I produced the former account, O Theophilus, about all {that} Jesus began to do and to teach,

And [while he] was with [them], he commanded them, "Do not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for what was promised by the Father, which you heard about from me.

For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit {not many days from now}."

But you will receive power [when] the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest part of the earth."

And [after he] had said these [things], [while] they were watching, he was taken up, and a cloud received him from their sight.

And as they were staring into the sky [while] he was departing, behold, two men in white clothing stood by them

who also said, "Men {of Galilee}, why do you stand there looking into the sky? This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven like this will come back in the same way you saw him departing into heaven!"

All these were busily engaged with one mind in prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus and with his brothers.

(Now this man acquired a field for the wages of [his] wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines spilled out.

And it became known to all who live in Jerusalem, so that that field was called in their own language "Akeldama," that is, "Field of Blood.")

Therefore it is necessary for [one] of the men who have accompanied us during all the time [in] which the Lord Jesus went in and went out among us,

And they prayed [and] said, "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show clearly which one of these two you have chosen

And when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in the same [place].

And suddenly a sound like a violent rushing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit gave them [ability] to speak out.

And they were astounded and astonished, saying, "Behold, are not all these who are speaking Galileans?

And all were amazed and greatly perplexed, saying {to one another}, "{What can this mean?}"

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them, "Judean men, and all those who live [in] Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and pay attention to my words!

'And it will be in the last days,' God says, 'I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.

And even on my male slaves and on my female slaves I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.

And I will cause wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and vapor of smoke.

The sun will be changed to darkness and the moon to blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.

And it will be [that] everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.'

For David says with reference to him, 'I saw the Lord before me {continually}, for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken.

For this [reason] my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced greatly, furthermore also my flesh will live in hope,

because you will not abandon my soul in Hades, nor will you permit your Holy One to experience decay.

You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with gladness with your presence.'

This Jesus God raised up, of which we all are witnesses.

Therefore let all the house of Israel know beyond a doubt, that God has made him both Lord and Christ--this Jesus whom you crucified!"

And Peter [said] to them, "Repent and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all those [who are] far away, as many as the Lord our God calls to himself."

And all who believed were in the same [place], and had everything in common.

And they began selling [their] possessions and property, and distributing these [things] to all, to the degree that anyone had need.

praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding every day to the total [of] those who were being saved.

And all the people saw him walking and praising God,

And [while] he was holding fast to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the portico called Solomon's, utterly astonished.

And on the basis of faith in his name, his name has made this man strong, whom you see and know, and the faith [that is] through him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.

But [the things] which God foretold through the mouth of all the prophets, [that] his Christ would suffer, he has fulfilled in this way.

whom heaven must receive until the times of the restoration of all [things], about which God spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from earliest times.

Moses said, 'The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You will listen to him in everything that he says to you.

And it will be [that] every soul who does not listen to that prophet will be destroyed utterly from the people.'

And indeed, all the prophets from Samuel and all those who followed [him] have spoken [about] and proclaimed these days.

You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God ordained with your fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your offspring all the nations of the earth will be blessed.'

And [while] they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees approached them,

and Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all those who were from the high priest's family.

let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead--by him this man stands before you healthy!

saying, "What should we do with these men? For that a remarkable sign has taken place through them [is] evident to all those who live [in] Jerusalem, and we are not able to deny [it]!

But in order that it may not spread much [further] among the people, let us warn them to speak no more in this name {to anyone at all}."

And they called them [back] [and] commanded [them] not to speak or to teach at all in the name of Jesus.

So [after] threatening [them] further, they released them, finding no way to punish them on account of the people, because they were all praising God for what had happened.

And [when they] were released, they went to their own [people] and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.

And [when they] heard [it], they lifted [their] voices with one mind to God and said, "Master, you [are] the one who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all the things in them,

to do all that your hand and plan had predestined to take place.

And now, Lord, concern yourself with their threats and grant your slaves to speak your message with all boldness,

And [when] they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.

Now the group of those who believed were one heart and soul, and no one said anything of what belonged to him was his own, but all [things] were theirs in common.

