And the statement pleased the whole group, and they chose Stephen (a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit), and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus (a convert from Antioch),

But some of those from the Synagogue of the Freedmen ({as it was called}), both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia, stood up [and] disputed with Stephen.

and said to him, 'Go out from your land and from your relatives and come to the land that I will show you.'

Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans [and] settled in Haran. And from there, after his father died, he caused him to move to this land in which you now live.

and rescued him from all his afflictions and granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And he appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his household.

And they were brought back to Shechem and buried in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

And the Lord said to him, 'Untie the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.

"This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, 'God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.'

saying to Aaron, 'Make us gods who will go on before us! For this Moses, who led us out from the land of Egypt--we do not know what has happened to him!'

and which, [after] receiving [it] in turn, our fathers brought in with Joshua {when they dispossessed the} nations that God drove out from the presence of our fathers, until the days of David,

They were all paying attention to {him}, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is the power of God that is called 'Great.'"

Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, "Get up and go toward the south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." (This is a desert [road].)

In his humiliation justice was taken from him. Who can describe his {descendants}? For his life was taken away from the earth."

So Philip opened his mouth and beginning from this scripture, proclaimed the good news to him [about] Jesus.

And as they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, "Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?"

[and] asked for letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, both men and women, he could bring [them] tied up to Jerusalem.

Now as [he] proceeded, it happened that [when] he approached Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.

So Saul got up from the ground, but [although] his eyes were open he could see nothing. And leading him by the hand, they brought [him] into Damascus.

And the Lord [said] to him, "Get up, go to the street called 'Straight' and in the house of Judas look for {a man named Saul from Tarsus}. For behold, he is praying,

But Ananias replied, "Lord, I have heard from many [people] about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem,

and here he has authority from the chief priests to tie up all who call upon your name!"

And immediately [something] like scales fell from his eyes and he regained [his] sight and got up [and] was baptized,

And when the angel who spoke to him departed, he summoned two of the household slaves and a devout soldier from those who attended him,

And they said, "Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man--and well spoken of by the whole nation of the Jews--was directed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear words from you."

So he invited them in [and] entertained them as guests, and on the next day he got up [and] went away with them. And some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him.

you know the thing that happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee, after the baptism that John proclaimed:

not to all the people but to us who had been chosen beforehand by God [as] witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

And those believers from the circumcision who had accompanied Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles,

"I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision--an object something like a large sheet coming down, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came to me.

But the voice replied from heaven for the second time, '[The things] which God has made clean, you must not consider unclean!'

And behold, at once three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea approached the house in which we were [staying].

But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, [when they] came to Antioch, began to speak to the Hellenists also, proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus.

Now in those days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.

So from the disciples, {according to their ability to give}, each one of them determined to send [financial aid] for support to the brothers who lived in Judea,

Now at that time, Herod the king laid hands on some of those from the church to harm [them].

And [after they] had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened for them by itself, and they went out [and] went forward [along] one narrow street, and at once the angel departed from him.

And [when] Peter came to himself, he said, "Now I know truly that the Lord has sent out his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and all {that the Jewish people expected}!"

And [when] Herod had searched for him and did not find [him], he questioned the guards [and] ordered [that they] be led away to execution. And he came down from Judea to Caesarea [and] stayed [there].

Now he was very angry with the Tyrians and Sidonians. So they came to him with one purpose, and [after] persuading Blastus, {the king's chamberlain}, they asked for peace, because their country was supported with food from the king's country.

Therefore, sent out by the Holy Spirit, they came down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed away to Cyprus.

But Elymas the magician (for his name is translated in this way) opposed them, attempting to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

Now {Paul and his companions} put out to sea from Paphos [and] came to Perga in Pamphylia, but John departed from them [and] returned to Jerusalem.

And they went on from Perga [and] arrived at Pisidian Antioch. And they entered into the synagogue on the day of the Sabbath [and] sat down.

So after the reading from the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent [word] to them, saying, "Men [and] brothers, if there is any message of exhortation by you for the people, say [it]."

And then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, [for] forty years.

From the descendants of this man, according to [his] promise, God brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus.

And when they had carried out all the things that were written about him, they took [him] down from the tree [and] placed [him] in a tomb.

But God raised him from the dead,

who appeared for many days to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem--who are now his witnesses to the people.

But that he has raised him from the dead, no more going to return to decay, he has spoken in this way: 'I will give you the reliable divine decrees of David.'

"Therefore let it be known to you, men [and] brothers, that through this one forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and from all [the things] from which you were not able to be justified by the law of Moses,

So [after] shaking off the dust from [their] feet against them, they went to Iconium.

And in Lystra a certain man was sitting powerless in his feet, lame from {birth}, who had never walked.

and saying, "Men, why are you doing these [things]? We also are men with the same nature as you, proclaiming the good news [that] you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all the things [that are] in them--

And yet he did not leave himself without witness [by] doing good, giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying [you] with food and your hearts with gladness."

