His winnowing shovel [Note: This was a process whereby grain was tossed into the air so that the wind could blow the husks away, leaving only good grain on the ground] is in His hand and He will completely clear off His threshing floor [by removing all of the husks]. And He will gather His wheat into the barn, but will burn up the husks with a fire that will never go out."

"Therefore, when you give money to help poor people, do not blow a trumpet in front of you [i.e., to call attention to it] as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and streets. They do this in order to win praise from people. It is true when I say to you, they have [already] received their reward.

The [heavy] rains came down and the flood waters rose and the winds blew and beat down on that house, but it did not collapse, for it was [built] on a foundation of rock.

And the [heavy] rains came down and the flood waters rose and the winds blew and struck against that house [until] it collapsed with a terrible crash."

Jesus replied to them, "Go [ahead]." And they came out [of the man] and entered the [wild] hogs, and suddenly the entire herd rushed down the cliff into the lake and drowned in the water [below].

He answered, "The one who dipped his hand with me into the [sauce] bowl is the one who will turn me over [to the Jewish leaders].

Jesus was sleeping on a pillow in the stern of the boat. They awakened Him, shouting, "Teacher, do you not care that we are sinking?"

And He answered them, "It is one of you twelve, [the one] who is dipping [his bread] with me in the sauce bowl.

But while they were sailing, Jesus fell asleep. A windstorm blew down on the lake and [the boat] began filling with water so they were in great danger [of sinking].

Or, if he asks [him] for an egg, will give him a scorpion [instead]? [Note: While at rest a scorpion rolls up in a ball that resembles an egg].

Then He said to them, "Which one of you, who has a son or an ox that falls into a well, would not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?"

But look, the hand of the one who is turning me over [i.e., to the Jewish leaders] is with me on the table [i.e., dipping his hand in the sauce bowl. See Matt. 26:23].

And [just] like Moses lifted up the snake [on the pole] in the wilderness [Num. 21:9], so the Son of man must be lifted up [on the cross]

Now in Jerusalem there was a pool of water near the Sheep Gate [Note: This was a city gate in the north wall]. It had five porticos [i.e., covered open areas along the outside of the Temple]. In the Hebrew language it was called Bethesda.

Under these porticos a large number of sick, blind, crippled and deformed people were placed {{A few ancient authorities add "to wait for the water [of the pool] to become choppy.

For an angel of the Lord came down to the pool [from heaven] at certain times and stirred up the water. Then the first person to enter the pool after the water became choppy was healed from whatever disease he had."}}

When Jesus saw him lying [there by the pool], and knew that he had been [in that condition] a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to get well?"

The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I do not have anyone to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but [just] when I am about to enter [it] someone else goes down [into the water] before me."

Then the water became choppy because of a strong wind that had begun to blow.

Jesus replied, "You people are from below [i.e., from the earthly realm]; I am from above [i.e., from the heavenly realm]. You belong to this world; I do not belong to this world.

and said to him, "[Now] go and wash in the pool of Siloam (which means "sent"). So, the man left and washed [in the pool], and [when he] returned, [he was] able to see.

Jesus answered, "It is the person to whom I give a piece of bread after dipping it [in the sauce bowl]." So, when He had dipped the piece of bread, He took it [out] and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.

Then He said to them, "Throw your net over the right side of the boat and you will catch some [fish]. So, they threw [the net out] but they were not able to pull it in because of so many fish.

And I will display miracles in the sky above and [supernatural] signs on the earth below [consisting of] blood, fire and smoky vapor.

Then he went on to Tarsus to look for Saul [Note: Tarsus was the home town of Saul, who was later called Paul],

But Saul, [now] also called Paul, being filled with [the power of] the Holy Spirit, looked at him intently

Now Paul and his companions sailed from Paphos and arrived at Perga [a town in the province] of Pamphylia. [It was here that] John Mark left the party [of evangelists and attendants] and returned to [his home in] Jerusalem. [See 12:12].

And after the reading of the law of Moses and [the writings of] the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent [word] to Paul and Barnabas, saying, "Brothers, if you [men] have any message that will exhort [or encourage] the people, you may speak."

So, Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand [to get their attention], he said, "You Israelites and those who have great respect for God, listen [to me].

As Paul and Barnabas left [the synagogue], the people urged them to speak [more] about this message the next Sabbath day.

