Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible







For they themselves give the news of how we came among you; and how you were turned from images to God, to the worship of a true and living God,


Then the ruler, when he saw what was done, had faith, being full of wonder at the teaching of the Lord.

Who was with the ruler, Sergius Paulus, an able man. This man sent for Barnabas and Saul, desiring to have knowledge of the word of God.

Then, when I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and orders of the chief priests, In the middle of the day, on the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining round me and those who were journeying with me. And when we had all gone down on the earth, a voice came to me, saying in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly? It is hard for you to go against the impulse which is driving you. read more.
And I said, Who are you, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are attacking. But get up on your feet: for I have come to you for this purpose, to make you a servant and a witness of the things in which you have seen me, and of those in which you will see me; And I will keep you safe from the people, and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you, To make their eyes open, turning them from the dark to the light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may have forgiveness of sins and a heritage among those who are made holy by faith in me. So, then, King Agrippa, I did not go against the vision from heaven; But I went about, first to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, and through all the country of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, preaching a change of heart, so that they, being turned to God, might give, in their works, the fruits of a changed heart. For this reason, the Jews took me in the Temple, and made an attempt to put me to death. And so, by God's help, I am here today, witnessing to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come about; That the Christ would go through pain, and being the first to come back from the dead, would give light to the people and to the Gentiles.


And I went not up to Jerusalem to those who were Apostles before me; but I went away into Arabia, and again I came back to Damascus.

In Damascus, the ruler under Aretas the king kept watch over the town of the people of Damascus, in order to take me:

Of which the high priest will be a witness, and all the rulers, from whom I had letters to the brothers; and I went into Damascus, to take those who were there as prisoners to Jerusalem for punishment. And it came about that while I was on my journey, coming near to Damascus, about the middle of the day, suddenly I saw a great light from heaven shining round me. And when I went down on the earth, a voice came to my ears saying to me, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly? read more.
And I, answering, said, Who are you; Lord? And he said to me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are attacking. And those who were with me saw the light, but the voice of him who was talking to me came not to their ears. And I said, What have I to do, Lord? And the Lord said to me, Get up, and go into Damascus; and it will be made clear to you what you have to do. And because I was unable to see because of the glory of that light, those who were with me took me by the hand, and so I came to Damascus. And one Ananias, a God-fearing man, who kept the law, and of whom all the Jews in that place had a high opinion, Came to my side and said, Brother Saul, let your eyes be open. And in that very hour I was able to see him. And he said, You have been marked out by the God of our fathers to have knowledge of his purpose, and to see the Upright One and to give ear to the words of his mouth. For you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and of what has come to your ears. And now, why are you waiting? get up, and have baptism, for the washing away of your sins, giving worship to his name.

Then, when I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and orders of the chief priests, In the middle of the day, on the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining round me and those who were journeying with me. And when we had all gone down on the earth, a voice came to me, saying in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly? It is hard for you to go against the impulse which is driving you. read more.
And I said, Who are you, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are attacking. But get up on your feet: for I have come to you for this purpose, to make you a servant and a witness of the things in which you have seen me, and of those in which you will see me; And I will keep you safe from the people, and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you, To make their eyes open, turning them from the dark to the light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may have forgiveness of sins and a heritage among those who are made holy by faith in me. So, then, King Agrippa, I did not go against the vision from heaven; But I went about, first to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, and through all the country of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, preaching a change of heart, so that they, being turned to God, might give, in their works, the fruits of a changed heart.





Make clear to me what we are to say to him; we are unable to put our cause before him, because of the dark.

For truly, the earth will be dark, and the peoples veiled in blackest night; but the Lord will be shining on you, and his glory will be seen among you.

Jesus said to them, For a little time longer the light will be among you; while you have the light go on walking in it, so that the dark may not overtake you: one walking in the dark has no knowledge of where he is going.


And Paul, looking fixedly at the Sanhedrin, said, My brothers, my life has been upright before God till this day. And the high priest, Ananias, gave orders to those who were near him to give him a blow on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, God will give blows to you, you whitewashed wall: are you here to be my judge by law, and by your orders am I given blows against the law? read more.
And those who were near said, Do you say such words against God's high priest And Paul said, Brother, I had no idea that he was the high priest: for it has been said, You may not say evil about the ruler of your people. But when Paul saw that half of them were Sadducees and the rest Pharisees, he said in the Sanhedrin, Brothers, I am a Pharisee, and the son of Pharisees: I am here to be judged on the question of the hope of the coming back from the dead.

Then when the ruler had given him a sign to make his answer, Paul said, Because I have knowledge that you have been a judge over this nation for a number of years, I am glad to make my answer: Seeing that you are able to make certain of the fact that it is not more than twelve days from the time when I came up to Jerusalem for worship; And they have not seen me in argument with any man in the Temple, or working up the feelings of the people, in the Synagogues or in the town: read more.
And they are not able to give facts in support of the things which they say against me now. But this I will say openly to you, that I do give worship to the God of our fathers after that Way, which to them is not the true religion: but I have belief in all the things which are in the law and in the books of the prophets: Hoping in God for that which they themselves are looking for, that there will be a coming back from the dead for upright men and wrongdoers. And in this, I do my best at all times to have no reason for shame before God or men. Now after a number of years I came to give help and offerings to my nation: And having been made clean, I was in the Temple, but not with a great number of people, and not with noise: but there were certain Jews from Asia, And it would have been better if they had come here to make a statement, if they have anything against me. Or let these men here present say what wrongdoing was seen in me when I was before the Sanhedrin, But only this one thing which I said among them in a loud voice, I am this day being judged on the question of the coming back from the dead.

