When he had said this, and while they were looking at him, he was lifted up, and a cloud received him up out of their sight.

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

On entering the city they went to the upper room where they were accustomed to meet. They were Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James, son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.

When the day of Pentecost was fully come, and they were all together in the same place,

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.

and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit was giving them utterance.

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

The were beside themselves with wonder. "Are not these Galileans who are speaking?" they exclaimed.

All were astonished and bewildered and kept saying to one another, "What can this mean?"

But others were saying with jeer, "These men are full of sweet wine."

When they heard these words they were stung to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles. "Men and brothers, what shall we do?"

Then those who welcomed his message were baptized, and in that day about three thousand souls were added to them;

And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were wrought by the apostles.

And all the believers were together, and had all things in common.

praising God, and looked on with favor by all the people. Meanwhile the Lord kept adding to them daily those that were being saved.

One day Peter and John were going up together for the hour of prayer, at three in the afternoon,

when a man lame from his birth was carried along, who was wont to be laid each day near the gate of the Temple called the Beautiful Gate, to ask alms of those who were going into the Temple.

Then taking his right hand he lifted him up. Instantly his feet and ankle-bones were strengthened;

and recognized that this was the man who used to sit and beg at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, they were filled with awe and amazement at what had happened to him.

While they were addressing the people the priests, the commander of the Temple, and the Sadducees came upon them,

and Annas, the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all the members of the high priests family were present.

Now when they beheld the glad fearlessness of Peter and John and had perceived that they were amazed; and they began to recognize them, that they were companions of Jesus.

As soon as the apostles were released, they went to their friends, and told what the high priests and elders had said.

"The kings of the earth set themselves in array, And the rulers were gathered together Against the Lord and against his Christ.

When they had prayed, the place where they were gathered was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak the message of the Lord with boldness.

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;

As Ananias heard these words he fell down and expired, and all who heard were awe-struck.

Yet the people continued to hold them in high honor, and more and more believers in the Lord were joining them, both men and women.

The people of the towns near Jerusalem also continued to come in crowds, bringing their sick and those who were harried by unclean spirits, and all of them were healed.

This aroused bitter indignation among the high priest and his followers who were of the sect of the Sadducees,

"The prison we found locked fast, with the guards stationed at the doors, but when they were opened we found no one inside."

When the officer in charge of the Temple and the high priest heard these words, they were perplexed concerning them, wondering what would come of it.

And some one came and told them that the very men whom they had put in prison were standing in the Temple, and teaching to the people.

On this the officer went off with his men and fetched them, not, however, by force, for they were afraid that the people would stone them.

When they heard this they were infuriated, and were minded to kill the apostles;

"After him Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the enrollment, and drew away some of the people after him. He also perished, and all his followers were scattered.

Now in these days while the number of the disciples was multiplying, the Grecian Jews began to murmur against the Hebrews, because their widows were habitually overlooked in the distribution of alms.

but were unable to withstand the wisdom and spirit with which he used to speak.

"For we have heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place, and will change the customs which were handed down to us by Moses."

Then all who were sitting in the council at once fixed their eyes upon him, and saw his face like the face of an angel.

"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.

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.

So those who were scattered abroad were going everywhere preaching the word.

The crowd with one accord were giving heed to what he said, when they heard and saw the signs that he did.

For with a loud cry unclean spirits would come out of many possessed by them, and many that were palsied and lame were healed.

They were giving heed to him because, for a long time, he had amazed them with his sorceries.

And Simon himself also believed, and after his baptism he remained with Philip, and was full of amazement as he beheld the signs and striking miracles which were performed.

And as they were going on their way they came to a certain water, and the eunuch said: "See, here is water! What hinders my being baptized?"

and begged of him letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any that were of the Way, either men or women, he could bind them and bring them to Jerusalem.

Meanwhile the men who were his fellow travelers stood speechless, hearing indeed the voice, but beholding no one.

And Saul got up from the ground, but although his eyes were open, he continued to perceive nothing; so they took him by the hand and led him into Damascus.

