after giving instructions through the Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen, he was taken up to heaven.

After his sufferings he had also shown himself alive to them in many convincing manifestations, revealing himself to them during forty days, and speaking of the kingdom of God.

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.

He answered. "It is not for you to know times and occasions which the Father has fixed in his own authority;

When he had said this, and while they were looking at him, he was lifted up, and a cloud received him up out of their sight.

While they were gazing into the sky as he was going up, suddenly there were two men in white garments standing by them,

It was during these days that Peter stood up among the brothers??he whole number of persons present was about one hundred and twenty??nd said:

"For he was numbered among us, and he did get his allotted share of this ministry.

"Now this man bought a plot of ground with the price of his treachery, and falling there headlong he burst asunder and all his bowels gushed out.

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."

Then they cast lots for them, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

"Then how is it that each one of us hears them speak his own mother tongue?

For David says of him. "I beheld the Lord always before my face; For he is at my right hand lest I be shaken.

"Men and brothers, I can speak plainly to you concerning the patriarch David, because he not only died and was buried, but his tomb is among us even to this very day.

"Because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath that of the fruit of his loins he would set one on his throne,

"he, foreseeing this, spoke of the resurrection of Christ that neither was he left in Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.

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.

For David did not ascend into heaven; but he himself said, "The Lord said to my Lord Sit thou on my right hand

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

When he saw Peter and John about to go into the Temple, he kept asking them for alms;

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

Then taking his right hand he lifted him up. Instantly his feet and ankle-bones were strengthened;

and leaping forth he stood on his feet, and began to walk, and went with them into the Temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.

While he was clinging to Peter and John, all the people crowded awe-struck around them, in what was known as Solomon's Portico.

When he saw this, Peter said to the people. "Men of Israel, why are you wondering at this? Why do you stare at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made this man to walk?

"The God of Abram, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his Servant Jesus, whom you betrayed and disowned before Pilate, when he had decided to let him go;

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

"and that he may send Jesus, your appointed Messiah,

"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 Annas, the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all the members of the high priests family were present.

"Rulers and elders of the people, if we are being examined today concerning a benefit conferred upon a cripple, as to how has this man been cured,

"For he is the Stone, cast aside by you builders, which has become the head stone of the corner.

As soon as the apostles were released, they went to their friends, and told what the high priests and elders had said.

sold a farm which he had, and brought the price, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

kept back some of the purchase price, with the connivance of his wife. He brought only a part and laid it at the apostles' feet.

"While it remained unsold, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was not the price at your own disposal? How could you conceive this act in your heart? You have not lied unto men, but unto God."

As Ananias heard these words he fell down and expired, and all who heard were awe-struck.

Yet the people continued to hold them in high honor, and more and more believers in the Lord were joining them, both men and women.

This aroused bitter indignation among the high priest and his followers who were of the sect of the Sadducees,

He said to them, "Go take your stand in the Temple, and continue to tell the people all the words of this Life."

When they heard this they went at early dawn to the Temple, and began to teach. Meantime when the high priest and his followers arrived, they summoned the Sanhedrin and all the Council of the Elders of the sons of Israel, and sent to the prison to fetch the apostles.

When the officer in charge of the Temple and the high priest heard these words, they were perplexed concerning them, wondering what would come of it.

So they brought them, and stood them before the Sanhedrin. Then the high priest questioned them.

He said: "Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men.

"Years ago Theudas arose, claiming to be somebody, and was joined by about four hundred men. He was killed, and all of his followers dispersed and annihilated.

"After him Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the enrollment, and drew away some of the people after him. He also perished, and all his followers were scattered.

but were unable to withstand the wisdom and spirit with which he used to speak.

And the high priest said, "Are these things so?"

Stephen answered. "Listen, brothers and fathers. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran,

"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.

"But he gave him no inheritance in it, no, not a single square yard of ground; yet he promised to bestow the land as a permanent possession on him and his posterity??e at that time being childless.

"Then he gave him a covenant of circumcision, and under this covenant he became the father of Isaac, whom he circumcised on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve Patriarchs.

"But God was with him, and delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him grace and wisdom, when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him Governor over Egypt, and over all the royal household.

"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.

"He dealt craftily with our race, and oppressed our forefathers, by making them expose their infants so that they should not live.

"When he was exposed, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and brought him up as her own son.

"And when he was forty years old it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel;

"and when he saw one of them wronged he wrought redress for the one overpowered, by striking down the Egyptian.

"(Now he supposed that his brothers would understand how God by his hand was bringing them deliverance; but they did not.)

"Next day he came upon two of them fighting, and tried to make peace between them. "'Sirs,' he said, 'you are brothers. Why are you wronging each other?'

"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.

"When Moses saw it he was astonished at the sight. But when he drew near to look, the voice of the Lord said,

"This was he who brought them out, after he had shown signs and wonders in the wilderness, for forty years.

"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.

"This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness along with the angel who spoke to him in Mt. Sinai, and with our ancestors to whom he gave living words to hand down to us.

No, it was the Tabernacle of Moloch and the star-symbol of the god Rempha that you lifted up??he images which you made in order to worship them; so I will carry you away beyond Babylon.

"In the wilderness our ancestors had the Tabernacle of Testimony built, as he appointed who told Moses to make it according to the pattern he had seen.

"Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made with hands; as said the prophet.

But he, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

"Look, I see heaven open," he said, "And the Son of man standing at the right hand of God."

So they stoned Stephen while he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."

Then he knelt down and cried aloud, "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge."

With these words he fell asleep. And Saul fully approved of his murder. On this very day there broke out a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostle were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.

But Saul was laying waste the church. He was wont to enter into every house, and to drag off men and women, and to commit them to prison.

The crowd with one accord were giving heed to what he said, when they heard and saw the signs that he did.

Now for some time a man named Simon had been practicing sorcery in that city, and had amazed the people of Samaria. He gave himself out to be some great person.

They were giving heed to him because, for a long time, he had amazed them with his sorceries.

And Simon himself also believed, and after his baptism he remained with Philip, and was full of amazement as he beheld the signs and striking miracles which were performed.

For he had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

But when Simon perceived that, by the laying on of the apostles' hands, the Spirit was given, he offered them money saying,

"Give me, too, this power, so that on whomever I lay my hands, he may receive the Holy Spirit."

So he arose and went. And behold an Ethiopian man, a eunuch, who was a high official (a chief treasurer) of Candace, the queen of Ethiopia, who had come to Jerusalem to worship

Was now on his way home, and was reading the Prophet Isaiah as he sat in his chariot.

The eunuch answered, "Why, how can I unless someone shall show me the way?" And he begged Philip to get up and sit with him.

Now the portion of Scripture which he was reading was as follows. He was led a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is dumb, So he opened not his mouth.

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

And he ordered the chariot to stop; and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.

Philip found himself at Ashdod. Then visiting town after town, he kept preaching the good news in all the cities until he reached Caesarea.

Meanwhile Saul, still breathing out threats of murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest

and begged of him letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any that were of the Way, either men or women, he could bind them and bring them to Jerusalem.

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

He fell to the ground, and heard a voice which said to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"

And he said, "Who are you Lord?"

"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he said: "Stand up and go into the city, and there you shall be told what you must do."

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.

And he remained there three days, seeing nothing, and without eating or drinking.

Now there was in Damascus a disciple named Ananias, and the Lord spoke to him in a vision, saying, "Ananias!" And he answered, "Lo, I am here, Lord."

He is now praying, and has seen a man named Ananias enter and lay his hands on him to restore his sight."

"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."