And Agrippa said to Paul, You may put your cause before us. Then Paul, stretching out his hand, made his answer, saying: In my opinion I am happy, King Agrippa, to be able to give my answer before you today to all these things which the Jews say against me: The more so, because you are expert in all questions to do with the Jews and their ways: so I make my request to you to give me a hearing to the end. read more.
All the Jews have knowledge of my way of life from my early years, as it was from the start among my nation, and at Jerusalem; And they are able to say, if they would give witness, that I was living as a Pharisee, in that division of our religion which is most regular in the keeping of the law. And now I am here to be judged because of the hope given by God's word to our fathers; For the effecting of which our twelve tribes have been working and waiting night and day with all their hearts. And in connection with this hope I am attacked by the Jews, O king! Why, in your opinion, is it outside belief for God to make the dead come to life again? For I, truly, was of the opinion that it was right for me to do a number of things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And this I did in Jerusalem: and numbers of the saints I put in prison, having had authority given to me from the chief priests, and when they were put to death, I gave my decision against them. And I gave them punishment frequently, in all the Synagogues, forcing them to say things against God; and burning with passion against them, I went after them even into far-away towns. Then, when I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and orders of the chief priests, In the middle of the day, on the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining round me and those who were journeying with me. And when we had all gone down on the earth, a voice came to me, saying in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly? It is hard for you to go against the impulse which is driving you. And I said, Who are you, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are attacking. But get up on your feet: for I have come to you for this purpose, to make you a servant and a witness of the things in which you have seen me, and of those in which you will see me; And I will keep you safe from the people, and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you, To make their eyes open, turning them from the dark to the light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may have forgiveness of sins and a heritage among those who are made holy by faith in me. So, then, King Agrippa, I did not go against the vision from heaven; But I went about, first to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, and through all the country of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, preaching a change of heart, so that they, being turned to God, might give, in their works, the fruits of a changed heart. For this reason, the Jews took me in the Temple, and made an attempt to put me to death. And so, by God's help, I am here today, witnessing to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come about; That the Christ would go through pain, and being the first to come back from the dead, would give light to the people and to the Gentiles.





And in that day those whose ears are stopped will be hearing the words of the book; and the eyes of the blind will see through the mist and the dark.

The poor man and his creditor come face to face: the Lord gives light to their eyes equally.

The sun will not be your light by day, and the moon will no longer be bright for you by night: but the Lord will be to you an eternal light, and your God your glory.

You, O Lord, will be my light; by you, my God, the dark will be made bright for me.








And the Lord said to him, Get up, and go to the street which is named Straight, and make search at the house of Judas for one named Saul of Tarsus: for he is at prayer; And he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hands on him, so that he may be able to see. But Ananias said, Lord, I have had accounts of this man from a number of people, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem: read more.
And here he has authority from the chief priests to make prisoners all who give worship to your name. But the Lord said, Go without fear: for he is a special vessel for me, to give to the Gentiles and kings and to the children of Israel the knowledge of my name:

Then, when I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and orders of the chief priests, In the middle of the day, on the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining round me and those who were journeying with me. And when we had all gone down on the earth, a voice came to me, saying in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly? It is hard for you to go against the impulse which is driving you. read more.
And I said, Who are you, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are attacking. But get up on your feet: for I have come to you for this purpose, to make you a servant and a witness of the things in which you have seen me, and of those in which you will see me; And I will keep you safe from the people, and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you, To make their eyes open, turning them from the dark to the light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may have forgiveness of sins and a heritage among those who are made holy by faith in me.

But I say to you, Gentiles, in so far as I am the Apostle of the Gentiles, I make much of my position:

For news has come to you of my way of life in the past in the Jews' religion, how I was cruel without measure to the church of God, and did great damage to it: And I went farther in the Jews' religion than a number of my generation among my countrymen, having a more burning interest in the beliefs handed down from my fathers. But when it was the good pleasure of God, by whom I was marked out even from my mother's body, through his grace, read more.
To give the revelation of his Son in me, so that I might give the news of him to the Gentiles; then I did not take the opinion of flesh and blood,

For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles, If that ordering of the grace of God has come to your knowledge, which was given to me for you, How by revelation the secret was made clear to me, as I said before in a short letter, read more.
By the reading of which you will be clear about my knowledge of the secret of Christ; Which in other generations was not given to the sons of men, but the revelation of it has now been made to his holy Apostles and prophets in the Spirit; Which is that the Gentiles have a part in the heritage, and in the same body, and in the same hope in Christ through the good news, Of which I was made a preacher, through that grace of God which was given to me in the measure of the working of his power. To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, was this grace given, so that I might make clear to the Gentiles the good news of the unending wealth of Christ:







For you, O God, have made answer to my prayers; you have given me the heritage of those who give honour to your name.

