About three hours had passed, when his wife came in, knowing nothing of what had happened.

When the Commander of the Temple Guards and the High Priests heard this statement, they were utterly at a loss with regard to it, wondering what would happen next.

"Israelites," he said, "be careful what you are about to do in dealing with these men.

They said to Aaron, "'Make gods for us, to march in front of us; for as for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.'

"'The sky is My throne, and earth is the footstool for My feet. What kind of house will you build for Me, says the Lord, or what resting place shall I have?

Crowds of people, with one accord, gave attention to what they heard from him, listening, and witnessing the signs which he did.

"Pray, both of you, to the Lord for me," answered Simon, "that nothing of what you have said may come upon me."

So Philip ran up and heard the eunuch reading the Prophet Isaiah. "Do you understand what you are reading?" he asked.

So they proceeded on their way till they came to some water; and the eunuch exclaimed, "See, here is water; what is there to prevent my being baptized?"

"But rise and go to the city, and you will be told what you are to do.

Instantly there dropped from his eyes what seemed to be scales, and he could see once more. Upon this he rose and received baptism;

Looking steadily at him, and being much alarmed, he said, "What do you want, Sir?" "Your prayers and charities," he replied, "have gone up and have been recorded before God.

The sky had opened to his view, and what seemed to be an enormous sail was descending, being let down to the earth by ropes at the four corners.

Again a second time a voice was heard which said, "What God has purified, you must not regard as unholy."

So Peter went down and said to the men, "I am the Simon you are inquiring for. What is the reason of your coming?"

Their reply was, "Cornelius, a Captain, an upright and God-fearing man, of whom the whole Jewish nation speaks well, has been divinely instructed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and listen to what you have to say."

"Immediately, therefore, I sent to you, and I thank you heartily for having come. That is why all of us are now assembled here in God's presence, to listen to what the Lord has commanded you to say."

"While I was in the town of Jaffa, offering prayer," he said, "in a trance I saw a vision. There descended what seemed to be an enormous sail, being let down from the sky by ropes at the four corners, and it came close to me.

"But a voice answered, speaking a second time from the sky, "'What God has purified, you must not regard as unholy.'

So Peter went out, following him, yet could not believe that what the angel was doing was real, but supposed that he saw a vision.

When morning came, there was no little commotion among the soldiers, as to what could possibly have become of Peter.

Then the Proconsul, seeing what had happened, believed, being struck with amazement at the teaching of the Lord.

But John, towards the end of his career, repeatedly asked the people, "'What do you suppose me to be? I am not the Christ. But there is One coming after me whose sandal I am not worthy to unfasten.'

Beware, then, lest what is spoken in the Prophets should come true of you:

So he sprang up and began to walk about. Then the crowds, seeing what Paul had done, rent the air with their shouts in the Lycaonian language, saying, "The gods have assumed human form and have come down to us."

Among our hearers was one named Lydia, a dealer in purple goods. She belonged to the city of Thyateira, and was a worshipper of the true God. The Lord opened her heart, so that she gave attention to what Paul was saying.

and, bringing them out of the prison, he exclaimed, "O sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

A few of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also encountered him. Some of them asked, "What has this beggarly babbler to say?" "His business," said others, "seems to be to cry up some foreign gods." This was because he had been telling the Good News of Jesus and the Resurrection.

Then they took him and brought him up to the Areopagus, asking him, "May we be told what this new teaching of yours is?

For the things you are saying sound strange to us. We should therefore like to be told exactly what they mean."

"Into what then were you baptized?" he asked. "Into John's baptism," they replied.

Many also of those who believed came confessing without reserve what their conduct had been,

"And now, impelled by a sense of duty, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there,

His reply was, "What can you mean by thus breaking my heart with your grief? Why, as for me, I am ready not only to go to Jerusalem and be put in chains, but even to die there for the sake of the Lord Jesus."

Now what they have been repeatedly told about you is that you teach all the Jews among the Gentiles to abandon Moses, and that you forbid them to circumcise their children or observe old-established customs.

