to whom also he did present himself alive after his suffering, in many certain proofs, through forty days being seen by them, and speaking the things concerning the reign of God.

[One day, as He was] gathered with these apostles, He urged them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there until they received what the Father had promised them. (Jesus had previously discussed this with them). [See Luke 24:49].

They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen Him going into heaven.”

These men continued in united prayer [for the kingdom to come? See 1:6; Matt. 6:10] along with [certain] women, Mary the mother of Jesus and His [half-] brothers.

(Now this man [Judas] paid for [in a sense] a [burial] field with the reward money he had received for his sinful act [of betraying Jesus, See Matt. 27:3-10]. [Then, some time after Judas hanged himself, See Matt. 27:5] he fell down headlong, [his swollen body] bursting so that his intestines gushed out.

And seen to them were tongues divided as fire, and it sat upon Each one of them.

And they [i.e., the apostles] were all filled with [the power of] the Holy Spirit and began to speak ["the mighty accomplishments of God," See verse 11] in different languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them the ability.

But what you see happening is simply [the fulfillment of] what was predicted by the prophet Joel [2:28ff],

And it will be in the last days, says God,
that I will pour out My Spirit on all humanity;
then your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
and your old men will dream dreams.

And wonders will be seen in heaven, and signs on the earth, blood and fire and smoke:

[In that day] the sun will become dark and the moon will [appear] as blood. [This will all happen] before the great and wonderful day when the Lord comes. [Note: Some view these last two verses as a reference to events occurring at the end of time. See Matt. 24:29-30].

For David speaketh concerning him, I have seen the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right-hand, that I may not be moved.

because You will not leave me in Hades
or allow Your Holy One to see decay.

You have made me see the ways of life; I will be full of joy when I see your face.

Brothers, I would like to speak very plainly about the patriarch David [Note: A patriarch was the ruling father of the family]. He died and was buried and his grave can be seen today.

having foreseen, he did speak concerning the rising again of the Christ, that his soul was not left to hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.

Therefore, since He has been exalted to the right hand of God and has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, He has poured out what you both see and hear.

Now when the people heard this message [of Peter and the other apostles, See verse 14], they were convicted [of its truth] in their hearts and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do [about our condemned condition]?"

For the promise [of forgiveness and the Holy Spirit] is being given to you [Jews] and to your descendants and [also] to all those who are far away [i.e., Gentiles. See Eph. 2:17]. [This promise is] to as many as [respond to] the Lord, our God's call [through the Gospel, See II Thess. 2:14]."

who, having seen Peter and John about to go into the temple, was begging to receive a kindness.

and Peter having seen, answered unto the people, 'Men, Israelites! why wonder ye at this? or on us why look ye so earnestly, as if by our own power or piety we have made him to walk?

By faith in His name, His name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. So the faith that comes through Him has given him this perfect health in front of all of you.

You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors, saying to Abraham, And all the families of the earth will be blessed through your offspring.

They were surprised to see the courage shown by Peter and John and to find that they were uneducated men, and especially untrained in the schools, but they recognized the fact that they had been companions of Jesus,

saying, "What shall we do to these men? Because indeed a notable miracle has been done through them, as can be plainly seen by all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

for we are unable to stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

then Peter said to her, how comes it that you have conspir'd together, to tempt the spirit of the Lord? see there at the door the men that are come from burying thy husband, and they shall carry thee out likewise.

And many [miraculous] signs and wonders were performed through the apostles' hands in front of the people. And all [the disciples] were united together in "Solomon's Portico" [See 3:11].

"You men, go and stand in the Temple and speak to all the people words about this Life [i.e., about Jesus]." [See John 14:6].

And when the apostles heard this, they entered the Temple about dawn and began teaching [about Jesus]. [A little later] the head priest and the Sadducees [see verse 17] called the Council [i.e., the Sanhedrin] and all of the ruling body of Jewish leaders together and sent to the jail to have the apostles brought in to them [for further questioning].

"We strictly forbad you to teach in that name--did we not?" he said. "And see, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and are trying to make us responsible for that man's death!"

Now during the days when the disciples were multiplying in number [in Jerusalem. See verse 7], some Greek-[speaking] Jews began to complain to the Hebrews that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution [of food].

And the Twelve, calling near the throng of the disciples, said - It doth not seem, right, that, we, forsaking the word of God, should be ministering unto tables.

Therefore, brothers, seek ye out seven men from you being well reported, full of Holy Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint over this need.

And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.

And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years.

This king exploited the Hebrews and mistreated our forefathers, even requiring that they abandon their [small] babies, leaving them to die [See Exodus 1:22].

But when he was almost forty years old, it came into his heart to go and see his brothers, the children of Israel.

and having seen a certain one suffering injustice, he did defend, and did justice to the oppressed, having smitten the Egyptian;

And he was hoping that his brothers would see that God had sent him to be their saviour; but they did not see.

And on the next day he was seen by them as they fought, and he was reconciling them for peace, having said, Men, ye are brothers. Why is it that ye wrong each other?

And forty years completed, a messenger of the Lord was seen to him in the desert of mount Sina, in a flame of fire in a bramble.

and Moses having seen did wonder at the sight; and he drawing near to behold, there came a voice of the Lord unto him,

I have observed the oppression of My people in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come down to rescue them. And now, come, I will send you to Egypt.

This Moses which they denied, having said, Who set thee ruler and judge? this, God sent, a ruler and redeemer by the hand of the messenger having been seen to him in the bramble.

And so the people fashioned a calf [out of gold] and offered [an animal] sacrifice to this idol and [then] celebrated joyously over what they had done [See Exodus 32:4-6; 17-19].

“Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the testimony in the wilderness, just as He who spoke to Moses commanded him to make it according to the pattern he had seen.

You received the law that was ordained through [the medium of] angels [See Gal. 3:19] and yet have not obeyed its requirements."

“Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

As the crowds continued to listen to his message and continued to see his wonder-works which he was performing, with one mind they became interested in what was said by Philip.

Even Simon believed, and after he was baptized he became devoted to Philip. He was amazed to see the signs and great miracles that were happening.

Then the apostles placed their hands on [some of] them [and prayed, see verse 15] and they received [miraculous power from] the Holy Spirit.

But Simon, having seen that by the laying on of the hands of the apostles the Holy Spirit was given, offered them money,

So repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord, to see if this thought of your heart may be forgiven you.

For I see you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”

And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?

When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any longer. But he went on his way rejoicing.

And when he got close to Damascus, suddenly a [bright, See 22:6] light from the sky shone all around him.

His fellow-travelers stood speechless, for they heard the voice but could not see anyone.

Then Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing. So they took him by the hand and led him into Damascus.

He was unable to see for three days and did not eat or drink.

and the Lord saith unto him, 'Having risen, go on unto the street that is called Straight, and seek in the house of Judas, one by name Saul of Tarsus, for, lo, he doth pray,

And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.

for I will make him see how much he must suffer for my name.

And Ananias went away, and did enter into the house, and having put upon him his hands, said, 'Saul, brother, the Lord hath sent me -- Jesus who did appear to thee in the way in which thou wast coming -- that thou mayest see again, and mayest be filled with the Holy Spirit.'

And straight away it seemed as if a veil was taken from his eyes, and he was able to see; and he got up, and had baptism;

But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.

now as Peter was making a general visitation, he went to Lydda to see the converts in that city,

And since Lydda was very close to Joppa, the disciples [at Joppa], hearing that Peter was at Lydda [See verse 32], sent two men there to urge him, "Do not delay your coming [here] to us."

And Peter having put them all forth without, having bowed the knees, did pray, and having turned unto the body said, 'Tabitha, arise;' and she opened her eyes, and having seen Peter, she sat up,

And he sees heaven opened, and a certain container descending to him, like a great sheet bound at four corners, and being lowered to the earth,

Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate,

To see if Simon, named Peter, was living there.

While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee.

Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius; and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause wherefore ye are come?

They said, "Cornelius, a [military] man in charge of one hundred soldiers, [and] a man who does what is right, [and] who respects God and who has a good reputation among all the Jews [who know him], was urged by God through a holy angel to have you come to his house so he could hear you speak [about salvation, See 11:14]."

Cornelius [then] said, "Four days ago, when I was at home, praying at the appointed hour (i.e., three o'clock in the afternoon) [See verse 3], suddenly a man in bright clothing appeared in front of me.

Then Peter opened his mouth and said, "Now I really see that God shows no partiality,

God raised up this man on the third day and permitted Him to be seen,

all the Jewish converts, who came with Paul, were astonished to see that the gift of the holy spirit was diffused likewise among the Gentiles.

"Who can keep these people [i.e., Cornelius' household] from being immersed in water now that they have received the Holy Spirit just like we [apostles] have?" [See 2:4].

At that moment three men, who had been sent from Caesarea to see me, came up to the house in which we were.

And he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter;

"And while I was speaking, [the power of] the Holy Spirit descended on them [i.e., Cornelius' Gentile household] just like [it fell] on us [Jewish apostles] at the beginning [i.e., the day of Pentecost, See chapter 2].

Then I remembered what the Lord had said [See 1:4-5]: 'John immersed you [people] in water but you [apostles] will be immersed in the Holy Spirit.'

[Therefore], if God gave to them [i.e., the Gentiles] the same gift as He gave to us [Jews] when we [apostles, See chapter 1-2] believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, how could I stand against [the will of] God [by refusing to immerse them]?'"

So, when the apostles and the brothers from Judea heard these things, they stopped arguing [See verse 2] and gave honor to God, saying, "[This means] that God has permitted the Gentiles also [as well as the Jews] to repent [i.e., change their hearts and lives] so they, too, could have [the promise of never ending] life."

Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.

Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul:

Now about that time King Herod began a persecution of certain people in the [Jerusalem] church. [Note: This man was the grandson of Herod the Great. See Matt. 2:1].

and having seen that it is pleasing to the Jews, he added to lay hold of Peter also -- and they were the days of the unleavened food --

So, Peter was kept in jail, but the church continued to pray earnestly to God for him. [See verse 12].

And a great light was seen shining in the room, and an angel of the Lord came to Peter and, touching him on his side so that he came out of his sleep, said, Get up quickly. And his chains came off his hands.

And he came out, and followed him: and wist not that it was truth which was done by the angel; but thought he had seen a vision.

But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door they were amazed to see him.

And he was very angry with the Tyrians and Sidonians: and they unanimously came to him, and having persuaded Blastus who was over the chamber of the king, they continued to seek peace; because their country is supported by the kings.

Barnabas and Saul returned [to Antioch] from Jerusalem after they had fulfilled their mission [i.e., of taking the contribution for the famine-stricken people of Judea. See 11:27-30]. They took John Mark [back to Antioch with them].

Now, look! The Lord’s hand is against you. You are going to be blind, and will not see the sun for a time.” Suddenly a mist and darkness fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

then the proconsul having seen what hath come to pass, did believe, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

Now Paul and his companions sailed from Paphos and arrived at Perga [a town in the province] of Pamphylia. [It was here that] John Mark left the party [of evangelists and attendants] and returned to [his home in] Jerusalem. [See 12:12].