For you have brought these men here, who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of your goddess.

If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a matter against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them press charges against one another.

For Paul had determined to sail past Ephesus, that he might not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hastening, if it were possible for him, to be in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.

They, when they heard it, glorified God. They said to him, "You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law.

They have been informed about you, that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children neither to walk after the customs.

What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come.

Therefore do what we tell you. We have four men who have taken a vow.

Take them, and purify yourself with them, and pay their expenses for them, that they may shave their heads. Then all will know that there is no truth in the things that they have been informed about you, but that you yourself also walk keeping the law.

But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written our decision that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from food offered to idols, from blood, from strangled things, and from sexual immorality."

For you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and heard.

Paul, looking steadfastly at the council, said, "Brothers, I have lived before God in all good conscience until this day."

The following night, the Lord stood by him, and said, "Cheer up, Paul, for as you have testified about me at Jerusalem, so you must testify also at Rome."

They came to the chief priests and the elders, and said, "We have bound ourselves under a great curse, to taste nothing until we have killed Paul.

The commanding officer took him by the hand, and going aside, asked him privately, "What is it that you have to tell me?"

He said, "The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though intending to inquire somewhat more accurately concerning him.

Therefore don't yield to them, for more than forty men lie in wait for him, who have bound themselves under a curse neither to eat nor to drink until they have killed him. Now they are ready, looking for the promise from you."

So the commanding officer let the young man go, charging him, "Tell no one that you have revealed these things to me."

For we have found this man to be a plague, an instigator of insurrections among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.

When the governor had beckoned to him to speak, Paul answered, "Because I know that you have been a judge of this nation for many years, I cheerfully make my defense,

They ought to have been here before you, and to make accusation, if they had anything against me.

He ordered the centurion that Paul should be kept in custody, and should have some privileges, and not to forbid any of his friends to serve him or to visit him.

while he said in his defense, "Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar, have I sinned at all."

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

For if I have done wrong, and have committed anything worthy of death, I don't refuse to die; but if none of those things is true that they accuse me of, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar!"

Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, "You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you shall go."

Of whom I have no certain thing to write to my lord. Therefore I have brought him forth before you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, that, after examination, I may have something to write.

But arise, and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose: to appoint you a servant and a witness both of the things which you have seen, and of the things which I will reveal to you;

Agrippa said to Festus, "This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar."

Because the haven was not suitable to winter in, the majority advised going to sea from there, if by any means they could reach Phoenix, and winter there, which is a port of Crete, looking northeast and southeast.

When they had been long without food, Paul stood up in the middle of them, and said, "Sirs, you should have listened to me, and not have set sail from Crete, and have gotten this injury and loss.

But they expected that he would have swollen or fallen down dead suddenly, but when they watched for a long time and saw nothing bad happen to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.

For this people's heart has grown callous. Their ears are dull of hearing. Their eyes they have closed. Lest they should see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and would turn again, and I would heal them.'

Now I don't desire to have you unaware, brothers, that I often planned to come to you, and was hindered so far, that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles.

Even as they refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting;

For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without the law. As many as have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.

(for when Gentiles who don't have the law do by nature the things of the law, these, not having the law, are a law to themselves,

Then what advantage does the Jew have? Or what is the profit of circumcision?

They have all turned aside. They have together become unprofitable. There is no one who does good, no, not, so much as one."

"Their throat is an open tomb. With their tongues they have used deceit." "The poison of vipers is under their lips;"

The way of peace, they haven't known."

for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;

As it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations." This is in the presence of him whom he believed: God, who gives life to the dead, and calls the things that are not, as though they were.

Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ;

through whom we also have our access by faith into this grace in which we stand. We rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will also be part of his resurrection;

For sin will not have dominion over you. For you are not under law, but under grace.

What fruit then did you have at that time in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.

But now, being made free from sin, and having become servants of God, you have your fruit of sanctification, and the result of eternal life.

But now we have been discharged from the law, having died to that in which we were held; so that we serve in newness of the spirit, and not in oldness of the letter.

What shall we say then? Is the law sin? May it never be! However, I wouldn't have known sin, except through the law. For I wouldn't have known coveting, unless the law had said, "You shall not covet."

But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if it is so that the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if any man doesn't have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his.

Not only so, but ourselves also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for adoption, the redemption of our body.

that I have great sorrow and unceasing pain in my heart.

For this is a word of promise, "At the appointed time I will come, and Sarah will have a son."

For he said to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."

As Isaiah has said before, "Unless the Lord of Armies had left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom, and would have been made like Gomorrah."

For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in him whom they have not heard? How will they hear without a preacher?

"Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have broken down your altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life."

But how does God answer him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to Baal."

For as you in time past were disobedient to God, but now have obtained mercy by their disobedience,

even so these also have now been disobedient, that by the mercy shown to you they may also obtain mercy.

For God has shut up all to disobedience, that he might have mercy on all.

For even as we have many members in one body, and all the members don't have the same function,

For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. Do you desire to have no fear of the authority? Do that which is good, and you will have praise from the same,

Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who doesn't judge himself in that which he approves.

For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that through patience and through encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

I have therefore my boasting in Christ Jesus in things pertaining to God.

in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of God's Spirit; so that from Jerusalem, and around as far as to Illyricum, I have fully preached the Good News of Christ;

But, as it is written, "They will see, to whom no news of him came. They who haven't heard will understand."

Yes, it has been their good pleasure, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, they owe it to them also to serve them in fleshly things.

When therefore I have accomplished this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will go on by way of you to Spain.

that I may be delivered from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints;

For your obedience has become known to all. I rejoice therefore over you. But I desire to have you wise in that which is good, but innocent in that which is evil.

which none of the rulers of this world has known. For had they known it, they wouldn't have crucified the Lord of glory.

"For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct him?" But we have Christ's mind.

Now these things, brothers, I have in a figure transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that in us you might learn not to think beyond the things which are written, that none of you be puffed up against one another.

For who makes you different? And what do you have that you didn't receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

You are already filled. You have already become rich. You have come to reign without us. Yes, and I wish that you did reign, that we also might reign with you.

We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You have honor, but we have dishonor.

Even to this present hour we hunger, thirst, are naked, are beaten, and have no certain dwelling place.

For though you have ten thousand tutors in Christ, yet not many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, I became your father through the Good News.

Because of this I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, even as I teach everywhere in every assembly.

For I most certainly, as being absent in body but present in spirit, have already, as though I were present, judged him who has done this thing.

I wrote to you in my letter to have no company with sexual sinners;

yet not at all meaning with the sexual sinners of this world, or with the covetous and extortioners, or with idolaters; for then you would have to leave the world.

For what have I to do with also judging those who are outside? Don't you judge those who are within?

If then, you have to judge things pertaining to this life, do you set them to judge who are of no account in the assembly?

Therefore it is already altogether a defect in you, that you have lawsuits one with another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?

Or don't you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have from God? You are not your own,

But, because of sexual immoralities, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.

The wife doesn't have authority over her own body, but the husband. Likewise also the husband doesn't have authority over his own body, but the wife.

But if they don't have self-control, let them marry. For it's better to marry than to burn.

Now concerning virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who has obtained mercy from the Lord to be trustworthy.

But if you marry, you have not sinned. If a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet such will have oppression in the flesh, and I want to spare you.

But I say this, brothers: the time is short, that from now on, both those who have wives may be as though they had none;

But I desire to have you to be free from cares. He who is unmarried is concerned for the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord;

But she is happier if she stays as she is, in my judgment, and I think that I also have God's Spirit.

Now concerning things sacrificed to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.