My first account, O Theophilus, dealt with all that Jesus began doing and teaching from the beginning down to the day when,

And once when he was eating with them he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father. "Of this," he said, "you have heard from me.

and they said: "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing into the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken up from you into the sky will come back in just the same way as you have seen him going into the sky."

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, about a Sabbath Day's journey distant.

from his baptism by John down to the day on which he was taken up from us, one should join us a witness to his resurrection."

"in this ministry of this apostles from which Judas went out to go to his own place."

there came suddenly from the sky a sound like the onrush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

Now there were, staying in Jerusalem. devout Jews from many and distant lands.

Since he is by the mighty hand of God exalted, and has received from his Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured forth this which you now see and hear.

With many other words he continued to bear testimony, and kept entreating them, saying, "Save yourselves from this perverse generation."

They would sell their lands and other property, and distribute the proceeds among all, just as any one from time had need.

when a man lame from his birth was carried along, who was wont to be laid each day near the gate of the Temple called the Beautiful Gate, to ask alms of those who were going into the Temple.

So he waited, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said:

"The Pioneer of Life you put to death. But God has raised him from the dead, and we are witnesses of that fact.

"Repent then! and reform, from the blotting out of your sins, so that there may come times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord;

"Moses, for example, said: "The Lord your God will raise up a Prophet for you from among your brothers, as he raised up me; you must listen to whatever he may tell you;

"and it shall be that every soul who will not listen to that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.

"Yes, and all the prophets from Samuel and his successors, all that have spoken, have also told of those days.

"It was for you first that God raised up his Servant, and sent him to bless you in turning every one of you away from your wicked ways."

incensed at their teaching the people, and proclaiming, in the case of Jesus, the resurrection from the dead.

"be it known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, in him does this man stand before you strong and well.

So they bade them withdraw from the Sanhedrin, while they conferred together.

but Gamaliel, a Pharisee, a teacher of the law, and held in honor by all the people, rose from his seat, and ordered the apostles to be put outside for a little while.

"And now, I say to you, hold aloof from these men. Let them alone; for if this scheme or work be of human origin it will come to nothing;

"but if it is from God, you cannot put it down; you may even find yourselves fighting against God."

but not for a single day did they desist from teaching and preaching in the Temple, and in private houses, the Gospel of Jesus, the Messiah.

"So, brothers, find from among your own number seven men of good reputation who are full of the Spirit and of wisdom, and we will appoint them over this business.

But certain men from the so-called "Synagogue of the Freedmen" and certain Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, Cilicians, and men from Roman Asia, started to dispute with Stephen,

"So he left Chaldea and settled in Haran, and from there, after his father's death, God moved him to this land which you inhabit.

"There he died, and our ancestors also, and they were carried across to Shechem, and laid in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

"Alarmed at this question, Moses fled from the land, and went to live in the land of Midian. There he became the father of two sons.

"It was this Moses who said to the Children of Israel, "God will raise up a Prophet for you from among your brothers, as he did me.

"So God turned from them, and gave them up to the worship of the heavenly host, as it is written in the book of the Prophets. "Did you offer unto me slain beasts as sacrifices during the forty years in the wilderness, O House of Israel?

Many from all classes would give heed to him, declaring, "This man is the Power of God, known as the Great Power."

And an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, "Arise and go on your way south, along the road that runs down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert way."

In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who will declare his posterity? For his life is cut off from the earth.

Then Philip opened his lips, and beginning from that same scripture, he preached the gospel of Jesus to him.

And as he journeyed, when he was approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed round him.

And Saul got up from the ground, but although his eyes were open, he continued to perceive nothing; so they took him by the hand and led him into Damascus.

"But, Lord," said Ananias, "I have heard from many about that man, and how much evil he did to the saints at Jerusalem!

"In this city, too, he has authority from the chief priests to arrest all those who call upon thy name."

Instantly something like scales fell from his eyes, and he received his sight. He arose and was baptized.

Now Peter, as he was going from town to town, came down also to the saints who lived in Lydda.

So he invited them in and gave them lodging. The next day he rose, and went off with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied them;

"not to all the people, but to witnesses??en previously chosen by God??hat is, to us, who ate and drank with him after he had risen from the dead;

"But for the second time a voice spoke from the sky, 'What God has cleansed, you must not call common.'

"And lo! at that very moment, three men who had been sent for me from Caesarea stood before the house in which I was.

At that time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.

suddenly an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the cell. Striking Peter on the side, he woke him saying, "Rise up quickly." At once the chains dropped from his hands.

Peter, coming to himself, said, "Now I know for a certainty that the Lord has sent his angel and released me from the hand of Herod, and from all that the Jewish people were anticipating."

