'I will judge the nation to which they will be in bondage,' said God, 'and after that will they come out, and serve me in this place.'

and they were brought back to Shechem, and placed in the tomb that Abraham bought for a price in silver from the children of Hamor in Shechem.

The same took advantage of our race, and mistreated our fathers, and forced them to throw out their babies, so that they would not stay alive.

He supposed that his brothers understood that God, by his hand, was giving them deliverance; but they did not understand.

"The day following, he appeared to them as they fought, and urged them to be at peace again, saying, 'Sirs, you are brothers. Why do you wrong one another?'

"This Moses, whom they refused, saying, 'Who made you a ruler and a judge?'?God has sent him as both a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush.

They made a calf in those days, and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their hands.

which also our fathers, in their turn, brought in with Joshua when they entered into the possession of the nations, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers, to the days of David,

Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you have now become betrayers and murderers.

Now when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.

But they shouted out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and rushed at him with one accord.

They threw him out of the city, and stoned him. The witnesses placed their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

They stoned Stephen as he called out, saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."

Saul was consenting to his death. A great persecution arose against the church which was in Jerusalem in that day. They were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except for the apostles.

The crowds listened with one accord to the things that were spoken by Philip, when they heard and saw the signs which he did.

For unclean spirits came out of many of those who had them. They came out, crying with a loud voice. Many who had been paralyzed and lame were healed.

to whom they all listened, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is that power of God which is called Great."

They listened to him, because for a long time he had amazed them with his sorceries.

But when they believed Philip proclaiming good news concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them,

who, when they had come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit;

for as yet he had fallen on none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

They therefore, when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the Good News to many villages of the Samaritans.

As they went on the way, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, "Behold, here is water. What is keeping me from being baptized?"

38 He commanded the chariot to stand still, and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.

When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any more, for he went on his way rejoicing.

Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened, he saw no one. They led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.

but their plot became known to Saul. They watched the gates both day and night that they might kill him,

When Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join himself to the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.

He spoke and disputed against the Hellenists, but they were seeking to kill him.

When the brothers knew it, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him off to Tarsus.

So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, and were built up. They were multiplied, walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

All who lived at Lydda and in Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.

It happened in those days that she fell sick, and died. When they had washed her, they placed her in an upper chamber.

Peter got up and went with them. When he had come, they brought him into the upper chamber. All the widows stood by him weeping, and showing the coats and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them.

Now on the next day as they were on their journey, and got close to the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray at about noon.

He became hungry and desired to eat, but while they were preparing, he fell into a trance.

They said, "Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous man and one who fears God, and well spoken of by all the Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to invite you to his house, and to listen to what you say."

On the next day they entered into Caesarea. Cornelius was waiting for them, having called together his relatives and his near friends.

We are witnesses of everything he did both in the countryside of Judea, and in Jerusalem; whom they also killed, hanging him on a tree.

They of the circumcision who believed were amazed, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was also poured out on the Gentiles.

For they heard them speaking in other languages and magnifying God. Then Peter answered,

He commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay some days.

When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, "Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life."

They therefore who were scattered abroad by the oppression that arose about Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews only.

But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, proclaiming the Lord Jesus.

The report concerning them came to the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem. They sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch,

who, when he had come, and had seen the grace of God, was glad. He exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they should remain near to the Lord.

When he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. It happened, that for a whole year they were gathered together with the church, and taught many people. The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

which they also did, sending it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

When they were past the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened to them by itself. They went out, and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.

They said to her, "You are crazy." But she insisted that it was so. They said, "It is his angel."

But Peter continued knocking. When they had opened, they saw him, and were amazed.

When Herod had sought for him, and did not find him, he examined the guards, and commanded that they should be put to death. He went down from Judea to Caesarea, and stayed there.

Now Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. They came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus, the king's personal aide, their friend, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king's country for food.

Barnabas and Saul returned to Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their service, also taking with them John whose surname was Mark.

As they served the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, "Separate Barnabas and Saul for me, for the work to which I have called them."

Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia. From there they sailed to Cyprus.

When they were at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. They had also John as their attendant.

When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a certain man, a sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-Jesus,

But they, passing on from Perga, came to Antioch of Pisidia. They went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and sat down.

The God of this people Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they stayed as foreigners in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm, he led them out of it.

Afterward they asked for a king, and God gave to them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.

For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know him, nor the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him.

Though they found no cause for death, they still asked Pilate to have him killed.

When they had fulfilled all things that were written about him, they took him down from the tree, and placed him in a tomb.

So when they went out they begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.

But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and contradicted the things which were spoken by Paul, and reviled him.

As the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of God. As many as were appointed to eternal life believed.

But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came to Iconium.

It happened in Iconium that they entered together into the Jewish synagogue, and so spoke that a great number of both of Jews and of Greeks believed.

Therefore they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who testified to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.

they became aware of it, and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra, Derbe, and the surrounding region.

There they preached the Good News.

When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voice, saying in the language of Lycaonia, "The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men."

They called Barnabas "Jupiter," and Paul "Mercury," because he was the chief speaker.

But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it, they tore their clothes, and sprang into the crowd, crying out,

Even saying these things, they hardly stopped the crowds from making a sacrifice to them.

But some Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul, and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.

When they had preached the Good News to that city, and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,

When they had appointed elders for them in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they had believed.

They passed through Pisidia, and came to Pamphylia.

When they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.

From there they sailed to Antioch, from where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work which they had fulfilled.

When they had arrived, and had gathered the church together, they reported all the things that God had done with them, and that he had opened a door of faith to the nations.

They stayed there with the disciples for a long time.

Therefore when Paul and Barnabas had no small discord and discussion with them, they appointed Paul and Barnabas, and some others of them, to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about this question.

They, being sent on their way by the church, passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles. They caused great joy to all the brothers.

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

But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they are."

And all the people kept quiet, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul reporting what signs and wonders God had done among the nations through them.

After they were silent, James answered, "Brothers, listen to me.

but that we write to them that they abstain from the pollution of idols, from sexual immorality, from what is strangled, and from blood.

They wrote these things by their hand: "The apostles, the elders, and the brothers, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: greetings.

So, when they were sent off, they came to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter.

When they had read it, they rejoiced over the encouragement.

After they had spent some time there, they were sent back with greetings from the brothers to those that had sent them forth.

After some days Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us return now and visit our brothers in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, to see how they are doing."