After He had suffered, He also presented Himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by His own authority.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

While He was going, they were gazing into heaven, and suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them.

“Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled that the Holy Spirit through the mouth of David spoke in advance about Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.

They were all astounded and perplexed, saying to one another, “What could this be?”

But Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them: “Men of Judah and all you residents of Jerusalem, let me explain this to you and pay attention to my words.

And it will be in the last days, says God,
that I will pour out My Spirit on all humanity;
then your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
and your old men will dream dreams.

The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the great and remarkable Day of the Lord comes.

Then everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.

“Men of Israel, listen to these words: This Jesus the Nazarene was a man pointed out to you by God with miracles, wonders, and signs that God did among you through Him, just as you yourselves know.

God raised Him up, ending the pains of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it.

For David says of Him:

I saw the Lord ever before me;
because He is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.

“Repent,” Peter said to them, “and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

And with many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, “Be saved from this corrupt generation!”

Then, taking him by the right hand he raised him up, and at once his feet and ankles became strong.

When Peter saw this, he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this? Or why do you stare at us, as though we had made him walk by our own power or godliness?

By faith in His name, His name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. So the faith that comes through Him has given him this perfect health in front of all of you.

Therefore repent and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped out, that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,

Heaven must welcome Him until the times of the restoration of all things, which God spoke about by the mouth of His holy prophets from the beginning.

And everyone who will not listen to that Prophet will be completely cut off from the people.

You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors, saying to Abraham, And all the families of the earth will be blessed through your offspring.

God raised up His Servant and sent Him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your evil ways.”

After they had Peter and John stand before them, they asked the question: “By what power or in what name have you done this?”

If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a disabled man—by what means he was healed—

let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead—by Him this man is standing here before you healthy.

This Jesus is

the stone rejected by you builders,
which has become the cornerstone.

There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people, and we must be saved by it.”

You said through the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of our father David Your servant:

Why did the Gentiles rage
and the peoples plot futile things?

while You stretch out Your hand for healing, signs, and wonders to be performed through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”

Joseph, a Levite and a Cypriot by birth, the one the apostles called Barnabas, which is translated Son of Encouragement,

Many signs and wonders were being done among the people through the hands of the apostles. By common consent they would all meet in Solomon’s Colonnade.

As a result, they would carry the sick out into the streets and lay them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on some of them.

In addition, a large group came together from the towns surrounding Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had murdered by hanging Him on a tree.

A Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was respected by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered the men to be taken outside for a little while.

He said to them, “Men of Israel, be careful about what you’re going to do to these men.

Not long ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a group of about 400 men rallied to him. He was killed, and all his partisans were dispersed and came to nothing.

And now, I tell you, stay away from these men and leave them alone. For if this plan or this work is of men, it will be overthrown;

but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even be found fighting against God.” So they were persuaded by him.

Then they went out from the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to be dishonored on behalf of the Name.

In those days, as the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint by the Hellenistic Jews against the Hebraic Jews that their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution.

Then the Twelve summoned the whole company of the disciples and said, “It would not be right for us to give up preaching about God to handle financial matters.

But they were unable to stand up against his wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking.

God spoke in this way:

His descendants would be strangers
in a foreign country,
and they would enslave
and oppress them 400 years.

He dealt deceitfully with our race and oppressed our ancestors by making them leave their infants outside, so they wouldn’t survive.

When he saw one of them being mistreated, he came to his rescue and avenged the oppressed man by striking down the Egyptian.

“This Moses, whom they rejected when they said, Who appointed you a ruler and a judge?—this one God sent as a ruler and a redeemer by means of the angel who appeared to him in the bush.

But Stephen, filled by the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven. He saw God’s glory, with Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he said,

A man named Simon had previously practiced sorcery in that city and astounded the Samaritan people, while claiming to be somebody great.

But Peter told him, “May your silver be destroyed with you, because you thought the gift of God could be obtained with money!

Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.

For I see you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”

“But get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

Then Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing. So they took him by the hand and led him into Damascus.

So Ananias left and entered the house. Then he placed his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road you were traveling, has sent me so that you can regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

But Saul grew more capable and kept confounding the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that this One is the Messiah.

but his disciples took him by night and lowered him in a large basket through an opening in the wall.

He is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.”

He saw heaven opened and an object that resembled a large sheet coming down, being lowered by its four corners to the earth.

While Peter was deeply perplexed about what the vision he had seen might mean, the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions to Simon’s house, stood at the gate.

They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who has a good reputation with the whole Jewish nation, was divinely directed by a holy angel to call you to his house and to hear a message from you.”

Therefore send someone to Joppa and invite Simon here, who is also named Peter. He is lodging in Simon the tanner’s house by the sea.’

Therefore I immediately sent for you, and you did the right thing in coming. So we are all present before God, to hear everything you have been commanded by the Lord.”

We ourselves are witnesses of everything He did in both the Judean country and in Jerusalem, yet they killed Him by hanging Him on a tree.

God raised up this man on the third day and permitted Him to be seen,

not by all the people, but by us, witnesses appointed beforehand by God, who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead.

He commanded us to preach to the people and to solemnly testify that He is the One appointed by God to be the Judge of the living and the dead.

And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay for a few days.

“I was in the town of Joppa praying, and I saw, in a visionary state, an object that resembled a large sheet coming down, being lowered by its four corners from heaven, and it came to me.

He will speak a message to you that you and all your household will be saved by.’

Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’

Then one of them, named Agabus, stood up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a severe famine throughout the Roman world. This took place during the time of Claudius.

They did this, sending it to the elders by means of Barnabas and Saul.

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

After they passed the first and second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened to them by itself. They went outside and passed one street, and immediately the angel left him.

Motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he explained to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. “Report these things to James and the brothers,” he said. Then he departed and went to a different place.

Being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they came down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.

Now, look! The Lord’s hand is against you. You are going to be blind, and will not see the sun for a time.” Suddenly a mist and darkness fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

For the residents of Jerusalem and their rulers, since they did not recognize Him or the voices of the prophets that are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled their words by condemning Him.

God has fulfilled this for us, their children, by raising up Jesus, as it is written in the second Psalm:

You are My Son;
today I have become Your Father.

Therefore, let it be known to you, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you,

and everyone who believes in Him is justified from everything that you could not be justified from through the law of Moses.

As they were leaving, the people begged that these matters be presented to them the following Sabbath.

But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to oppose what Paul was saying by insulting him.

Then Paul and Barnabas boldly said: “It was necessary that God’s message be spoken to you first. But since you reject it and consider yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles!

So they stayed there for some time and spoke boldly in reliance on the Lord, who testified to the message of His grace by granting that signs and wonders be performed through them.

When an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to assault and stone them,

and heard Paul speaking. After observing him closely and seeing that he had faith to be healed,

strengthening the disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faith and by telling them, “It is necessary to pass through many troubles on our way into the kingdom of God.”

Some men came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers: “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom prescribed by Moses, you cannot be saved!”

When they had been sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, explaining in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and they created great joy among all the brothers.

When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, the apostles, and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them.

After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them: “Brothers, you are aware that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the gospel message and believe.

And God, who knows the heart, testified to them by giving the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us.

He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.

Now then, why are you testing God by putting a yoke on the disciples’ necks that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear?

so the rest of humanity
may seek the Lord—
even all the Gentiles
who are called by My name,
declares the Lord who does these things,

but instead we should write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from eating anything that has been strangled, and from blood.