seeing that He has appointed a day on which, before long, He will judge the world in righteousness, through the instrumentality of a man whom He has pre-destined to this work, and has made the fact certain to every one by raising Him from the dead."

But when Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia [i.e., from the town of Berea], Paul began devoting his full time to declaring the message to Jews that Jesus was the Christ.

But as they opposed and spoke injuriously, he shook his clothes, and said to them, Your blood be upon your own head: I am pure; from henceforth I will go to the nations.

But Gallio being pro-consul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rushed against Paul and brought him to the judgment seat,

And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you:

for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public discussions, proving by the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed).

And when Paul had put his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they had the power of talking in tongues, and acting like prophets.

And God did special works of power by the hands of Paul:

In this way the word of the Lord was growing in power and was prevailing.

Howbeit, out of the multitude, they bare aloft one Alexander, the Jews thrusting him forward; Alexander, however, waving his hand, was wishing to make his defense unto the populace.

If, therefore, Demetrius and the artisans with him have a charge against any, court days are held, and there are pro-consuls; let them accuse one another.

there he stay'd three months; and then the Jews conspiring to surprize him at his embarkation for Syria, it was thought adviseable he should return thro' Macedonia. Sopater of Berea,

And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.

from thence we bore away: the next day we came off Chios, and the day after we pass'd by Samos, landing at Trogyllium, and arrived at Miletus the next day.

solemnly [and wholeheartedly] testifying to both Jews and Greeks, urging them to turn in repentance to God and [to have] faith in our Lord Jesus Christ [for salvation].

save that, the Holy Spirit, from city to city, doth bear me full witness, saying that, bonds and tribulations, await me.

But, for no cause whatever, am I making my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I have received from the Lord Jesus, to bear full witness as to the good news of the favour of God.

Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men.

And now I commend you to the Lord and to the Message of his Love--a Message which has the power to build up your characters, and to give you your place among all those who have become Christ's People.

In all things I have set you an example, showing you that, by working as I do, you ought to help the weak, and to bear in mind the words of the Lord Jesus, how He Himself said, "'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

And these things having said, having bowed his knees, with them all, he did pray,

When our days there were over, we left to continue our journey, while all of them, with their wives and children, escorted us out of the city. After kneeling down on the beach to pray,

Join these men, share their purification, and bear their expenses, so that they may shave their heads; and then all will see that there is no truth in what they have been told about you, but that, on the contrary, you yourself rule your life in obedience to the Jewish Law.

as he was mounting the stairs, the soldiers bore him up thro' the violence of the people, who were all pressing after,

"I am a Jew," replied Paul, "belonging to Tarsus in Cilicia, and am a citizen of no unimportant city. Give me leave, I pray you, to speak to the people."

My brethren, and fathers, pray hear what I have to say for my self.

As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished.

"And a certain Ananias, a pious man who obeyed the Law and bore a good character with all the Jews of the city,

Now when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried in the sanhedrim, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: for the hope and resurrection of the dead am I brought to this bar.

And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.

Notwithstanding, that I be not further tedious unto thee, I pray thee that thou wouldest hear us of thy clemency a few words.

The Jews also joined in the attack and bore out his statements.

For you have it in your power to ascertain that it is not more than twelve days ago that I went up to worship in Jerusalem;

After many years, I have come back to my people to bring gifts for the poor and to offer sacrifices.

and it was in presenting these that I was found within the temple. I was ceremonially pure, I was not mixed up in any mob or riot; no, the trouble was caused by some Jews from Asia,

Let them therefore, saith he, that are of power among you go down with me, and if there is anything amiss in the man, let them accuse him.

"No," replied Paul, "I am standing at the Emperor's Bar, where I ought to be tried. I have not wronged the Jews, as you yourself are well aware.

If then, on the one hand, I am doing wrong, and, anything worthy of death, have committed, I excuse not myself from dying; but, on the other hand, if there is, nothing, in the things whereof these are accusing me, no man, hath power to give, me, unto them as a favour: - Unto Caesar, I appeal!

On the morrow Agrippa and Bernice came in great state, and being introduc'd into the court attended by the officers and the principal men of the city, Festus gave the word, and Paul was brought to the Bar.

who are so familiar with all the customs and speculations that prevail among the Jews; and for this reason, I pray you, give me a patient hearing.

who knew me before from the outset of my life, if they would bear witness, that according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.

And when, engaged in this, I was journeying to Damascus, with authority and power from the chief priests,

Get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you [to serve] as a minister and as a witness [to testify, with authority,] not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you,

To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

Having, however, obtained the help which is from God, I have stood firm until now, and have solemnly exhorted rich and poor alike, saying nothing except what the Prophets and Moses predicted as soon to happen,

And Paul [replied], "I pray to God, whether in a short time or in a long time, not only you but also all those who are listening to me today may become such [people] as I also am, except for these bonds!"

For several days we made very little sail, and having scarce got sight of Cnidus, the wind being against us, we bore away between Salmone and Crete:

for as that haven could not cover us from the storm, most were of opinion to bear away, and try to put in at Phenice, where we could ride safe, the port lying by south-west, and north-west.

but soon after it blew a storm from north-east, which bore so upon the ship,

And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive.

For several days, we had not seen either sun or stars: the tempest still bore hard: all our hopes of escape quite sunk,

But the sailors wishing to flee out of the ship, and having let down the boat into the sea under pretext of being about to carry out anchors from the prow,

Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you.

And taking up the anchors, they committed [the ship] to the sea, loosening at the same time the fastenings of the rudder and raising the top sail to the wind, they bore down towards the shore.

