Then after that, Peter traveled throughout the entire region until he came down to visit God's holy people who lived in Lydda. [Note: This was a town on the west coast of Palestine].

AM], while he was wide awake, he had a vision in which an angel of God came to him [and spoke his name] "Cornelius."

So, Peter went down to the men and said, "I am the one you are looking for. Why have you come here?"

They said, "Cornelius, a [military] man in charge of one hundred soldiers, [and] a man who does what is right, [and] who respects God and who has a good reputation among all the Jews [who know him], was urged by God through a holy angel to have you come to his house so he could hear you speak [about salvation, See 11:14]."

So, I came [here] when I was sent for, without objecting. [Now,] why have you sent for me?"

Therefore, send [men] to Joppa and ask for Simon Peter to come to you. He is staying at the house of Simon, a tanner [of animal hides] who lives close to the [Mediterranean] sea.'

And the believers of Jewish descent, who had come with Peter, were amazed [when they saw] that the gift of the Holy Spirit had [now] been poured out on the Gentiles also.

And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those [believers] of Jewish descent began to argue with him,

"I was in the city of Joppa and [one day], while praying, I fell into a trance [i.e., a semi-conscious, vision-like state] and saw a huge sheet-like container being lowered down from the sky by its four corners. As it came into view

But when some men from Cyprus and Cyrene came to Antioch, they preached [about] the Lord Jesus to the Greeks [i.e., Gentiles] also.

During those days some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.

And when they passed the first two guards, they came to the iron gate leading out into the city, which opened by itself. So, they went out and, as they walked down the street, the angel [suddenly] left him.

Now Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon [Note: These were seaport cities not under his jurisdiction]. They came to him as a group, having befriended Blastus, an officer of the king [Herod], and tried to arrange a peaceful relationship [with him] because the country was dependant on him for their food supply.

When they had traveled across the whole island they came to Paphos [a town on the island of Cyprus]; [there] they met a certain magician named Bar-Jesus, who was a Jewish false prophet.

For the people living in Jerusalem, together with their ruling officials, did not understand [that Jesus was the Messiah] or what the message of the prophets, which is read every Sabbath day, really meant. So, [because of this] they [actually] made these Scripture predictions come true by condemning Jesus.

so that He was seen for many days by those [apostles] who came with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem. These men are now His witnesses before the people.

And when the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the dialect of Lycaonia, "The gods have come down to us in human form."

But Jews came to [Lystra] from Antioch [in Pisidia] and Iconium. When they persuaded the crowds [to reject Paul's message] they stoned him and dragged him out of town, assuming he was dead.

And when Paul and Barnabas had appointed elders [for the churches] in every congregation and had prayed and fasted [over these elders], they committed them to [the care of] the Lord, in whom they had come to trust.

Then they traveled through [the rest of] Pisidia until they came to [the province of] Pamphylia.

Certain men [i.e., believers, see verse 5] came down from Judea [to Antioch of Syria] and began teaching the brothers this: You cannot be saved unless you are circumcised according to the custom [required] by Moses.

So, after we came to full agreement, it seemed wise to us to choose [two] men [See verse 22] to accompany our dear Barnabas and Paul,

When Paul came to Derbe and [then] to Lystra, he met a certain disciple named Timothy, whose mother was a Jewish believer, but his father was a Greek [i.e., Gentile].

When they came near Mysia [i.e., a northwestern province of Asia Minor] they attempted to travel into Bythinia [i.e., a northern province of Asia Minor] but [an inspired message from] the Holy Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to,

so they went on through Mysia and came down to Troas, [i.e., a seaport on the Aegean Sea, from which they sailed over to Europe].

Then one night [while asleep] Paul had a vision [i.e., an inspired dream] in which a man from Macedonia [i.e., northern Greece] stood in front of him begging, "Come over to Macedonia to help us."

And when she was immersed [into Christ], along with her household [i.e., possibly relatives and/or employees] she urged us, saying, "If you consider me to be a faithful disciple of the Lord, come and stay at my house." And she insisted that we go [to her house].

And she kept this up for a number of days. But Paul was very disturbed [over what she was doing] and [finally] turned [to her] and said to the spirit [in the girl], "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And the evil spirit did come out [of her] immediately.

But Paul responded to the officials, "These city officials had us innocent Roman citizens publicly beaten and thrown in jail. Are they now trying to release us privately? No indeed! Let the officials themselves come and [publicly] release us."

So, they came and appealed to them [to leave peacefully]. Then the authorities themselves accompanied them out [of the jail] and asked them to leave the city.

Now when they [Note: A change from the use of "we" to "they" suggests that the writer Luke remained behind in Philippi at this point] had traveled through the [Macedonian] towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to [the city of] Thessalonica where there was a Jewish synagogue.

When they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials and shouted, "These men have turned the world upside down [i.e., disrupted society by their preaching] and have [now] come here also [i.e., to do the same thing in our community].