What then ought you to do? They are sure to hear that you have come to Jerusalem;

But as for the Gentiles who have accepted the faith, we have communicated to them our decision that they are carefully to abstain from anything sacrificed to an idol, from blood, from what is strangled, and from fornication."

Then the Tribune, making his way to him, arrested him, and, having ordered him to be secured with two chains, proceeded to ask who he was and what he had been doing.

And I asked, "'What am I to do, Lord?' "And the Lord said to me, "'Rise, and go into Damascus. There you shall be told of all that has been appointed for you to do.'

For you shall be a witness for Him, to all men, of what you have seen and heard.

On hearing this question, the Captain went to report the matter to the Tribune. "What are you intending to do?" he said. "This man is a Roman citizen."

The next day, wishing to know exactly what charge was being brought against him by the Jews, the Tribune ordered his chains to be removed; and, having sent word to the High Priests and all the Sanhedrin to assemble, he brought Paul down and made him stand before them.

So there arose a great uproar; and some of the Scribes belonging to the sect of the Pharisees sprang to their feet and fiercely contended, saying, "We find no harm in the man. What if a spirit has spoken to him, or an angel----!"

Then the Tribune, taking him by the arm, withdrew out of the hearing of others and asked him, "What have you to tell me?"

Felix, after reading the letter, inquired from what province he was; and being told "from Cilicia,"

Or let these men themselves say what misdemeanour they found me guilty of when I stood before the Sanhedrin,

If, however, I have done wrong and have committed any offence for which I deserve to die, I do not ask to be excused that penalty. But if there is no truth in what these men allege against me, no one has the right to give me up to them as a favour. I appeal to Caesar."

Having, however, obtained the help which is from God, I have stood firm until now, and have solemnly exhorted rich and poor alike, saying nothing except what the Prophets and Moses predicted as soon to happen,

But we should be glad to hear from you what it is that you believe; for as for this sect all we know is that it is everywhere spoken against."

First of all, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for what He has done for all of you; for the report of your faith is spreading through the whole world.

because what may be known about Him is plain to their inmost consciousness; for He Himself has made it plain to them.

For they had bartered the reality of God for what is unreal, and had offered divine honours and religious service to created things, rather than to the Creator--He who is for ever blessed. Amen.

whereas glory, honour and peace will be given to every one who does what is good and right--to the Jew first and then to the Gentile.

What special privilege, then, has a Jew? Or what benefit is to be derived from circumcision?

For what if some Jews have proved unfaithful? Shall their faithlessness render God's faithfulness worthless?

But if our unrighteousness sets God's righteousness in a clearer light, what shall we say? (Is God unrighteous--I speak in our everyday language-- when He inflicts punishment?

What then? Are we Jews more highly estimated than they? Not in the least; for we have already charged all Jews and Gentiles alike with being in thraldom to sin.

All have turned aside from the right path; they have every one of them become corrupt. There is no one who does what is right--no, not so much as one."

Where then is there room for your boasting? It is for ever shut out. On what principle? On the ground of merit? No, but on the ground of faith.

What then shall we say that Abraham, our earthly forefather, has gained?

For what says the Scripture? "And Abraham believed God, and this was placed to his credit as righteousness."

What then were the circumstances under which this took place? Was it after he had been circumcised, or before?

What follows? This comparison. Through one man sin entered into the world, and through sin death, and so death passed to all mankind in turn, in that all sinned.

To what conclusion, then, shall we come? Are we to persist in sinning in order that the grace extended to us may be the greater?

At that time, then, what benefit did you get from conduct which you now regard with shame? Why, such things finally result in death.

What follows? Is the Law itself a sinful thing? No, indeed; on the contrary, unless I had been taught by the Law, I should have known nothing of sin as sin. For instance, I should not have known what covetousness is, if the Law had not repeatedly said, "Thou shalt not covet."

Did then a thing which is good become death to me? No, indeed, but sin did; so that through its bringing about death by means of what was good, it might be seen in its true light as sin, in order that by means of the Commandment the unspeakable sinfulness of sin might be plainly shown.

For what I do, I do not recognize as my own action. What I desire to do is not what I do, but what I am averse to is what I do.

