So those who were present asked him, "Master, is this the time when you are going to re-establish the kingdom for Israel?"

He said to them, "It is not for you to know times and dates which the Father has fixed by his own authority,

As he said this, he was caught up before their eyes and a cloud took him up from their sight.

Then they went back to Jerusalem from the hill called the Olive-orchard, which is near Jerusalem, half a mile away.

"Brothers, the prediction of the Scriptures had to come true that the holy Spirit uttered by the lips of David, about Judas, who acted as guide for the men that arrested Jesus??17 for he was one of our number and a share in this ministry of ours fell to his lot."

"For in the Book of Psalms it is written, 'Let his estate be desolate, with no one to live on it,' and 'Let someone else take his position.'

"So one of the men who has been associated with us all the time that the Lord Jesus moved about among us,

from his baptism by John to the time when he was caught up from us, must join us as a witness to his resurrection."

Then they proposed two men, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was known as Justus, and Matthias.

And they prayed, saying, "Lord, you who know all hearts, show us which one of these two you have chosen

to take this place of service as an apostle which Judas left to go where he belonged."

Then how is it that each of us hears his own native tongue?

Parthians, Medes, Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, of Judea and Cappadocia, of Pontus, and Asia,

These men are not drunk as you suppose, for it is only nine in the morning.

But this is what was predicted by the prophet Joel,

"Men of Israel, listen to what I say. Jesus of Nazareth, as you know, was a man whom God commended to you by the wonders, portents, and signs that God did right among you through him.

For David says of him, 'I constantly regarded the Lord before me, For he is at my right hand, so that I may not be displaced.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my tongue rejoices, And my body will still live in hope.

"Brothers, one may say to you confidently of the patriarch David that he died and was buried, and his grave is here among us to this very day.

But as he was a prophet, and knew that God had promised him with an oath that he would put one of his descendants upon his throne,

He is Jesus, whom God raised from the dead, and to whose resurrection we are all witnesses.

So he has been exalted to God's right hand, and has received from his Father and poured over us the holy Spirit that had been promised, as you see and hear.

for the promise of it belongs to you and your children, as well as to all those far away whom the Lord our God calls to him."

when a man who had been lame from his birth was carried by. He used to be placed every day at what was known as the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, to beg from the people on their way into the Temple,

Peter fixed his eyes on him, as John did also, and said to him, "Look at us!"

and recognized him as the man who used to sit and beg at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, they were perfectly astonished and amazed at what had happened to him.

And as he still clung to Peter and John, all the people crowded about them in the utmost astonishment in what was known as Solomon's Colonnade.

When Peter saw this, he said to the people. "Men of Israel, why are you so surprised at this? Why do you stare so at us, as though it were some power or some piety of ours that had made him able to walk?

and killed the very source of life. But God raised him from the dead, as we can testify.

It is by his power and through faith in him that this man whom you see and recognize has been made strong again, and it is faith inspired by him that has given him the perfect health you all see.

Moses said, 'The Lord God will raise up a prophet for you from among your brothers, as he raised me up. You must listen to everything that he tells you.

As they were talking in this way to the people, the high priests, the commander of the Temple, and the Sadducees came up to them,

They arrested them, and as it was already evening, they shut them up until next morning.

if it is for a benefit conferred upon a helpless man, and as to how he was cured, that we are called to account here today,

you and the people of Israel must all know that it is through the power of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that he stands here before you well.

He is the stone that you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.

There is no salvation through anyone else, for there is no one else in the world who has been named to men as their only means of being saved."

They were amazed to see how outspoken Peter and John were, and to find that they were uneducated men with no advantages. They recognized them as companions of Jesus,

They said, "What are we to do with these men? For it is plain to everyone in Jerusalem that an extraordinary wonder has been done by them. We cannot deny that.

But to keep it from spreading farther among the people, let us warn them to say nothing to anyone else at all about this person."

But Peter and John answered them, "You must decide whether it is right in the sight of God to obey you instead of him,

But after further threats they let them go, as they could find no way to punish them, on account of the people, who were all giving honor to God for what had happened,

When they heard it, with one impulse they all raised their voices to God and said, "Master, it was you who made heaven, earth, and sea, and everything that is in them,

There was but one heart and soul in the multitude who had become believers, and not one of them claimed anything that belonged to him as his own, but they shared everything they had with one another.

As long as it was unsold was it not yours, and after it was sold was not the money under your control? How could you think of doing such a thing? You did not lie to men but to God!"

so that people would carry their sick out into the streets, and lay them down on beds and mats, to have at least Peter's shadow fall on some of them as he went by.

When the commander of the Temple and the high priests heard this report, they were very much at a loss as to what would come of it.

