Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me;

for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;

They were amazed and astonished, saying, “Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans?

For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day;

For David says of Him,
‘I saw the Lord always in my presence;
For He is at my right hand, so that I will not be shaken.

Because You will not abandon my soul to Hades,
Nor allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.

For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says:
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,

and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.

But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—walk!”

and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’

But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to any man in this name.”

And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence,

And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them.

For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales

and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need.

While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”

Now there elapsed an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.

But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the gates of the prison, and taking them out he said,

But the officers who came did not find them in the prison; and they returned and reported back,

saying, “We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.”

but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God.”

They took his advice; and after calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them.

So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables.

But He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground, and yet, even when he had no child, He promised that He would give it to him as a possession, and to his descendants after him.

It was he who took shrewd advantage of our race and mistreated our fathers so that they would expose their infants and they would not survive.

And he supposed that his brethren understood that God was granting them deliverance through him, but they did not understand.

You do not mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday, do you?’

‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.’ Moses shook with fear and would not venture to look.

saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us; for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt—we do not know what happened to him.’

But God turned away and delivered them up to serve the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, ‘It was not to Me that you offered victims and sacrifices forty years in the wilderness, was it, O house of Israel?

However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says:

‘Was it not My hand which made all these things?’

Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become;

you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.”

Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he fell asleep.

For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.

Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this:
“He was led as a sheep to slaughter;
And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
So He does not open His mouth.

All those hearing him continued to be amazed, and were saying, “Is this not he who in Jerusalem destroyed those who called on this name, and who had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?”

but their plot became known to Saul. They were also watching the gates day and night so that they might put him to death;

but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a large basket.

When he came to Jerusalem, he was trying to associate with the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.

Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, having heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him, imploring him, “Do not delay in coming to us.”

And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean.

Opening his mouth, Peter said:“I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality,

not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.

On the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison.

And he went out and continued to follow, and he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.

When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate.

When Herod had searched for him and had not found him, he examined the guards and ordered that they be led away to execution. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and was spending time there.

The people kept crying out, “The voice of a god and not of a man!”

And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.

and said, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?

Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.” And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand.

And while John was completing his course, he kept saying, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’

Therefore He also says in another Psalm, ‘You will not allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.’

but He whom God raised did not undergo decay.

and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.

Therefore take heed, so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you:

and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.”

Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles,

But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.

and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them;

A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”

and are proclaiming customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being Romans.”

But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!”

And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household.

When they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset the world have come here also;

The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.

The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands;

that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;

Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man.

And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent;

And they all took hold of Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and began beating him in front of the judgment seat. But Gallio was not concerned about any of these things.

When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he did not consent,

He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”

You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that gods made with hands are no gods at all.

Not only is there danger that this trade of ours fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis be regarded as worthless and that she whom all of Asia and the world worship will even be dethroned from her magnificence.”

And when Paul wanted to go into the assembly, the disciples would not let him.

Also some of the Asiarchs who were friends of his sent to him and repeatedly urged him not to venture into the theater.

So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the assembly was in confusion and the majority did not know for what reason they had come together.

After quieting the crowd, the town clerk *said, “Men of Ephesus, what man is there after all who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of the image which fell down from heaven?

But Paul went down and fell upon him, and after embracing him, he said, “Do not be troubled, for his life is in him.”

For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.

how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house,

And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there,

But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.

For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.

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

Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears.

grieving especially over the word which he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they were accompanying him to the ship.

After looking up the disciples, we stayed there seven days; and they kept telling Paul through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem.

When we had heard this, we as well as the local residents began begging him not to go up to Jerusalem.

Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, remarking, “The will of the Lord be done!”

and they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs.

But among the crowd some were shouting one thing and some another, and when he could not find out the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks.