And he went out after him; and he was not certain if what was done by the angel was a fact, for it seemed to him that he was seeing a vision.

And [after they] had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened for them by itself, and they went out [and] went forward [along] one narrow street, and at once the angel departed from him.

Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from Herod’s grasp and from all that the Jewish people expected.”

And when he became clear about this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John named Mark, where a number of them had come together for prayer.

And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate.

But he motioned with his hand for silence, and then described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. "Tell all this to James and the brethren," he added. Then he left them, and went to another place.

And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and there abode.

Now he was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: and they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king's chamberlain their friend, they asked for peace, because their country was fed from the king's country.

Meanwhile the Lord's Message kept extending, and spreading far and wide.

Barnabas and Saul returned [to Antioch] from Jerusalem after they had fulfilled their mission [i.e., of taking the contribution for the famine-stricken people of Judea. See 11:27-30]. They took John Mark [back to Antioch with them].

As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.

Then, as these prophets and teachers fasted and prayed [for the two men], they placed their hands on them [signifying their appointment for this ministry] and sent them away.

being thus appointed missionarys by the holy spirit, they went to Seleucia, where they embark'd for Cyprus.

And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had also John for their minister.

And having passed through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a certain man a magician, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-jesus,

Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.

But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.

O you, who are full of false tricks and evil ways, a son of the Evil One, hating all righteousness, will you for ever be turning people from the right ways of the Lord?

And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.

The proconsul believed [the message of salvation] when he saw what had happened, being astonished at the teaching concerning the Lord.

From Paphos Paul and his party set sail for Perga in Pamphylia; but John Mark left them and went back to Jerusalem.

And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.

Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience.

"Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen! The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors and made them a great people during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with a public display of power he led them out of there.

And for about the time of forty years as a nursing-father bare he them in the wilderness.

And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land for an inheritance, for about four hundred and fifty years:

And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.

And afterward they asked for a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for the space of forty years.

And having removed him he raised up to them David for king, of whom also bearing witness he said, I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who shall do all my will.

"It is from among David's descendants that God, in fulfilment of His promise, has raised up a Saviour for Israel, even Jesus.

For whose coming John made ready the way by preaching to all the people of Israel the baptism which goes with a change of heart.

And as John was closing his career he said, 'What do you take me for? I am not He; no, he is coming after me, and I am not fit to untie the sandals on his feet!'

Brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and those among you that fear God, to us is the word of this salvation sent forth.

For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.

Though they found no grounds for the death penalty, they asked Pilate to have Him killed.

and he was seen for many days of them that came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses unto the people.

that God has completely fulfilled this promise to our children by raising up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘You are My Son; today I have begotten (fathered) You.’

As for the fact that He raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’

For this reason He also says in another Psalm, ‘You will not allow Your Holy One to see decay.’

For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:

Be it known therefore to you, men, brethren, that for him remission of sins is announced to you.

And through him everyone who has faith is made free from all those things, from which the law of Moses was not able to make you free.

So take care that these words of the prophets do not come true for you;

Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.

As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the Synagogue, the people begged for a repetition of this teaching on the next Sabbath.

Then Paul and Barnabas without fear said, It was necessary for the word of God to be given to you first; but because you will have nothing to do with it, and have no desire for eternal life, it will now be offered to the Gentiles.

For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.

When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying [praising and giving thanks for] the word of the Lord; and all those who had been appointed (designated, ordained) to eternal life [by God] believed [in Jesus as the Christ and their Savior].

And the Lord's message was spread far and wide over the entire region.

But they shook the dust off of their feet against them [i.e., as an expression of contempt for the people's attitude] and went on to Iconium.

and as for the disciples, they were more and more filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

And it came to pass in Iconium according to the same thing, for them to enter into the synagogue of the Jews, and to speak so as for a great quantity to believe, both of Jews and of Greeks.

So Paul and Barnabas stayed for a long time, speaking boldly and confidently for the Lord, who continued to testify to the word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders (attesting miracles) be done by them.

