way as they are."

that the rest of men may seek for the Lord, even all the Gentiles who are called by my name, saith the Lord,

Hence, in my opinion, we ought not to put fresh difficulties in the way of those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles,

Some days later, Paul said to Barnabas, "Come and let us go back to visit the brothers in every town where we have proclaimed the word of the Lord. Let us see how they are doing."

When she was baptized, along with her household, she begged us, saying, "If you are convinced I am a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house." She compelled us to come.

She followed Paul and the rest of us, shrieking, "These men are servants of the Most High God, they proclaim to you the way of salvation!"

Bringing them before the praetors they declared, "These fellows are Jews who are making an agitation in our town;

they are proclaiming customs which as Romans we are not allowed to accept or observe!"

but Paul shouted aloud, "Do not harm yourself, we are all here!"

But Paul replied, "They flogged us in public and without a trial, flogged Roman citizens! They put us in prison, and now they are going to get rid of us secretly! No indeed! Let them come here themselves and take us out!"

So Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I observe at every turn that you are a most religious people.

The God who made the world and all things in it, he, as Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in shrines that are made by human hands;

Such ages of ignorance God overlooked, but he now charges men that they are all everywhere to repent,

But as these are merely questions of words and persons and your own Law, you can attend to them for yourselves. I decline to adjudicate upon matters like that."

But the evil spirit retorted, "Jesus I know and Paul I know, but you ??who are you?"

You also see and hear that not only at Ephesus but almost all over Asia this fellow Paul has drawn off a considerable number of people by his persuasions. He declares that hand-made gods are not gods at all.

Instead of that, you have brought these men here who are guilty neither of sacrilege nor of blasphemy against our goddess.

If Demetrius and his fellow tradesmen have a grievance against anybody, let both parties state their charges; assizes are held and there are always the proconsuls.

Only, I know this, that in town after town the holy Spirit testifies to me that bonds and troubles are awaiting me.

They glorified God when they heard it. Then they said to him, "Brother, you see how many thousands of believers there are among the Jews, all of them ardent upholders of the Law.

associate yourself with them, purify yourself with them, pay their expenses so that they may be free to have their heads shaved, and then everybody will understand there is nothing in these stories about you, but that, on the contrary, you are guided by obedience to the Law.

"Then you are not the Egyptian who in days gone by raised the four thousand assassins and led them out into the desert?"

"I am a Jew, born at Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel in all the strictness of our ancestral Law, ardent for God as you all are to-day.

'Who are you?' I asked. He said to me, 'I am Jesus the Nazarene, and you are persecuting me.'

I said, 'What am I to do?' And the Lord said to me, 'Get up and make your way into Damascus; there?you shall be told about all you are destined to do.'

For you are to be a witness for him before all men, a witness of what you have seen and heard.

They had strapped him up, when Paul said to the officer who was standing by, "Are you allowed to scourge a Roman citizen ??and to scourge him without a trial?"

When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and said to him, "What are you going to do? This man is a Roman citizen."

So the commander went to him and said, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" "Yes," he said.

Now do not let them persuade you. More than forty of them are lying in ambush for him, and they have taken a solemn oath neither to eat nor to drink till they have murdered him. They are all ready at this moment, awaiting your consent."

for you are well acquainted with all Jewish customs and questions. Pray listen to me then with patience.

'Who are you?' I asked. And the Lord said, 'I am Jesus, and you are persecuting me.

that their eyes may be opened and that they may turn from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God, to get remission of their sins and an inheritance among those who are consecrated by faith in me.'

When he brought this forward in his defence, Festus called out, "Paul, you are quite mad! Your great learning is driving you insane."

However, we are to be stranded on an island."

Take some food then, I beg of you; it will keep you alive. You are going to be saved! Not a hair of your heads will perish."

We think it only right to let you tell your own story; but as regards this sect, we are well aware that there are objections to it on all hands."

For the heart at this people is obtuse, their ears are heavy at hearing, their eyes they have closed, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they understand with their heart and turn again, and I cure them.