For Moses has had those who proclaim him in every town from ancient times, because he is read aloud in the synagogues every Sabbath."

After they had spent some time there, they were sent off in peace by the brothers to those who had sent them.

but Paul insisted that they should not take along this one who had left them in Pamphylia and had not accompanied them in the work.

They had a sharp disagreement, so that they parted company. Barnabas took along Mark and sailed away to Cyprus,

As they went through the towns, they passed on the decrees that had been decided on by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the Gentile believers to obey.

After Paul saw the vision, we attempted immediately to go over to Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.

On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate to the side of the river, where we thought there would be a place of prayer, and we sat down and began to speak to the women who had assembled there.

Now as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave girl met us who had a spirit that enabled her to foretell the future by supernatural means. She brought her owners a great profit by fortune-telling.

When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, "These men are throwing our city into confusion. They are Jews

After they had beaten them severely, they threw them into prison and commanded the jailer to guard them securely.

When the jailer woke up and saw the doors of the prison standing open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, because he assumed the prisoners had escaped.

The jailer brought them into his house and set food before them, and he rejoiced greatly that he had come to believe in God, together with his entire household.

But Paul said to the police officers, "They had us beaten in public without a proper trial -- even though we are Roman citizens -- and they threw us in prison. And now they want to send us away secretly? Absolutely not! They themselves must come and escort us out!"

explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and to rise from the dead, saying, "This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ."

After the city officials had received bail from Jason and the others, they released them.

But when the Jews from Thessalonica heard that Paul had also proclaimed the word of God in Berea, they came there too, inciting and disturbing the crowds.

There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to depart from Rome. Paul approached them,

Then he had them forced away from the judgment seat.

Paul, after staying many more days in Corinth, said farewell to the brothers and sailed away to Syria accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. He had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because he had made a vow.

He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and with great enthusiasm he spoke and taught accurately the facts about Jesus, although he knew only the baptism of John.

When Apollos wanted to cross over to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he assisted greatly those who had believed by grace,

so that when even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his body were brought to the sick, their diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.

Many of those who had believed came forward, confessing and making their deeds known.

Large numbers of those who had practiced magic collected their books and burned them up in the presence of everyone. When the value of the books was added up, it was found to total fifty thousand silver coins.

Now after all these things had taken place, Paul resolved to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. He said, "After I have been there, I must also see Rome."

So then some were shouting one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had met together.

Some of the crowd concluded it was about Alexander because the Jews had pushed him to the front. Alexander, gesturing with his hand, was wanting to make a defense before the public assembly.

After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.

After the disturbance had ended, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them and saying farewell, he left to go to Macedonia.

After he had gone through those regions and spoken many words of encouragement to the believers there, he came to Greece,

where he stayed for three months. Because the Jews had made a plot against him as he was intending to sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia.

These had gone on ahead and were waiting for us in Troas.

Then Paul went back upstairs, and after he had broken bread and eaten, he talked with them a long time, until dawn. Then he left.

We went on ahead to the ship and put out to sea for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there, for he had arranged it this way. He himself was intending to go there by land.

For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so as not to spend time in the province of Asia, for he was hurrying to arrive in Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost.

When he had said these things, he knelt down with them all and prayed.

especially saddened by what he had said, that they were not going to see him again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.

We continued the voyage from Tyre and arrived at Ptolemais, and when we had greeted the brothers, we stayed with them for one day.

(He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.)

When Paul had greeted them, he began to explain in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

Then Paul took the men the next day, and after he had purified himself along with them, he went to the temple and gave notice of the completion of the days of purification, when the sacrifice would be offered for each of them.

When the seven days were almost over, the Jews from the province of Asia who had seen him in the temple area stirred up the whole crowd and seized him,

(For they had seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him previously, and they assumed Paul had brought him into the inner temple courts.)

Then the commanding officer came up and arrested him and ordered him to be tied up with two chains; he then asked who he was and what he had done.

When he came to the steps, Paul had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob,

When the commanding officer had given him permission, Paul stood on the steps and gestured to the people with his hand. When they had become silent, he addressed them in Aramaic,

When they had stretched him out for the lash, Paul said to the centurion standing nearby, "Is it legal for you to lash a man who is a Roman citizen without a proper trial?"

Then those who were about to interrogate him stayed away from him, and the commanding officer was frightened when he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had had him tied up.

The next day, because the commanding officer wanted to know the true reason Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole council to assemble. He then brought Paul down and had him stand before them.

When morning came, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink anything until they had killed Paul.

