To these he also presented himself alive after his suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.

Cretans and Arabswe hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God."

'And in the last days it shall be, God says, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;

"Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know

this man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put him to death.

But God raised him up, having loosed the agony of death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power.

And so, because he was a prophet, and knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne,

This Jesus God raised up again, and of that we are all witnesses.

Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which you see and hear.

Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."

Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?"

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

praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful to beg alms of those who entered the temple.

With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

And all the people saw him walking and praising God,

and they recognized him as the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him.

but killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.

But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled.

whom heaven must receive until the time for establishing all that God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from long ago.

Moses said, 'The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren; you shall listen to everything he tells you.

You 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.'

For you first, God raised up his servant and sent him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways."

if we are being examined today for a good deed done to a cripple, as to how this man has been healed,

be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man stands before you healed.

But Peter and John answered them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge;

And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people; for all the people were praising God for what had happened.

And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God together and said, "Sovereign Lord, it is you who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them,

And when they had prayed, the place where they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.

While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? How is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God."

But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men.

The God of our fathers raised Jesuswhom you had killed by hanging him on a tree.

God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior, to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."

but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God."

So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, "It is not right for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables.

Therefore, brethren, pick out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this duty.

The word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.

Then they secretly induced men to say, "We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God."

And he said: "Hear me, brethren and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,

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.

But God spoke to this effect, that his descendants would be aliens in a foreign land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years.

'But I will judge the nation which they serve,' said God, 'and after that they will come out and worship me in this place.'

"And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt. But God was with him,

"But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt

At this time Moses was born, and was beautiful before God. And he was brought up for three months in his father's house;

And he supposed that his brethren understood that God was granting them deliverance through him, but they did not understand.

'I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.' Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.

This Moses whom they rejected, saying, 'Who made you a ruler and a judge?' is the one God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush.

This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, 'God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren.'

But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: 'Did you offer to me slain beasts and sacrifices, forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

You took up the tent of Moloch, and the star of the god Rephan, the figures which you made to worship. And I will remove you beyond Babylon.'

And having received it in their turn, our fathers brought it in with Joshua when they took the land from the nations whom God drove out before our fathers. So it was until the time of David,

who found favor in God's sight, and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.

Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed their teeth at him.

But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God;

and he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."

and they all, from the least to the greatest, gave attention to him, saying, "This man is what is called the Great Power of God."

But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John,

But Peter said to him, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!

You have no part or share in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.

But an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." This is a desert road.

So he got up and went. And there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship,

Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this scripture he told him the good news of Jesus.

but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do."

Saul got up from the ground; and when his eyes were opened, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.

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

And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight. And he got up and was baptized,

And immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of God."

Peter said to him, "Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed." Immediately he got up.

Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha (which is translated Dorcas). She was full of good works and acts of charity.

a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and gave alms generously to the people and prayed to God continually.

About the ninth hour of the day he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, "Cornelius!"

And he stared at him in terror, and said, "What is it, Lord?" And he said to him, "Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God.

A voice came to him, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat!"

And the voice came to him again a second time, "What God has cleansed, you must not call common."

Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision which he had seen might mean, behold, the men that were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon's house, appeared at the gate.

But get up, go downstairs and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them myself."

They said, "Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house, and to hear what you have to say."

And he said to them, "You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; but God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.

and he said, 'Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God.

So I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here present in the sight of God, to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord."

And opening his mouth, Peter said: "I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality,

You know the word which he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all).

how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

but God raised him up on the third day and caused him to be seen,

not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

And he commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.

For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said,

Now the apostles and the brethren who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.

Then I heard a voice saying to me, 'Get up, Peter. Kill and eat!'

But the voice answered a second time from heaven, 'What God has cleansed you must not call common.'

So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could oppose God?"

When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, "So then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance unto life."

When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts;

for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

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

And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared, and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter's side and woke him up, saying, "Get up quickly." And the chains fell off his hands.