[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].

And when Jesus had said these things, just as the apostles were watching [Him], He was taken up by a cloud [and disappeared] out of their sight.

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.

from His immersion by John [the Immerser] until He was received up from us [in a cloud]. Of these people [we must choose] someone to become a witness with us [i.e., to tell people] of Jesus' resurrection [from the dead]."

Then they prayed, "Lord, you know the inner thoughts of all men, so show us which one of these two men should be selected

Being so amazed and astounded [at something so unusual happening], they exclaimed, "Look! are not all these men who are speaking from [the country of] Galilee?

Cretans and Arabians. How can it be that we hear [these apostles] speaking about the mighty accomplishments of God in the language of our national origin?

For these men [i.e., the twelve apostles] are not drunk as you suppose, since it is only nine o'clock in the morning. [Note: The use of Jewish time calculations are employed in this verse].

[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].

And these [new converts] continued regularly [to listen] to the teaching of the apostles and to share with them; they broke bread [in memory of Jesus] and continued praying.

Yes, and all the prophets from Samuel on down, who have spoken, have predicted these days.

You people are descendants of these prophets and [recipients] of the Agreement God made with your forefathers when He said to Abraham [Gen. 12:3], 'And through your seed [i.e., your descendant Jesus] all the people of the earth will receive the blessings [of God].'

So, these [Jewish] leaders arrested Peter and John and put them in jail until the next day because it was [already] evening.

And when these men had Peter and John brought before them, they asked, "By whose authority or in what name have you done this thing [i.e., healed the crippled man]?"

Now when these men saw how boldly Peter and John spoke, and perceived that they were uneducated and [even] ignorant men, they were quite surprised; then they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

saying, "What should we do to these men? For we cannot deny that a significant miracle was performed by them, and everybody living in Jerusalem knows it.

So, now Lord, take account of the threats [of these Jewish leaders] and give your servants all the boldness [we need] to speak your message,

And after they had prayed, the place where they were gathered shook, and these disciples were all filled with [the power of] the Holy Spirit and they were able to speak the message of God with boldness.

When Ananias heard these words he fell dead [instantly] and his spirit left his body, [causing] everyone who heard [about it] to be gripped with fear.

So, the whole church and everyone else who heard about these things were filled with great fear.

We apostles are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to every person who obeys Him."

And he said [to the Council members], "Men of Israel, be careful how you deal with these men.

And so now I say, hold off your accusations and let these men alone, for if their planning and effort is [merely] of human origin, it will be defeated,

[Then] they presented these men to the apostles, who prayed for them while placing their hands on them [to signify their appointment].

Then the head priest asked [Stephen], "Are these charges true?"

"[And when] these patriarchs, [still living in Canaan as young men], became jealous of [their brother] Joseph, they sold him [as a slave to traveling merchants who took him] to Egypt. But God was with him [during all that time],

Our forefathers also brought this Tabernacle with them under Joshua's leadership when they entered [Canaan] to occupy the land of these Gentile nations. God removed these nations as our forefathers advanced through the land, up until the reign of King David,

Now when the Council members heard these things they were enraged and ground their teeth at him.

When these two apostles had come [to Samaria] they prayed for some [of the disciples] to receive [miraculous power from] the Holy Spirit,

And after a number of days had passed [these] Jews conspired together to kill Saul,

While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit descended upon all those who were listening to this message [i.e., Cornelius and his household].

"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].

The Holy Spirit directed me to go with them, without showing any discrimination. With these six brothers accompanying me, we went into Cornelius' house

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."

And the news about [what was being done by] these people reached the church in Jerusalem, so that they sent Barnabas to Antioch [in Syria].

Now Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon [Note: These were seaport cities not under his jurisdiction]. They came to him as a group, having befriended Blastus, an officer of the king [Herod], and tried to arrange a peaceful relationship [with him] because the country was dependant on him for their food supply.

Now in the church at Antioch there were [these] prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Symeon, called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, the foster-brother of Herod the Tetrarch [i.e., governor of Galilee], and Saul.

As these men were ministering to the Lord [i.e., this probably means worshiping] and fasting, the Holy Spirit said [to one of them by way of inspiration]: "Set Barnabas and Saul apart for Me, [commissioning them] to do the work for which I have called them."

Then, as these prophets and teachers fasted and prayed [for the two men], they placed their hands on them [signifying their appointment for this ministry] and sent them away.

For the people living in Jerusalem, together with their ruling officials, did not understand [that Jesus was the Messiah] or what the message of the prophets, which is read every Sabbath day, really meant. So, [because of this] they [actually] made these Scripture predictions come true by condemning Jesus.

so that He was seen for many days by those [apostles] who came with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem. These men are now His witnesses before the people.

"Gentlemen, why are you doing these things? [Do you not know that] we are also human beings with the same kind of feelings that you have? And we are just bringing you the good news that you should turn away from these useless things [i.e., idol worship] and [turn] to the living God, who created the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them.

And [even though] they said these things, it was difficult to restrain the crowds from offering [animal] sacrifices to them.

