Then they all seized Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and kept beating him right in front of the court; but Gallio paid no attention to it.

Now Paul stayed a considerable time longer in Corinth, and then bade the brothers goodbye and set sail for Syria, accompanied by Aquila and Priscilla. At Cenchreae he had his hair cut, for he was under a vow.

They asked him to stay longer, but he would not consent.

But as he bade them goodbye, he promised, "I will come back to you again, if it is God's will." Then he set sail from Ephesus.

He had been instructed about the way of the Lord, and with spiritual fervor he was speaking and was accurately teaching some details about Jesus, although he knew of no baptism but John's.

He started speaking courageously in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him home with them and more accurately explained the way of God to him.

But as some of them grew harder and harder and refused to believe, actually criticizing The Way before the people, he left them, withdrew his disciples, and continued his discussions in the lecture-hall of Tyrannus.

But some wandering Jews who claimed to be driving out the evil spirits tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus on those who had evil spirits in them, saying, "I command you by that Jesus whom Paul preaches!"

But on one occasion the evil spirit answered, "Jesus I know and Paul I know about, but who are you?"

and you see and hear that, not only in Ephesus but all over the province of Asia, this man Paul has led away a vast number of people by persuading them, telling them that gods made by human hands are not gods at all.

Now the danger facing us is, not only that our business will lose its reputation but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be brought into contempt and that she whom all Asia and all the world now worship will soon be dethroned from her majestic glory!"

Paul wanted to go into the assembly and address the people, but the disciples would not let him.

But as soon as they saw that he was a Jew, a shout went up from them all as the shout of one man, lasting for two hours: "Great Artemis of Ephesus!"

But if you require anything beyond this, it must be settled in the regular assembly.

When the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples and encouraged them. Then he bade them goodbye and started off for Macedonia.

But Paul went down and fell on him and embraced him, and said, "Stop being alarmed, his life is still in him."

but constantly and earnestly I urged Greeks as well as Jews to turn with repentance to God and to have faith in our Lord Jesus.

But now I count as nothing the sacrifice of my life, if only I can finish my race and render the service entrusted to me by the Lord Jesus, of faithfully telling the good news of God's favor.

Take care of yourselves and of the whole flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, so as to continue to be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own blood.

After sighting Cyprus and leaving it on our left, we sailed on for Syria, and put in at Tyre, for the ship was to unload her cargo there.

But when our time was up, we left there and went on, and all of them with their wives and children accompanied us out of town. There we knelt down on the beach and prayed;

there we bade one another goodbye, and we went aboard the ship, while they went back.

Then Paul answered, "What do you mean by crying and breaking my heart? Why, I am ready not only to be bound at Jerusalem but to die there for the sake of the Lord Jesus."

Take them along with you, purify yourself with them, and bear the expense for them of having their heads shaved. Then everybody will know that none of those things they have been told about you are so, but that you yourself are living as a constant observer of the law.

So he at once got together some soldiers and captains and hurried down against them, but as soon as they saw the colonel and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

But they kept shouting in the crowd, some one thing, some another. As he could not with certainty find out about it, because of the tumult, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks.

"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up here in this city, and carefully educated under the teaching of Gamaliel in the law of our forefathers. I was zealous for God, as all of you are today.

But on my way, just before I reached Damascus, suddenly about noon a blaze of light from heaven flashed around me,

The men who were with me saw the light, but they did not hear the voice of Him who was speaking to me.

But when they had tied him for the flogging, Paul asked the captain who was standing by, "Is it lawful for you to flog a Roman, and one who is uncondemned at that?"

Then the colonel said, "I paid a large sum for this citizenship of mine." Paul said, "But I was born a citizen."

For the Sadducees hold that there is no resurrection, and no such thing as an angel or spirit, but the Pharisees believe in all of them.

But that same night the Lord stood by Paul's side and said, "Courage! For just as you have testified for me in Jerusalem, you must testify for me in Rome, too."

So you and the council must now notify the colonel to bring him down to you, as though you were going to look into his case more carefully, but before he gets down we will be ready to kill him."

But Paul's nephew heard of the plot and came to the barracks and told Paul.

But do not yield to them, for more than forty of them are lying in wait for him; they have taken an oath not to eat or drink till they have killed him. They are all ready now, just waiting for your promise."

and found him to be charged with questions about their law, but having no charge against him involving death or imprisonment.

But, not to detain you too long, I beg you in your kindness to give us a brief hearing.

once he tried to desecrate the temple, but we arrested him,

But I certainly admit this as a fact that in accordance with The Way -- that they call heresy -- I continue to worship the God of my forefathers, and I still believe in everything taught in the law and written in the prophets,

But there were some Jews from Asia who ought to be here before you and to present their charges, if they have any, against me.

He ordered the captain to keep Paul in custody but to let him have freedom and not to prevent his friends from showing him kindness.

But as he continued to talk about uprightness, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became alarmed, and said, "For the present you may go, but when I find a good opportunity, I will send for you."

But at the close of two whole years Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, and as he wanted to gratify the Jews, Felix left Paul still in prison.

But Paul said, "I now am standing before the emperor's court where I ought to be tried. I have done the Jews no wrong, as you very well know.

If I am guilty and have done anything that deserves death, I am not begging to keep from dying, but if there is nothing in the charges which these men make against me, no one can give me up as a favor to them. I appeal to the emperor."

But when his accusers appeared before me, they did not charge him with the crimes of which I had been suspecting him.

They merely had a quarrel with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus who had died, but who Paul kept saying was still alive.

But as Paul appealed to have his case kept for his Majesty's decision, I ordered him kept in custody until I could send him up to the emperor."

