And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw 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.

And when Peter came to himself, he said: Now I know, in truth, that the Lord has sent his angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod, and from all that was expected by the Jewish people.

And when he had knocked at the door of the entry, a maid came to listen, by name Rhoda;

And, recognizing the voice of Peter, by reason of her joy, she opened not the porch, - but, running in, bare tidings that Peter was standing before the porch. But, they, unto her, said - Thou art raving

and they said unto her, 'Thou art mad;' and she was confidently affirming it to be so, and they said, 'It is his messenger;'

And having made a sign to them with his hand to be silent, he related to them how the Lord had brought him out of prison; and he said, Report these things to James and to the brethren. And he went out 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.

And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king's chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king's country.

And at once an angel of the Lord struck him down because he did not give God the glory [and instead permitted himself to be worshiped], and he was eaten by worms and died [five days later].

But the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied.

Among the members of the Church at Antioch there were several Prophets and Teachers--Barnabas, Simeon who was known by the name of 'Black', Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, foster-brother of Prince Herod, and Saul.

And while they were doing the Lord's work, and going without food, the Holy Spirit said, Let Barnabas and Saul be given to me for the special work for which they have been marked out by me.

So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.

And, coming to be in Salamis, they declared the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews; - and they had, John also, as an attendant.

When they had gone through the whole length of the island as far as Paphos, they there met with a Jewish magician and false prophet, Bar-Jesus by name,

who was a friend of the Proconsul Sergius Paulus. The Proconsul was a man of keen intelligence. He sent for Barnabas and Saul, and asked to be told God's Message.

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

But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit and led by Him, looked steadily at Elymas,

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.

When the Governor saw what had happened, he became a believer in Christ, being greatly impressed by the teaching about the Lord.

Then Paul and those who were with him went by ship from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia: and there John went away from them and came back to Jerusalem.

and after the reading of the law and of the prophets, the chief men of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, 'Men, brethren, if there be a word in you of exhortation unto the people -- say on.'

So Paul rose, and motioning with his hand for silence, said, "Israelites, and you others who fear God, pay attention to me.

The God of this people Israel, chose our fathers, and, the people, he exalted, by their sojourn in the land of Egypt, - and, with a high arm, brought he them out of it;

And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, he divided their land to them by lot.

And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years.

And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.

it is of his posterity that God, pursuant to his promise, has rais'd up Jesus to be the saviour of Israel.

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 fulfilling the course, he said, Whom me do ye suppose to be? I am not he, but, lo, he doth come after me, of whom I am not worthy to loose the sandal of his feet.

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

And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain.

and he was seen for many days by those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses to the people.

to you therefore we declare, that the promise which God had made to the fathers, he has now perform'd to us, who are their children, by his having raised up Jesus again.

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.’

And as to His having raised Him from among the dead, never again to be in the position of one soon to return to decay, He speaks thus: 'I will give you the holy and trustworthy promises made to David.'

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:

But he, who was lifted up by God, did not see destruction.

Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:

And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Watch out, therefore, lest what is stated by the prophets come upon [you]:

'Look, you scoffers, and be astonished and perish! For I am doing a work in your days, a work that you would never believe [even] if someone were to tell [it] to you.'"

And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.

After the synagogue broke up, a number of the Jews and the devout proselytes followed them; Paul and Barnabas talked to them and encouraged them to hold by the grace of God.

But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.

And Paul and Barnabas spake out boldly, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first be spoken to you. Seeing ye thrust it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, lo, we turn 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.

And the Gentiles, hearing this, were glad and gave glory to the word of God: and those marked out by God for eternal life had faith.

And the word of the Lord went on to be carried through the whole country.

But the Jews incited the devoted [non-Jewish] women who held respected positions, and the principal men of the city, by stirring up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and [succeeded] in running them out of the region.

Meanwhile, the disciples continued to be full of joy and the Holy Spirit.

Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.

When an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to assault and stone them,

The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed,

And the priest of Zeus-beyond-the-Walls, accompanied by the crowd, brought bullocks and garlands to the gates, with the intention of offering sacrifices.

Good people, why are you doing these things? We are men with the same feelings as you, and we give you the good news so that you may be turned away from these foolish things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all things in them:

who in the generations gone by suffered all the nations to walk in their own ways.

And yet he did not leave himself without witness [by] doing good, giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying [you] with food and your hearts with gladness."

Even by saying this, it was all Paul and Barnabas could do to keep the crowds from offering sacrifices to them.

And there came thither, from Antioch and Iconium, Jews, and they having persuaded the multitudes, and having stoned Paul, drew him outside of the city, having supposed him to be dead;

strengthening the disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faith and by telling them, “It is necessary to pass through many troubles on our way into the kingdom of God.”

and having appointed to them by vote elders in every assembly, having prayed with fastings, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

and thence did sail to Antioch, whence they had been given by the grace of God for the work that they fulfilled;

When they were come and had gathered the congregation together, they rehearsed all that God had done by them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.

And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.

And [after] there was no little strife and debate by Paul and Barnabas against them, they appointed Paul and Barnabas and some others from among them to go up to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem concerning this issue.

And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.

And being arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the assembly, and the apostles, and the elders, and related all that God had wrought with them.

But certain men who had belonged to the sect of the Pharisees but were now believers, stood up in the assembly, and said, "Yes, Gentile believers ought to be circumcised and be ordered to keep the Law of Moses."

And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.

And God, who knows the heart, testified to them [by] giving [them] the Holy Spirit, just as he also [did] to us.

And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

Now therefore why tempt ye God, by putting a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?

But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.

Symeon has related how God first looked graciously on the Gentiles to take from among them a People to be called by His name.

And this was predicted by the message of the prophets when they wrote [Amos 9:11ff],

so that the rest of humanity may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles {who are called by my name}, says the Lord, who makes these [things]

Wherefore, I, judge, not to be troubling them who, from the nations, are turning unto God;

but that we write to them that they are to abstain from anything that has been contaminated by [being offered to] idols and from sexual impurity and from [eating the meat of] what has been strangled and from [the consumption of] blood.

Thereupon it was decided by the Apostles and Elders, with the approval of the whole Church, to choose suitable persons from among themselves and send them to Antioch, with Paul and Barnabas. Judas, called Bar-sabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren, were selected,

And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia:

Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:

it has been decided by us, having met together, to select men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth.

For it hath seemed good unto the Holy Spirit and unto us, no greater burden, to be laying upon you, than these necessary things: -

that ye abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication; from which if ye keep yourselves, it shall be well with you. Fare ye well.

And delivered the letter, the reading of which caused great rejoicing by its encouraging contents.

Both Judas and Silas, who were also prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brothers by a long message.

After spending some time there, they were sent back by the brothers with [the greeting of] peace to those who had sent them.

but Paul deemed it right, as to him who had withdrawn from them, back from Pamphylia, and had not gone with them unto the work, not to be taking with them, this, man.

And there was a sharp argument between them, so that they were parted from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and went by ship to Cyprus;

And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God.

And he came to Derbe and Lystra: and behold, a certain disciple was there, by name Timotheus, son of a Jewish believing woman, but the father a Greek,

Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium.

Paul wanted him to travel with him [on a preaching mission] so he had him circumcised in order to avoid prejudice by the Jews in that area, for everyone knew that his father was a Greek.

And as they passed through the cities they instructed them to observe the decrees determined on by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem.

So the churches continued to be strengthened in the faith and to increase in numbers every day.