Then, while Apollos was [still] at Corinth, Paul traveled through the [western] districts and came to Ephesus where he found some disciples.

Then Paul placed his hands on them and [the supernatural power of] the Holy Spirit came on them and they [began to] speak in [other] languages and prophesy [i.e., speak God's message].

Many of the believers also came confessing their sins and describing what they had [previously] done.

And a large number of them, who had been involved in occultic practices, brought their books [on the occult] and began burning them publicly. When they calculated the cost [of the books] it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. [Note: The actual amount was approximately years of a farm laborer's pay, or more than

For we are truly in danger of being accused of inciting a riot here today when there is [really] no reason for it to happen. Then concerning this problem, we will not be able to explain how it all came about."

The next day we left and came to Caesarea, where we went to the house of Philip, the evangelist, who had been one of the seven ["deacons" chosen by the Jerusalem church to minister to widows, See Acts 6]. We stayed with him [while there].

As we waited there for a number of days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

And when we came to Jerusalem, the brothers [there] welcomed us gladly.

came and stood beside me and said, 'Brother Saul, regain your sight.' And at that very moment I looked at him [fully able to see again].

Then the commander came and said to him, "Tell me, are you [really] a Roman citizen?" Paul said, "Yes."

When daylight came, [a group of] Jews conspired together, agreeing under oath that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.

When they came to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul before him.

Five days later the head priest, Ananias, came down [to Caesarea] with certain [Jewish] elders and an attorney [named] Tertullus, who brought their case against Paul before the governor.

and we would have judged him according to our law but commander Lysias came and forcibly took him out of our hands}}

"Now after several years I came [to Jerusalem] to bring relief for the poor people of my nation and to present my offerings.

After a number of days, Felix and Drusilla, his wife, who was a Jewess, came [back to the palace] and sent for Paul to [come and] tell them about [the] faith in Christ Jesus.

Three days after Festus came to the province he went from Caesarea up to Jerusalem.

After a number of days King Agrippa [Note: This man was the great grandson of Herod the Great. See Matt. 2:1] and [his wife] Bernice arrived at Caesarea and came to greet Festus.

When we had sailed across the sea, off [the coast of] Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, [a town] of Lycia.

When the fourteenth night came, and while we were being tossed around [helplessly] in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the crew suspected they were nearing land.

When he had done this, the rest of those on the island who had diseases, [also] came and were healed.

And when they had arranged a day, large numbers of people came to Paul's house. He explained [everything to them], testifying from morning until evening concerning the kingdom of God and concerning [the Messiahship of] Jesus, both from the law of Moses and from [the writings of] the prophets.

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through [the action of] one man [i.e., Adam] and [physical] death through that sin, so [physical] death has spread to all people, because all people have sinned. [Note: This difficult passage (verses 12-21) seems to be saying that the entire human race must experience physical death because of Adam's sin (I Cor. 5:22), which is somehow considered to be everyone's sin. See Murray, pp. 180-187, for a thorough discussion].

And the gift [of salvation] is not like [the effect of] one man's sin [i.e., Adam's], for [God's] judgment of condemnation came [upon mankind] through one man [i.e., Adam], but the free gift [of salvation] came as the result of [the] many sins [of mankind] and [it] made people right with God.

So then, just as [God's] judgment came, condemning all people [to physical death] because of one sin [i.e., Adam's]; even so the free gift of being made right with God and [resulting in] life may be received by all people because of one man's [i.e., Christ's] act of righteousness. [Note: This "life" may refer to spiritual life now, or to being made alive in the resurrection, which would reverse the curse of physical death caused by Adam's sin].

And I was [once] alive before being aware of the law [i.e., complacent and without a sense of guilt]; but when [awareness of] the commandment [not to sin] came, sin sprang to life,

and I died [i.e., came under its power]. And [so] the commandment, which was [intended] to bring [spiritual] life, actually brought [spiritual] death.

And when I came to you, brothers, it was not with eloquent words or [superior] wisdom that I proclaimed to you the testimony [or, mystery] about God.

For man did not come from woman [i.e., Adam was created directly by God], but woman came from man [i.e., she was taken from his side. See Gen. 2:18-23].

The first man [i.e., Adam] came from the dust of the ground [See Gen. 2:7]; the second man [i.e., Christ] came from heaven.

Just as earthly people are like the man who came from dust; so heavenly people are like the man who came from heaven.

And just as we [now] appear [in both a physical and spiritual body] like the man who came from dust [i.e., Adam]; we will also [someday] appear [in both a physical(?) and spiritual body] like the man who came from heaven [i.e., Christ].

Now when I came to Troas [See Acts 16:8], in order to preach the good news about Christ, and when a door [of opportunity] was opened to me in [the service of] the Lord [there],

But if the ministry [of the law] that brings [spiritual] death, being carved in letters on stones, came with [such] splendor that the Israelites could not look at Moses' face because of its radiance [See Ex. 34:29-35], (even though such radiance [eventually] faded away),

For if the ministry [of the law] that brings condemnation came with splendor, will not the ministry that brings righteousness [i.e., the New Agreement] have greater splendor?

For truly, what once came with splendor [i.e., the Old Agreement] has now lost it in comparison to that which has surpassing splendor [i.e., the New Agreement].

For even when we came to Macedonia we had no rest for our bodies. But we met with trouble on every hand. [There were] conflicts on the outside and fears within us.

And when I was there with you and in need, I was not a [financial] burden to anyone, for when the brothers came from Macedonia they provided me with what I lacked, so I kept myself from being a burden to you in every way and will continue to do so.

