While they were looking intently into the sky as He was going, two men in white clothing suddenly stood beside them,

who said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This [same] Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will return in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

(Now Judas Iscariot acquired a piece of land [indirectly] with the [money paid him as a] reward for his treachery, and falling headlong, his body burst open in the middle and all his intestines poured out.

So of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus spent with us,

beginning with the baptism by John [at the outset of Jesus’ ministry] until the day when He was taken up from us—one of these men must become a witness with us [to testify] of His resurrection.”

And they put forward two men, Joseph, the one called Barsabbas (who was surnamed Justus), and Matthias.

Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout and God-fearing men from every nation under heaven.

And they were beside themselves with amazement and were greatly perplexed, saying one to another, “What could this mean?”

These people are not drunk, as you assume, since it is [only] the third hour of the day (9:00 a.m.);

‘And it shall be in the last days,’ says God,
‘That I will pour out My Spirit upon all mankind;
And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
And your young men shall see [divinely prompted] visions,
And your old men shall dream [divinely prompted] dreams;

‘The sun shall be turned into darkness
And the moon into blood,
Before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.

“Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man accredited and pointed out and attested to you by God with [the power to perform] miracles and wonders and signs which God worked through Him in your [very] midst, just as you yourselves know—

this Man, when handed over [to the Roman authorities] according to the predetermined decision and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross and put to death by the hands of lawless and godless men.

and a man who had been unable to walk from birth was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at that gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, so that he could beg alms from those entering the temple.

And the man began to pay attention to them, eagerly expecting to receive something from them.

But Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have; but what I do have I give to you: In the name (authority, power) of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—[begin now to] walk and go on walking!”

Then he seized the man’s right hand with a firm grip and raised him up. And at once his feet and ankles became strong and steady,

and they recognized him as the very man who usually sat begging for coins at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with wonder and amazement and were mystified at what had happened to him.

And Peter, seeing this, said to the people, “You men of Israel, why are you amazed at this? Why are you staring at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?

And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health and complete wholeness in your presence.

whom heaven must keep until the time for the [complete] restoration of all things about which God promised through the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.

When they had put the men in front of them, they repeatedly asked, “By what sort of power, or in what name [that is, by what kind of authority], did you do this [healing]?”

if we are being put on trial today [to interrogate us] for a good deed done to [benefit] a disabled man, as to how this man has been restored to health,

let it be known and clearly understood by all of you, and by all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you [demanded be] crucified [by the Romans and], whom God raised from the dead—in this name [that is, by the authority and power of Jesus] this man stands here before you in good health.

And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among people by which we must be saved [for God has provided the world no alternative for salvation].”

Now when the men of the Sanhedrin (Jewish High Court) saw the confidence and boldness of Peter and John, and grasped the fact that they were uneducated and untrained [ordinary] men, they were astounded, and began to recognize that they had been with Jesus.

And seeing the man who had been healed standing there with them, they had nothing to say in reply.

saying, “What are we to do with these men? For the fact that an extraordinary miracle has taken place through them is public knowledge and clearly evident to all the residents of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

for the man to whom this sign (attesting miracle) of healing had happened was more than forty years old.

sold a field belonging to him and brought the money and set it at the apostles’ feet.

Now a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property,

As long as it remained [unsold], did it not remain your own [to do with as you pleased]? And after it was sold, was the money not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this act [of hypocrisy and deceit] in your heart? You have not [simply] lied to people, but to God.”

And the young men [in the congregation] got up and wrapped up the body, and carried it out and buried it.

And at once she fell down at his feet and died; and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

More and more believers in the Lord, crowds of men and women, were constantly being added to their number,

But someone came and told them, “The men whom you put in prison are standing [right here] in the temple [area], teaching the people!”

saying, “We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you intend to bring this Man’s blood on us [by accusing us as His murderers].”

Then Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men [we have no other choice].

Then he said to the Council, “Men of Israel, be careful in regard to what you propose to do to these men.

For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody [of importance], and a group of about four hundred men allied themselves with him. But he was killed, and all who followed him were scattered and came to nothing.

So in the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or action is of men [merely human in origin], it will fail and be destroyed;

Therefore, brothers, choose from among you seven men with good reputations [men of godly character and moral integrity], full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.

The suggestion pleased the whole congregation; and they selected Stephen, a man full of faith [in Christ Jesus], and [filled with and led by] the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas (Nikolaos), a proselyte (Gentile convert) from Antioch.