Then Herod had search made for him, and could not find him. After sharply questioning the guards, he ordered them off to execution. He then went down from Judea to Caesarea, where he stayed for some time.

and after discharging their mission, Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, bringing with them John, surnamed Mark.

So they, sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia, and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.

But Elymas, "the sorcerer," for that is the translation of his name, opposed them, and tried to divert the proconsul from the faith.

From Paphos Paul and his party set sail for Perga in Pamphylia; but John Mark left them and went back to Jerusalem.

Then they themselves, passing through from Perga, came to Antioch in Pisidia. Here they went into the synagogue on the Sabbath Day and sat down.

"And when they had fulfilled everything which had been written concerning him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb.

"But God raised him from the dead.

"For many days he was seen by those that came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, and are now his witnesses to the people.

"And as to his having raised him from among the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he has said this, "I will give thee the holy and sure blessings of David.

"and that by him every one that believes is justified from all things from which you could never be justified by the law of Moses.

So Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly. "It was necessary," they said, "first to proclaim the word of God to you. But since you push it away from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.

Now at Lystra there used to sit a certain man, lame in his feet, a cripple from birth, who had never walked.

"Men, why are you doing all this? We also are men, with natures like your own! We are bringing you good tidings, that you are to turn from these empty things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and the sea and all that in them is.

and yet he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness."

Even with saying this they with difficulty restrained the crowds from sacrificing to them.

Thence they sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been commended to the grace of God, for the work which they had now completed.

But some men came down from Judea and attempted to teach the brethren, saying, "Unless you are circumcised according to Moses' custom, you cannot be saved."

and after there had been a long discussion, Peter rose and said: "Brothers, you know how a good while ago God made choice among you, that from my lips the Gentiles were to hear the message of the gospel and believe.

"Brothers, listen to me. Symeon has told how God first looked graciously upon the Gentiles, to take out from among them a people to be called by his name.

"Says the Lord, who has been making this known from the beginning of the world.

"My judgment therefore, is against troubling those who turn to God from among the Gentiles;

"but that we should write to them to abstain from the pollution of idols and from fornication, from meat killed by strangling, and from blood.

"For Moses from the earliest times has had his preachers in every town where he is read aloud, Sabbath after Sabbath, in the synagogues."

"as we have heard that some of your number who went out from us have troubled you with words and upset your souls, without having received any such instruction from us;

"that you abstain from food that has been sacrificed to idols, and from tasting blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication. Keep yourselves clear from these things and it will be well with you. Farewell."

So we set sail from Troas and ran a straight course to Samothrace. The next day we arrived in Neapolis,

The jailer, roused from sleep, and seeing the doors wide open, drew his sword and was about to kill himself, because he thought that the prisoners had escaped.

explaining and quoting passages to prove that the Messiah had to suffer and to rise again from the dead and that "This Jesus whom I am proclaiming unto you is the Messiah."

but when they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.

"so that they might seek God, if perhaps they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far from every on of us;

inasmuch as he has fixed a day in which he will judge the world justly, by the Man whom he has ordained, and he has given proof of all this by raising him from the dead."

So Paul withdrew from them.

Here he found a certain Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife, Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome.

And when Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was engrossed in his message, earnestly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah.

But as they opposed him and abused him, he shook out his garments in protest, and said: "Your blood be upon your own hands. I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles."

And Crispus, the warden of the synagogue, believed on the Lord, with all his household; and many of the Corinthians from time to time listened, believed, and were baptized.

And he drove them from the tribunal.

Then, setting sail from Ephesus, he landed at Caesarea; he went up to Jerusalem and saluted the church, and came down to Antioch.

for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public argument, proving to them from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah.

so much so, that handkerchiefs or aprons were carried away from his body to the sick; and their diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out.

"So there is danger not only that our trade come into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana will be brought into disrepute, and that she herself may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world now worships."

At length the recorder got them quiet. "Men of Ephesus," he said, "who here does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple-guardian of the great Diana and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?

but we ourselves set sail from Philippi, after the days of unleavened bread, and joined them five days later at Troas. There we remained for a week.

and a young man named Eutychus was sitting in a window, overborne by deep sleep, while Paul continued to preach at length. Overcome at last by sleep, he fell down from the third story, and was taken up dead.

We sailed from thence, and arrived next day off Chios; and the day after we touched at Samos; and the following day we came to Mitylene.

From Miletus he sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church to come to him;

and when they arrived, he said to them. "You yourselves know quite well, how I lived among you, from the first day that I set foot in Asia,

"You know that I never shrank from declaring to you anything that was profitable, nor from teaching you publicity and in your homes,

But I hold not my life of any account, as dear unto myself, if only I may run my race, and accomplish the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to attest the gospel of the grace of God.