Now when the synagogue service was over, many of the Jews and devoted proselytes [i.e., converts to the Jewish religion] followed Paul and Barnabas, who urged them to continue accepting the unearned favor of God.

But when the Jews saw the large crowds [gathered to hear the Gospel] they became very jealous and took sharp issue with the things Paul said, and [even] spoke against them.

But Paul and Barnabas [continued to] speak out boldly, saying, "It was necessary that the message of God be delivered to you [Jews] first. But since you have rejected it and [thereby] consider yourselves to be unworthy of [receiving] never ending life, we [i.e., Paul and Barnabas] will now begin proclaiming it to the [unconverted] Gentiles.

But the Jews incited the devoted [non-Jewish] women who held respected positions, and the principal men of the city, by stirring up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and [succeeded] in running them out of the region.

It happened in Iconium that Paul and Barnabas [again] entered the Jewish synagogue and presented the message [so powerfully] that a large number of both Jews and Greeks [i.e., Gentiles] became believers.

Paul and Barnabas remained there a long time and spoke [the message] boldly for [or, in the power of] the Lord who gave His approval to the message of unearned favor by allowing [miraculous] signs and wonders to be performed by them.

Paul and Barnabas found out about it and escaped to the towns of Lystra and Derbe, in the province of Lycaonia, and elsewhere in the vicinity.

As he listened to Paul, [the apostle] looked at him intently, perceiving that he had [enough] faith to be fully healed [of his lame condition],

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."

So, they called Barnabas, "Zeus," and Paul "Hermes," because Paul was the principal speaker.

But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard about what they were trying to do [to them], they tore their clothes [i.e., as an expression of frustration] and rushed over to the crowd and shouted,

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.

But as the disciples stood around [Paul's apparently lifeless body], he [surprisingly] stood up [fully restored to health] and entered the town. On the following day he went with Barnabas to Derbe.

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.

After Paul and Barnabas had a heated debate and argued with these men [over this issue], the brothers [of the Antioch church] decided that Paul and Barnabas, along with certain others, should go up to Jerusalem and discuss the question with the apostles and elders there.

The whole crowd remained quiet as they listened to Barnabas and Paul reporting on the [miraculous] signs and wonders God had performed among the Gentiles through them.

Then it seemed wise to the apostles and the elders, [along] with the entire church, to select men from their number and send them with Paul and Barnabas to Antioch. So, they chose Judas, who was [also] called Barsabbas, and Silas, [who were] principal men among the brothers.

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,

So, when Paul, Barnabas, Judas and Silas left [the meeting] they went down to Antioch and, after gathering a large group [of the church] together, they presented the letter to them.

But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch and, along with a number of other [brothers], taught and proclaimed the message of the Lord [there].

Then after some days Paul suggested to Barnabas, "Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we proclaimed the message of the Lord, to see how they are doing."

But Paul was not at all in favor of taking someone who had left them and refused to continue on in the work [of preaching the Gospel] when they were in Pamphylia. [See 13:13].

A heated discussion developed [over this matter] so that Paul and Barnabas went their separate ways [over it], with Barnabas sailing for Cyprus and taking [John] Mark with him.

But Paul chose Silas and, after being commended to the [care and] favor of the Lord by the brothers, he left,

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].

Paul wanted him to travel with him [on a preaching mission] so he had him circumcised in order to avoid prejudice by the Jews in that area, for everyone knew that his father was a Greek.

And then Paul, Silas, Timothy [and perhaps others by now] traveled through the districts of Phrygia and Galatia [i.e., provinces of central Asia Minor] because [an inspired message from] the Holy Spirit would not permit them to proclaim the message in Asia [i.e., the westernmost province of Asia Minor].

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."

A certain woman named Lydia, from the town of Thyatira, who sold purple cloth [for a living], was there. She was a worshiper of God and when she heard us [telling about salvation through Christ], the Lord opened her heart to respond to the message being spoken by Paul.

She followed Paul and us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Supreme God and they are proclaiming to you the way to be saved."

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 when the girl's slave-owners saw that their prospects for income [from her activities] were [now] gone, they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them to the open shopping market, in front of the authorities.

But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God while the [other] prisoners listened.

But Paul shouted out, "Do not hurt yourself, for everyone is [still] here."

