And he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit [when you] believed?" And they [said] to him, "But we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit!"

and you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this man Paul has persuaded [and] turned away a large crowd [by] saying that the [gods] made by hands are not gods.

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] Paul wanted to enter into the popular assembly, the disciples would not let him.

And even some of the Asiarchs who were his friends sent [word] to him [and] were urging [him] not to risk himself [by going] into the theater.

So some were shouting [one thing] [and] some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and the majority did not know {why} they had assembled.

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?

But Paul went down [and] threw himself on him, and putting his arms around [him], said, "Do not be distressed, for his life is in him."

For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not be [having] to spend time in Asia. For he was hurrying if it could be possible for him to be in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.

how I did not shrink from proclaiming to you anything that would be profitable, and [from] teaching you in public and from house [to house],

"And now behold, bound by the Spirit I am traveling to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me {there},

for I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the whole purpose of God.

I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.

Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day [for] three years I did not stop warning each one [of you] with tears.

I have shown you [with respect to] all [things] that [by] working hard in this way it is necessary to help those who are in need, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive."

And we stayed there seven days [after we] found the disciples, who kept telling Paul through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem.

And when we heard these [things], both we and the local residents urged him not to go up to Jerusalem.

Then Paul replied, "What are you doing weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be tied up, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus!"

And [because] he would not be persuaded, we remained silent, saying, "The will of the Lord be done."

And they have been informed about you that you are teaching all the Jews [who are] among the Gentiles [the] abandonment of Moses, telling them not to circumcise [their] children or to live according to [our] customs.

But some in the crowd were shouting one thing [and] others [another], and [because] he was not able to find out the truth on account of the commotion, he gave orders to bring him into the barracks.

Then you are not the Egyptian who before these days raised a revolt and led out into the wilderness the four thousand men of the Assassins?"

(Now those who were with me saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.)

And as I could not see as a result of the brightness of that light, I arrived in Damascus led by the hand of those who were with me.

and saw him saying to me, 'Hurry and depart {quickly} from Jerusalem, because they will not accept your testimony about me.'

Now they were listening to him until this word, and they raised their voices, saying, "Away with such a man from the earth! For it is not fitting [for] him to live!"

And Paul said, "I did not know, brothers, that he was high priest. For it is written, 'You must not speak evil [of] a ruler of your people.'"

And the next night the Lord stood by him [and] said, "Have courage, for as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome."

You therefore do not be persuaded by them, because more [than] forty men of {their number} are lying in wait [for] him, who have bound themselves under a curse neither to eat nor to drink until they have done away with him. And now they are ready, waiting for {you to agree}."

And he summoned two of the centurions [and] said, "Make ready from the third hour of the night two hundred soldiers and seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen, in order that they may proceed as far as Caesarea.

Therefore the soldiers, in accordance with {their orders}, took Paul [and] brought [him] to Antipatris during the night.

But so that I may not impose on you for longer, I implore you to hear us briefly with your [customary] graciousness.

You can ascertain that {it has not been more than} twelve days {since} I went up to Jerusalem to worship.

in which they found me purified in the temple [courts], not with a crowd or with a disturbance.

And [after he] had stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea. On the next day he sat down on the judgment seat [and] gave orders [for] Paul to be brought.

And [when] he arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and serious charges that they were not able to prove,

If then I am doing wrong and have done anything deserving death, I am not trying to avoid dying. But if there is nothing [true] of [the things] which these [people] are accusing me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar!"

To {them} I replied that it was not the custom of the Romans to give up any man before the one who had been accused met [his] accusers face to [face] and received an opportunity for a defense concerning the accusation.

And Festus said, "King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man about whom the whole population of the Jews appealed to me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting [that] he must not live any longer.

I do not have anything definite to write to [my] lord about {him}. Therefore I have brought him before you [all]--and especially before you, King Agrippa--so that [after] this preliminary hearing has taken place, I may have something to write.

For it seems unreasonable to me to send a prisoner and not to indicate the charges against him."

to which our twelve tribes hope to attain as [they] earnestly serve [him] night and day. Concerning this hope I am being accused by the Jews, O king!

which I also did in Jerusalem, and not only did I lock up many of the saints in prison, having received authority from the chief priests, but also [when] they were being executed, I cast [my] vote against [them].

"Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,

But Paul said, "I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but am speaking words of truth and rationality.

For the king knows about these [things], to whom also I am speaking freely, for I am not convinced [that] these [things] in any way have escaped his notice, because this {was} not {done} in a corner.

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!"

And [as they] were going out, they were talking to one another, saying, "This man is not doing anything deserving death or imprisonment."