And when Paul and Barnabas had appointed elders [for the churches] in every congregation and had prayed and fasted [over these elders], they committed them to [the care of] the Lord, in whom they had come to trust.

After Paul and Barnabas had a heated debate and argued with these men [over this issue], the brothers [of the Antioch church] decided that Paul and Barnabas, along with certain others, should go up to Jerusalem and discuss the question with the apostles and elders there.

After these things [have transpired], I will return [to my people] and will rebuild the Tabernacle [i.e., the Temple] of David, which has been destroyed. I will rebuild it from its ruins and reestablish it,

This is what the Lord said when He predicted these things long ago.'

Therefore, we are sending Judas and Silas [with them] to tell you [these same] things in person.

Avoid [eating] things sacrificed to idols; avoid [drinking] blood; avoid [eating] things [that were] strangled [to death] and avoid sexual immorality. If you avoid [all] these things, you will be doing well. Goodbye."

She followed Paul and us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Supreme God and they are proclaiming to you the way to be saved."

And when they brought them before the city officials, they made this charge [against them]: "These Jewish men are causing too much trouble in our city,

After receiving these orders, the jailor threw them into the maximum security cell and had their feet securely fastened in wooden restraints.

But Paul responded to the officials, "These city officials had us innocent Roman citizens publicly beaten and thrown in jail. Are they now trying to release us privately? No indeed! Let the officials themselves come and [publicly] release us."

When they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials and shouted, "These men have turned the world upside down [i.e., disrupted society by their preaching] and have [now] come here also [i.e., to do the same thing in our community].

When they heard [these charges], the crowds and [even] the city officials became very disturbed [by the situation stirred up by the Jews].

Now these people [in Berea] had more character than those in Thessalonica because they [not only] received the message with an open mind but [also] examined the [Old Testament] Scriptures every day to see if what they had heard was really true.

He wanted these people to search for God in hope that, by groping for Him, they might [eventually] find Him, even though He is not [really] very far from [any of] us.

After these things happened Paul decided to travel through Macedonia and Achaia on his way to Jerusalem. He said, "Then, after I have been there I want to visit Rome also."

After sending his two associates Timothy and Erastus on to Macedonia [Note: These were men who cared for various needs of his ministry], Paul remained in [the province of] Asia for a while.

Since no one can [really] say anything against these things, just calm down and do not do anything foolish.

For you have brought these men here --- [men] who have neither desecrated our temple nor defamed our goddess.

These [men] had gone ahead and were waiting for us [when we arrived] in Troas [i.e., a seaport town across the Aegean Sea from Philippi]. [Note: The use of "us" begins here again, suggesting that the writer Luke rejoins the party at Philippi. See next verse].

I have demonstrated before you a [good] example in all [these] things, so that you [too] will work hard to help those who are [physically] weak. [Also] remember the words of the Lord Jesus who Himself said, 'It is a greater blessing [for you] to give [to people's needs] than to receive [help yourselves].' "

After speaking these things Paul knelt down and prayed with all of the elders.

When we heard these things, both we and those who lived there [i.e., Philip, his daughters and local disciples] urged Paul not to go up to Jerusalem.

After these days we packed up our belongings and went up to Jerusalem.

Now these Jewish Christians have been informed that you are teaching all the Jews living among the Gentiles to give up [following the teaching of] Moses, [even] telling them not to circumcise their children and not to practice the [other] customs [of the Jewish religion].

Take these men and observe the ceremony of purification with them, pay their expenses so they can shave their heads [i.e., to signify that they are making a vow] and [then] everyone will know that there is no truth in what people have been told about you, but that you, too, are living properly and observing the law of Moses.

Paul answered, "[No], I am a Jew from Tarsus, in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city, and I beg you to allow me to speak to these people."

Or let these men themselves [i.e., members of the Sanhedrin] testify what they found wrong with me when I stood before their Council [meeting].

I can speak boldly of these things because the King knows [they are true]. And I am convinced that none of these things are hidden from you, for none of them have been done in a corner [i.e., secretly].

Paul replied, "I wish to God that, whether it would take a little or a lot, not only you, but all those who hear me today, might become [Christians] like me, except [not] with these chains."

saying, 'Do not be afraid Paul, for you must appear before Caesar, and look, God will grant you [the safety of] all these men aboard ship [along] with yourself.'

Paul said to the military officer [Julius] and to his soldiers, "Unless these men stay aboard the ship, none of you will be saved."

These people also showered many honors on us and when we sailed [away], they brought the provisions we needed and put them aboard [the ship].

saying, [Isa. 6:9-10], 'Go to these people and say, you will hear all right, but you will not understand [what you hear]. You will see all right, but you will not perceive [what you see].

For these people's minds are dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes. For, if this were not the case, they would perceive what they see with their eyes, and understand what they hear with their ears, and comprehend with their minds, and would turn [back to God] again and I [God] would heal them [from their sins].'

And when he had said these words, the Jews left, disputing about the matter among themselves.}}