Bible in 90 Days

Stephen Is Accused

⁸ Stephen was richly blessed by God who gave him the power to do great miracles and signs among the people. ⁹ But some people were against him. They belonged to the synagogue of Free Men^[a] (as it was called), which included people from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and Asia. They all came and argued with Stephen.

¹⁰ But the Spirit was helping him to speak with wisdom, and his words were so strong that they could not argue with him. ¹¹ So they secretly urged some men to say, “We heard Stephen speak against Moses and against God.”

¹² This upset the people, the elders, and the teachers of the law. They came and grabbed Stephen and brought him to a meeting of the leaders. ¹³ They brought in some people to tell lies about Stephen, saying, “This man is always speaking against this holy place and the law of Moses. ¹⁴ We heard him say that Jesus from Nazareth will destroy this place and that Jesus will change the customs Moses gave us.” ¹⁵ All the people in the meeting were watching Stephen closely and saw that his face looked like the face of an angel.

Stephen’s Speech

7 The high priest said to Stephen, “Are these things true?”

² Stephen answered, “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. Our glorious God appeared to Abraham, our ancestor, in Mesopotamia before he lived in Haran. ³ God said to Abraham, ‘Leave your country and your relatives, and go to the land I will show you.’^{[b] 4} So Abraham left the country of Chaldea and went to live in Haran. After Abraham’s father died, God sent him to this place where you now live. ⁵ God did not give Abraham any of this land, not even a foot of it. But God promised that he would give this land to him and his descendants, even before Abraham had a child. ⁶ This is what God said to him: ‘Your descendants will be strangers in a land they don’t own. The people there will make them slaves and will mistreat them for four hundred years. ⁷ But I will punish the nation where they are slaves. Then your descendants will leave that land and will worship me in this place.’^{[c] 8} God made an agreement with Abraham, the sign of which was circumcision. And so when Abraham had his son Isaac, Abraham circumcised him when he was eight days old. Isaac also circumcised his son Jacob, and Jacob did the same for his sons, the twelve ancestors^[d] of our people.

⁹ “Jacob’s sons became jealous of Joseph and sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with him ¹⁰ and saved him from all his troubles. The king of Egypt liked Joseph and respected him because of the wisdom God gave him. The king made him governor of Egypt and put him in charge of all the people in his palace.

¹¹ “Then all the land of Egypt and Canaan became so dry that nothing would grow, and the people suffered very much. Jacob’s sons, our ancestors, could not find anything to eat. ¹² But when Jacob heard there was grain in Egypt, he sent his sons there. This was their first trip to Egypt. ¹³ When they went there a second time, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and the king learned about Joseph’s family. ¹⁴ Then Joseph sent messengers to invite Jacob, his father, to come to Egypt along with all his relatives (seventy-five persons altogether). ¹⁵ So Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and his sons died. ¹⁶ Later their bodies were moved to Shechem and put in a grave there. (It was the same grave Abraham had bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.)

¹⁷ “The promise God made to Abraham was soon to come true, and the number of people in Egypt grew large. ¹⁸ Then a new king, who did not know who Joseph was, began to rule Egypt. ¹⁹ This king tricked our people and was cruel to our ancestors, forcing them to leave their babies outside to die. ²⁰ At this time Moses was born, and he was very beautiful. For three months Moses was cared for in his father’s house. ²¹ When they put Moses outside, the king’s daughter adopted him and raised him as if he were her own son. ²² The Egyptians taught Moses everything they knew, and he was a powerful man in what he said and did.

²³ “When Moses was about forty years old, he thought it would be good to visit his own people, the people of Israel. ²⁴ Moses saw an Egyptian mistreating one of his people, so he defended the Israelite and punished the Egyptian by killing him. ²⁵ Moses thought his own people would understand that God was using him to save them, but they did not. ²⁶ The next day when Moses saw two men of Israel fighting, he tried to make peace between them. He said, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why are you hurting each other?’ ²⁷ The man who was hurting the other pushed Moses away and said, ‘Who made you our ruler and judge? ²⁸ Are you going to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’^{[e] 29} When Moses heard him say this, he left Egypt and went to live in the land of Midian where he was a stranger. While Moses lived in Midian, he had two sons.

³⁰ “Forty years later an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush as he was in the desert near Mount Sinai. ³¹ When Moses saw this, he was amazed and went near to look closer. Moses heard the Lord’s voice say, ³² ‘I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’^[f] Moses began to shake with fear and was afraid to look. ³³ The Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground. ³⁴ I have seen the troubles my people have suffered in Egypt. I have heard their cries and have come down to save them. And now, Moses, I am sending you back to Egypt.’^[g]

³⁵ “This Moses was the same man the two men of Israel rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge?’^[h] Moses is the same man God sent to be a ruler and savior, with the help of the angel that Moses saw in the burning bush. ³⁶ So Moses led the people out of Egypt. He worked miracles and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and then in the desert for forty years. ³⁷ This is the same Moses that said to the people of Israel, ‘God will give you a prophet like me, who is one of your own people.’^{[i] 38} This is the Moses who was with the gathering of the Israelites in the desert. He was with the angel that spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and he was with our ancestors. He received commands from God that give life, and he gave those commands to us.

³⁹ “But our ancestors did not want to obey Moses. They rejected him and wanted to go back to Egypt. ⁴⁰ They said to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will lead us. Moses led us out of Egypt, but we don’t know what has happened to him.’^{[j] 41} So the people made an idol that looked like a calf. Then they brought sacrifices to it and were proud of what they had made with their own hands. ⁴² But God turned against them and did not try to stop them from worshiping the sun, moon, and stars. This is what is written in the book of the prophets: God says,

⁴⁴ “The Holy Tent where God spoke to our ancestors was with them in the desert. God told Moses how to make this Tent, and he made it like the plan God showed him. ⁴⁵ Later, Joshua led our ancestors to capture the lands of the other nations. Our people went in, and God forced the other people out. When our people went into this new land, they took with them this same Tent they had received from their ancestors. They kept it until the time of David, ⁴⁶ who pleased God and asked God to let him build a house for him, the God of Jacob.^{[k] 47} But Solomon was the one who built the Temple.

⁴⁸ “But the Most High does not live in houses that people build with their hands. As the prophet says:

⁵¹ Stephen continued speaking: “You stubborn people! You have not given your hearts to God, nor will you listen to him! You are always against what the Holy Spirit is trying to tell you, just as your ancestors were. ⁵² Your ancestors tried to hurt every prophet who ever lived. Those prophets said long ago that the One who is good would come, but your ancestors killed them. And now you have turned against and killed the One who is good. ⁵³ You received the law of Moses, which God gave you through his angels, but you haven’t obeyed it.”

Stephen Is Killed

⁵⁴ When the leaders heard this, they became furious. They were so mad they were grinding their teeth at Stephen. ⁵⁵ But Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit. He looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at God’s right side. ⁵⁶ He said, “Look! I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at God’s right side.”

⁵⁷ Then they shouted loudly and covered their ears and all ran at Stephen. ⁵⁸ They took him out of the city and began to throw stones at him to kill him. And those who told lies against Stephen left their coats with a young man named Saul. ⁵⁹ While they were throwing stones, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰ He fell on his knees and cried in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” After Stephen said this, he died.

8 Saul agreed that the killing of Stephen was good.

Troubles for the Believers

On that day the church of Jerusalem began to be persecuted, and all the believers, except the apostles, were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.

² And some religious people buried Stephen and cried loudly for him. ³ Saul was also trying to destroy the church, going from house to house, dragging out men and women and putting them in jail. ⁴ And wherever they were scattered, they told people the Good News.

Philip Preaches in Samaria

⁵ Philip went to the city of Samaria and preached about the Christ. ⁶ When the people there heard Philip and saw the miracles he was doing, they all listened carefully to what he said. ⁷ Many of these people had evil spirits in them, but Philip made the evil spirits leave. The spirits made a loud noise when they came out. Philip also healed many weak and crippled people there. ⁸ So the people in that city were very happy.

⁹ But there was a man named Simon in that city. Before Philip came there, Simon had practiced magic and amazed all the people of Samaria. He bragged and called himself a great man. ¹⁰ All the people—the least important and the most important—paid attention to Simon, saying, “This man has the power of God, called ‘the Great Power’!” ¹¹ Simon had amazed them with his magic so long that the people became his followers. ¹² But when Philip told them the Good News about the kingdom of God and the power of Jesus Christ, men and women believed Philip and were baptized. ¹³ Simon himself believed, and after he was baptized, he stayed very close to Philip. When he saw the miracles and the powerful things Philip did, Simon was amazed.

¹⁴ When the apostles who were still in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. ¹⁵ When Peter and John arrived, they prayed that the Samaritan believers might receive the Holy Spirit. ¹⁶ These people had been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, but the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them. ¹⁷ Then, when the two apostles began laying their hands on the people, they received the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸ Simon saw that the Spirit was given to people when the apostles laid their hands on them. So he offered the apostles money, ¹⁹ saying, “Give me also this power so that anyone on whom I lay my hands will receive the Holy Spirit.”

²⁰ Peter said to him, “You and your money should both be destroyed, because you thought you could buy God’s gift with money. ²¹ You cannot share with us in this work since your heart is not right before God. ²² Change your heart! Turn away from this evil thing you have done, and pray to the Lord. Maybe he will forgive you for thinking this. ²³ I see that you are full of bitter jealousy and ruled by sin.”

²⁴ Simon answered, “Both of you pray for me to the Lord so the things you have said will not happen to me.”

²⁵ After Peter and John told the people what they had seen Jesus do and after they had spoken the message of the Lord, they went back to Jerusalem. On the way, they went through many Samaritan towns and preached the Good News to the people.

Philip Teaches an Ethiopian

²⁶ An angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get ready and go south to the road that leads down to Gaza from Jerusalem—the desert road.” ²⁷ So Philip got ready and went. On the road he saw a man from Ethiopia, a eunuch. He was an important officer in the service of Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians; he was responsible for taking care of all her money. He had gone to Jerusalem to worship. ²⁸ Now, as he was on his way home, he was sitting in his chariot reading from the Book of Isaiah, the prophet. ²⁹ The Spirit said to Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”

³⁰ So when Philip ran toward the chariot, he heard the man reading from Isaiah the prophet. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

³¹ He answered, “How can I understand unless someone explains it to me?” Then he invited Philip to climb in and sit with him. ³² The portion of Scripture he was reading was this:

³⁴ The officer said to Philip, “Please tell me, who is the prophet talking about—himself or someone else?” ³⁵ Philip began to speak, and starting with this same Scripture, he told the man the Good News about Jesus.

³⁶ While they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The officer said, “Look, here is water. What is stopping me from being baptized?” [³⁷ Philip answered, “If you believe with all your heart, you can.” The officer said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”]^{[l] 38} Then the officer commanded the chariot to stop. Both Philip and the officer went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. ³⁹ When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away; the officer never saw him again. And the officer continued on his way home, full of joy. ⁴⁰ But Philip appeared in a city called Azotus and preached the Good News in all the towns on the way from Azotus to Caesarea.

Saul Is Converted

9 In Jerusalem Saul was still threatening the followers of the Lord by saying he would kill them. So he went to the high priest ² and asked him to write letters to the synagogues in the city of Damascus. Then if Saul found any followers of Christ’s Way, men or women, he would arrest them and bring them back to Jerusalem.

³ So Saul headed toward Damascus. As he came near the city, a bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around him. ⁴ Saul fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”

⁵ Saul said, “Who are you, Lord?”

The voice answered, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. ⁶ Get up now and go into the city. Someone there will tell you what you must do.”

⁷ The people traveling with Saul stood there but said nothing. They heard the voice, but they saw no one. ⁸ Saul got up from the ground and opened his eyes, but he could not see. So those with Saul took his hand and led him into Damascus. ⁹ For three days Saul could not see and did not eat or drink.

¹⁰ There was a follower of Jesus in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to Ananias in a vision, “Ananias!”

Ananias answered, “Here I am, Lord.”

¹¹ The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to Straight Street. Find the house of Judas,^[m] and ask for a man named Saul from the city of Tarsus. He is there now, praying. ¹² Saul has seen a vision in which a man named Ananias comes to him and lays his hands on him. Then he is able to see again.”

¹³ But Ananias answered, “Lord, many people have told me about this man and the terrible things he did to your holy people in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ Now he has come here to Damascus, and the leading priests have given him the power to arrest everyone who worships you.”

¹⁵ But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! I have chosen Saul for an important work. He must tell about me to those who are not Jews, to kings, and to the people of Israel. ¹⁶ I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

¹⁷ So Ananias went to the house of Judas. He laid his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus sent me. He is the one you saw on the road on your way here. He sent me so that you can see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸ Immediately, something that looked like fish scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he was able to see again! Then Saul got up and was baptized. ¹⁹ After he ate some food, his strength returned.

Saul Preaches in Damascus

Saul stayed with the followers of Jesus in Damascus for a few days. ²⁰ Soon he began to preach about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “Jesus is the Son of God.”

²¹ All the people who heard him were amazed. They said, “This is the man who was in Jerusalem trying to destroy those who trust in this name! He came here to arrest the followers of Jesus and take them back to the leading priests.”

²² But Saul grew more powerful. His proofs that Jesus is the Christ were so strong that his own people in Damascus could not argue with him.

²³ After many days, they made plans to kill Saul. ²⁴ They were watching the city gates day and night, but Saul learned about their plan. ²⁵ One night some followers of Saul helped him leave the city by lowering him in a basket through an opening in the city wall.

Saul Preaches in Jerusalem

²⁶ When Saul went to Jerusalem, he tried to join the group of followers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe he was really a follower. ²⁷ But Barnabas accepted Saul and took him to the apostles. Barnabas explained to them that Saul had seen the Lord on the road and the Lord had spoken to Saul. Then he told them how boldly Saul had preached in the name of Jesus in Damascus.

²⁸ And so Saul stayed with the followers, going everywhere in Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. ²⁹ He would often talk and argue with the Jewish people who spoke Greek, but they were trying to kill him. ³⁰ When the followers learned about this, they took Saul to Caesarea and from there sent him to Tarsus.

³¹ The church everywhere in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had a time of peace and became stronger. Respecting the Lord by the way they lived, and being encouraged by the Holy Spirit, the group of believers continued to grow.

Peter Heals Aeneas

³² As Peter was traveling through all the area, he visited God’s people who lived in Lydda. ³³ There he met a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had not been able to leave his bed for the past eight years. ³⁴ Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Stand up and make your bed.” Aeneas stood up immediately. ³⁵ All the people living in Lydda and on the Plain of Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

Peter Heals Tabitha

³⁶ In the city of Joppa there was a follower named Tabitha (whose Greek name was Dorcas). She was always doing good deeds and kind acts. ³⁷ While Peter was in Lydda, Tabitha became sick and died. Her body was washed and put in a room upstairs. ³⁸ Since Lydda is near Joppa and the followers in Joppa heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two messengers to Peter. They begged him, “Hurry, please come to us!” ³⁹ So Peter got ready and went with them. When he arrived, they took him to the upstairs room where all the widows stood around Peter, crying. They showed him the shirts and coats Tabitha had made when she was still alive. ⁴⁰ Peter sent everyone out of the room and kneeled and prayed. Then he turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, stand up.” She opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. ⁴¹ He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then he called the saints and the widows into the room and showed them that Tabitha was alive. ⁴² People everywhere in Joppa learned about this, and many believed in the Lord. ⁴³ Peter stayed in Joppa for many days with a man named Simon who was a tanner.

Peter Teaches Cornelius

10 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, an officer in the Italian group of the Roman army. ² Cornelius was a religious man. He and all the other people who lived in his house worshiped the true God. He gave much of his money to the poor and prayed to God often. ³ One afternoon about three o’clock, Cornelius clearly saw a vision. An angel of God came to him and said, “Cornelius!”

⁴ Cornelius stared at the angel. He became afraid and said, “What do you want, Lord?”

The angel said, “God has heard your prayers. He has seen that you give to the poor, and he remembers you. ⁵ Send some men now to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is also called Peter. ⁶ He is staying with a man, also named Simon, who is a tanner and has a house beside the sea.” ⁷ When the angel who spoke to Cornelius left, Cornelius called two of his servants and a soldier, a religious man who worked for him. ⁸ Cornelius explained everything to them and sent them to Joppa.

⁹ About noon the next day as they came near Joppa, Peter was going up to the roof^[n] to pray. ¹⁰ He was hungry and wanted to eat, but while the food was being prepared, he had a vision. ¹¹ He saw heaven opened and something coming down that looked like a big sheet being lowered to earth by its four corners. ¹² In it were all kinds of animals, reptiles, and birds. ¹³ Then a voice said to Peter, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.”

¹⁴ But Peter said, “No, Lord! I have never eaten food that is unholy or unclean.”

¹⁵ But the voice said to him again, “God has made these things clean, so don’t call them ‘unholy’!” ¹⁶ This happened three times, and at once the sheet was taken back to heaven.

¹⁷ While Peter was wondering what this vision meant, the men Cornelius sent had found Simon’s house and were standing at the gate. ¹⁸ They asked, “Is Simon Peter staying here?”

¹⁹ While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Listen, three men are looking for you. ²⁰ Get up and go downstairs. Go with them without doubting, because I have sent them to you.”

²¹ So Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. Why did you come here?”

²² They said, “A holy angel spoke to Cornelius, an army officer and a good man; he worships God. All the people respect him. The angel told Cornelius to ask you to come to his house so that he can hear what you have to say.” ²³ So Peter asked the men to come in and spend the night.

The next day Peter got ready and went with them, and some of the followers from Joppa joined him. ²⁴ On the following day they came to Caesarea. Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. ²⁵ When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, fell at his feet, and worshiped him. ²⁶ But Peter helped him up, saying, “Stand up. I too am only a human.” ²⁷ As he talked with Cornelius, Peter went inside where he saw many people gathered. ²⁸ He said, “You people understand that it is against our law for Jewish people to associate with or visit anyone who is not Jewish. But God has shown me that I should not call any person ‘unholy’ or ‘unclean.’ ²⁹ That is why I did not argue when I was asked to come here. Now, please tell me why you sent for me.”

³⁰ Cornelius said, “Four days ago, I was praying in my house at this same time—three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly, there was a man standing before me wearing shining clothes. ³¹ He said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and has seen that you give to the poor and remembers you. ³² So send some men to Joppa and ask Simon Peter to come. Peter is staying in the house of a man, also named Simon, who is a tanner and has a house beside the sea.’ ³³ So I sent for you immediately, and it was very good of you to come. Now we are all here before God to hear everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”

³⁴ Peter began to speak: “I really understand now that to God every person is the same. ³⁵ In every country God accepts anyone who worships him and does what is right. ³⁶ You know the message that God has sent to the people of Israel is the Good News that peace has come through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Lord of all people! ³⁷ You know what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after John^[o] preached to the people about baptism. ³⁸ You know about Jesus from Nazareth, that God gave him the Holy Spirit and power. You know how Jesus went everywhere doing good and healing those who were ruled by the devil, because God was with him. ³⁹ We saw what Jesus did in Judea and in Jerusalem, but the Jews in Jerusalem killed him by hanging him on a cross. ⁴⁰ Yet, on the third day, God raised Jesus to life and caused him to be seen, ⁴¹ not by all the people, but only by the witnesses God had already chosen. And we are those witnesses who ate and drank with him after he was raised from the dead. ⁴² He told us to preach to the people and to tell them that he is the one whom God chose to be the judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³ All the prophets say it is true that all who believe in Jesus will be forgiven of their sins through Jesus’ name.”

⁴⁴ While Peter was still saying this, the Holy Spirit came down on all those who were listening. ⁴⁵ The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been given even to the nations. ⁴⁶ These believers heard them speaking in different languages^[p] and praising God. Then Peter said, ⁴⁷ “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we did!” ⁴⁸ So Peter ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

Peter Returns to Jerusalem

11 The apostles and the believers in Judea heard that some who were not Jewish had accepted God’s teaching too. ² But when Peter came to Jerusalem, some people argued with him. ³ They said, “You went into the homes of people who are not circumcised and ate with them!”

⁴ So Peter explained the whole story to them. ⁵ He said, “I was in the city of Joppa, and while I was praying, I had a vision. I saw something that looked like a big sheet being lowered from heaven by its four corners. It came very close to me. ⁶ I looked inside it and saw animals, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds. ⁷ I heard a voice say to me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’ ⁸ But I said, ‘No, Lord! I have never eaten anything that is unholy or unclean.’ ⁹ But the voice from heaven spoke again, ‘God has made these things clean, so don’t call them unholy.’ ¹⁰ This happened three times. Then the whole thing was taken back to heaven. ¹¹ Right then three men who were sent to me from Caesarea came to the house where I was staying. ¹² The Spirit told me to go with them without doubting. These six believers here also went with me, and we entered the house of Cornelius. ¹³ He told us about the angel he saw standing in his house. The angel said to him, ‘Send some men to Joppa and invite Simon Peter to come. ¹⁴ By the words he will say to you, you and all your family will be saved.’ ¹⁵ When I began my speech, the Holy Spirit came on them just as he came on us at the beginning. ¹⁶ Then I remembered the words of the Lord. He said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷ Since God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, how could I stop the work of God?”

¹⁸ When the believers heard this, they stopped arguing. They praised God and said, “So God is allowing even other nations to turn to him and live.”

The Good News Comes to Antioch

¹⁹ Many of the believers were scattered when they were persecuted after Stephen was killed. Some of them went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch telling the message to others, but only to Jews. ²⁰ Some of these believers were people from Cyprus and Cyrene. When they came to Antioch, they spoke also to Greeks,^[q] telling them the Good News about the Lord Jesus. ²¹ The Lord was helping the believers, and a large group of people believed and turned to the Lord.

²² The church in Jerusalem heard about all of this, so they sent Barnabas to Antioch. ^23-24 Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and full of faith. When he reached Antioch and saw how God had blessed the people, he was glad. He encouraged all the believers in Antioch always to obey the Lord with all their hearts, and many people became followers of the Lord.

²⁵ Then Barnabas went to the city of Tarsus to look for Saul, ²⁶ and when he found Saul, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year Saul and Barnabas met with the church and taught many people there. In Antioch the followers were called Christians for the first time.

²⁷ About that time some prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. ²⁸ One of them, named Agabus, stood up and spoke with the help of the Holy Spirit. He said, “A very hard time is coming to the whole world. There will be no food to eat.” (This happened when Claudius ruled.) ²⁹ The followers all decided to help the believers who lived in Judea, as much as each one could. ³⁰ They gathered the money and gave it to Barnabas and Saul, who brought it to the elders in Judea.

Herod Agrippa Hurts the Church

12 During that same time King Herod began to mistreat some who belonged to the church. ² He ordered James, the brother of John, to be killed by the sword. ³ Herod saw that some of the people liked this, so he decided to arrest Peter, too. (This happened during the time of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.)

⁴ After Herod arrested Peter, he put him in jail and handed him over to be guarded by sixteen soldiers. Herod planned to bring Peter before the people for trial after the Passover Feast. ⁵ So Peter was kept in jail, but the church prayed earnestly to God for him.

Peter Leaves the Jail

⁶ The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains. Other soldiers were guarding the door of the jail. ⁷ Suddenly, an angel of the Lord stood there, and a light shined in the cell. The angel struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Hurry! Get up!” the angel said. And the chains fell off Peter’s hands. ⁸ Then the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And Peter did. Then the angel said, “Put on your coat and follow me.” ⁹ So Peter followed him out, but he did not know if what the angel was doing was real; he thought he might be seeing a vision. ¹⁰ They went past the first and second guards and came to the iron gate that separated them from the city. The gate opened by itself for them, and they went through it. When they had walked down one street, the angel suddenly left him.

¹¹ Then Peter realized what had happened. He thought, “Now I know that the Lord really sent his angel to me. He rescued me from Herod and from all the things the people thought would happen.”

¹² When he considered this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark. Many people were gathered there, praying. ¹³ Peter knocked on the outside door, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer it. ¹⁴ When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so happy she forgot to open the door. Instead, she ran inside and told the group, “Peter is at the door!”

¹⁵ They said to her, “You are crazy!” But she kept on saying it was true, so they said, “It must be Peter’s angel.”

¹⁶ Peter continued to knock, and when they opened the door, they saw him and were amazed. ¹⁷ Peter made a sign with his hand to tell them to be quiet. He explained how the Lord led him out of the jail, and he said, “Tell James and the other believers what happened.” Then he left to go to another place.

¹⁸ The next day the soldiers were very upset and wondered what had happened to Peter. ¹⁹ Herod looked everywhere for him but could not find him. So he questioned the guards and ordered that they be killed.

The Death of Herod Agrippa

Later Herod moved from Judea and went to the city of Caesarea, where he stayed. ²⁰ Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, but the people of those cities all came in a group to him. After convincing Blastus, the king’s personal servant, to be on their side, they asked Herod for peace, because their country got its food from his country.

²¹ On a chosen day Herod put on his royal robes, sat on his throne, and made a speech to the people. ²² They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not a human!” ²³ Because Herod did not give the glory to God, an angel of the Lord immediately caused him to become sick, and he was eaten by worms and died.

²⁴ God’s message continued to spread and reach people.

²⁵ After Barnabas and Saul finished their task in Jerusalem, they returned to Antioch, taking John Mark with them.

Barnabas and Saul Are Chosen

13 In the church at Antioch there were these prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon (also called Niger), Lucius (from the city of Cyrene), Manaen (who had grown up with Herod, the ruler), and Saul. ² They were all worshiping the Lord and fasting^[r] for a certain time. During this time the Holy Spirit said to them, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul to do a special work for which I have chosen them.”

³ So after they fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on^[s] Barnabas and Saul and sent them out.

Barnabas and Saul in Cyprus

⁴ Barnabas and Saul, sent out by the Holy Spirit, went to the city of Seleucia. From there they sailed to the island of Cyprus. ⁵ When they came to Salamis, they preached the Good News of God in the synagogues. John Mark was with them to help.

⁶ They went across the whole island to Paphos where they met a magician named Bar-Jesus. He was a false prophet ⁷ who always stayed close to Sergius Paulus, the governor and a smart man. He asked Barnabas and Saul to come to him, because he wanted to hear the message of God. ⁸ But Elymas, the magician, was against them. (Elymas is the name for Bar-Jesus in the Greek language.) He tried to stop the governor from believing in Jesus. ⁹ But Saul, who was also called Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit. He looked straight at Elymas ¹⁰ and said, “You son of the devil! You are an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of evil tricks and lies, always trying to change the Lord’s truths into lies. ¹¹ Now the Lord will touch you, and you will be blind. For a time you will not be able to see anything—not even the light from the sun.”

Then everything became dark for Elymas, and he walked around, trying to find someone to lead him by the hand. ¹² When the governor saw this, he believed because he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.

Paul and Barnabas Leave Cyprus

¹³ Paul and those with him sailed from Paphos and came to Perga, in Pamphylia. There John Mark left them to return to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ They continued their trip from Perga and went to Antioch, a city in Pisidia. On the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. ¹⁵ After the law of Moses and the writings of the prophets were read, the leaders of the synagogue sent a message to Paul and Barnabas: “Brothers, if you have any message that will encourage the people, please speak.”

¹⁶ Paul stood up, raised his hand, and said, “You Israelites and you who worship God, please listen! ¹⁷ The God of the Israelites chose our ancestors. He made the people great during the time they lived in Egypt, and he brought them out of that country with great power. ¹⁸ And he was patient with them^[t] for forty years in the desert. ¹⁹ God destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan and gave the land to his people. ²⁰ All this happened in about four hundred fifty years.

“After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. ²¹ Then the people asked for a king, so God gave them Saul son of Kish. Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin and was king for forty years. ²² After God took him away, God made David their king. God said about him: ‘I have found in David son of Jesse the kind of man I want. He will do all I want him to do.’ ²³ So God has brought Jesus, one of David’s descendants, to Israel to be its Savior, as he promised. ²⁴ Before Jesus came, John^[u] preached to all the people of Israel about a baptism of changed hearts and lives. ²⁵ When he was finishing his work, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not the Christ. He is coming later, and I am not worthy to untie his sandals.’

²⁶ “Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and others who worship God, listen! The news about this salvation has been sent to us. ²⁷ Those who live in Jerusalem and their leaders did not realize that Jesus was the Savior. They did not understand the words that the prophets wrote, which are read every Sabbath day. But they made them come true when they said Jesus was guilty. ²⁸ They could not find any real reason for Jesus to be put to death, but they asked Pilate to have him killed. ²⁹ When they had done to him all that the Scriptures had said, they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb. ³⁰ But God raised him up from the dead! ³¹ After this, for many days, those who had gone with Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem saw him. They are now his witnesses to the people. ³² We tell you the Good News about the promise God made to our ancestors. ³³ God has made this promise come true for us, his children, by raising Jesus from the dead. We read about this also in Psalm 2:

³⁴ God raised Jesus from the dead, and he will never go back to the grave and become dust. So God said:

³⁵ But in another place God says:

³⁶ David did God’s will during his lifetime. Then he died and was buried beside his ancestors, and his body did rot in the grave. ³⁷ But the One God raised from the dead did not rot in the grave. ^38-39 Brothers, understand what we are telling you: You can have forgiveness of your sins through Jesus. The law of Moses could not free you from your sins. But through Jesus everyone who believes is free from all sins. ⁴⁰ Be careful! Don’t let what the prophets said happen to you:

⁴² While Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people asked them to tell them more about these things on the next Sabbath. ⁴³ When the meeting was over, many people with those who had changed to worship God followed Paul and Barnabas from that place. Paul and Barnabas were persuading them to continue trusting in God’s grace.

⁴⁴ On the next Sabbath day, almost everyone in the city came to hear the word of the Lord. ⁴⁵ Seeing the crowd, the Jewish people became very jealous and said insulting things and argued against what Paul said. ⁴⁶ But Paul and Barnabas spoke very boldly, saying, “We must speak the message of God to you first. But you refuse to listen. You are judging yourselves not worthy of having eternal life! So we will now go to the people of other nations. ⁴⁷ This is what the Lord told us to do, saying:

⁴⁸ When those who were not Jewish heard Paul say this, they were happy and gave honor to the message of the Lord. And the people who were chosen to have life forever believed the message.

⁴⁹ So the message of the Lord was spreading through the whole country. ⁵⁰ But the Jewish people stirred up some of the important religious women and the leaders of the city. They started trouble against Paul and Barnabas and forced them out of their area. ⁵¹ So Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet^[v] and went to Iconium. ⁵² But the followers were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

Paul and Barnabas in Iconium

14 In Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went as usual to the synagogue. They spoke so well that a great many Jews and Greeks believed. ² But some people who did not believe excited the others and turned them against the believers. ³ Paul and Barnabas stayed in Iconium a long time and spoke bravely for the Lord. He showed that their message about his grace was true by giving them the power to work miracles and signs. ⁴ But the city was divided. Some of the people agreed with the Jews, and others believed the apostles.

⁵ Some who were not Jews, some Jews, and some of their rulers wanted to mistreat Paul and Barnabas and to stone them to death. ⁶ When Paul and Barnabas learned about this, they ran away to Lystra and Derbe, cities in Lycaonia, and to the areas around those cities. ⁷ They announced the Good News there, too.

Paul in Lystra and Derbe

⁸ In Lystra there sat a man who had been born crippled; he had never walked. ⁹ As this man was listening to Paul speak, Paul looked straight at him and saw that he believed God could heal him. ¹⁰ So he cried out, “Stand up on your feet!” The man jumped up and began walking around. ¹¹ When the crowds saw what Paul did, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have become like humans and have come down to us!” ¹² Then the people began to call Barnabas “Zeus”^[w] and Paul “Hermes,”^[x] because he was the main speaker. ¹³ The priest in the temple of Zeus, which was near the city, brought some bulls and flowers to the city gates. He and the people wanted to offer a sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas. ¹⁴ But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard about it, they tore their clothes. They ran in among the people, shouting, ¹⁵ “Friends, why are you doing these things? We are only human beings like you. We are bringing you the Good News and are telling you to turn away from these worthless things and turn to the living God. He is the One who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. ¹⁶ In the past, God let all the nations do what they wanted. ¹⁷ Yet he proved he is real by showing kindness, by giving you rain from heaven and crops at the right times, by giving you food and filling your hearts with joy.” ¹⁸ Even with these words, they were barely able to keep the crowd from offering sacrifices to them.

¹⁹ Then some evil people came from Antioch and Iconium and persuaded the people to turn against Paul. So they threw stones at him and dragged him out of town, thinking they had killed him. ²⁰ But the followers gathered around him, and he got up and went back into the town. The next day he and Barnabas left and went to the city of Derbe.

The Return to Antioch in Syria

²¹ Paul and Barnabas told the Good News in Derbe, and many became followers. Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, ²² making the followers of Jesus stronger and helping them stay in the faith. They said, “We must suffer many things to enter God’s kingdom.” ²³ They chose elders for each church, by praying and fasting^[y] for a certain time. These elders had trusted the Lord, so Paul and Barnabas put them in the Lord’s care.

²⁴ Then they went through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. ²⁵ When they had preached the message in Perga, they went down to Attalia. ²⁶ And from there they sailed away to Antioch where the believers had put them into God’s care and had sent them out to do this work. Now they had finished.

²⁷ When they arrived in Antioch, Paul and Barnabas gathered the church together. They told the church all about what God had done with them and how God had made it possible for those who were not Jewish to believe. ²⁸ And they stayed there a long time with the followers.

The Meeting at Jerusalem

15 Then some people came to Antioch from Judea and began teaching the non-Jewish believers: “You cannot be saved if you are not circumcised as Moses taught us.” ² Paul and Barnabas were against this teaching and argued with them about it. So the church decided to send Paul, Barnabas, and some others to Jerusalem where they could talk more about this with the apostles and elders.

³ The church helped them leave on the trip, and they went through the countries of Phoenicia and Samaria, telling all about how the other nations had turned to God. This made all the believers very happy. ⁴ When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the apostles, the elders, and the church. Paul, Barnabas, and the others told about everything God had done with them. ⁵ But some of the believers who belonged to the Pharisee group came forward and said, “The non-Jewish believers must be circumcised. They must be told to obey the law of Moses.”

⁶ The apostles and the elders gathered to consider this problem. ⁷ After a long debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God chose me from among you to preach the Good News to the nations. They heard the Good News from me, and they believed. ⁸ God, who knows the thoughts of everyone, accepted them. He showed this to us by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us. ⁹ To God, those people are not different from us. When they believed, he made their hearts pure. ¹⁰ So now why are you testing God by putting a heavy load around the necks of the non-Jewish believers? It is a load that neither we nor our ancestors were able to carry. ¹¹ But we believe that we and they too will be saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus.”

¹² Then the whole group became quiet. They listened to Paul and Barnabas tell about all the miracles and signs that God did through them among the people. ¹³ After they finished speaking, James said, “Brothers, listen to me. ¹⁴ Simon has told us how God showed his love for those people. For the first time he is accepting from among them a people to be his own. ¹⁵ The words of the prophets agree with this too:

¹⁹ “So I think we should not bother the other people who are turning to God. ²⁰ Instead, we should write a letter to them telling them these things: Stay away from food that has been offered to idols (which makes it unclean), any kind of sexual sin, eating animals that have been strangled, and blood. ²¹ They should do these things, because for a long time in every city the law of Moses has been taught. And it is still read in the synagogue every Sabbath day.”

