“For in the book of Psalms it is written,

‘Let his place of residence become desolate,
And let there be no one to live in it’;

and [again],

‘Let another take his position as overseer.’

to occupy this ministry and apostleship which Judas left to go to his own place [of evil].”

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place,

It was for you first of all that God raised up His Servant and Son [Jesus], and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”

And when they had prayed, the place where they were meeting together was shaken [a sign of God’s presence]; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness and courage.

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

for we have heard him say that this Jesus the Nazarene will tear down this place and will change the traditions and customs which Moses handed down to us.”

‘And I will judge any nation to whom they will be in bondage,’ said God, ‘and after that they will come out and serve Me [in worship] in this place.’

Then the Lord said to him, ‘Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground [worthy of reverence and respect].

who found favor (grace, spiritual blessing) in the sight of God and asked that he might [be allowed to] find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.

‘Heaven is My throne,
And the earth is the footstool for My feet;
What kind of house will you build for Me?’ says the Lord,
‘Or what place is there for My rest?

Now those [believers] who had been scattered went from place to place preaching the word [the good news of salvation through Christ].

saying, “Give me this authority and power too, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

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,

Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared [beside him] and a light shone in the cell. The angel struck Peter’s side and awakened him, saying, “Get up quickly!” And the chains fell off his hands.

But motioning to them with his hand to be quiet and listen, he described how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to James and the brothers and sisters.” Then he left and went to another place.

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].

After a long debate, Peter got up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the message of the gospel and believe.

and from there [we came] to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia, a Roman colony. We stayed on in this city for several days;

and on the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate to the bank of the [Gangites] river, where we thought there would be a place of prayer, and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had come there.

It happened that as we were on our way to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave-girl who had a spirit of divination [that is, a demonic spirit claiming to foretell the future and discover hidden knowledge], and she brought her owners a good profit by fortune-telling.

They took him and brought him to the Areopagus (Hill of Ares, the Greek god of war), saying, “May we know what this [strange] new teaching is which you are proclaiming?

So Paul, standing in the center of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I observe [with every turn I make throughout the city] that you are very religious and devout in all respects.

After spending some time there, he left and traveled through the territory of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening and encouraging all the disciples.

Now when we had heard this, both we and the local residents began pleading with Paul trying to persuade him not to go up to Jerusalem.

shouting, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against our people and the Law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.”

“But as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a great blaze of light suddenly flashed from heaven and shone around me.

in every way and in every place, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with all gratitude.

So after they arrived together here, I did not delay, but on the next day took my place on the tribunal and ordered that the man be brought before me.

to open their [spiritual] eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness and release from their sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified (set apart, made holy) by faith in Me.’

For [your majesty] the king understands these things, and [therefore] I am also speaking to him with confidence and boldness, since I am convinced that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a corner [hidden from view, in secret].

and hugging the shore with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea [on the south side of Crete].

But striking a reef with waves breaking in on either side, they ran the ship aground. The prow (forward point) stuck fast and remained immovable, while the stern began to break up under the [violent] force of the waves.

In the vicinity of that place there were estates belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius, who welcomed and entertained us hospitably for three days.