This man was seized by the Jews and they were about to kill him, when I came up with the detachment and rescued him, because I had learned that he was a Roman citizen.

When the governor had read the letter, he asked what province he was from. When he learned that he was from Cilicia,

When Paul had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying, "We have experienced a lengthy time of peace through your rule, and reforms are being made in this nation through your foresight.

After two years had passed, Porcius Festus succeeded Felix, and because he wanted to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.

After Festus had stayed not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea, and the next day he sat on the judgment seat and ordered Paul to be brought.

When he arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many serious charges that they were not able to prove.

After several days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus.

I answered them that it was not the custom of the Romans to hand over anyone before the accused had met his accusers face to face and had been given an opportunity to make a defense against the accusation.

When his accusers stood up, they did not charge him with any of the evil deeds I had suspected.

Rather they had several points of disagreement with him about their own religion and about a man named Jesus who was dead, whom Paul claimed to be alive.

But I found that he had done nothing that deserved death, and when he appealed to His Majesty the Emperor, I decided to send him.

When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? You are hurting yourself by kicking against the goads.'

Agrippa said to Festus, "This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar."

After we had sailed across the open sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we put in at Myra in Lycia.

Since considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous because the fast was already over, Paul advised them,

After the crew had hoisted it aboard, they used supports to undergird the ship. Fearing they would run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor, thus letting themselves be driven along.

Since many of them had no desire to eat, Paul stood up among them and said, "Men, you should have listened to me and not put out to sea from Crete, thus avoiding this damage and loss.

When the fourteenth night had come, while we were being driven across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors suspected they were approaching some land.

They took soundings and found the water was twenty fathoms deep; when they had sailed a little farther they took soundings again and found it was fifteen fathoms deep.

When they had eaten enough to be satisfied, they lightened the ship by throwing the wheat into the sea.

After we had safely reached shore, we learned that the island was called Malta.

The local inhabitants showed us extraordinary kindness, for they built a fire and welcomed us all because it had started to rain and was cold.

When Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood and was putting it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand.

But they were expecting that he was going to swell up or suddenly drop dead. So after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

After this had happened, many of the people on the island who were sick also came and were healed.

After three months we put out to sea in an Alexandrian ship that had wintered at the island and had the "Heavenly Twins" as its figurehead.

After three days Paul called the local Jewish leaders together. When they had assembled, he said to them, "Brothers, although I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors, from Jerusalem I was handed over as a prisoner to the Romans.

When they had heard my case, they wanted to release me, because there was no basis for a death sentence against me.

But when the Jews objected, I was forced to appeal to Caesar -- not that I had some charge to bring against my own people.

God publicly displayed him at his death as the mercy seat accessible through faith. This was to demonstrate his righteousness, because God in his forbearance had passed over the sins previously committed.

And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised, so that he would become the father of all those who believe but have never been circumcised, that they too could have righteousness credited to them.

What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! Certainly, I would not have known sin except through the law. For indeed I would not have known what it means to desire something belonging to someone else if the law had not said, "Do not covet."

It is not as though the word of God had failed. For not all those who are descended from Israel are truly Israel,

Not only that, but when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our ancestor Isaac --

even before they were born or had done anything good or bad (so that God's purpose in election would stand, not by works but by his calling) --

Just as Isaiah predicted, "If the Lord of armies had not left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, and we would have resembled Gomorrah."

Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that had been kept secret for long ages,

None of the rulers of this age understood it. If they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Already you are satisfied! Already you are rich! You have become kings without us! I wish you had become kings so that we could reign with you!

Was anyone called after he had been circumcised? He should not try to undo his circumcision. Was anyone called who is uncircumcised? He should not get circumcised.

and after he had given thanks he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me."

Indeed we felt as if the sentence of death had been passed against us, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.

Now when I arrived in Troas to proclaim the gospel of Christ, even though the Lord had opened a door of opportunity for me,

I had no relief in my spirit, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-bye to them and set out for Macedonia.

For indeed, what had been glorious now has no glory because of the tremendously greater glory of what replaced it.

For even when we came into Macedonia, our body had no rest at all, but we were troubled in every way -- struggles from the outside, fears from within.

And they did this not just as we had hoped, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and to us by the will of God.

Thus we urged Titus that, just as he had previously begun this work, so also he should complete this act of kindness for you.

For if any of the Macedonians should come with me and find that you are not ready to give, we would be humiliated (not to mention you) by this confidence we had in you.

Therefore I thought it necessary to urge these brothers to go to you in advance and to arrange ahead of time the generous contribution you had promised, so this may be ready as a generous gift and not as something you feel forced to do.