There he met a certain Jewish man named Aquila, a native of Pontus, [in northern Asia Minor] who, with his wife Priscilla, had recently come from Rome, because Claudius [the Roman Emperor] had ordered all Jews out of that city. Paul met this couple

So, he left them, saying, "I will come back to you if it is God's will." Then He sailed from Ephesus.

Now a certain Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria [Egypt] and an effective speaker, who was well-grounded in the [Old Testament] Scriptures, came to Ephesus.

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

Paul [then] said, "John immersed people who [demonstrated their] repentance, telling them they must believe in Jesus, the One who would come after him."

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].

But certain traveling Jews, who practiced exorcism, decided that they too would attempt to speak the name of the Lord over people dominated of evil spirits while saying, "I command you [evil spirits to come out] by [the authority of] Jesus whom Paul preaches."

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."

And from Miletus Paul sent to Ephesus, requesting that the elders of the church [there] come to him.

[Because] I know that after I am gone [from here] there will be vicious wolves [i.e., ravaging false teachers] who will come in among you, and they will not spare the flock [i.e., the congregation].

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.

What do you think will happen when they hear that you have come [here to Jerusalem]?

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.

So, fearing the possibility of being run aground on a rocky shore, they dropped four anchors from the stern and longed for daylight [to come].

But the natives expected him to swell up [from snake bite] or fall dead suddenly, but after expecting this for a long time and not seeing any harm come to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

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

Then they said to him, "We did not receive any letters from Judea about you, nor did any of the brothers come here to report anything bad about you.

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.

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].

And why should we not say, "Let us do what is wrong so something good will come from it," as some people slanderously claim that we are saying? These people deserve to be condemned.

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.

For these are the words of the promise [Gen. 18:10], "I [i.e., God] will come at the appointed time and Sarah will have a son."

And so [i.e., in this way] all the Israelites will be saved. [Note: The "all" here is thought by many to refer to a large number of the physical Jews who will be saved, not necessarily to every single individual Jew]. Even as it is written [Isa. 59:20-21], "The Deliverer [i.e., Christ] will come from Zion [i.e., the city of Jerusalem, or from the nation of Israel]. He will take away the wickedness from Jacob [i.e., the Jews]."

Every person must be submissive to the ruling authorities, for all authorities come from God. And the existence of authorities has been established by God.

For God's kingdom is not a matter of what people eat or drink, but [instead, it is a matter] of doing what is right, having peace [of heart] and having [inner] joy, which come from the Holy Spirit.

And pray that I will [be able to] come to you joyfully, if it is God's will, and have a refreshing visit with you.

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.

Now some of you have become arrogant, thinking that I would not [dare to] come to you.

But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wants me to. Then I will determine not [only] what these arrogant people are saying, but how much power they have.

Which do you [really] want? Shall I come to you with a rod [of discipline], or lovingly, and with a spirit of gentleness?

yet there is [only] one God to us, [and He is] the Father, from whom all things have come, and for whom we live. And [there is only] one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom all things have come, and through whom we live.

Now these events happened to those people as examples [to us], and they were written as warnings to us, to whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. [Note: This refers to past ages concluding with the coming of Christ in that day].

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].

If anyone is [too] hungry [i.e., to wait], he should eat at home, so that your assembly does not result in judgment [falling on some of you. See verse 30]. And I will tend to the remaining matters when I come [to you].

But now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in languages [supernaturally], how will I benefit you unless my speaking consists of a revelation [from God], or a [message of] knowledge [See 12:8], or a prophecy, or a teaching? [i.e., the message must be intelligible to be beneficial].

Therefore, if the whole church assembles together and everyone speaks in languages [i.e., supernaturally], and outsiders [i.e., people who do not understand the language being spoken] or unbelievers come [into the assembly], will they not say that you people are crazy?

Come to your senses; do what is right and stop sinning. Some of you do not know God [i.e., in a personal way]. I am saying this to make you ashamed.

You foolish person. The seed you plant does not come to life [i.e., grow] unless it dies.

And what you yourself sow is not the plant that will [eventually] come up, but simply a seed. It may be a grain of wheat or something else.

However, the spiritual [body] does not come first, but the physical [body does]; then the spiritual [body comes].

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].

On every first day of the week [i.e., at the regular Sunday assembly] each one of you should set aside and store up [money] in proportion to your income, so that no collections will have to be taken when I come.

But I will come to you after I have gone through Macedonia, for I am planning to go through Macedonia [Note: This was the Roman province of northern Greece].

So, do not let anyone look down on him, but help him on his journey in peace so that he can come to me, for I am expecting him [to come] with the brothers.

If anyone [there] does not love the Lord, he deserves to be cut off from God. O Lord, come [back soon].

And I wrote you this very thing so that when I did come I might not be grieved by those who should make me happy. I had confidence in all of you, that whatever makes me happy [also] makes you happy.

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],