And referred to the resurrection of the Christ when he said that 'he had not been abandoned to the Place of Death, nor had his body undergone corruption.'

So he has been exalted to God's right hand, and has received from his Father and poured over us the holy Spirit that had been promised, as you see and hear.

When the crowd that had gathered heard this, they were pierced to the heart. They asked Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what should we do?"

Those then who had accepted his word were baptised; and there were added in that day about three thousand souls.

And all that believed were together, and had all things common;

And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.

Giving praise to God, and having the approval of all the people; and every day the number of those who had salvation was increased by the Lord.

One day, as Peter and John were going up into the Temple Courts for the three o'clock Prayers, a man, who had been lame from his birth, was being carried by.

some men were carrying there one who had been lame from birth, whom they were wont to place every day close to the Beautiful Gate (as it was called)

And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.

And as this [former] crippled man stayed close beside Peter and John, all the people rushed toward them at "Solomon's Portico" [Note: This was a large covered area, with rows of columns, on the side of the Temple enclosure], completely astonished [at what had happened].

And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?

The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Servant Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied before the face of Pilate, when he had determined to release him.

Now I know, brothers, that you acted in ignorance, like your rulers ??18 though this was how God fulfilled what he had announced beforehand by the lips of all the prophets, namely the sufferings of his Christ.

But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.

And he may send forth him who had been fore-appointed for you - Christ Jesus:

who must be received into heaven until [God's appointed] times when everything will be restored [to its intended purpose]. God had spoken about this through the proclamations of His holy prophets of long ago.

Yes, and all the Prophets from Samuel onwards, and all their successors who had a message to deliver, told of these days.

God, [after he] had raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning each [of you] back from your wickedness!"

They were greatly disturbed that Peter and John were teaching the people and announcing that Jesus had been resurrected from the dead.

They arrested the Apostles and, as it was already evening, had them placed in custody till the next day.

But many of those who had heard the word believed; and the number of the men had become about five thousand.

And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?

He is the stone which you builders had no use for, but which has been made the chief stone of the building.

salvation is not to be had by any other: for there is no other name under heaven given to men whereby we can be saved.

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.

And beholding the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to reply;

But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves,

However, to keep things from going any further with the people, we had better threaten them that they are not to tell anyone in future about this Name."

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

So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done.

for the man on whom this sign of healing had taken place was above forty years old.

And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them.

For they have assembled here in this city against your holy servant Jesus, whom you had consecrated??erod and Pontius Pilate, with the heathen and the peoples of Israel,

to do whatever thy hand and thy counsel had determined before should come to pass.

And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

And no one among them was in need; for everyone who had land or houses, exchanging them for money, took the price of them,

And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

And Joseph, who had been surnamed Barnabas by the apostles (which is, being interpreted, Son of consolation), a Levite, Cyprian by birth,

sold a farm which he had, and brought the money and gave it to the Apostles.

But a man called Ananias, who with his wife Sapphira had sold some property,

and brought [only] a part of the selling price and gave it to the apostles; but the man and his wife had kept this a secret.

While you had it, was it not your property? and after you had given it in exchange, was it not still in your power? how has this purpose come into your mind? you have been false, not to men, but to God.

And it came to pass about three hours afterwards, that his wife, not knowing what had happened, came in.

Then great fear came on all the church and on all who had knowledge of these things.

But of the rest no man had the courage to unite himself with them: though the people extolled them.

And a great number of men and women had faith, and were joined to the Lord;

Arrested the Apostles, and had them placed in custody.

Having received that command they went into the Temple, just before daybreak, and began to teach: So when the High Priest and his party came, and had called together the Sanhedrin as well as all the Elders of the descendants of Israel, they sent to the jail to fetch the Apostles.

Saying, The prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors: but when we had opened, we found no man within.

Presently, however, some one came and told them, that the men whom they had put in prison were actually standing in the Temple Courts, teaching the people.