But I found that he had not done anything for which he deserved to die; however, as he has himself appealed to his Majesty, I have decided to send him up.

Yet, I have nothing definite to write our Sovereign about him. So I have brought him before all of you, especially before you, King Agrippa, to get from your examination something to put in writing.

for they have known all along from the first, if they would but testify to it, that I as a Pharisee have lived by the standard of the strictest sect of our religion.

That was what I did at Jerusalem; yes, I received authority from the high priests and shut behind the prison bars many of God's people. Yes, when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them, and often in all the synagogues

But get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for the very purpose of appointing you my servant and a witness to me of the things which you have seen and those which I shall yet enable you to see.

but I began to preach first to the people of Damascus and Jerusalem, and all over Judea, and then to the heathen, to repent and turn to God, and to live lives consistent with such repentance.

Paul answered, "I am not going crazy, your Excellency, Festus, but I am telling the straight truth.

Paul answered, "In brief or at length, I would to God that not only you but all my hearers today were what I am -- excepting these chains!"

There the colonel found an Alexandrian ship bound for Italy, and put us on board her.

by saying, "Men, I see that this voyage is likely to be attended by disaster and heavy loss, not only to the cargo and the ship, but also to our lives."

But the colonel was influenced by the pilot and the captain of the ship rather than by what Paul said.

But it was not long before a violent wind, which is called a Northeaster, swept down from it.

As we passed under the lee of a small island called Cauda, with great difficulty we were able to secure the ship's boat.

Even now I beg you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life, but only of the ship.

Although the sailors were trying to escape from the ship and had actually lowered the boat into the sea, pretending that they were going to run out anchors from the bow,

Then the soldiers cut the ropes that held the boat and let it drift away.

Until day was about to break Paul kept begging them all to take something to eat. He said, "For fourteen days today you have been constantly waiting and going without food, not even taking a bite.

When day broke, they could not recognize the land, but they spied a bay that had a beach, and determined, if possible, to run the ship ashore.

But they struck a shoal and ran the ship aground; the bow stuck and remained unmoved, while the stern began to break to pieces under the beating of the waves.

but the colonel wanted to save Paul, and so he prevented them from carrying out this plan, and ordered all who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land, and the rest to follow,

Paul, too, gathered a bundle of sticks, and as he put them on the fire, because of the heat, a viper crawled out of them and fastened itself upon his hand.

But he simply shook the reptile off into the fire and suffered no harm.

The natives kept on looking for him to swell up or suddenly drop dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual take place on him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.

Publius' father chanced to be sick in bed with fever and dysentery, and Paul went to see him and after praying laid his hands upon him and cured him.

But the Jews objected, so I was forced to appeal to the Emperor; yet it was not because I had any charge to make against my own nation.

But we think it fitting to let you tell us what your views are, for as to this sect it is known by all of us that it is everywhere denounced."

Some of them were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe.

because, although they once knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give Him thanks, but became silly in their senseless speculations, and so their insensible hearts have been shrouded in darkness.

Although they know full well God's sentence that those who practice such things deserve to die, yet they not only practice them but even applaud others who do them.

But in your stubbornness and impenitence of heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, when the justice of God's judgments will be uncovered.

but wrath and fury, crushing suffering and awful anguish, to the self-willed who are always resisting the right and yielding to the wrong,

But glory, honor, and peace will come to everyone who practices doing good, the Jew first and then the Greek;

For merely hearing the law read does not make men upright with God, but men who practice the law will be recognized as upright.

Now circumcision benefits you only if you practice the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision is no better than uncircumcision.

The real Jew is the man who is a Jew on the inside, and real circumcision is heart-circumcision, a spiritual, not a literal, affair. This man's praise originates, not with men, but with God.

But if our wrongdoing brings to light the uprightness of God, what shall we infer? Is it wrong (I am using everyday human terms) for God to inflict punishment?

But, as you say, if the truthfulness of God has redounded to His glory because of my falsehood, why am I still condemned as a sinner?

But now God's way of giving men right standing with Himself has come to light; a way without connection with the law, and yet a way to which the law and the prophets testify.

but anybody may have right standing with God as a free gift of His undeserved favor, through the ransom provided in Christ Jesus.

So where has human boasting gone? It was completely shut out. On what principle? On that of doing something? No, but on the principle of faith.

since there is but one God, who will consider the Jews in right standing with Himself, only on condition of their faith, and the heathen peoples on the same condition.

For if he was considered in right standing with God on the condition of what he did, he has something to boast of, but not before God.

For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham put his faith in God, and it was credited to him as right standing with God."

Now when a workman gets his pay, it is not considered from the point of view of a favor but of an obligation;

but the man who does no work, but simply puts his faith in Him who brings the ungodly into right standing with Himself, has his faith credited to him as right standing.

Under what circumstances was it credited to him as right standing? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? Not after but before he was circumcised.

and the forefather of those Jews who not only belong to the circumcision but also follow in the footsteps of our forefather Abraham in the faith he had before he was circumcised.

For the promise made to Abraham and his descendants, that he should own the world, was not conditioned on the law, but on the right standing he had with God through faith.

For the law results in wrath alone, but where there is no law, there can be no violation of it.

So it is conditioned on faith, that it might be in accordance with God's unmerited favor, so that the promise might be in force for all the descendants of Abraham, not only for those who belong to the law party but also for those who belong to the faith group of Abraham. He is the father of us all,

as the Scripture says, "I have made you the father of many nations." That is, the promise is in force in the sight of God in whom he put his faith, the God who can bring the dead to life and can call to Himself the things that do not exist as though they did.