Now when they met, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time you are going to restore the Realm to Israel?"

On saying this he was lifted up while they looked on, and a cloud took him out of sight.

Then they made their way back to Jerusalem from the hill called 'The Olive-Orchard'; it is close to Jerusalem, only a sabbath day's journey from it.

On entering the city they went to the upper room where they were in the habit of meeting; there were Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James (the son of Alphaeus) and Simon who had been a Zealot, with Judas the son of James.

So they brought forward two men, Joseph called Bar-Sabbas (surnamed Justus) and Matthias;

and they prayed, "O Lord, who readest the hearts of all, do thou single out from these two men him whom thou hast chosen

Then they cast lots for them, and the lot fell upon Matthias, who was assigned his position with the eleven apostles.

During the course of the day of Pentecost they were all together,

when suddenly there came a sound from heaven like a violent blast of wind, which filled the whole house where they were seated.

They saw tongues like flames distributing themselves, one resting on the head of each,

and they were all filled with the holy Spirit ??they began to speak in foreign tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to express themselves.

All were amazed and astonished. "Are these not all Galileans," they said, "who are speaking?

They were all amazed and quite at a loss. "What can it mean?" they said to one another.

Some others sneered, "They are brim-full of new wine!"

on my very slaves and slave-girls in those days will I pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.

When they heard this, it went straight to their hearts; they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what are we to do?"

They devoted themselves to the instruction given by the apostles and to fellowship, breaking bread and praying together.

The believers all kept together; they shared all they had with one another,

they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds among all, as anyone might be in need.

Day after day they resorted with one accord to the temple and broke bread together in their own homes; they ate with a glad and simple heart,

and when they recognized this was the very man who used to sit and beg at the Gate Beautiful, they were lost in awe and amazement at what had happened to him.

While they were speaking to the people, they were surprised by the priests, the commander of the temple, and the Sadducees,

They laid hands on them and, as it was now evening, put them in custody till next morning.

They made the men stand before them and inquired, "By what authority, in whose name, have you done this?"

They were astonished to notice how outspoken Peter and John were, and to discover that they were uncultured persons and mere outsiders; they recognized them as having been companions of Jesus,

but as they saw the man who had been healed standing beside them, they could say nothing.

Ordering them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin, they proceeded to hold a consultation.

"What are we to do with these men?" they said. "It is plain to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem that a miracle has admittedly been worked by them. That we cannot deny.

However, to keep things from going any further with the people, we had better threaten them that they are not to tell anyone in future about this Name."

So they called the men in and ordered them not to speak or teach a single sentence about the Name of Jesus.

Then they threatened them still further and let them go; on account of the people they found themselves unable to find any means of punishing them, for everybody was glorifying God over what had happened

On being released they went to their friends and related what the high priests and elders had said;

In this very city they actually mustered against thy holy Servant Jesus, whom thou didst consecrate ??Herod and Pontius Pilate, together with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,

At their prayer the place of meeting was shaken, and they were all filled with the holy Spirit, speaking God's word fearlessly;

[Relocated to before vs 34] Now there was but one heart and soul among the multitude of the believers; not one of them considered anything his personal property, they shared all they had with one another.

Peter said to her, "How could you arrange to put the Lord's Spirit to the proof? Listen, there are the footsteps of the men who have buried your husband! They are at the door, and they will carry you out as well."

Instantly she fell down at their feet and expired. The younger men came in to find her dead; they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

[Move first half of vs to start of vs 15] Many miracles and wonders were performed among the people by the apostles. Now they all without exception met in the portico of Solomon.

they laid hands on the apostles and put them into the public prison,

With these orders they went into the temple about dawn and proceeded to teach. Meantime the high priest and his allies met, called the Sanhedrin together and the council of seniors belonging to the sons of Israel, and then sent to prison for the men.

But as the attendants did not find them when they got to the prison, they came back to report,

They conducted them before the Sanhedrin, and the high priest asked them,

When they heard this, they were so furious that they determined to make away with the apostles.

They gave in to him, and after summoning the apostles and giving them a flogging, they released them with instructions that they were not to speak about the name of Jesus.

The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy of suffering dishonour for the sake of the Name;

not for a single day did they cease to teach and preach the gospel of Jesus the Christ in the temple and at home.

This plan commended itself to the whole body, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the holy Spirit, Philip, Prochorus, Nikanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nikolaos a proselyte from Antioch;

these men they presented to the apostles, who, after prayer, laid their hands upon them.

but they could not meet the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.

