{You have no} part or share in this matter, because your heart is not right before God.

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].)

and was returning and sitting in his chariot, and reading aloud the prophet Isaiah.

So Philip ran up to [it] [and] heard him reading aloud Isaiah the prophet and said, "So then, do you understand what you are reading?"

Now the passage of scripture that he was reading aloud was this: "He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb before its shearer [is] silent, so he did not open his mouth.

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?"

But Philip found himself at Azotus, and [as he] passed through, he proclaimed the good news [to] all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

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

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 the Lord said to him, "Go, because this man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel.

And immediately he began proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues: "This one is the Son of God!"

And all who heard [him] were amazed, and were saying, "Is this not the one who was wreaking havoc in Jerusalem [on] those who call upon this name, and had come here for this [reason], that he could bring them tied up to the chief priests?"

But Saul was increasing in strength even more, and was confounding the Jews who lived in Damascus [by] proving that this one is the Christ.

Now it happened that [as] Peter was traveling through all [the places], [he] also came down to the saints who lived [in] Lydda.

And [because] Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, [when they] heard that Peter was in {Lydda}, sent two men to him, urging, "Do not delay to come to us!"

And he stared at him and became terrified [and] said, "What is [it], Lord?" And he said to him, "Your prayers and your charitable deeds have gone up for a memorial offering before God.

And now, send men to Joppa and summon a certain Simon, who is also called Peter.

This man is staying as a guest with a certain Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea."

And the next day, [as] they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray [at] about the sixth hour.

Now while Peter was greatly perplexed within himself [as to] what the vision that he had seen might be, behold, the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having found the house of Simon by asking around, stood at the gate.

And they called out [and] asked if Simon who was also called Peter was staying there as a guest.

So Peter went down to the men [and] said, "Behold, I am [he] whom you are looking for! What [is] the reason for which you have come?"

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.

And [as he] conversed with him, he went in and found many [people] gathered.

And he said to them, "You know that it is forbidden for a Jewish man to associate with or to approach a foreigner. And to me God has shown [that] I should call no man common or unclean.

Therefore send to Joppa and summon Simon who is also called Peter. This man is staying as a guest in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.

So Peter opened [his] mouth [and] said, "In truth I understand that God is not one who shows partiality,

but in every nation the one who fears him and who does what is right is acceptable to him.

[As for] the message that he sent to the sons of Israel, proclaiming the good news of peace through Jesus Christ--this one is Lord of all--

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 he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify solemnly that this one is the one appointed by God [as] judge of the living and of the dead.

"Surely no one can withhold the water for these [people] to be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit as we also did!"

[As I] looked intently into it, I was considering [it], and I saw the four-footed animals of the earth and the wild animals and the reptiles and the birds of the sky.

And he reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, 'Send to Joppa and summon Simon, who is also called Peter,

And [as] I was beginning to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as also on us at the beginning.

Therefore if God gave them the same gift as also to us [when we] believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I [to be] able to hinder God?"

Now those who had been scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, proclaiming the message to no one except Jews alone.

{And the report came to the attention} of the church that was in Jerusalem about them, and they sent out Barnabas as far as Antioch,

And [when he] realized [this], he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John (who is also called Mark), where many [people] were gathered together and were praying.

But they said to her, "You are out of your mind!" But she kept insisting it was so. And they kept saying, "It is his angel!"

Now [when] day came, there was not a little commotion among the soldiers [as to] what then had become of Peter.

So Barnabas and Saul returned to Jerusalem [when they] had completed [their] service, having taken along with [them] John (who is also called Mark).

And [when they] came to Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they also had John [as] assistant.

And [when they] had crossed over the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a certain man, a magician, a Jewish false prophet whose name [was] Bar-Jesus,

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

And now behold, the hand of the Lord [is] against you, and you will be blind, not seeing the sun {for a while}. And immediately mist and darkness fell over him, and he was going around looking for [people] to lead [him] by the hand.

