But he told them, "It is not for you to know the course and periods of time that the Father has fixed by his own authority.

who said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up to heaven? This Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven will come back, just as you have seen him depart to heaven."

and they prayed, "O Lord, who readest the hearts of all, do thou single out from these two men him whom thou hast chosen

Thou hast made known to me the paths of life, thou wilt fill me with delight in thy presence.

Uplifted then by God's right hand, and receiving from the Father the long-promised holy Spirit, he has poured on us what you now see and hear.)

So let all the house of Israel understand beyond a doubt that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this very Jesus whom you have crucified."

The God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers has glorified Jesus his servant, whom you delivered up and repudiated before Pilate. Pilate had decided to release him,

(He it is who has given strength to this man whom you see and know, by faith in His name; it is the faith He inspires which has made the man thus hale and whole before you all.)

He is the stone despised by you builders, which has become head of the corner.

"What are we to do with these men?" they said. "It is plain to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem that a miracle has admittedly been worked by them. That we cannot deny.

"Ananias," said Peter, "why has Satan filled your heart and made you cheat the holy Spirit by appropriating some of the money paid for the land?

To these facts we bear witness, with the holy Spirit which God has given to those who obey him."

But,' said God, 'I will pass sentence on the nation that has made them slaves, and then they will get away to worship me in this Place.'

They told Aaron, 'Make gods that will march in front of us! As for this Moses who led us out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him!'

and he has seen a man called Ananias enter and lay his hands upon him to bring back his sight."

"But, Lord," Ananias answered, "many people have told me about all the mischief this man has done to thy saints at Jerusalem!

And in this city too he has authority from the high priests to put anyone in chains who invokes thy Name!"

I will show him all he has to suffer for the sake of my Name."

A second time the voice came back to him, "What God has cleansed, you must not regard as common."

To them Peter said, "You know yourselves it is illegal for a Jew to join or accost anyone belonging to another nation; but God has shown me that I must not call any man common or unclean,

saying, 'Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, your alms are remembered by God.

So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Well now, here we are all present before God to listen to what the Lord has commanded you to say."

Then Peter opened his lips and said, "I see quite plainly that God has no favourites,

when he enjoined us to preach to the People, testifying that this was he whom God has appointed to be judge of the living and of the dead.

I said, 'No, no, my Lord; nothing common or unclean has ever passed my lips.'

But a voice answered me for the second time out of heaven, 'What God has cleansed, you must not regard as common.'

Well then, if God has given them exactly the same gift as he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I ??how could I try to thwart God?"

On hearing this they desisted and glorified God, saying, "So God has actually allowed the Gentiles to repent and live!"

Then Peter came to his senses and said, "Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were anticipating."

Brothers, sons of Abraham's race and all among you who reverence God, the message of this salvation has been sent to us.

has been fulfilled by God for us their children, when he raised Jesus. As it is written in the second psalm, thou art my son, to-day have I become thy father.

And as a proof that he has raised him from the dead, never to return to decay, he has said this: I will give you the holiness of David that fails not.

Symeon has explained how it was God's original concern to secure a People from among the Gentiles to bear his Name.

for Moses has had his preachers from the earliest ages in every town, where he is read aloud in the synagogues every sabbath."

abstain from food that has been offered to idols, from tasting blood, from the flesh of animals that have been strangled, and from sexual vice. Keep clear of all this and you will prosper. Goodbye."

Jason has welcomed them! They all violate the decrees of Caesar by declaring someone else called Jesus is king."

All nations he has created from a common origin, to dwell all over the earth, fixing their allotted periods and the boundaries of their abodes,

inasmuch as he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world justly by a man whom he has destined for this. And he has given proof of this to all by raising him from the dead."

You also see and hear that not only at Ephesus but almost all over Asia this fellow Paul has drawn off a considerable number of people by his persuasions. He declares that hand-made gods are not gods at all.

Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock of which the holy Spirit has appointed you guardians; shepherd the church of the Lord which he has purchased with his own blood.

As for Gentile believers, we have issued our decision that they must avoid food that has been offered to idols, the taste of blood, flesh of animals that have been strangled, and sexual vice."

shouting, "To the rescue, men of Israel! Here is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against the People and the Law and this Place! And he has actually brought Greeks inside the temple and defiled this holy Place!"

Then the commander came up and seized him; he ordered him to be bound with a couple of chains, and asked "Who is he?" and "What has he done?"

Then he said, 'The God of our fathers has appointed you to know his will, to see the Just One, and to hear him speak with his own lips.

Thus a loud clamour broke out. Some of the scribes who belonged to the Pharisaic party got up and contended, "We find nothing wrong about this man. What if some spirit or angel has spoken to him?"

Paul summoned one of the officers and said, "Take this young man to the commander, for he has some news to give him."

So the officer took him to the commander, saying, "The prisoner Paul has summoned me to ask if I would bring this young man to you, as he has something to tell you."

So Paul was summoned, and then Tertullus proceeded to accuse him. "Your excellency," he said to Felix, "as it is owing to you that we enjoy unbroken peace, and as it is owing to your wise care that the state of this nation has been improved in every way and everywhere,

Festus replied that Paul would be kept in custody at Caesarea, but that he himself meant to leave for Caesarea before long ??5 "when," he added, "your competent authorities can come down with me and charge the man with whatever crime he has committed."

Why, the king is well aware of this! To the king I can speak without the slightest hesitation. I do not believe any of it has escaped his notice, for this was not done in a corner.

They retired to discuss the affair, and agreed that "this man has done nothing to deserve death or imprisonment."

saying, 'Have no fear, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And God has granted you the lives of all your fellow-voyagers.'

When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to each other, "This man must be a murderer! He has escaped the sea, but Justice will not let him live."

They replied, "We have had no letters about you from Judaea, and no brother has come here with any bad report or story about you.

Be sure of this, then, that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen to it."