Then [to attack him another way] they secretly instructed men to say, “We have heard this man [Stephen] speak blasphemous (slanderous, sacrilegious, abusive) words against Moses and against God.”

They presented false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking against this holy place and the Law [of Moses];

and [from Egypt] their bodies were taken back to Shechem and placed in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

And when he saw one [of them] being treated unfairly, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking and killing the Egyptian.

Then on the next day he suddenly appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and he tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you wrong one another?’

But the man who was injuring his neighbor pushed Moses away, saying, ‘Who appointed you ruler and judge over us?

and he said, “Look! I see the heavens opened up [in welcome] and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

Then they drove him out of the city and began stoning him; and the witnesses placed their outer robes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

Some devout men buried Stephen, and mourned greatly over him [expressing a personal sense of loss].

But Saul began ravaging the church [and assaulting believers]; entering house after house and dragging off men and women, putting them in prison.

Now there was a man named Simon, who previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great.

They all paid [a great deal of] attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is what is called the Great Power of God!”

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

Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money,

But Peter said to him, “May your money be destroyed along with you, because you thought you could buy the [free] gift of God with money!

Philip ran up and heard the man reading the prophet Isaiah, and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

and he asked for letters [of authority] from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any men or women there belonging to the Way [believers, followers of Jesus the Messiah], men and women alike, he could arrest them and bring them bound [with chains] to Jerusalem.

The men who were traveling with him [were terrified and] stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.

And the Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul; for he is praying [there],

and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come in and place his hands on him, so that he may regain his sight.”

But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many people about this man, especially how much suffering and evil he has brought on Your saints (God’s people) at Jerusalem;

But the Lord said to him, “Go, for this man is a [deliberately] chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;

All those who heard him continued to be amazed and said, “Is this not the man who in Jerusalem attacked those who called on this name [of Jesus], and had come here [to Damascus] for the express purpose of bringing them bound [with chains] before the chief priests?”

There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years and was paralyzed.

Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Come to us without delay.”

Now at Caesarea [Maritima] there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Regiment,

a devout man and one who, along with all his household, feared God. He made many charitable donations to the Jewish people, and prayed to God always.

Now send men to Joppa and have them call for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter [and invite him here];

Now Peter was still perplexed and completely at a loss as to what his vision could mean when the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions to Simon’s house, arrived at the gate.

While Peter was thoughtfully considering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Now listen, three men are looking for you.

Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. For what reason have you come?”

But Peter raised him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am only a man.”

Cornelius said, “Four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during the ninth hour (3:00-4:00 p.m.); and a man [dressed] in bright, dazzling clothing suddenly stood before me,

saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and [even] ate with them!”

And right then the three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea arrived at the house where we were staying.

The Spirit told me to go with them without the slightest hesitation. So these six brothers also went with me and we went to the man’s house.

And Cornelius told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, saying, ‘Send word to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here;

But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks as well, proclaiming [to them] the good news about the Lord Jesus.

For Barnabas was a good man [privately and publicly—his godly character benefited both himself and others] and he was full of the Holy Spirit and full of faith [in Jesus the Messiah, through whom believers have everlasting life]. And a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

The assembled people kept shouting, “It is the voice of a god and not of a man!”

who was [closely associated] with the proconsul [of the province], Sergius Paulus, an intelligent and sensible man. He called for Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God [concerning eternal salvation through faith in Christ].

But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is how his name is translated) opposed them, trying to turn the proconsul away from accepting the faith.

So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand, he said,

“Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen!

Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.

And when He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king: of him He testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart [conforming to My will and purposes], who will do all My will.’

From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel a Savior, [in the person of] Jesus, according to His promise.

So let it be clearly known by you, brothers, that through Him forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you;

But the Jews incited the devout, prominent women and the leading men of the city, and instigated persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them forcibly out of their district.

Now at Lystra a man sat who was unable to use his feet, for he was crippled from birth and had never walked.

“Men, why are you doing these things? We too are only men of the same nature as you, bringing the good news to you, so that you turn from these useless and meaningless things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything that is in them.

Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised in accordance with the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
And all the Gentiles upon whom My name has been invoked,’

Then the apostles and the elders, together with the whole church, decided to select some of their men to go to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas—Judas, who was called Barsabbas, and Silas [also called Silvanus, both], leading men among the brothers.

it has been decided by us, having met together, to select men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Then a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man from [the Roman province of] Macedonia was standing and pleading with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!”

She followed after Paul and us and kept screaming and shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God! They are proclaiming to you the way of salvation!”