And [although] they said these [things], [only] with difficulty did they dissuade the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.

But Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium, and [when they] had won over the crowds and stoned Paul, they dragged [him] outside the city, thinking he was dead.

and from there they sailed away to Antioch where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had completed.

And some men came down from Judea [and] began teaching the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom [prescribed] by Moses, you cannot be saved."

And [after] there was no little strife and debate by Paul and Barnabas against them, they appointed Paul and Barnabas and some others from among them to go up to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem concerning this issue.

But some of those who had believed from the party of the Pharisees stood up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them and to command [them] to observe the law of Moses!"

Simeon has described how God first concerned himself to take from among the Gentiles a people for his name.

known from of old.'

Therefore I conclude we should not cause difficulty for those from among the Gentiles who turn to God,

but we should write a letter to them to abstain from the pollution of idols and from sexual immorality and from what has been strangled and from blood.

For Moses has those who proclaim him in every city from ancient generations, [because he] is read aloud in the synagogues on every Sabbath."

Then it seemed best to the apostles and the elders, together with the whole church, to send men chosen from among them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas--Judas who was called Barsabbas and Silas, men [who were] leaders among the brothers--

writing [this letter] {to be delivered by them}: The apostles and the elders, brothers. To the brothers [who are] from among the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia. Greetings!

Because we have heard that some have gone out from among us--to whom we gave no orders--[and] have thrown you into confusion by words upsetting your {minds},

[that you] abstain from food sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. [If you] keep yourselves from {these things} you will do well. Farewell.

And [after] spending [some] time, they were sent away in peace from the brothers to those who had sent them.

but Paul held the opinion they should not take this one along, who departed from them in Pamphylia and did not accompany them in the work.

And a sharp disagreement took place, so that they separated from one another. And Barnabas took along Mark [and] sailed away to Cyprus,

And they traveled through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the message in Asia.

So putting out to sea from Troas, we sailed a straight course to Samothrace, and on the following [day] to Neapolis,

and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city [of that] district of Macedonia, a [Roman] colony. And we were staying in this city for some days.

And a certain woman {named} Lydia from the city of Thyatira, a merchant dealing in purple cloth who showed reverence for God, was listening. The Lord opened {her} heart to pay attention to what was being said by Paul.

And they came [and] apologized to them, and [after they] brought [them] out they asked [them] to depart from the city.

{And as was his custom}, Paul went in to them and on three Sabbath [days] he discussed with them from the scriptures,

explaining and demonstrating that it was necessary [for] the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and [saying], "This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ."

But the Jews were filled with jealousy and, taking along some worthless men from the rabble in the marketplace and forming a mob, threw the city into an uproar. And attacking Jason's house, they were looking for them to bring [them] out to the popular assembly.

And [after] taking money as security from Jason and the rest, they released them.

But when the Jews from Thessalonica found out that the message of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Berea also, they came there too, inciting and stirring up the crowds.

And he made from one [man] every nation of humanity to live on all the face of the earth, determining [their] fixed times and the fixed boundaries of their habitation,

to search for God, if perhaps indeed they might feel around for him and find [him]. And indeed he is not far away from each one of us,

because he has set a day on which he is going to judge the world in righteousness by the man who he has appointed, having provided proof to everyone [by] raising him from the dead."

So Paul went out from the midst of them.

After these [things] he departed from Athens [and] went to Corinth.

And he found a certain Jew {named} Aquila, {a native} of Pontus who had arrived recently from Italy {along with} Priscilla his wife, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to depart from Rome, [and] he went to them.

Now when both Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began to be occupied with the message, solemnly testifying to the Jews [that] the Christ was Jesus.

And [when] they resisted and reviled [him], he shook out [his] clothes [and] said to them, "Your blood [be] on your [own] heads! I [am] guiltless! From now on I will go to the Gentiles!"

And he drove them away from the judgment seat.

but saying farewell and telling [them], "I will return to you again [if] God wills," he set sail from Ephesus.

But when some became hardened and were disobedient, reviling the Way before the congregation, he departed from them [and] took away the disciples, leading discussions every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.

And the man {who had the evil spirit} leaped on them, subdued all of them, [and] prevailed against them, so that they ran away from that house naked and wounded.

{These} he gathered together, and the workers occupied with such things, [and] said, "Men, you know that from this business {we get our prosperity},

So not only is there a danger this line of business of ours [will] come into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Artemis [will] be regarded as nothing--and [she] is about to be brought down even from her grandeur, [she] whom the whole [of] Asia and the [entire] world worship!"

But [when they] recognized that he was a Jew, they were shouting with one voice from all [of them] for about two hours, "Great [is] Artemis of the Ephesians!"

And [when] the city secretary had quieted the crowd, he said, "Ephesian men, for who is there among men who does not know the Ephesian city is honorary temple keeper of the great Artemis and of [her] image fallen from heaven?

And Sopater [son] of Pyrrhus from Berea, and Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, and Gaius from Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia, were accompanying him.