And behold, at that moment three men appeared at the house in which we were staying, having been sent to me from Caesarea.

So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone.

But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus.

for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord.

and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

On the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison.

When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”

And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.

But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were amazed.

Now he was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; and with one accord they came to him, and having won over Blastus the king’s chamberlain, they were asking for peace, because their country was fed by the king’s country.

Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath.

Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in the grace of God.

But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming.

And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

But the people of the city were divided; and some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles.

Therefore, being sent on their way by the church, they were passing through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and were bringing great joy to all the brethren.

When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them.

All the people kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were relating what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.

So when they were sent away, they went down to Antioch; and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter.

After they had spent time there, they were sent away from the brethren in peace to those who had sent them out.

and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium.

Paul wanted this man to go with him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering the decrees which had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem, for them to observe.

So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily.

and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them;

and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the 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 to a riverside, where we were supposing that there would be a place of prayer; and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled.

It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling.

But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them;

and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.

And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house.

The policemen reported these words to the chief magistrates. They were afraid when they heard that they were Romans,

And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of the God-fearing Greeks and a number of the leading women.

But the Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the market place, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and attacking the house of Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the people.

Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.

And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. Some were saying, “What would this idle babbler wish to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.

But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers.

Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized.

But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrong or of vicious crime, O Jews, it would be reasonable for me to put up with you;

Paul, having remained many days longer, took leave of the brethren and put out to sea for Syria, and with him were Priscilla and Aquila. In Cenchrea he had his hair cut, for he was keeping a vow.

And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.”

When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

There were in all about twelve men.

But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people, he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus.

so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out.

Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.

Now after these things were finished, Paul purposed in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.”

When they heard this and were filled with rage, they began crying out, saying, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

Also some of the Asiarchs who were friends of his sent to him and repeatedly urged him not to venture into the theater.

So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the assembly was in confusion and the majority did not know for what reason they had come together.

But these had gone on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas.

On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight.

There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together.

They took away the boy alive, and were greatly comforted.

You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my own needs and to the men who were with me.

grieving especially over the word which he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they were accompanying him to the ship.

When our days there were ended, we left and started on our journey, while they all, with wives and children, escorted us until we were out of the city. After kneeling down on the beach and praying, we said farewell to one another.

Now this man had four virgin daughters who were prophetesses.

As we were staying there for some days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

Some of the disciples from Caesarea also came with us, taking us to Mnason of Cyprus, a disciple of long standing with whom we were to lodge.

And the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.

When the seven days were almost over, the Jews from Asia, upon seeing him in the temple, began to stir up all the crowd and laid hands on him,

Then all the city was provoked, and the people rushed together, and taking hold of Paul they dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut.

While they were seeking to kill him, a report came up to the commander of the Roman cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion.

But among the crowd some were shouting one thing and some another, and when he could not find out the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks.

as also the high priest and all the Council of the elders can testify. From them I also received letters to the brethren, and started off for Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem as prisoners to be punished.

And those who were with me saw the light, to be sure, but did not understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me.

But since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me and came into Damascus.

And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing by approving, and watching out for the coats of those who were slaying him.’

And as they were crying out and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust into the air,

the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, stating that he should be examined by scourging so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way.

Therefore those who were about to examine him immediately let go of him; and the commander also was afraid when he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had put him in chains.

But perceiving that one group were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began crying out in the Council, “Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead!”

There were more than forty who formed this plot.

Now therefore, you and the Council notify the commander to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case by a more thorough investigation; and we for our part are ready to slay him before he comes near the place.”

And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down tomorrow to the Council, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more thoroughly about him.

They were also to provide mounts to put Paul on and bring him safely to Felix the governor.

“And wanting to ascertain the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their Council;

The Jews also joined in the attack, asserting that these things were so.

in which they found me occupied in the temple, having been purified, without any crowd or uproar. But there were some Jews from Asia—

And the chief priests and the leading men of the Jews brought charges against Paul, and they were urging him,

While they were spending many days there, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying, “There is a man who was left as a prisoner by Felix;

And this is just what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death I cast my vote against them.

at midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me.

The king stood up and the governor and Bernice, and those who were sitting with them,

From there we put out to sea and sailed under the shelter of Cyprus because the winds were contrary.

Running under the shelter of a small island called Clauda, we were scarcely able to get the ship’s boat under control.

The next day as we were being violently storm-tossed, they began to jettison the cargo;

But when the fourteenth night came, as we were being driven about in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors began to surmise that they were approaching some land.

But as the sailors were trying to escape from the ship and had let down the ship’s boat into the sea, on the pretense of intending to lay out anchors from the bow,

All of them were encouraged and they themselves also took food.

All of us in the ship were two hundred and seventy-six persons.

And casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea while at the same time they were loosening the ropes of the rudders; and hoisting the foresail to the wind, they were heading for the beach.

and the rest should follow, some on planks, and others on various things from the ship. And so it happened that they all were brought safely to land.

But they were expecting that he was about to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god.

Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us courteously three days.

After this had happened, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases were coming to him and getting cured.