So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”

They were amazed and astonished, saying, “Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans?

But others were mocking and saying, “They are full of sweet wine.”

For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day;

This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.

For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk?

but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.

It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’

if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well,

Then Peter said to her, “Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well.”

But someone came and reported to them, “The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!”

And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

The high priest said, “Are these things so?”

Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. From there, after his father died, God had him move to this country in which you are now living.

On the following day he appeared to them as they were fighting together, and he tried to reconcile them in peace, saying, ‘Men, you are brethren, why do you injure one another?’

But the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.

“You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did.

For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.”

Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”

And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,

While Peter was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you.

Peter went down to the men and said, “Behold, I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for which you have come?”

So I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here present before God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”

We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross.

They said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. They kept saying, “It is his angel.”

and said, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?

For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him.

and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people.

that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘You are My Son; today i have begotten You.’

Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.

and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you, and preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.

Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”

So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
And all the Gentiles who are called by My name,’

Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles,

and they sent this letter by them, “The apostles and the brethren who are elders, to the brethren in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia who are from the Gentiles, greetings.

After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.”

Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.”

and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews,

and are proclaiming customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being Romans.”

But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!”

But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us in public without trial, men who are Romans, and have thrown us into prison; and now are they sending us away secretly? No indeed! But let them come themselves and bring us out.”

And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming?

For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean.”

So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects.

for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’

but if there are questions about words and names and your own law, look after it yourselves; I am unwilling to be a judge of these matters.”

And the evil spirit answered and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?”

You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that gods made with hands are no gods at all.

So, since these are undeniable facts, you ought to keep calm and to do nothing rash.

For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess.

So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against any man, the courts are in session and proconsuls are available; let them bring charges against one another.

For indeed we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today’s events, since there is no real cause for it, and in this connection we will be unable to account for this disorderly gathering.”

And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

And when they heard it they began glorifying God; and they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law;

and they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs.

Therefore do this that we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow;

Then you are not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out into the wilderness?”

“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated under Gamaliel, strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as you all are today.

and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’

And I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’

When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and told him, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.”

The commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.”

Now therefore, you and the Council notify the commander to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case by a more thorough investigation; and we for our part are ready to slay him before he comes near the place.”

So do not listen to them, for more than forty of them are lying in wait for him who have bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they slay him; and now they are ready and waiting for the promise from you.”

After Paul had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying to the governor,“Since we have through you attained much peace, and since by your providence reforms are being carried out for this nation,

But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me on these charges?”

Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and proceeded to make his defense:

especially because you are an expert in all customs and questions among the Jews; therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.

since they have known about me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I lived as a Pharisee according to the strictest sect of our religion.

And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.

While Paul was saying this in his defense, Festus *said in a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind! Your great learning is driving you mad.”

saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.’

But we desire to hear from you what your views are; for concerning this sect, it is known to us that it is spoken against everywhere.”