to whom he also presented himself alive after he suffered, with many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking the things about the kingdom of God.

both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs--we hear them speaking in our [own] languages the great deeds of God!"

'And it will be in the last days,' God says, 'I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.

"Israelite men, listen to these words! Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, just as [you] yourselves know--

this man, delivered up by the determined plan and foreknowledge of God, you executed [by] nailing to [a cross] through the hand of lawless men.

God raised {him} up, having brought to an end the pains of death, because it was not possible [for] him to be held by it.

Therefore, [because he] was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat {one of his descendants} on his throne,

This Jesus God raised up, of which we all are witnesses.

Therefore, having been exalted to the right hand of God and having received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, he has poured out this that you see and hear.

Therefore let all the house of Israel know beyond a doubt, that God has made him both Lord and Christ--this Jesus whom you crucified!"

For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all those [who are] far away, as many as the Lord our God calls to himself."

praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding every day to the total [of] those who were being saved.

And a certain man was being carried who was lame {from birth}. {He} was placed every day at the gate of the temple called "Beautiful," [so that he] could ask for charitable gifts from those who were going into the temple [courts].

And leaping up, he stood and began walking around and entered into the temple [courts] with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

And all the people saw him walking and praising God,

And they recognized him, that this one was the one who used to sit [asking] for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with awe and astonishment at what had happened to him.

The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and denied in the presence of Pilate, [after] he had decided to release [him].

And you killed the originator of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses!

But [the things] which God foretold through the mouth of all the prophets, [that] his Christ would suffer, he has fulfilled in this way.

whom heaven must receive until the times of the restoration of all [things], about which God spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from earliest times.

Moses said, 'The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You will listen to him in everything that he says to you.

You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God ordained with your fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your offspring all the nations of the earth will be blessed.'

God, [after he] had raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning each [of you] back from your wickedness!"

if we are being examined today concerning a good deed [done to] a sick man--by what [means] this man was healed--

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, whom God raised from the dead--by him this man stands before you healthy!

But Peter and John answered [and] said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than God, you decide!

So [after] threatening [them] further, they released them, finding no way to punish them on account of the people, because they were all praising God for what had happened.

And [when they] heard [it], they lifted [their] voices with one mind to God and said, "Master, you [are] the one who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all the things in them,

And [when] they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.

[When it] remained to you, did it not remain [yours]? And [when it] was sold, was it at your disposal? How [is it] that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to people, but to God!"

But Peter and the apostles answered [and] said, "It is necessary to obey God rather than men!

The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you killed [by] hanging [him] on a tree.

This one God has exalted to his right hand [as] Leader and Savior to grant repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

And we are witnesses of these things, and [so is] the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him."

But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them, lest you even be found fighting against God." So they were persuaded by him.

Every day, both in the temple [courts] and from house [to house], they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the good news [that] the Christ [was] Jesus.

So the twelve summoned the community of disciples [and] said, "It is not desirable [that] we neglect the word of God to serve tables.

So, brothers, select from among you seven men {of good reputation}, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we will put in charge of this need.

And the word of God kept spreading, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem was increasing greatly, and a large number of priests began obeying the faith.

Then they secretly instigated men who said, "We have heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God!"

So he said, "Men--brothers and fathers--listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham [while he] was in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran,

But God spoke like this: 'His descendants will be foreigners in a foreign land, and they will enslave them and mistreat [them] four hundred years,

and the nation {that} they will serve as slaves, I will judge,' God said, 'and after these [things] they will come out and will worship me in this place.'

And the patriarchs, [because they] were jealous of Joseph, sold [him] into Egypt. And God was with him,

"But as the time of the promise that God had made to Abraham was drawing near, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt

At this time Moses was born, and he was beautiful to God. {He} was brought up [for] three months in [his] father's house,

And he thought his brothers would understand that God was granting deliverance to them by his hand, but they did not understand.

'I [am] the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob!' So Moses began trembling [and] did not dare to look at [it].

This Moses whom they had repudiated, saying, 'Who appointed you a ruler and a judge?'--this man God sent [as] both ruler and redeemer with {the help} of the angel who appeared to him in the bush.

"This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, 'God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.'

But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, just as it is written in the book of the prophets: 'You did not bring offerings and sacrifices to me [for] forty years in the wilderness, [did you], house of Israel?