And falling into a place where two seas met they ran the ship aground, and the prow having stuck itself fast remained unmoved, but the stern was broken by the force of the waves.

Publius's father happening then to lie sick of a fever, and a dysentery, Paul made him a visit, pray'd by him, gave him imposition of hands, and cur'd him.

After three months we set sail on a ship that had spent the winter on the island [of Melita]. This ship had originated from Alexandria and was designated as "Twin Brothers" [Note: The ship may have been named this because of its prow containing the figures of the mythical twin gods of sailors, Castor and Pollux].

After one complete day he invited the leading men among the Jews to meet him; and, when they were come together, he said to them, "As for me, brethren, although I had done nothing prejudicial to our people or contrary to the customs of our forefathers, I was handed over as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the power of the Romans.

They then fixed a day with him, and came to the place where he was staying, in even larger numbers, when Paul proceeded to lay the subject before them. He bore his testimony to the Kingdom of God, and tried to convince them about Jesus, by arguments drawn from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets--speaking from morning till evening.

And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

God, to whom I offer the worship of my soul as I tell the Goodness of his Son, is my witness how constantly I mention you when I pray,

And I want you to be aware, brothers, of how frequently I [had] planned to visit you (but was prevented from doing so until now). I wanted to come in order to bear some fruit [i.e., make additional converts] among you, just as I have done among the other Gentiles [i.e., unconverted people].

So, as far as is in my power, I am desirous to preach the Gospel to you that are at Rome also.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

For whatever is to be known of God is plain to them; God himself has made it plain ??20 for ever since the world was created, his invisible nature, his everlasting power and divine being, have been quite perceptible in what he has made. So they have no excuse.

For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their own hearts to [sexual] impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them [abandoning them to the degrading power of sin],

Whisperers, slanderers, odious to God, abusers of power, proud, tumultuous, inventors of injuries, disobedient to parents,

for not the bare hearers of the law, but they who observe the law, are such as shall be justified, before God.

They show that the essential requirements of the Law are written in their hearts; and their conscience [their sense of right and wrong, their moral choices] bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or perhaps defending them

But if you bear the name “Jew” and rely on the Law [for your salvation] and boast in [your special relationship to] God,

Well then, are we [Jews] better off than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks (Gentiles) are under the control of sin and subject to its power.

Their feet active to pour out blood:

But now [i.e., under the Gospel age], a way of being considered right with God apart from [any] law has been made known. [The writings of] the law [i.e., the Pentateuch] and the prophets bear witness to this.

If those who are [followers] of the Law are [the true] heirs [of Abraham], then faith [leading to salvation] is of no effect and void, and the promise [of God] is nullified.

All depends on faith, and for this reason--that acceptance with God might be an act of pure grace,

Because he never weakened in faith, he calmly contemplated his own vital powers as worn out (for he was about one hundred years old) and the inability of Sarah to bear a child,

In respect, however, of the promise of God, he was not led to hesitate by unbelief, but received power by his faith, giving glory unto God,

And not only so, but let us have joy in our troubles: in the knowledge that trouble gives us the power of waiting;

Much rather therefore, having been now justified in the power of his blood, we shall be saved by him from wrath.

For if, being enemies, we have been reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much rather, having been reconciled, we shall be saved in the power of his life.

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, so death spread to all people [no one being able to stop it or escape its power], because they all sinned.

But still death had power from Adam till Moses, even over those who had not done wrong like Adam, who is a picture of him who was to come.

And the free giving has not the same effect as the sin of one: for the effect of one man's sin was punishment by the decision of God, but the free giving had power to give righteousness to wrongdoers in great number.

in order that, even as sin has reigned in the power of death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Certainly not! How can we, who died to sin [i.e., stopped living under its power], go on living in it [i.e., practicing it] any longer?

We have therefore been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory and power of the Father, we too might walk habitually in newness of life [abandoning our old ways].

This we know--that our old self was nailed to the cross with Him, in order that our sinful nature might be deprived of its power, so that we should no longer be the slaves of sin;

For the person who has died [with Christ] has been freed from [the power of] sin.

because we know [the self-evident truth] that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has power over Him.

Death has no longer any power over Him. For by the death which He died He became, once for all, dead in relation to sin; but by the life which He now lives He is alive in relation to God.

So, you [too] should consider yourselves dead to sin [i.e., no longer under its power], but [spiritually] alive to God, in [fellowship with] Christ.

For this cause do not let sin be ruling in your body which is under the power of death, so that you give way to its desires;

And do not offer the parts of your bodies [i.e., hands, eyes, etc. See Matt. 5:29-30] as tools for [accomplishing] evil purposes; but [instead] offer yourselves to God, as [people who are] alive from the dead [i.e., no longer under the power of sin] and the parts of your bodies as tools for [accomplishing] righteous purposes for God.

For sin must not be your master [i.e., it must not have power over you], for you are not governed by law, but by God's unearned favor.

FOR THE POOR WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH, BUT THE FREE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS, OUR MASTER.

Or do you not know, brothers and sisters (for I am speaking to those who know the Law), that the Law has jurisdiction [to rule] over a person as long as he lives?

For the woman who has a husband is placed by the law under the power of her husband as long as he is living; but if her husband is dead, she is free from the law of the husband.

So that, my brethren, ye also have been made dead to the law by the body of the Christ, to be to another, who has been raised up from among the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.

for when we were in the flesh, the passions of the sins, that are through the law, were working in our members, to bear fruit to the death;