The jailor called for torches [to be brought], then rushed in [to the cell block], shaking with fear, and fell down [on his knees] before Paul and Silas.

Paul and Silas said, "You and your family can be saved if you [all] believe in the Lord Jesus."

The jailor immediately took Paul and Silas, and cleansed [and soothed] their wounded [backs] and then he and his [believing] household were immersed [into Christ].

The jailor then informed Paul [of the officials' decision], saying, "The city officials have decided to release you so you may leave the jail [if] you go peacefully."

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, the officers reported what Paul had said and the city officials became fearful when they learned that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens.

When Paul and Silas left the jail they went to Lydia's house and, after seeing the brothers [and sisters gathered there] and encouraging them, they went on their way.

As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, [and] for three Sabbath days [in a row] he taught them from the Scriptures,

explaining and declaring that it was necessary for Christ to suffer and [then] rise again from the dead. Paul was saying, "This Jesus, whom I am proclaiming to you, is the Christ."

Some of the Jews were convinced [that Jesus was the Messiah] and so joined with Paul and Silas. Also, a large number of devoted Greeks [i.e., Gentiles] and leading women [joined their group].

But [other] Jews became jealous and, recruiting certain ungodly riffraff, they gathered a mob and brought the city to near-riot conditions. They [even] attacked Jason's house and attempted to bring Paul and Silas before the [assembly of] people.

Jason has welcomed them and [now] all of them [i.e., Paul, Silas, Jason and the others] are going against the [Roman] laws of Caesar by saying that someone else is [our] king; that Jesus is [king]!"

They made Jason and the others post bail, then released them.

The brothers [then] immediately sent Paul and Silas away at night to Berea [i.e., a town in Macedonia]. When they got there they went into the Jewish synagogue.

But when the Jews of Thessalonica learned that Paul was proclaiming the message of God at Berea also, they went there too, and incited and upset the crowds.

So, immediately the brothers sent Paul clear over to the coast, while Silas and Timothy remained there [at Berea].

But those who escorted Paul took him to Athens [i.e., in Greece] and, after being directed to have Silas and Timothy join him there as soon as possible, they left.

Now while Paul was waiting for them [to arrive] in Athens, he was deeply stirred in his spirit when he saw the city so full of idols.

Then Paul stood up in the Areopagus and said, "You men of Athens, I noticed that you are an extremely religious people in all your ways. [See verse 16]

So, Paul left [the Areopagus].

After this happened Paul left Athens and went to Corinth [i.e., a principal city of Greece].

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

Every Sabbath day Paul held discussions in the synagogues, trying to convince [both] Jews and Greeks [i.e., Gentiles, that Jesus was the Messiah].

But when Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia [i.e., from the town of Berea], Paul began devoting his full time to declaring the message to Jews that Jesus was the Christ.

When the Jews resisted [Paul's efforts] and spoke against him and his message, he shook out his clothing [i.e., an expression of rejection and contempt] and said to them "Let your blood be on your own heads [i.e., you are responsible for whatever harm comes from your action]; I am not responsible. From now on I will go [and preach] to the Gentiles [only]."

Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, and all of his family became believers in the Lord. [And] many of the Corinthians who heard [Paul's message] believed [in the Lord] and were immersed [into Christ].

Then the Lord spoke to Paul in a night vision [i.e., a divinely given dream]: "Do not be afraid, but speak up and do not hold [anything] back,

So, Paul lived there [in Corinth] for eighteen months, teaching God's message among the inhabitants [of the city].

But when Gallio was magistrate of Achaia [i.e., the southern province of Greece] the Jews joined forces to attack Paul and brought him before the court of justice,

When Paul was about to respond [to this charge], Gallio said to the Jews, "[My] Jewish [constituents], if it were a simple case of wrongdoing or some serious crime, there would be good reason for me to consider your charge [against this man].

After this [incident] Paul remained [in Corinth] for some time before leaving the brothers and sailing for Syria with Priscilla and Aquila. Paul shaved his head while in Cenchrea as part of a vow he had taken.

When they arrived at Ephesus, Paul left Priscilla and Aquila there. He then went into the [Jewish] synagogue and held discussions with the Jews.

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

Paul [again] asked, "Into what were you immersed then?" They answered him, "Into John's immersion."

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].