While they were gazing into the sky as he was going up, suddenly there were two men in white garments standing by them,

"Now this man bought a plot of ground with the price of his treachery, and falling there headlong he burst asunder and all his bowels gushed out.

"For it is written in the Book of Psalms, Let his dwelling-place be desolate; Let no man dwell there, also, Let another take his work.

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.

There appeared to them tongues, like flame, distributing themselves, one resting upon the head of each one,

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

"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;

There was held in Jerusalem, next morning, a meeting of their rulers, the elders and scribes,

"There is no salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men, in which we must be saved."

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;

"So he left Chaldea and settled in Haran, and from there, after his father's death, God moved him to this land which you inhabit.

"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.

"until there arose a king who knew not Joseph.

"Alarmed at this question, Moses fled from the land, and went to live in the land of Midian. There he became the father of two sons.

"But at the end of forty years there appeared to him, in the desert of Mt. Sinai, an angel in a flame of fire, in a bush.

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.

Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and began to preach Christ there.

There began to be great joy in that city.

"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he said: "Stand up and go into the city, and there you shall be told what you must do."

And he remained there three days, seeing nothing, and without eating or drinking.

Now there was in Damascus a disciple named Ananias, and the Lord spoke to him in a vision, saying, "Ananias!" And he answered, "Lo, I am here, Lord."

And as Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, when they heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the entreaty, "Delay not to come to us."

Now there was at Caesarea a man named Cornelius, a captain in the Italian regiment.

and called and asked whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there.

and the day after that they reached Caesarea. There Cornelius was waiting for them, and had brought together all his relatives and intimate friends.

"And the Spirit bade me accompany them without misgiving. There also accompanied me these six brothers, and we went into the man's house.

When morning came there was no small stir among the soldiers as to what could possibly have become of Peter.

Now there were in the church in Antioch prophets and teachers; Barnabas and Symeon, surnamed "the Black," Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, the foster-brother of Herod the Tetrarch, and Saul.

"The Lord's hand is now upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a season." Instantly there fell on him a mist and a darkness, and groping about, he sought some one to lead him by the hand.

"And John, when he was finishing his race, repeatedly asked the people. "'Who do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold there comes One after me, whose sandal I am not worthy to unfasten.'

Long time, therefore, they tarried there, speaking fearlessly in the Lord, who attested the word of his grace by permitting signs and wonders to be performed by their hands.

And there they continued to proclaim the gospel.

Now at Lystra there used to sit a certain man, lame in his feet, a cripple from birth, who had never walked.

and after there had been a long discussion, Peter rose and said: "Brothers, you know how a good while ago God made choice among you, that from my lips the Gentiles were to hear the message of the gospel and believe.

After spending some time there the brothers let them go with a greeting of peace to those who had sent them.

So there arose a sharp irritation, so that they parted company; Barnabas taking Mark with him, sailed away to Cyprus;

And he came also to Derbe and Lystra, where there was a certain disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewess, and of a Greek father.

Here a vision appeared to Paul in the night. There stood a man of Macedonia, entreating him and saying, "Come over into Macedonia and help us!"

and thence came to Philippi, a city of Macedonia, the fore most in its district, a Roman colony. There we stayed for some time.

On the Sabbath Day we went outside the city gate, to a riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and talked to the women who had gathered there.

suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the very foundations of the prison-house were shaken; and instantly all the doors were opened, and every one's chains fell off.

Now when they had gone through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica. Here there was a Jewish synagogue,

"Jason has received them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus."

Now the brothers sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they got there they betook themselves to the Jewish synagogue.

As soon as the Jews in Thessalonica learned that the word of God was preached by Paul in Berea also, they came there, and stirred up and troubled the crowds.

Those who were caring for Paul brought him as far as Athens, and there left him, with instructions to Silas and Timothy to come to him with all speed.

He argued in the synagogues with the Jews and the devout proselytes, and also daily in the market-place with those that met him there.

(Now all the Athenians and the strangers sojourning there spent their time in nothing else, but to tell or to hear some new thing.)

So he lived there a year and six months and continued to teach them the word of God.

When they came to Ephesus he left them there; but he himself entered into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.

After spending some time there, he set out and went through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, in order, and strengthened all the disciples.

"Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" he asked them. "No" said they, "we did not even hear that there is a Holy Spirit."

Then Paul went into the synagogue, and there continued to preach fearlessly for about three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.