[Furthermore], I did not receive this [Gospel message] from any person, nor was I taught it [by anyone]. Instead, it came to me through [a divine] revelation from Jesus Christ.

But when Cephas came to Antioch [of Syria], I confronted him personally [about a matter] for which he deserved to be condemned.

For, before certain [leaders] came from James [i.e., Jesus' brother, a leader of the Jerusalem church, See Acts 12:17; 15:13-22], he had eaten [a social meal] with some Gentiles. But when these men came, he abruptly discontinued this practice out of fear of the circumcised ones [i.e., out of concern for what the Jews would think of him].

But you are aware [I am sure] that when I first came preaching the Gospel [message] to you, I had a physical handicap.

And Christ came and preached peace to you [Gentiles], who were far away [from God], and peace to those [Jews] who were near [to Him].

came to you. This Gospel is [now] also producing fruit all over the world [i.e., throughout the Roman Empire] and growing [in its influence], just as it is doing among you people also, since the day you [first] heard and understood God's unearned favor in [all its] truth.

for our Gospel came to you, not merely in words, but also in power, in [a demonstration of] the Holy Spirit [See I Cor. 2:4] and with ["our" or "your"] deep conviction [of its truth]. You people know what kind of men we were while living among you for your benefit.

This saying is trustworthy and deserves to be fully accepted: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and I am the worst of them all.

For the law of Moses appoints [morally] weak men to be head priests, but the message of [God's] oath, which came after that law [Note: The quotation from Psa. 110:4 (See verse 21) was written after the law of Moses was given] appointed the Son, who was made perfect [in every way] forever.

Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said [to God], [Psa. 40:6-8 LXX], "You did not want an [animal] sacrifice and an offering, but you prepared a body for me [to sacrifice].

because God had planned to give us something better [than they got], so that they would not be complete without us. [Note: The idea here is that these faithful people of Old Testament times did not receive the fullest of blessings until Christ came to make them available to both them and us together].

For the blood of the animals offered as sacrifices for sin is brought by the head priest into the Holy of Holies, [but] their bodies are burned outside of the camp.

So, we should go out to Him, outside of the camp [Note: This probably signifies separating from the whole system of Judaism, as well as full commitment to Christ], bearing the abuse that He suffered.

For Jesus had received honor and glory from God, the Father, when [God's] voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory saying, "This is my dearly loved Son, and I am very pleased with Him."

[But] the person who continues to live a sinful life belongs to the devil, because the devil has continued to sin since the beginning [See Gen. 3]. For this is the reason that the Son of God came [into the world]; it was to destroy the works [i.e., the influence of] the devil [in people's lives].

For I was very happy when some of the brothers came and told me that you are being [faithful] to the truth [i.e., the word of God], and that you are living according to it, [as well].

And it was also prophesied about [these] people by Enoch, the seventh [descendant] of Adam [Gen. 5:18-24], who said, "Look, the Lord came with thousands upon thousands [Note: The Greek uses the plural form of "myriad," which means 10,000] of His holy ones [i.e., angels],

And He had seven stars in His right hand [See verse 20], and a sharp, double-edged sword came out of His mouth. And His face [shone] as the sun, shining in [all] its brilliance.

And lightning flashes and [loud] sounds of rolling thunder came out of God's throne. And there were seven lighted torches burning in front of the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God [i.e., the Holy Spirit. See 1:4].

And the Lamb came and took the book from the right hand of God, who sat on His throne.

Then another horse came out; it was a red one, and the man riding on it was given [the ability] to take peace from the earth so that people would kill one another. And he was given a large sword.

Then another angel, who held a golden incense holder, came and stood at the Altar. He was given a quantity of incense to add to the prayers of all the saints [as an offering] on the golden Altar, which was in front of the throne.

Then God's Temple in heaven was opened, and inside of it was seen the Chest containing God's Agreement [i.e., between Him and Israel]. [Immediately] there came lightning flashes, [loud] sounds, rumbling thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm.

Then another angel [i.e., the fourth] came out of the Temple, calling out with a loud voice to Him who was sitting on the cloud, "Use your sharp sickle to reap [a harvest] because it is harvest time, and the crop of the earth is ripe."

Then another angel [i.e., the fifth] came out of the Temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle.

Then another angel [i.e., the sixth] came out of the Altar. He had authority over [its] fire and he called out in a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle [i.e., the fifth angel] saying, "Use your sharp sickle to gather the clusters from the vines of the earth, for its grapes are ripe."

And out of the Temple there came the seven angels that had the seven plagues [i.e., judgments]. They were dressed in clean, bright linen [clothing] and they had golden sashes wrapped around their chests.

Then the seventh [angel] poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the Temple from the throne [of God], saying, "It is over!" [i.e., the series of judgments have been completed].

Then one of the seven angels, who had the seven bowls, came and spoke to me, saying, "Come [here]; I will show you the punishment [to fall] on the great prostitute who is situated on many bodies of waters.

Then a voice came from the throne, saying, "Give praise to our God, all of you [who are] His servants, you who are the least significant and [also] the most important ones, who revere Him."

And a sharp sword came out of His mouth, with which He would strike down the nations. And He will rule them with an iron staff and will trample on [the grapes of] God Almighty's winepress of anger.

Then the rest of them [i.e., the kings and their armies. Verse 19] were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the One riding the horse. And all the birds gorged on their flesh.

And these [enemies of God] crossed the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people and the much-loved city [i.e., the church of God]. But fire came down from heaven and consumed them.

Then one of the seven angels who held the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues [i.e., judgments, See 15:1], came and spoke to me, saying, "Come here, [and] I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife."