His answer was: "It is not for you to know times or hours, for the Father has reserved these for his own decision;

And they offered this prayer--"O Lord, who reads all hearts, show which of these two men you have chosen

They were utterly amazed, and kept asking in astonishment: "What! Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans?

These men are not drunk, as you suppose; for it is only now nine in the morning! No!

Yes, and all the Prophets from Samuel onwards, and all their successors who had a message to deliver, told of these days.

"What are we to do to these men?" they asked one another. "That a remarkable sign has been given through them is obvious to every one living in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

As Ananias heard these words, he fell down and expired; and every one who heard of it was appalled.

The whole Church and all who heard of these events were appalled.

He then said: "Men of Israel, take care as to what you intend to do with these men.

And, in this present case, my advice to you is not to interfere with these men, but to let them alone, for, if their designs and their work are merely of human origin, they will come to an end;

And they brought these men to the Apostles, who, after praying, placed their hands on them.

God's words were these--'Abraham's descendants shall live in a foreign country, where they will be enslaved and ill-treated for four hundred years.

At these words Moses took to flight, and became an exile in Midian; and there he had two sons born to him.

Was it not my hand that made all these things?'

Falling on his knees, he called out loudly: "Lord! do not charge them with this sin;" and with these words he fell asleep.

On the next day, while these men were on their way, just as they were nearing the town, Peter went up on the housetop about mid-day to pray.

Before Peter had finished saying these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all who were listening to the Message.

"Can any one refuse the water for the baptism of these people, now that they have received the Holy Spirit as we did ourselves?"

The Spirit told me to go with them without hesitation. These six Brothers also went with me. And, when we came into the man's house,

On coming there he saw to his great joy these tokens of the loving-kindness of God, and encouraged them all to make up their minds to be faithful to the Lord--

"We are only men like yourselves, and we have come with the Good News that you should turn away from these follies to a living God, 'who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them.'

This gave rise to a serious dispute, and much discussion, between Paul and Barnabas and these men, and it was therefore settled that Paul and Barnabas and others of their number should go up to Jerusalem, to consult the Apostles and Officers of the Church about the matter under discussion.

Why, then, do you now provoke God, by putting on the necks of these disciples a yoke which neither our ancestors nor we were able to bear?

Says the Lord, as he does these things, foreknown from of old.'

We have, therefore, decided, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to lay no further burden upon you beyond these necessary conditions--

This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, calling: "These men are servants of the most high God, and they are bringing you news of a way to Salvation."

And took them before the Magistrates. "These men are causing a great disturbance in our town," they complained;

And, not finding them there, they proceeded to drag Jason and some of the Brethren before the City Magistrates, shouting out: "These men, who have turned the world upside down, have now come here,

These Jews of Beroea were better disposed than those in Thessalonica, for they welcomed the Message with great readiness, and daily examined the Scriptures to see if what was said was true.

Then they all set upon Sosthenes, the President of the Synagogue, and beat him in front of the Bench, but Gallio did not trouble himself about any of these things.

While a number of people, who had practiced magic, collected their books and burnt them publicly; and on reckoning up the price of these, they found it amounted to five thousand pounds.

Sometime after these events Paul resolved to go through Macedonia and Greece, and then make his way to Jerusalem. "And after I have been there," he said, "I must visit Rome also."

Got these men together, as well as the workmen engaged in similar occupations, and said: "Men, you know that our prosperity depends upon this work,

As these are undeniable facts, you ought to keep calm and do nothing rash;

For you have brought these men here, though they are neither robbers of Temples nor blasphemers of our Goddess.

With these words he dismissed the Assembly.

These men went to Troas and waited for us there;

You, yourselves, know that these hands of mine provided not only for my own wants, but for my companions also.

Join these men, share their purification, and bear their expenses, so that they may shave their heads; and then all will see that there is no truth in what they have been told about you, but that, on the contrary, you yourself rule your life in obedience to the Jewish Law.

'Lord,' I answered, 'these people know that I used to imprison and scourge, in Synagogue after Synagogue, those who believed in you;

Up to this point the people had been listening to Paul, but at these words they called out: "Kill him! A fellow like this ought not to have been allowed to live!"

And you will be able, by examining him on all these points, to satisfy yourself as to the charges which we are bringing against him."

But, as Festus wished to gain popularity with the Jews, he interrupted Paul with the question: "Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and be tried on these charges before me there?"

If, however, I am breaking the law and have committed any offence deserving death, I do not ask to escape the penalty; but, if there is nothing in the accusations of these people, no one has the power to give me up to them. I appeal to the Emperor."

Indeed, the King knows about these matters, so I speak before him without constraint. I am sure that there is nothing whatever of what I have been telling him that has escaped his attention; for all this has not been done in a corner.

"Whether it is soon or late," answered Paul, "I would to God that not only you, but all who are listening to me, might to-day become just what I am myself--except for these chains!"

With these words he took some bread, and, after saying the thanksgiving to God before them all, broke it in pieces, and began to eat;

And that the rest should follow, some on planks, and others on different pieces of the ship. In these various ways every one managed to get safely ashore.