But there were also some strolling Jewish exorcists, who took it upon them to invoke the name of Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "I adjure you by that Jesus whom Paul preaches."

There were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish high priest who used to do this.

Now after these things were ended, Paul resolved in his spirit to travel through Macedonia and Achaia on his way to Jerusalem. "After I get there," he said, "I must see Rome, too."

Now just at this time, there arose no small commotion concerning the Way.

There was a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, and brought rich profit to his workmen.

"So there is danger not only that our trade come into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana will be brought into disrepute, and that she herself may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world now worships."

If then Demetrius and his craftsmen have a grievance against any one, the courts are open and there are the proconsuls; let them accuse one another.

For indeed we are in danger of being accused in regard to this day's riot, since there is no cause for it, nor shall we be able to give account for this disorderly gathering."

There accompanied him as far as Asia, Sopater of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and the Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus.

but we ourselves set sail from Philippi, after the days of unleavened bread, and joined them five days later at Troas. There we remained for a week.

Now there were many lamps in the upper room where we were assembled,

The rest of us going before to the ship, set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul on board there; for so he had appointed, because he intended to go by land.

And now I am going to Jerusalem, bound in the Spirit, not knowing what will befall me there,

When at least we had torn ourselves away, and had set sail, we ran a straight course to Cos, and next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.

After sighting Cyprus and leaving it on the left hand, we sailed for Syria, and put in at Tyre; for there the ship was to unload her cargo.

We looked up the local disciples and remained there seven days; and these disciples kept telling Paul, through the Spirit, that he should not set foot in Jerusalem.

and while we remained there many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

At length we reached Jerusalem, and the brothers there received us gladly.

And they, when they heard it, glorified God, and said to him. "You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews, of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law.

"We have four men here under a vow; associate yourself with them, purify yourself with them, and pay their expenses so that they may have their heads shaved; then every one will know that there is no truth in the rumors that they have heard about you; but that you yourself walk orderly obeying the law.

So when he had given leave, Paul stood on the stairs, beckoning with his hands to the people. There came a great hush, and he spoke to them as follows, in Hebrew.

"To this the high priest and all the council of elders are witnesses. It was from them that I received letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I was already on my way to bring those also who were there back to Jerusalem, in bonds, for punishment.

"And I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?' and the Lord said to me, 'Rise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told about all that you are destined to do.'

"And a certain Ananias, a pious man according to the Law, well thought of by all the Jews who lived there,

"You whited sepulcher," exclaimed Paul, "God will strike you! You are sitting there to judge me according to the law, are you? And do you command me to be struck, contrary to the Law?"

When he said this, there arose a quarrel between the Pharisees and Sadducees; the meeting was divided.

For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel nor spirit; the Pharisees affirm them all.

And there were more than forty who had sworn this oath.

"Now when I received information that there would be a plot against the man, I sent him at once to you, charging his accusers also to speak against him before you."

"and having hope toward God, which these also themselves look for, that there is to be a resurrection both of the just and the unjust.

"While I was thus engaged, they found me in the temple, purified, with no crowd and no uproar. But there were certain Asiatic Jews

But Festus answered that Paul was in custody at Caesarea, and that he himself was going there soon.

"Let those then," he said, "who are in authority among you, go down with me, and if there is anything amiss in the man, let them accuse him."

But Festus, wishing to ingratiate himself with the Jews, answered Paul and said, "Will you go up to Jerusalem and be tried there by me upon these charges?"

And while they tarried many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king. "There is a man here," he said, "whom Felix left a prisoner.

I was perplexed how to investigate such questions, and asked Paul whether he would go to Jerusalem, and there be judged of these matters.

The next day we touched at Sidon. There Julius treated Paul kindly, and gave him leave to visit his friends and refresh himself.

And there the centurion found an Alexandrian ship bound for Italy, and put us on board of her.

and as the harbor was ill adapted for winter quarters, the majority advised putting out to sea from thence, to see whether they could get to Phoenix and winter there, a harbor on the coast of Crete facing northeast and southeast.

"But now take courage. There will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship,

"So I beg you to take some food, for this is for your safety. For there shall not a hair perish from the head of any one of you."

There were in the ship two hundred and seventy-six souls, all told.

Now in the neighborhood there were estates belonging to the governor of the island, whose name was Publius. He received us and entertained us for three days courteously.

And touching at Syracuse, we stayed there three days.

There we found brothers who invited us to stay a week with them. Then we reached Rome.