For what I do is not the good thing that I desire to do; but the evil thing that I desire not to do, is what I constantly do.

I find therefore the law of my nature to be that when I desire to do what is right, evil is lying in ambush for me.

For what was impossible to the Law--powerless as it was because it acted through frail humanity--God effected. Sending His own Son in a body like that of sinful human nature and as a sacrifice for sin, He pronounced sentence upon sin in human nature;

Why, what we now suffer I count as nothing in comparison with the glory which is soon to be manifested in us.

In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness; for we do not know what prayers to offer nor in what way to offer them. But the Spirit Himself pleads for us in yearnings that can find no words,

and the Searcher of hearts knows what the Spirit's meaning is, because His intercessions for God's people are in harmony with God's will.

What then shall we say to this? If God is on our side, who is there to appear against us?

What then are we to infer? That there is injustice in God?

And what if God, while choosing to make manifest the terrors of His anger and to show what is possible with Him, has yet borne with long-forbearing patience with the subjects of His anger who stand ready for destruction,

To what conclusion does this bring us? Why, that the Gentiles, who were not in pursuit of righteousness, have overtaken it--a righteousness, however, which arises from faith;

And why? Because they were pursuing a righteousness which should arise not from faith, but from what they regarded as merit. They stuck their foot against the stone which lay in their way;

But what does it say? "The Message is close to you, in your mouth and in your heart;" that is, the Message which we are publishing about the faith--

God has not cast off His People whom He knew beforehand. Or are you ignorant of what Scripture says in speaking of Elijah--how he pleaded with God against Israel, saying,

But what did God say to him in reply? "I have reserved for Myself 7,000 men who have never bent the knee to Baal."

For if their having been cast aside has carried with it the reconciliation of the world, what will their being accepted again be but Life out of death?

And do not follow the customs of the present age, but be transformed by the entire renewal of your minds, so that you may learn by experience what God's will is--that will which is good and beautiful and perfect.

Let your love be perfectly sincere. Regard with horror what is evil; cling to what is right.

Pay back to no man evil for evil. Take thought for what is right and seemly in every one's esteem.

For he is God's servant for your benefit. But if you do what is wrong, be afraid. He does not wear the sword to no purpose: he is God's servant--an administrator to inflict punishment upon evil-doers.

Pay promptly to all men what is due to them: taxes to those to whom taxes are due, toll to those to whom toll is due, respect to those to whom respect is due, honour to those to whom honour is due.

As for you and your faith, keep your faith to yourself in the presence of God. The man is to be congratulated who does not pronounce judgement on himself in what his actions sanction.

But I write to you the more boldly--partly as reminding you of what you already know--because of the authority graciously entrusted to me by God,

Your fidelity to the truth is everywhere known. I rejoice over you, therefore, but I wish you to be wise as to what is good, and simple-minded as to what is evil.

What I mean is that each of you is a partisan. One man says "I belong to Paul;" another "I belong to Apollos;" a third "I belong to Peter;" a fourth "I belong to Christ."

What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are just God's servants, through whose efforts, and as the Lord granted power to each, you accepted the faith.

In discharge of the task which God graciously entrusted to me, I--like a competent master-builder--have laid a foundation, and others are building upon it. But let every one be careful how and what he builds.

This being so, it follows that fidelity is what is required in stewards.

In writing this much, brethren, with special reference to Apollos and myself, I have done so for your sakes, in order to teach you by our example what those words mean, which say, "Nothing beyond what is written!" --so that you may cease to take sides in boastful rivalry, for one teacher against another.

Why, who gives you your superiority, my brother? Or what have you that you did not receive? And if you really did receive it, why boast as if this were not so?

Therefore let us keep our festival not with old yeast nor with the yeast of what is evil and mischievous, but with bread free from yeast--the bread of transparent sincerity and of truth.

But what I meant was that you were not to associate with any one bearing the name of "brother," if he was addicted to fornication or avarice or idol-worship or abusive language or hard-drinking or greed of gain. With such a man you ought not even to eat.

For what business of mine is it to judge outsiders? Is it not for you to judge those who are within the Church