So, when they came together, they began to ask him, "Master, are you at this time about to restore the kingdom of Israel?"

"yet you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you are to be my witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and to the very ends of the earth."

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,

On entering the city they went to the upper room where they were accustomed to meet. They were Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James, son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.

When the day of Pentecost was fully come, and they were all together in the same place,

there came suddenly from the sky a sound like the onrush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit was giving them utterance.

Now there were, staying in Jerusalem. devout Jews from many and distant lands.

The were beside themselves with wonder. "Are not these Galileans who are speaking?" they exclaimed.

we all hear these men telling in our own tongue what great things God has done."

All were astonished and bewildered and kept saying to one another, "What can this mean?"

But others were saying with jeer, "These men are full of sweet wine."

"These men are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only nine o'clock in the morning.

"In the last days, God says, it shall come to pass that I will pour out my Spirit upon all mankind; "Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams;

Into darkness shall the sun be turned, And into blood the moon, Ere the day of the Lord come, that great and terrible day.

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

When they heard these words they were stung to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles. "Men and brothers, what shall we do?"

"Repent," answered Peter, "and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

"For the promise belongs to you and to your children and to all who are afar off, whomever the Lord may call."

Then those who welcomed his message were baptized, and in that day about three thousand souls were added to them;

And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were wrought by the apostles.

And all the believers were together, and had all things in common.

praising God, and looked on with favor by all the people. Meanwhile the Lord kept adding to them daily those that were being saved.

One day Peter and John were going up together for the hour of prayer, at three in the afternoon,

when a man lame from his birth was carried along, who was wont to be laid each day near the gate of the Temple called the Beautiful Gate, to ask alms of those who were going into the Temple.

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

and recognized that this was the man who used to sit and beg at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, they were filled with awe and amazement at what had happened to him.

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;

"The Pioneer of Life you put to death. But God has raised him from the dead, and we are witnesses of that fact.

"And now, brothers, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers.

"Repent then! and reform, from the blotting out of your sins, so that there may come times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord;

"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;

"You are the sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, "And in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

"It was for you first that God raised up his Servant, and sent him to bless you in turning every one of you away from your wicked ways."

While they were addressing the people the priests, the commander of the Temple, and the Sadducees came upon them,

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

Then they made the men stand before them and demanded, "By what power, or in what name, have you fellows done this?"

"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,

Now when they beheld the glad fearlessness of Peter and John and had perceived that they were amazed; and they began to recognize them, that they were companions of Jesus.

but for our part, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."

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

"who saidest through the Holy Spirit, by the lips of thy servant David, our forefather. "Why did the Gentiles rage, And the peoples form futile plans?

"The kings of the earth set themselves in array, And the rulers were gathered together Against the Lord and against his Christ.

When they had prayed, the place where they were gathered was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak the message of the Lord with boldness.

Nor was there any one of them in want, for all who owned houses or lands would sell them and bring the price of the things that were sold, and lay it at the apostles' feet;

"Ananias," said Peter, "why has Satan so filled your heart that you are lying to the Holy Spirit, and keeping back part of the price of the land?

"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.

"Why was it," said Peter, "that you both agreed to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? Lo, the feet of those who buried your husband are at the door, and they shall carry you out."

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.

The people of the towns near Jerusalem also continued to come in crowds, bringing their sick and those who were harried by unclean spirits, and all of them were healed.

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."

"The prison we found locked fast, with the guards stationed at the doors, but when they were opened we found no one inside."

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.

And some one came and told them that the very men whom they had put in prison were standing in the Temple, and teaching to the people.

On this the officer went off with his men and fetched them, not, however, by force, for they were afraid that the people would stone them.

"We strictly forbade you, did we not, to teach about this Name, and here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us."

"We must obey God rather than man. The God of our fathers has raised up Jesus, whom you slew by hanging him on a tree.

"And we are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him."

When they heard this they were infuriated, and were minded to kill the apostles;

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

"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.

"And now, I say to you, hold aloof from these men. Let them alone; for if this scheme or work be of human origin it will come to nothing;

Now in these days while the number of the disciples was multiplying, the Grecian Jews began to murmur against the Hebrews, because their widows were habitually overlooked in the distribution of alms.

"So, brothers, find from among your own number seven men of good reputation who are full of the Spirit and of wisdom, and we will appoint them over this business.

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

"For we have heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place, and will change the customs which were handed down to us by Moses."

Then all who were sitting in the council at once fixed their eyes upon him, and saw his face like the face of an angel.

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,

and said to him, "Leave your country and your kindred, and come to whatever land I will show you.

"What God said was this. "'His offspring will sojourn in a foreign land where they will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.

"Then there came a famine over the whole of Egypt and Canaan, and great distress, so that our ancestors could not find food.

"But Jacob heard that there was food in Egypt, and sent our ancestors there on their first visit.

"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.

"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?'

"I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. "And Moses trembled and dared not gaze.

"And the Lord said: "Take off your sandals, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.

"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.

"To him our ancestors would not be obedient, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts turned back into Egypt.

"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.

"That tabernacle was brought in by our ancestors, in their turn, when they under Joshua entered on the possession of the nations whom God thrust out before them, until the days of David.

"The heaven is my throne, And the earth the footstool of my feet; What kind of house will you build for me? saith the Lord. Or what resting-place shall I have?

"Stiff-necked, uncircumcised in heart and ears! You are always resisting the Holy Ghost! As your fathers did, so do you.

"Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become??53 "you who received the law, given through angels, and obeyed it not."

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.

So those who were scattered abroad were going everywhere preaching the word.

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

For with a loud cry unclean spirits would come out of many possessed by them, and many that were palsied and lame were healed.

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.

But Peter said to him. "Your money perish with you, because you have supposed that with money you can obtain God's free gift!"

"You have no part or lot in this matter." Your heart is not right in the sight of God.

Repent then of this your wickedness, and beseech the Lord to forgive you this purpose of your heart.