I have taken your unchanging word as an eternal heritage; for it is the joy of my heart.

No instrument of war which is formed against you will be of any use; and every tongue which says evil against you will be judged false. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness comes from me, says the Lord.








For you, O God, have made answer to my prayers; you have given me the heritage of those who give honour to your name.

I have taken your unchanging word as an eternal heritage; for it is the joy of my heart.

No instrument of war which is formed against you will be of any use; and every tongue which says evil against you will be judged false. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness comes from me, says the Lord.






The Spirit is witness with our spirit that we are children of God: And if we are children, we have a right to a part in the heritage; a part in the things of God, together with Christ; so that if we have a part in his pain, we will in the same way have a part in his glory.


The upright will have the earth for their heritage, and will go on living there for ever.

In whom we have a heritage, being marked out from the first in his purpose who does all things in agreement with his designs; So that his glory might have praise through us who first had hope in Christ: In whom you, having been given the true word, the good news of your salvation, and through your faith in him, were given the sign of the Holy Spirit of hope, read more.
Which is the first-fruit of our heritage, till God gets back that which is his, to the praise of his glory.


And if you give your bread to those in need of it, so that the troubled one may have his desire; then you will have light in the dark, and your night will be as the full light of the sun:




For you are my light, O Lord; and the Lord will make the dark bright for me.



Paul, an Apostle (not from men, and not through man, but through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who made him come back from the dead),

But when it was the good pleasure of God, by whom I was marked out even from my mother's body, through his grace, To give the revelation of his Son in me, so that I might give the news of him to the Gentiles; then I did not take the opinion of flesh and blood,


Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the purpose of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus, and those who have faith in Christ Jesus:

Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ, by the purpose of God, and Timothy our brother,


Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the purpose of God, in the hope of the life which is in Christ Jesus,


Paul, a servant of God, and an Apostle of Jesus Christ, in agreement with the faith of the saints of God and the full knowledge of what is true in harmony with religion,

For I am the least of the Apostles, having no right to be named an Apostle, because of my cruel attacks on the church of God.

Who, in his time, made clear his word in the good news, of which, by the order of God our Saviour, I became a preacher;


And he said, You have been marked out by the God of our fathers to have knowledge of his purpose, and to see the Upright One and to give ear to the words of his mouth. For you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and of what has come to your ears. And now, why are you waiting? get up, and have baptism, for the washing away of your sins, giving worship to his name. read more.
And it came about that when I had come back to Jerusalem, while I was at prayer in the Temple, my senses became more than naturally clear, And I saw him saying to me, Go out of Jerusalem straight away because they will not give hearing to your witness about me. And I said, Lord, they themselves have knowledge that I went through the Synagogues putting in prison and whipping all those who had faith in you: And when Stephen your witness was put to death, I was there, giving approval, and looking after the clothing of those who put him to death. And he said to me, Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.

But get up on your feet: for I have come to you for this purpose, to make you a servant and a witness of the things in which you have seen me, and of those in which you will see me; And I will keep you safe from the people, and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you, To make their eyes open, turning them from the dark to the light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may have forgiveness of sins and a heritage among those who are made holy by faith in me.

Am I not free? am I not an Apostle? have I not seen Jesus our Lord? are you not my work in the Lord? If to others I am not an Apostle, at least I am one to you: for the fact that you are Christians is the sign that I am an Apostle.












And there was a day when the sons of the gods came together before the Lord, and the Satan came with them.


Now Satan, designing evil against Israel, put into David's mind the impulse to take the number of Israel.



And when Judas took the bread Satan went into him. Then Jesus said to him, Do quickly what you have to do.









And in that day those whose ears are stopped will be hearing the words of the book; and the eyes of the blind will see through the mist and the dark.

The poor man and his creditor come face to face: the Lord gives light to their eyes equally.

The sun will not be your light by day, and the moon will no longer be bright for you by night: but the Lord will be to you an eternal light, and your God your glory.

You, O Lord, will be my light; by you, my God, the dark will be made bright for me.







And in that day those whose ears are stopped will be hearing the words of the book; and the eyes of the blind will see through the mist and the dark.

The poor man and his creditor come face to face: the Lord gives light to their eyes equally.

The sun will not be your light by day, and the moon will no longer be bright for you by night: but the Lord will be to you an eternal light, and your God your glory.

You, O Lord, will be my light; by you, my God, the dark will be made bright for me.









For you, O God, have made answer to my prayers; you have given me the heritage of those who give honour to your name.

I have taken your unchanging word as an eternal heritage; for it is the joy of my heart.

No instrument of war which is formed against you will be of any use; and every tongue which says evil against you will be judged false. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness comes from me, says the Lord.



And if you give your bread to those in need of it, so that the troubled one may have his desire; then you will have light in the dark, and your night will be as the full light of the sun:




For you are my light, O Lord; and the Lord will make the dark bright for me.