And with great power the apostles were giving testimony [to] the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on them all.

For there was not even anyone needy among them, because all those who were owners of plots of land or houses were selling [them] [and] bringing the proceeds of the things that were sold

And [when] Ananias heard these words, he fell down [and] died. And great fear came on all those who heard about [it].

So Peter [said] to her, "How [is it] that it was agreed by you [two] to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who buried your husband [are] at the door, and they will carry you out!"

And great fear came on the whole church and on all who heard about these [things].

Now many signs and wonders were being performed among the people through the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico.

And the people of the towns around Jerusalem also came together, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, who were all being healed.

Now the high priest rose up and all those [who were] with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), [and] they were filled with jealousy.

"Go and stand in the temple [courts] [and] proclaim to the people all the words of this life."

And [when they] heard [this], they entered at daybreak into the temple [courts] and began teaching. Now [when] the high priest and those with him arrived, they summoned the Sanhedrin--even the whole council of elders of the sons of Israel--and sent to the prison to have them brought.

saying, "We found the prison locked with all security and the guards standing at the doors, but [when we] opened [them], we found no one inside!"

But a certain man stood up in the Sanhedrin, a Pharisee {named} Gamaliel, a teacher of the law respected by all the people, [and] gave orders to put the men outside for a short time.

For before these days, Theudas rose up saying he was somebody. A number of men, about four hundred, joined {him}. {He} was executed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing.

After this man, Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and {caused people to follow him in revolt}. And that one perished, and all who followed him were scattered.

And now I tell you, keep away from these men, and leave them alone, because if this plan or this matter is from people, it will be overthrown.

But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them, lest you even be found fighting against God." So they were persuaded by him.

So, brothers, select from among you seven men {of good reputation}, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we will put in charge of this need.

But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word."

And the statement pleased the whole group, and they chose Stephen (a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit), and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus (a convert from Antioch),

For we have heard him saying that this Nazarene Jesus will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses handed down to us."

And [as they] looked intently at him, all those who were sitting in the Sanhedrin saw his face [was] like the face of an angel.

So he said, "Men--brothers and fathers--listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham [while he] was in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran,

and said to him, 'Go out from your land and from your relatives and come to the land that I will show you.'

But God spoke like this: 'His descendants will be foreigners in a foreign land, and they will enslave them and mistreat [them] four hundred years,

and the nation {that} they will serve as slaves, I will judge,' God said, 'and after these [things] they will come out and will worship me in this place.'

and rescued him from all his afflictions and granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And he appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his household.

And a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan and great affliction, and our fathers could not find food.

So Joseph sent [and] summoned his father Jacob and all [his] relatives, seventy-five persons in [all].

And Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was powerful in his words and deeds.

And on the following day, he made an appearance to them [while they] were fighting and was attempting to reconcile them in peace, saying, 'Men [and] brothers, why are you doing wrong to one another?'

{I have certainly seen} the mistreatment of my people [who are] in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.'

"This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, 'God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.'

saying to Aaron, 'Make us gods who will go on before us! For this Moses, who led us out from the land of Egypt--we do not know what has happened to him!'

And you took along the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of the god Rephan, the images that you made, to worship them, and I will deport you beyond Babylon!'

'Heaven [is] my throne and earth [is] the footstool for my feet. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what [is the] place of my rest?

Did not my hand make all these [things]?'

And Saul was agreeing with his murder. Now there happened on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

They were all paying attention to {him}, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is the power of God that is called 'Great.'"

But Simon answered [and] said, "You pray to the Lord for me so that nothing of what you have said will come upon me."

And he got up [and] went, and behold, [there was] a man, an Ethiopian eunuch (a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasury) who had come to worship in Jerusalem

And he said, "So how could I, unless someone will guide me?" And he invited Philip to come up [and] sit with him.

But Philip found himself at Azotus, and [as he] passed through, he proclaimed the good news [to] all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

But get up and enter into the city, and it will be told to you {what you must do}."

and here he has authority from the chief priests to tie up all who call upon your name!"