"We strictly forbade you," he said, "to teach on this authority, and here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and propose to hold us responsible for this man's death!"

God took him up to his right hand as our leader and savior, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this idea or movement is of human origin, it will come to naught,

but if it is from God, you will not be able to stop it. You may actually find yourselves fighting God!"

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

So the Twelve called in the whole body of disciples and said to them, "It is not desirable that we should give up preaching the word of God to keep accounts.

You, brothers, must pick out from your number seven men of good standing, who are wise and full of the Spirit, and we will put them in charge of this matter,

But members of the synagogue known as that of the Libyans, Cyreneans, and Alexandrians, and men from Cilicia and Asia undertook to debate with Stephen,

So they instigated people to say, "We have heard him use abusive language about Moses and about God."

Then they brought forward false witnesses, who said, "This man is constantly saying things against this holy place and against the Law,

for we have heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth will tear this place down and change the customs that have been handed down to us by Moses."

The high priest said, "Is this statement true?"

As the time drew near for the fulfilment of the promise God had made to Abraham, the people became more and more numerous in Egypt,

When he was abandoned, the daughter of Pharaoh adopted him and brought him up as her own son.

He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was using him as the means of delivering them, but they did not.

Do you mean to kill me as you did that Egyptian yesterday?'

Then the Lord said to him, 'Take off your shoes, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.

This was the Moses who said to the descendants of Israel, 'God will make a prophet rise from among your brothers to teach you, just as he made me rise.'

for they said to Aaron, 'Make us gods to march in front of us, for as for this Moses, who brought us out of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him!'

So God turned his back on them and left them to worship the starry host, just as the Book of the Prophets says, " 'Was it victims and sacrifices that you offered to me, O house of Israel, Those forty years in the desert?

In the desert our forefathers had the Tent of the Testimony built like the model Moses had seen, just as he who spoke to him told him to make it.

But the Most High does not live in buildings made by human hands. As the prophet says,

" 'The sky is my throne, And the earth a footstool for my feet. What house can you build for me? says the Lord, Or what place is there where I can rest?

You stubborn people, with heathen hearts and ears, you are always opposing the holy Spirit, just as your forefathers did!

As they stoned Stephen, he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!"

Everyone there, high and low, made much of him, and said, "He must be what is known as the Great Power of God!"

You have no share or part in this movement, for your heart is not honest in the sight of God.

But an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Get up and go south, by the road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza." (The town is now deserted.)

and was on his way home. He was sitting in his car, reading the prophet Isaiah.

Philip ran up and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and he said to him, "Do you understand what you are reading?"

This was the passage of Scripture that he was reading: "Like a sheep he was led away to be slaughtered, And just as a lamb is dumb before its shearer, He does not open his mouth.

His sentence ended in his humiliation. Who will tell the story of his posterity? For his life is perished from the earth."

"Tell me, of whom is the prophet speaking?" said the eunuch to Philip, "Of himself, or of someone else?"

As they went on along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, "Here is some water! What is there to prevent my being baptized?"

But on his journey, as he was approaching Damascus, a sudden light flashed around him from heaven,

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

He is here with authority to arrest everyone who calls upon your name."

The Lord said to him, "Go! This man is the means I have chosen for carrying my name among the heathen and their kings, and among the descendants of Israel.

Everyone was astonished, and said, "Is not he the man who made such havoc of the people in Jerusalem who call upon that name, and who came here especially for the purpose of arresting such persons and taking them before the high priests?"

As Peter was traveling about among them all, he happened to visit God's people at Lydda.

Among the disciples at Joppa there was a woman named Tabitha, which is in Greek Dorcas, that is, gazelle. She had devoted herself to doing good and to acts of charity.

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

There was at Caesarea a man named Cornelius, a captain in what was known as the Italian regiment.

He was a devout man, who feared God, as did all the members of his household. He was liberal in charities to the people, and always prayed to God.

He stared at him in terror, and said, "What is it, sir?" "Your prayers and charities," the angel answered, "have gone up and been remembered before God.

Now send men to Joppa, for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter.

He is being entertained at the house of a tanner named Simon, which is close to the sea."

As Peter was pondering over his vision, the Spirit said to him, "There are two men looking for you.

Then Peter went down to see the men, and said to them, "I am the man you are asking for. What is the reason for your coming?"

They answered, "Cornelius, who is a captain, and an upright and God-fearing man, and who has a good reputation with the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house, and to listen to what you have to say."

and he said to them, "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 anyone vulgar or unclean.

So send to Joppa and invite Simon who is called Peter to come here. He is staying at the house of a tanner named Simon, close to the sea.'

but welcomes the man of any nation who reveres him and does what is right.