They then instigated people to say, "We have heard him talking blasphemy against Moses and God."

In this way they excited the people, the elders, and the scribes, who rushed on him, dragged him away, and took him before the Sanhedrin.

They also brought forward false witnesses to say, "This fellow is never done talking against this holy Place and the Law!

What God said was this: 'His offspring will sojourn in a foreign land, where they will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.

But,' said God, 'I will pass sentence on the nation that has made them slaves, and then they will get away to worship me in this Place.'

they were carried across to Shechem and laid in the tomb which Abraham had bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

(He thought his brothers would understand God was going to bring them deliverance by means of him, but they did not understand.)

The Moses they refused, when they said, 'Who made you ruler and umpire?' ??that was the very man whom God sent to rule and to redeem them, by aid of the angel who had appeared to him in the bush.

But our fathers would not submit to him; they pushed him aside and hankered secretly after Egypt.

They told Aaron, 'Make gods that will march in front of us! As for this Moses who led us out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him!'

They actually made a calf in those days, offered sacrifice to this idol, and grew festive over what their own hands had manufactured.

It was passed on and borne in by our fathers as with Joshua they took possession of the territory of the nations whom God drove out before our fathers. So it remained down to the days of David.

Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Just One. And here you have betrayed him, murdered him! ??53 you who got the Law that angels transmitted, and have not obeyed it!"

When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him.

With a loud shriek they shut their ears and rushed at him like one man.

Putting him outside the city, they proceeded to stone him (the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a youth called Saul).

So they stoned Stephen, who called on the Lord, saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!"

They attached themselves to him because he had dazzled them with his skill in magic for a considerable time.

But when they believed Philip, who preached the gospel of the Reign of God and the name of Jesus, they had themselves baptized, both men and women;

When the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they despatched Peter and John,

(As yet it had not fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)

Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the holy Spirit.

As they travelled on, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, "Here is water! What is to prevent me being baptized?"

When they came up from the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, and the eunuch lost sight of him. He went on his way rejoicing,

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

Saul got up from the ground, but though his eyes were open he could see nothing; so they took his hand and led him to Damascus.

But their plot came to the ears of Saul, and, although they kept watch on the gates day and night in order to make away with him,

He got to Jerusalem and tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, unable to believe he was really a disciple.

they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

And all the inhabitants of Lydda and Saron saw him, and they turned to the Lord.

She happened to take ill and die at this time, and after washing her body they laid it in an upper room.

When the disciples heard that Peter was at Lydda (for Joppa is not far from Lydda), they sent two men to beg him to "Come on to us without delay."

So Peter got up and went with them. When he arrived, they took him up to the room, where all the widows stood beside him crying as they showed him the garments and dresses that Dorcas used to make when she was with them.

Next day they were still on the road and not far from the town, when Peter went up to the roof of the house about noon to pray.

He became very hungry and longed for some food. But as they were getting the meal ready, a trance came over him.

They said, "Cornelius, a captain, a good man who reverences God and enjoys a good reputation among the whole Jewish nation, was instructed by a holy angel to send for you to his house and to listen to what you had to say."

As for what he did in the land of the Jews and of Jerusalem, we can testify to that. They slew him by hanging him on a gibbet,

Now the Jewish believers who had accompanied Peter were amazed that the gift of the holy Spirit had actually been poured out on the Gentiles ??46 for they heard them speak with 'tongues' and magnify God. At this Peter asked,

And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they begged him to remain for some days.

"You went into the houses of the uncircumcised," they said, "and you ate with them!"

On hearing this they desisted and glorified God, saying, "So God has actually allowed the Gentiles to repent and live!"

Now those who had been scattered by the trouble which arose over Stephen made their way as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, but they preached the word to none except Jews.

The news of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they despatched Barnabas to Antioch.

and on finding him he brought him to Antioch, where for a whole year they were guests of the church and taught considerable numbers. It was at Antioch too that the disciples were originally called "Christians."

This they carried out, sending their contribution to the presbyters by Barnabas and Saul.

When they had passed the first guard and the second they came to the iron gate leading into the city, which opened to them of its own accord; they passed out, and after they had gone through one street, the angel immediately left him.

"You are mad," they said. But she insisted it was true. "It is his angel," they said.

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

As there was a bitter feud between him and the inhabitants of Tyre and Sidon, they waited on him unanimously, and after conciliating the royal chamberlain Blastus they made overtures for peace, as their country depended for its food-supply upon the royal territory.

As they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the holy Spirit said, "Come! set me apart Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."

Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and let them go.