until the day He was taken up, after He had given orders through the Holy Spirit to the apostles He had chosen.

to whom also he did present himself alive after his suffering, in many certain proofs, through forty days being seen by them, and speaking the things concerning the reign of God.

So those who were present began to ask Him, "Lord, is this the time when you are going to set up the kingdom again for Israel?"

After saying this, Jesus was taken up while those who had gathered together were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

and as they were looking stedfastly toward heaven, as he mounted up, on a sudden, two men appear'd before them robed in white, who said,

They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen Him going into heaven.”

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.

During these days Peter stood up among the brothers—the number of people who were together was about 120—and said:

“Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled that the Holy Spirit through the mouth of David spoke in advance about Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.

And it became known to all who live in Jerusalem, so that that field was called in their own language "Akeldama," that is, "Field of Blood.")

“Therefore, from among the men who have accompanied us during the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us—

So they proposed two: Joseph, called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias.

and having prayed, they said, 'Thou, Lord, who art knowing the heart of all, shew which one thou didst choose of these two

and having drawn lots; the lot fell upon Matthias, who was added to the eleven apostles.

now many devout Jews were residing at Jerusalem, who came from all quarters of the world.

And this sound occurring the throng came together and was thrown into confusion, because each one severally heard in his own language them who were speaking;

And they were astounded and amazed, saying, “Look, aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?

Parthians, Medes, Elamites; those who live in Mesopotamia, in Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya toward Cyrene, and the Romans who were in town,

But there were some who said with a sneer: "They have had too much new wine."

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them, "Judean men, and all those who live [in] Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and pay attention to my words!

And it will be [that] everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.'

ye men of Israel attend to what I say; Jesus of Nazareth was a man whom God distinguished among you, by miracles, by prodigies, and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as you your selves also know:

him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by means of the wicked, have crucified and slain: whom God hath raised up,

whom God did raise up, having loosed the pains of the death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it,

men and brethren, let me with assurance tell you of the patriarch David, who died and was buried here, his sepulchre being with us to this day:

'tis this Jesus whom God hath raised up, of which we all are witnesses.

For it was not David who ascended into the heavens, but he himself says:

The Lord declared to my Lord,
‘Sit at My right hand

Till I put all those who are against you under your feet.

“Therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah!”

For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about 3,000 people were added to them.

Everyone [who saw this happen] was filled with awe at the many miracles and [supernatural] signs performed by the apostles.

And all who believed were in the same [place], and had everything in common.

They made it their practice to sell their possessions and goods and to distribute the proceeds to anyone who was in need.

praising God and having favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to them those who were being saved.

One day, as Peter and John were going up into the Temple Courts for the three o'clock Prayers, a man, who had been lame from his birth, was being carried by.

And a man who was lame from birth was carried there and placed every day at the temple gate called Beautiful, so he could beg from those entering the temple complex.

who, having seen Peter and John about to go into the temple, was begging to receive a kindness.

and they recognized that he was the one who used to sit and beg at the Beautiful Gate of the temple complex. So they were filled with awe and astonishment at what had happened to him.

And at the lame man who was healed holding Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch called Solomon's -- greatly amazed,

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you handed over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him.

And you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and ask that a man who was a murderer should be delivered unto you,

You killed the source of life, whom God raised from the dead; we are witnesses of this.

By faith in His name, His name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. So the faith that comes through Him has given him this perfect health in front of all of you.

repent therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshment shall come from the presence of the Lord, who shall send Jesus Christ,

and that He may send Jesus, who has been appointed for you as the Messiah.

Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

And everyone who will not listen to that Prophet will be completely cut off from the people.

“In addition, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those after him, have also announced these days.

It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’

who were annoyed at them teaching the people and proclaiming Jesus as an instance of resurrection from the dead.

But many of those who heard the message believed, and the number of the men came to about 5,000.

and Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all those who were from the high priest's family.

if we to-day are examined concerning the good deed to the ailing man, by whom he hath been saved,

let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead—by Him this man is standing here before you healthy.

This Jesus is

the stone rejected by you builders,
which has become the cornerstone.

There is no salvation through anyone else, for there is no one else in the world who has been named to men as their only means of being saved."

And since they saw the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in response.

saying, “What should we do with these men? For an obvious sign, evident to all who live in Jerusalem, has been done through them, and we cannot deny it!

so when they had further threatned them, they let them go, not finding it practicable to punish them, because of the people, who all glorified God for that which was done.

for this sign of healing had been performed on a man over 40 years old.

When they heard this, they all raised their voices to God and said, “Master, You are the One who made the heaven, the earth, and the sea, and everything in them.

Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?

“For, in fact, in this city both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed,

(whom Thou hast anointed,) to do whatever thy hand and thy counsel had before determined to be done.

Now the large group of those who believed were of one heart and mind, and no one said that any of his possessions was his own, but instead they held everything in common.

For there was not a needy person among them, because all those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the proceeds of the things that were sold,

and gave it to the apostles, who distributed it to each person who had a need.

Joseph, a Levite and a Cypriot by birth, the one the apostles called Barnabas, which is translated Son of Encouragement,

and who owned a tract of land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Now there was a certain man named Ananias who with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,

When he heard these words, Ananias dropped dead, and a great fear came on all who heard.

Then Peter said to her, “Why did you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out!”

Then great fear came on the whole church and on all who heard these things.

Thus were many signs and wonders wrought among the people, by the apostles, who us'd to meet in Solomon's porch with great unanimity:

but the people who reverenc'd them,

did not venture to approach near them. the number of those who believed in the Lord, both men and women, increas'd more and more.

And they even took into the streets people who were ill, and put them on beds, so that when Peter went by, some of them might be in his shade.

In addition, a large group came together from the towns surrounding Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

Then the high priest took action. He and all his colleagues, those who belonged to the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.

In obedience to this, they entered the temple complex at daybreak and began to teach.

When the high priest and those who were with him arrived, they convened the Sanhedrin—the full Senate of the sons of Israel—and sent orders to the jail to have them brought.

but the officers who went there not finding them in the prison, returned, and made this report,

Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people.

The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had murdered by hanging Him on a tree.

He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.

We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

A Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was respected by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered the men to be taken outside for a little while.

For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought.

After this man, Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and {caused people to follow him in revolt}. And that one perished, and all who followed him were scattered.

Therefore, brothers, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we can appoint to this duty.

And this saying was pleasing to all of them: and they made selection of Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip and Prochorus and Nicanor and Timon and Parmenas and Nicolas of Antioch, who had become a Jew:

They had them stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

And the message of God kept on growing and spreading, and the number of disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem; and a large number of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith [accepting Jesus as Messiah and acknowledging Him as the Source of eternal salvation].

And Stephen [i.e., one of the seven men chosen to minister to widows, verse 5], who was full of [God's] favor and power, performed great wonders and [miraculous] signs in front of the [Jewish] people.

But some of those who were of the Synagogue named that of the Libertines, and some of the men of Cyrene and of Alexandria and those from Cilicia and Asia, had arguments with Stephen.

But they were unable to stand up against his wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking.

they suborned men, who said, we have heard him speak irreverently of Moses, and of God.

and they stirred up the people, the senators, and the doctors of law, who came and seiz'd him, and brought him to the council,

They also presented false witnesses who said, “This man does not stop speaking blasphemous words against this holy place and the law.