And once, when he had gathered them together, he charged them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the fulfillment of the Father's promise-- "that promise," he said, "of which you have heard me speak;

But you shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit shall have descended upon you, and shall be witnesses for me not only in Jerusalem, but throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Then the Apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called Olivet, which is about three quarters of a mile from the city.

When they reached Jerusalem, they went to the upstairs room, where they were staying. There were there Peter, John, James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.

This became known to every one living in Jerusalem, so that the field came to be called, in their language, 'Akeldama,' which means the 'Field of Blood.')

Now there were then staying in Jerusalem religious Jews from every country in the world;

Then Peter, surrounded by the eleven other Apostles, stood up, and, raising his voice, addressed the crowd. "Men of Judea," he began, "and all you who are staying in Jerusalem, let me tell you what this means. Mark well my words.

The next day, a meeting of the leading men, the Councillors, and the Teachers of the Law was held in Jerusalem.

"What are we to do to these men?" they asked one another. "That a remarkable sign has been given through them is obvious to every one living in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

Besides this, the inhabitants of the towns round Jerusalem flocked into the city, bringing with them their sick and those who were troubled by foul spirits; and they were cured every one.

"We gave you strict orders," he said, "not to teach in this Name. Yet you have actually flooded Jerusalem with your teaching, and you want to make us responsible for the death of this man."

So God's Message spread, and the number of the disciples continued to increase rapidly in Jerusalem, and a large body of the priests accepted the Faith.

Saul approved of his being put to death. On that very day a great persecution broke out against the Church which was in Jerusalem; and its members, with the exception of the Apostles, were all scattered over the districts of Judea and Samaria.

When the Apostles at Jerusalem heard that the Samaritans had welcomed God's Message, they sent Peter and John to them;

Peter and John, having borne their testimony and delivered the Lord's Message, returned to Jerusalem, telling the Good News, as they went, in many Samaritan villages.

Meanwhile an angel of the Lord had said to Philip: "Set out on a journey southwards, along the road that runs down from Jerusalem to Gaza." (It is now deserted).

So Philip set out on a journey; and on his way he came upon an official of high rank, in the service of Candace, Queen of the Abyssinians. He was her treasurer, and had been to Jerusalem to worship,

And asked him to give him letters to the Jewish congregations at Damascus, authorizing him, if he found there any supporters of the Cause, whether men or women, to have them put in chains and brought to Jerusalem.

"Lord," exclaimed Ananias, "I have heard from many people about this man--how much harm he has done at Jerusalem to your People there.

All who heard him were amazed. "Is not this," they asked, "the man who worked havoc in Jerusalem among those that invoke this Name, and who had also come here for the express purpose of having such persons put in chains and taken before the Chief Priests?"

On his arrival in Jerusalem, Saul attempted to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, as they did not believe that he was really a disciple.

After that, Saul remained in Jerusalem, in close intercourse with the Apostles; and he spoke fearlessly in the Name of the Lord,

We are ourselves, too, witnesses to all that he did in Judea and in Jerusalem; yet they put him to death by hanging him on a cross!

But, when Peter went up to Jerusalem, those who were converts from Judaism began to attack him,

The news about them reached the ears of the Church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.

During this time, some Prophets came to Antioch from Jerusalem.

When Barnabas and Saul had carried out their mission, they returned to Jerusalem, and took with them John, who was also known as Mark.

After this, Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and went to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them and returned to Jerusalem.

The people of Jerusalem and their leading men, failing to recognize Jesus, and not understanding the utterances of the Prophets that are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him.

And he appeared for many days to those who had gone up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, and who are now witnesses for him to the people.

This gave rise to a serious dispute, and much discussion, between Paul and Barnabas and these men, and it was therefore settled that Paul and Barnabas and others of their number should go up to Jerusalem, to consult the Apostles and Officers of the Church about the matter under discussion.

On their arrival at Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the Church, as well as by the Apostles and the Officers, and gave an account of all that God had helped them to do.

As they traveled from town to town, they gave the Brethren the decisions which had been reached by the Apostles and Officers of the Church at Jerusalem, for them to observe.

On reaching Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and exchanged greetings with the Church, and then went down to Antioch.

Sometime after these events Paul resolved to go through Macedonia and Greece, and then make his way to Jerusalem. "And after I have been there," he said, "I must visit Rome also."

For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so as to avoid spending much time in Roman Asia. He was making haste to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the Festival at the close of the Harvest.

And now, under spiritual constraint, I am here on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there,

There we found the disciples and stayed a week with them. Speaking under the influence of the Spirit, they warned Paul not to set foot in Jerusalem.

He came to see us, and, taking Paul's girdle, and binding his own feet and hands with it, said: "This is what the Holy Spirit says--'The man to whom this girdle belongs will be bound like this at Jerusalem by the Jews, and they will give him up to the Gentiles'."

When we heard that, we and the people of the place began to entreat Paul not to go up to Jerusalem.

It was then that Paul made the reply: "Why are you weeping and breaking my heart like this? For my part, I am ready not only to be bound, but even to suffer death at Jerusalem for the Name of the Lord Jesus."

At the end of our visit, we made our preparations, and started on our way up to Jerusalem.

On our arrival at Jerusalem, the Brethren there gave us a hearty welcome;

They were bent upon killing him, when it was reported to the Officer commanding the garrison, that all Jerusalem was in commotion.

And to that the High Priest himself and all the Council can testify. For I had letters of introduction from them to our fellow Jews at Damascus, and I was on my way to that place, to bring those whom I might find there prisoners to Jerusalem for punishment.

After my return to Jerusalem, while I was praying one day in the Temple, I fell into a trance,

And saw Jesus saying to me 'Make haste and leave Jerusalem at once, because they will not accept your testimony about me.'

That night the Lord came and stood by Paul, and said: "Courage! You have borne witness for me in Jerusalem and you must bear witness in Rome also."

For you can easily ascertain that it is not more than twelve days ago that I went up to worship at Jerusalem,

Three days after Festus had entered upon his province, he left Caesarea and went up to Jerusalem.

And asked a favor of him, to Paul's injury--to have Paul brought to Jerusalem. All the while they were plotting to make away with him on the road.

On Paul's appearance, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem surrounded him, and made many serious charges, which they failed to establish.

But, as Festus wished to gain popularity with the Jews, he interrupted Paul with the question: "Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and be tried on these charges before me there?"

About whom, when I came to Jerusalem, the Jewish Chief Priest and the Councillors laid an information, demanding judgment against him.

And, as I was at a loss how to enquire into questions of this kind, I asked Paul if he were willing to go up to Jerusalem, and there be put upon his trial.

Then Festus said: "King Agrippa, and all here present, you see before you the man about whom the whole Jewish people have applied to me, both at Jerusalem and here, loudly asserting that he ought not to be allowed to live.

My life, then, from youth upwards, was passed, from the very first, among my own nation, and in Jerusalem, and is within the knowledge of all Jews;

And I actually did so at Jerusalem. Acting on the authority of the Chief Priests, I myself threw many of the People of Christ into prison, and, when it was proposed to put them to death, I gave my vote for it.

On the contrary, first to those at Damascus and Jerusalem, and then through the whole of Judea, and to the Gentiles as well, I began to preach repentance and conversion to God, and a life befitting that repentance.

Three days after our arrival, Paul invited the leading Jews to meet him; and, when they came, he spoke to them as follows: "Brothers, although I had done nothing hostile to the interests of our nation or to our ancestral customs, yet I was sent from Jerusalem as a prisoner, and handed over to the Romans.