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 [after] destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave their land [to his people] as an inheritance.

But while John was completing [his] mission, he said, 'What do you suppose me to be? I am not [he]! But behold, one is coming after me of whom I am not worthy to untie the sandals of [his] feet!'

"Men [and] brothers, sons of the family of Abraham and those among you who fear God--to us the message of this salvation has been sent!

this [promise] God has fulfilled to our children [by] raising Jesus, as it is also written in the second psalm, 'You are my Son; today I have fathered you.'

"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,

by this one everyone who believes is justified!

Watch out, therefore, lest what is stated by the prophets come upon [you]:

And [as] they were going out, they began urging [that] these things be spoken about to them on the next Sabbath.

For so the Lord has commanded us: 'I have appointed you {to be} a light for the Gentiles, {that you would bring} salvation to the end of the earth.'

And [when] the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices in the Lycaonian language, saying, "The gods have become like men [and] have come down to us!"

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--

strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging [them] to continue in the faith and [saying], "Through many persecutions it is necessary [for] us to enter into the kingdom of God."

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!"

And God, who knows the heart, testified to them [by] giving [them] the Holy Spirit, just as he also [did] to us.

And he made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.

And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:

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

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},

it seemed best to us, {having reached a unanimous decision}, [and] having chosen men, to send [them] to you together with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul,

For it seemed best to the Holy Spirit and to us to place on you no greater burden except these necessary things:

And after some days, Paul said to Barnabas, "Come then,[let us] return [and] visit the brothers in every town in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, [to see] how they are [doing]."

And as they went through the towns, they passed on to them to observe the rules that had been decided by the apostles and elders [who were] in Jerusalem.

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

And a vision appeared to Paul during the night: a certain Macedonian man was standing there and imploring him and saying, "Come over to Macedonia [and] help us!"

And when he had seen the vision, we wanted at once to go away to Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.

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 after she was baptized, and her household, she urged [us], saying, "If you consider me to be a believer in the Lord, come to my house [and] stay." And she prevailed upon us.

And it happened that [as] we were going to the place of prayer, a certain female slave who had a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing a large profit to her owners [by] fortune-telling.

She followed Paul and us [and] was crying out, saying, "These men are slaves of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation!"

and are proclaiming customs that are not permitted for us to accept or to practice, [because we] are Romans!"

But Paul said to them, "They beat us in public without due process--men who are Roman citizens--[and] threw [us] into prison, and now they are wanting to release us secretly? Certainly not! Rather let them come themselves [and] bring us out!"

{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."

whom Jason has entertained as guests! And these [people] [are] all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king, Jesus!"

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

And those who conducted Paul brought [him] as far as Athens, and [after] receiving an order for Silas and Timothy that they should come to him as soon as possible, they went away.

And they took hold of him [and] brought [him] to the Areopagus, saying, "May we learn what [is] this new teaching being proclaimed by you?

For [as I] was passing through and observing carefully your objects of worship, I even found an altar on which was inscribed, 'To an unknown God.' Therefore what you worship without knowing [it], this I proclaim to you--

nor is he served by human hands [as if he] needed anything, [because] he himself gives to everyone life and breath and everything.

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,

for in him we live and move and exist, as even some of {your own} poets have said: 'For we also are {his} offspring.'

Therefore, [because we] are offspring of God, we ought not to think the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by human skill and thought.

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."

And leaving there, he entered into the house of someone {named} Titius Justus, a worshiper of God whose house was next door to the synagogue.

saying, "This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law!"

But if it is questions concerning a word and names and {your own law}, see to [it] yourselves! I do not wish to be a judge of these [things]."

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 Paul said, "John baptized [with] a baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe in the one who was to come after him--that is, in Jesus."

And this took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

Now when these [things] were completed, Paul resolved in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, "After I have been there, it is necessary [for] me to see Rome also."

So [after] sending two of those who were assisting him, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, he himself stayed [some] time in Asia.

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!"