While he was with them, he declared, "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait there for what my Father promised, which you heard about from me.

When they had entered Jerusalem, they went to the upstairs room where they were staying. Peter and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James were there.

"For it is written in the book of Psalms, 'Let his house become deserted, and let there be no one to live in it,' and 'Let another take his position of responsibility.'

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven residing in Jerusalem.

Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and others who were members of the high priest's family.

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved."

For there was no one needy among them, because those who were owners of land or houses were selling them and bringing the proceeds from the sales

But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,' said God, 'and after these things they will come out of there and worship me in this place.'

So when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there the first time.

So Jacob went down to Egypt and died there, along with our ancestors,

When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and when he approached to investigate, there came the voice of the Lord,

So there was great joy in that city.

So he got up and went. There he met an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship,

Now as they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, "Look, there is water! What is to stop me from being baptized?"

(Now the men who were traveling with him stood there speechless, because they heard the voice but saw no one.)

Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias," and he replied, "Here I am, Lord."

He found there a man named Aeneas who had been confined to a mattress for eight years because he was paralyzed.

Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which in translation means Dorcas). She was continually doing good deeds and acts of charity.

Because Lydda was near Joppa, when the disciples heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him and urged him, "Come to us without delay."

Now there was a man in Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort.

They called out to ask if Simon, known as Peter, was staying there as a guest.

But there were some men from Cyprus and Cyrene among them who came to Antioch and began to speak to the Greeks too, proclaiming the good news of the Lord Jesus.

At daybreak there was great consternation among the soldiers over what had become of Peter.

When Herod had searched for him and did not find him, he questioned the guards and commanded that they be led away to execution. Then Herod went down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there.

Now there were these prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius the Cyrenian, Manaen (a close friend of Herod the tetrarch from childhood) and Saul.

So Barnabas and Saul, sent out by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.

So they stayed there for a considerable time, speaking out courageously for the Lord, who testified to the message of his grace, granting miraculous signs and wonders to be performed through their hands.

There they continued to proclaim the good news.

From there they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.

After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, "Brothers, you know that some time ago God chose me to preach to the Gentiles so they would hear the message of the gospel and believe.

After they had spent some time there, they were sent off in peace by the brothers to those who had sent them.

He also came to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple named Timothy was there, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but whose father was a Greek.

A vision appeared to Paul during the night: A Macedonian man was standing there urging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us!"

and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of that district of Macedonia, a Roman colony. We stayed in this city for some days.

On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate to the side of the river, where we thought there would be a place of prayer, and we sat down and began to speak to the women who had assembled there.

After they traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.

and Jason has welcomed them as guests! They are all acting against Caesar's decrees, saying there is another king named Jesus!"

But when the Jews from Thessalonica heard that Paul had also proclaimed the word of God in Berea, they came there too, inciting and disturbing the crowds.

So he was addressing the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles in the synagogue, and in the marketplace every day those who happened to be there.

(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there used to spend their time in nothing else than telling or listening to something new.)

There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to depart from Rome. Paul approached them,

So he stayed there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

When they reached Ephesus, Paul left Priscilla and Aquila behind there, but he himself went into the synagogue and addressed the Jews.

After he spent some time there, Paul left and went through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul went through the inland regions and came to Ephesus. He found some disciples there

and said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They replied, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."

(Now there were about twelve men in all.)

Now after all these things had taken place, Paul resolved to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. He said, "After I have been there, I must also see Rome."

There is danger not only that this business of ours will come into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be regarded as nothing, and she whom all the province of Asia and the world worship will suffer the loss of her greatness."

After the city secretary quieted the crowd, he said, "Men of Ephesus, what person is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the keeper of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image that fell from heaven?

If then Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against someone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls; let them bring charges against one another there.

For we are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause we can give to explain this disorderly gathering."

After he had gone through those regions and spoken many words of encouragement to the believers there, he came to Greece,

(Now there were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting.)

We went on ahead to the ship and put out to sea for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there, for he had arranged it this way. He himself was intending to go there by land.

We set sail from there, and on the following day we arrived off Chios. The next day we approached Samos, and the day after that we arrived at Miletus.

And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem without knowing what will happen to me there,

After we tore ourselves away from them, we put out to sea, and sailing a straight course, we came to Cos, on the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.

After we sighted Cyprus and left it behind on our port side, we sailed on to Syria and put in at Tyre, because the ship was to unload its cargo there.

After we located the disciples, we stayed there seven days. They repeatedly told Paul through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem.

While we remained there for a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

The next day Paul went in with us to see James, and all the elders were there.

When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to him, "You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all ardent observers of the law.

take them and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself live in conformity with the law.

as both the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. From them I also received letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I was on my way to make arrests there and bring the prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.

So I asked, 'What should I do, Lord?' The Lord said to me, 'Get up and go to Damascus; there you will be told about everything that you have been designated to do.'

A man named Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who live there,

Then Paul said to him, "God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit there judging me according to the law, and in violation of the law you order me to be struck?"

(For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection, or angel, or spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.)

There was a great commotion, and some experts in the law from the party of the Pharisees stood up and protested strongly, "We find nothing wrong with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?"

There were more than forty of them who formed this conspiracy.

When I was informed there would be a plot against this man, I sent him to you at once, also ordering his accusers to state their charges against him before you.

I have a hope in God (a hope that these men themselves accept too) that there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.

But there are some Jews from the province of Asia who should be here before you and bring charges, if they have anything against me.

Then Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea, and he himself intended to go there shortly.

"So," he said, "let your leaders go down there with me, and if this man has done anything wrong, they may bring charges against him."

But Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favor, asked Paul, "Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and be tried before me there on these charges?"

While they were staying there many days, Festus explained Paul's case to the king to get his opinion, saying, "There is a man left here as a prisoner by Felix.

Because I was at a loss how I could investigate these matters, I asked if he were willing to go to Jerusalem and be tried there on these charges.

From there we put out to sea and sailed under the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us.

There the centurion found a ship from Alexandria sailing for Italy, and he put us aboard it.

Because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there. They hoped that somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete facing southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.

And now I advise you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only the ship will be lost.

We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days.

From there we cast off and arrived at Rhegium, and after one day a south wind sprang up and on the second day we came to Puteoli.

There we found some brothers and were invited to stay with them seven days. And in this way we came to Rome.

The brothers from there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. When he saw them, Paul thanked God and took courage.

When they had heard my case, they wanted to release me, because there was no basis for a death sentence against me.

They replied, "We have received no letters from Judea about you, nor have any of the brothers come from there and reported or said anything bad about you.

Paul lived there two whole years in his own rented quarters and welcomed all who came to him,