And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them,

The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had murdered by hanging Him on a tree.

But when these words came to their ears, they were cut to the heart, and had a mind to put them to death.

Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space;

For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody [of importance], and a group of about four hundred men allied themselves with him. But he was killed, and all who followed him were scattered and came to nothing.

After him, rose up Judas the Galilaean, in the days of the enrolling, and drew a people into revolt after him; and, he, perished, and, all, as many as had trusted in him, were scattered.

And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

So they went out from the presence of the Sanhedrin rejoicing, because they had been considered worthy to be dishonored for the sake of the name.

And this saying was pleasing to all of them: and they made selection of Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip and Prochorus and Nicanor and Timon and Parmenas and Nicolas of Antioch, who had become a Jew:

Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.

But some of those who were of the Synagogue named that of the Libertines, and some of the men of Cyrene and of Alexandria and those from Cilicia and Asia, had arguments with Stephen.

Then they induced some men to assert that they had heard Stephen saying blasphemous things against Moses, and against God;

They had false witnesses stand up and say, "This man never stops saying things against this Holy Place and against the Law.

And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.

“Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. From there, after his father died, God had him move to this land you now live in.

And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.

And God had spoken about this [beforehand] by saying that Abraham's descendants would live in a foreign country and that they would [eventually] be ill-treated as slaves for four hundred years.

And he made with him the agreement of which circumcision was the sign. And so Abraham had a son, Isaac, and gave him circumcision on the eighth day; and Isaac had a son, Jacob, and Jacob was the father of the twelve heads of the families of Israel.

Now there was no food to be had in all Egypt and Canaan, and there was great trouble: and our fathers were not able to get food.

When, however, Jacob heard that there was wheat to be had, he sent our forefathers into Egypt; that was the first time.

And the second time his brothers had a meeting with Joseph, and Pharaoh had knowledge of Joseph's family.

and [from Egypt] their bodies were taken back to Shechem and placed in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,

till another king rose, who had not known Joseph;

and when he had been abandoned, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son.

at length Moses was instructed in all the sciences of the Egyptians, and had great influence by his counsels and actions.

When he had completed his fortieth year, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the sons of Israel.

And [when he] saw one of them being unjustly harmed, he defended [him] and {avenged} the one who had been oppressed [by] striking down the Egyptian.

And he was hoping that his brothers would see that God had sent him to be their saviour; but they did not see.

And at these words, Moses went in flight to the land of Midian, and was living there for a time, and had two sons.

“After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn bush.

“This Moses whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the very one whom God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer, with the [protecting and helping] hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush.

He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years.

"This is the Moses who had said to the Israelites [Deut. 18:15], 'God will raise up a prophet from among your countrymen who will be like me [in some ways].'

This is the man who was with our forefathers and with the assembly [of Hebrews] in the wilderness [after] the angel had spoken to him at Mt. Sinai. He [is the one] who received the living messages [from God at Mt. Sinai] and gave them to us.

They even made a calf in those days, offered sacrifice to the idol, and were celebrating what their hands had made.

You took with you the tabernacle of Moloch and the Star of the god Rephan--the images which you had made to worship. Therefore I will exile you beyond Babylon.'

Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen.

Who was pleasing to God; and he had a desire to make a holy tent for the God of Jacob.

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;

And [after they] had driven [him] out of the city, they began to stone [him], and the witnesses laid aside their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul.

And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Saul had pleasure in his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the congregation which was at Jerusalem, and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Jewry and Samaria, except the apostles.

Those then that had been scattered went through the countries announcing the glad tidings of the word.

When the people heard Philip and saw the signs that he showed they were all interested in what he had to say,

For from many of those that had unclean spirits, they came out, crying with a loud voice: and many that were palsied, and that were lame, were healed.

But a certain man, by name Simon, had been before in the city, using magic arts, and astonishing the nation of Samaria, saying that himself was some great one.

To whom they had all given heed, from small to great, saying, This is the power of God which is called great.