His hearers were all astonished, and began to say. "Is not this the very man who in Jerusalem made havoc of those who called upon the Name? Did he not come hither for the express purpose of carrying them all in chains to the high priests?"

And when many days were fulfilled the Jews made a plot to kill Saul;

So he came to Jerusalem, and attempted to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, because they did not believe that he was a disciple.

He was a devout man and God-fearing, and so were all his household. He gave many alms to the people, and constantly prayed to God.

The next day, while they were still on their way and were approaching the town, about noon, Peter went up to the housetop to pray.

He had become very hungry and longed for food; but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance.

In it were all kinds of quadrupeds and creeping things of the earth, and wild birds.

"how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how he went about everywhere doing good, and curing all who were oppressed by the devil; for God was with him.

"And we were witnesses of all that he did, both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him, hanging him on a tree.

While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell on all who were listening to the message.

And all the Jewish believers who had accompanied Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the Gentiles also.

Now the apostles and the brothers that were in Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God;

Some of them, however, were Cyprians and Cyrenaeans, who, on reaching Antioch, began to tell the Greeks also the Good News concerning the Lord Jesus.

and when he had found him he brought him to Antioch, where for a whole year they were guests of the church, and taught many people. And it was in Antioch that the disciples first received the name of "Christians."

Now when Herod was about to bring him forth, on that very night, while Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison,

Peter, coming to himself, said, "Now I know for a certainty that the Lord has sent his angel and released me from the hand of Herod, and from all that the Jewish people were anticipating."

So, after he had thought things over, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John, surnamed Mark, where a large number of people were assembled, praying.

Meanwhile Peter continued to knock, until at last they opened the door, and were amazed to see that it was really he.

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.

And as they were worshiping the Lord, and fasting, the Holy Spirit said to them, "Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."

And while they were in Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews.

When they saw the crowds, the Jews were filled with jealousy, and began to contradict Paul's statements, and to abuse him.

When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord, and all who had been ordained to eternal life, believed.

As for the disciples, they were continually filled with joy, and with the Holy Spirit.

Upon their arrival in Jerusalem they were received by the church and the apostles and elders, and they told them all things that God had done with them.

But certain men who had belonged to the sect of the Pharisees, but were now believers, stood up and said, "It is necessary to circumcise Gentile, and to order them to keep the Law of Moses."

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.

Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, together with the whole church, to select some of their number, and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. The men chosen were Judas called Bar-Sabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren.

And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many a good counsel.

So the churches were strengthened in the faith and continued to increase in number daily.

Now as we were going to the place of prayer, a certain slave girl met us, who had a spirit of divination, and who brought her masters great gain by fortune-telling.

But when her owners saw that their hopes of gain were gone, they seized Paul and Silas, and dragged them before the magistrates, into the market-place.

But at midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,

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.

Then they spoke the message of the Lord to him, as well as to all who were in his house.

The lictors reported these words to the praetors, who were frightened when they heard that they were Romans.

Some were persuaded and attached themselves to Paul and Silas, including a number of devout Greeks, and a large number of the leading women.

Both the crowd and the politarchs were disturbed when they heard this,

The Jews of Berea were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they very readily received the message with all readiness of mind, and day after day searched the Scriptures to see whether these things were so.

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.

A few of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also encountered him again and again. Some were saying, "What has this beggarly fellow to say?" Others said, "He seems to be a setter forth of strange gods," because he preached Jesus and the resurrection.

Paul came to them, and because he was of the same trade with them, he lodged with them, and worked with them??or by trade they were tentmakers.

And Crispus, the warden of the synagogue, believed on the Lord, with all his household; and many of the Corinthians from time to time listened, believed, and were baptized.

"Into what, then, were you baptized?" he asked. And they said, "Into the baptism of John."

When they heard this they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus;

They were in all about twelve men.

so much so, that handkerchiefs or aprons were carried away from his body to the sick; and their diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out.

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.