And you took along the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of the god Rephan, the images that you made, to worship them, and I will deport you beyond Babylon!'

and which, [after] receiving [it] in turn, our fathers brought in with Joshua {when they dispossessed the} nations that God drove out from the presence of our fathers, until the days of David,

who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a habitation for the God of Jacob.

But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked intently into heaven [and] saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

And he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!"

Now those who had been scattered went about proclaiming the good news [of] the word.

They were all paying attention to {him}, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is the power of God that is called 'Great.'"

But when they believed Philip [as he] was proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were being baptized.

Now [when] the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them,

But Peter said to him, "May your silver {be destroyed along with you}, because you thought {you could acquire} the gift of God by means of money!

{You have no} part or share in this matter, because your heart is not right before God.

So [when] they had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they turned back toward Jerusalem, and were proclaiming the good news [to] many villages of the Samaritans.

Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, "Get up and go toward the south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." (This is a desert [road].)

And he got up [and] went, and behold, [there was] a man, an Ethiopian eunuch (a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasury) who had come to worship in Jerusalem

So Philip opened his mouth and beginning from this scripture, proclaimed the good news to him [about] Jesus.

But Philip found himself at Azotus, and [as he] passed through, he proclaimed the good news [to] all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

But get up and enter into the city, and it will be told to you {what you must do}."

So Saul got up from the ground, but [although] his eyes were open he could see nothing. And leading him by the hand, they brought [him] into Damascus.

And the Lord [said] to him, "Get up, go to the street called 'Straight' and in the house of Judas look for {a man named Saul from Tarsus}. For behold, he is praying,

And immediately [something] like scales fell from his eyes and he regained [his] sight and got up [and] was baptized,

And immediately he began proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues: "This one is the Son of God!"

And Peter said to him, "Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you! Get up and make your bed yourself!" And immediately he got up.

Now in Joppa there was a certain female disciple {named} Tabitha (which translated means "Dorcas"). She was full of good deeds and charitable giving which she was constantly doing.

So Peter got up [and] accompanied them. [When he] arrived, they brought [him] up to the upstairs room, and all the widows came to him, weeping and showing [him] tunics and [other] clothing that Dorcas used to make [while she] was with them.

But Peter sent [them] all outside, and, falling to [his] knees, he prayed. And turning toward the body, he said, "Tabitha, get up!" And she opened her eyes, and [when she] saw Peter, she sat up.

devout and fearing God together with all his household, doing many charitable deeds for the people and praying to God {continually}.

About the ninth hour of the day, he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming to him and saying to him, "Cornelius."

And he stared at him and became terrified [and] said, "What is [it], Lord?" And he said to him, "Your prayers and your charitable deeds have gone up for a memorial offering before God.

And a voice came to him, "Get up, Peter, slaughter and eat!"

And the voice [came] again to him for the second time: "[The things] which God has made clean, you must not consider unclean!"

Now while Peter was greatly perplexed within himself [as to] what the vision that he had seen might be, behold, the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having found the house of Simon by asking around, stood at the gate.

But get up, go down, and go with them--not hesitating at all, because I have sent them."

And they said, "Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man--and well spoken of by the whole nation of the Jews--was directed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear words from you."

So he invited them in [and] entertained them as guests, and on the next day he got up [and] went away with them. And some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him.

But Peter helped him up, saying, "Get up! I myself am also a man!"

And he said to them, "You know that it is forbidden for a Jewish man to associate with or to approach a foreigner. And to me God has shown [that] I should call no man common or unclean.

and said, 'Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your charitable deeds have been remembered before God.

Therefore I sent for you at once, and you {were kind enough to come}. So now we all are present before God to hear all the things that have been commanded to you by the Lord."

So Peter opened [his] mouth [and] said, "In truth I understand that God is not one who shows partiality,

[As for] the message that he sent to the sons of Israel, proclaiming the good news of peace through Jesus Christ--this one is Lord of all--

Jesus of Nazareth--how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with him.

God raised this one up on the third day and granted [that] he should become visible,

not to all the people but to us who had been chosen beforehand by God [as] witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify solemnly that this one is the one appointed by God [as] judge of the living and of the dead.

for they heard them speaking in tongues and glorifying God. Then Peter said,

Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had accepted the word of God.

And I also heard a voice saying to me, 'Get up, Peter, slaughter and eat!'

But the voice replied from heaven for the second time, '[The things] which God has made clean, you must not consider unclean!'

Therefore if God gave them the same gift as also to us [when we] believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I [to be] able to hinder God?"