But the multitude of the city was divided: and some were for the Jews, and some for the apostles:

Now at Lystra a man sat who was unable to use his feet, for he was crippled from birth and had never walked.

And they called Barnabas, Jupiter, and Paul, Mercury, for he was the chief speaker.

yet He did not leave Himself without some witness [as evidence of Himself], in that He kept constantly doing good things and showing you kindness, and giving you rains from heaven and productive seasons, filling your hearts with food and happiness.”

And even with these words, it was hard for them to keep the people from making an offering to them.

But some Jews came to that place from Antioch and Iconium, and got control over the people; and after stoning Paul, they had him pulled out of the town, taking him for dead.

But [after] the disciples surrounded him, he got up [and] went into the city. And on the next day he departed with Barnabas for Derbe.

strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging [them] to continue in the faith and [saying], "Through many persecutions it is necessary [for] us to enter into the kingdom of God."

And when they had appointed for them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they had believed.

And thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled.

And [when they] arrived and called the church together, they reported all that God had done with them, and that he had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles.

They stayed there with the disciples for a long time.

there having been, therefore, not a little dissension and disputation to Paul and Barnabas with them, they arranged for Paul and Barnabas, and certain others of them, to go up unto the apostles and elders to Jerusalem about this question,

So they set out, being accompanied for a short distance by some other members of the Church; and as they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told the whole story of the conversion of the Gentiles and inspired all the brethren with great joy.

But some of the Pharisees, who were of the faith, got up and said, It is necessary for these to have circumcision and to keep the law of Moses.

And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.

and there having been much disputing, Peter having risen up said unto them, 'Men, brethren, ye know that from former days, God among us did make choice, through my mouth, for the nations to hear the word of the good news, and to believe;

And God, who knows the heart, became a witness for them, by giving them the Holy Spirit, as he gave it also to us;

Why then are you testing God, by putting on the neck of the disciples a yoke so hard that not even our fathers or we were strong enough for it?

For we believe that [both] we [Jews] and they [Gentiles] will be saved in the same way, through the unearned favor of the Lord Jesus."

Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.

So that the rest of men may make search for the Lord, and all the Gentiles on whom my name is named,

he that does all these things, is the Lord himself that has said it." for the works of God are all known to him from the beginning of the world.

Therefore I conclude we should not cause difficulty for those from among the Gentiles who turn to God,

For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.

They wrote this letter for them to deliver: "From: The apostles and the elders, your brothers To: Their gentile brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia.

Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;

That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

Which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation.

And when they had been there for some time, they were sent back in peace by the brothers to those who had sent them.

And it seemed fitting to Silas to wait for him.

And after some days Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us return now and visit the brethren in every city wherein we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they fare.

So there arose a serious disagreement between them, which resulted in their parting from one another, Barnabas taking Mark and setting sail for Cyprus.

While Paul chose Silas for his companion and, after he had been committed by the Brethren to the gracious care of the Lord,

Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek.

And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.

They went as far as Mysia and tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them,

And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.

After setting sail from Troas we headed straight for Samothrace [i.e., an island in the Aegean Sea] and the next day we went on to Neapolis [i.e., a seaport in Macedonia],

and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city [of that] district of Macedonia, a [Roman] colony. And we were staying in this city for some days.

And on the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where it was the custom for prayer to be, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had assembled.

And a certain woman {named} Lydia from the city of Thyatira, a merchant dealing in purple cloth who showed reverence for God, was listening. The Lord opened {her} heart to pay attention to what was being said by Paul.

Once, as we were on our way to prayer, a slave girl met us who had a spirit of prediction. She made a large profit for her owners by fortune-telling.

And this she did for many days. But Paul, being sore troubled, turned and said to the spirit, I charge thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And it came out that very hour.

But when the girl's slave-owners saw that their prospects for income [from her activities] were [now] gone, they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them to the open shopping market, in front of the authorities.

And when they brought them to the governors, they said, These men cause great disturbance in our city, for they are Jews, and teach customs,