And Agrippa said to Festus, "This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar."

And sailing slowly, in many days and with difficulty we came to Cnidus. [Because] the wind did not permit us to go further, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone.

saying to them, "Men, I perceive that the voyage is going {to end} with disaster and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives!"

But not long afterward a wind like a hurricane, called the northeaster, rushed down from it.

And [when] the ship was caught and [was] not able to head into the wind, we gave way [and] were driven [along].

But [when] neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and [with] not a little bad weather confronting [us], finally all hope was abandoned [that] we would be saved.

And [because] many were experiencing lack of appetite, at that time Paul stood up in their midst [and] said, "Men, [you] ought to have followed my [advice] not to put out to sea from Crete, and [thus] avoided this damage and loss!

For this night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve came to me,

saying, 'Do not be afraid, Paul! It is necessary [for] you to stand before Caesar, and behold, God has graciously granted you all who are sailing with you.'

And when the fourteenth night had come, [as] we were being driven in the Adriatic Sea about the middle of the night, the sailors suspected {they were approaching some land}.

Therefore I urge you to take [some] food, for this is necessary for your preservation. For not a hair from your head will be lost."

Now when day came, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a certain bay having a beach, onto which they decided to run the ship ashore if they could.

And when the local people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, "Doubtless this man is a murderer whom, [although he] was rescued from the sea, Justice has not permitted to live!"

But [because] the Jews objected, I was forced to appeal to Caesar (not as [if I] had any [charge] to bring against my [own] people).

Now I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, that often I intended to come to you, and was prevented until now, in order that I might have some fruit among you also, just as also among the rest of the Gentiles.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

For [although they] knew God, they did not honor [him] as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasoning, and their senseless hearts were darkened.

And just as they did not see fit {to recognize God}, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do the things [that are] not proper,

who, [although they] know the requirements of God, that those who do such things are worthy of death, not only do they do the same [things], but also they approve of those who do [them].

Or do you despise the wealth of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

For it is not the hearers of the law [who are] righteous in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be declared righteous.

For whenever the Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature the things of the law, these, [although they] do not have the law, are a law to themselves,

Therefore, the one who teaches someone else, do you not teach yourself? The one who preaches not to steal, do you steal?

The one who says not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery? The one who abhors idols, do you rob temples?

Therefore, if the uncircumcised person follows the requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be credited for circumcision?

For the Jew is not {one outwardly}, nor [is] circumcision {outwardly}, in the flesh.

But the Jew {is one inwardly}, and circumcision [is] of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter, whose praise [is] not from people but from God.

{What is the result} if some refused to believe? Their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, [will it]?

But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? God, who inflicts wrath, [is] not unjust, [is he]? (I am speaking according to a human perspective.)

And [why] not (as we are slandered, and as some affirm that we say), "Let us do evil, in order that good may come [of it]? Their condemnation is just!

What then? Do we have an advantage? Not at all. For we have already charged both Jews and Greeks are all under sin,

just as it is written, "[There] is no one righteous, not even one;

All have turned aside together; they have become worthless; [There] is no one who practices kindness; [there] is not even one.

and they have not known the way of peace.

The fear of God is not before their eyes."

Or [is God] the God of the Jews only? [Is he] not also [the God] of the Gentiles? Yes, also of the Gentiles,

For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.

Now to the one who works, his pay is not credited according to grace, but according to his due.

But to the one who does not work, but who believes in the one who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited for righteousness,

How then was it credited? [While he] was {circumcised} or {uncircumcised}? Not {while circumcised} but {while uncircumcised}!

and the father {of those who are circumcised} to those who are not only from the circumcision, but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith of our father Abraham {which he had while uncircumcised}.

For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants, [that] he would be heir of the world, [was] not through the law, but through the righteousness by faith.

Because of this, [it is] by faith, in order that [it may be] according to grace, so that the promise may be secure to all the descendants, not only to those of the law, but also to those of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all

(just as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations") before God, in whom he believed, the one who makes the dead alive and who calls the things that are not as [though] they are,

And not being weak in faith, he considered his own body as good as dead, [because he] was approximately a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb.

And he did not waver in unbelief at the promise of God, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God

But it was not written for the sake of him alone that it was credited to him,

And not only [this], but we also boast in our afflictions, [because we] know that affliction produces patient endurance,

and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

And not only [this], but also [we are] boasting in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

For until the law, sin was in the world, but sin is not charged to one's account [when there] is no law.

But death reigned from Adam until Moses even over those who did not sin in the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who is to come.