Letter to Non-Jewish Believers

²² The apostles, the elders, and the whole church decided to send some of their men with Paul and Barnabas to Antioch. They chose Judas Barsabbas and Silas, who were respected by the believers. ²³ They sent the following letter with them:

³⁰ So they left Jerusalem and went to Antioch where they gathered the church and gave them the letter. ³¹ When they read it, they were very happy because of the encouraging message. ³² Judas and Silas, who were also prophets, said many things to encourage the believers and make them stronger. ³³ After some time Judas and Silas were sent off in peace by the believers, and they went back to those who had sent them [, ³⁴ but Silas decided to remain there].^[z]

³⁵ But Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch and, along with many others, preached the Good News and taught the people the message of the Lord.

Paul and Barnabas Separate

³⁶ After some time, Paul said to Barnabas, “We should go back to all those towns where we preached the message of the Lord. Let’s visit the believers and see how they are doing.”

³⁷ Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them, ³⁸ but he had left them at Pamphylia; he did not continue with them in the work. So Paul did not think it was a good idea to take him. ³⁹ Paul and Barnabas had such a serious argument about this that they separated and went different ways. Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus, ⁴⁰ but Paul chose Silas and left. The believers in Antioch put Paul into the Lord’s care, ⁴¹ and he went through Syria and Cilicia, giving strength to the churches.

Timothy Goes with Paul

16 Paul came to Derbe and Lystra, where a follower named Timothy lived. Timothy’s mother was Jewish and a believer, but his father was a Greek.

² The believers in Lystra and Iconium respected Timothy and said good things about him. ³ Paul wanted Timothy to travel with him, but all the people living in that area knew that Timothy’s father was Greek. So Paul circumcised Timothy to please his mother’s people. ⁴ Paul and those with him traveled from town to town and gave the decisions made by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. ⁵ So the churches became stronger in the faith and grew larger every day.

Paul Is Called Out of Asia

⁶ Paul and those with him went through the areas of Phrygia and Galatia since the Holy Spirit did not let them preach the Good News in Asia. ⁷ When they came near the country of Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not let them. ⁸ So they passed by Mysia and went to Troas. ⁹ That night Paul saw in a vision a man from Macedonia. The man stood and begged, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” ¹⁰ After Paul had seen the vision, we immediately prepared to leave for Macedonia, understanding that God had called us to tell the Good News to those people.

Lydia Becomes a Christian

¹¹ We left Troas and sailed straight to the island of Samothrace. The next day we sailed to Neapolis.^{[aa] 12} Then we went by land to Philippi, a Roman colony^[ab] and the leading city in that part of Macedonia. We stayed there for several days.

¹³ On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate to the river where we thought we would find a special place for prayer. Some women had gathered there, so we sat down and talked with them. ¹⁴ One of the listeners was a woman named Lydia from the city of Thyatira whose job was selling purple cloth. She worshiped God, and he opened her mind to pay attention to what Paul was saying. ¹⁵ She and all the people in her house were baptized. Then she invited us to her home, saying, “If you think I am truly a believer in the Lord, then come stay in my house.” And she persuaded us to stay with her.

Paul and Silas in Jail

¹⁶ Once, while we were going to the place for prayer, a servant girl met us. She had a special spirit^[ac] in her, and she earned a lot of money for her owners by telling fortunes. ¹⁷ This girl followed Paul and us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God. They are telling you how you can be saved.”

¹⁸ She kept this up for many days. This bothered Paul, so he turned and said to the spirit, “By the power of Jesus Christ, I command you to come out of her!” Immediately, the spirit came out.

¹⁹ When the owners of the servant girl saw this, they knew that now they could not use her to make money. So they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the city rulers in the marketplace. ²⁰ They brought Paul and Silas to the Roman rulers and said, “These men are Jews and are making trouble in our city. ²¹ They are teaching things that are not right for us as Romans to do.”

²² The crowd joined the attack against them. The Roman officers tore the clothes of Paul and Silas and had them beaten with rods. ²³ Then Paul and Silas were thrown into jail, and the jailer was ordered to guard them carefully. ²⁴ When he heard this order, he put them far inside the jail and pinned their feet down between large blocks of wood.

²⁵ About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing songs to God as the other prisoners listened. ²⁶ Suddenly, there was a strong earthquake that shook the foundation of the jail. Then all the doors of the jail broke open, and all the prisoners were freed from their chains. ²⁷ The jailer woke up and saw that the jail doors were open. Thinking that the prisoners had already escaped, he got his sword and was about to kill himself.^{[ad] 28} But Paul shouted, “Don’t hurt yourself! We are all here.”

²⁹ The jailer told someone to bring a light. Then he ran inside and, shaking with fear, fell down before Paul and Silas. ³⁰ He brought them outside and said, “Men, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹ They said to him, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved—you and all the people in your house.” ³² So Paul and Silas told the message of the Lord to the jailer and all the people in his house. ³³ At that hour of the night the jailer took Paul and Silas and washed their wounds. Then he and all his people were baptized immediately. ³⁴ After this the jailer took Paul and Silas home and gave them food. He and his family were very happy because they now believed in God.

³⁵ The next morning, the Roman officers sent the police to tell the jailer, “Let these men go free.”

³⁶ The jailer said to Paul, “The officers have sent an order to let you go free. You can leave now. Go in peace.”

³⁷ But Paul said to the police, “They beat us in public without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens.^[ae] And they threw us in jail. Now they want to make us go away quietly. No! Let them come themselves and bring us out.”