Bible in 90 Days

³⁸ The police told the Roman officers what Paul said. When the officers heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were afraid. ³⁹ So they came and told Paul and Silas they were sorry. They took Paul and Silas out of jail and asked them to leave the city. ⁴⁰ So when they came out of the jail, they went to Lydia’s house. There they saw some of the believers and encouraged them. Then they left.

Paul and Silas in Thessalonica

17 Paul and Silas traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica. In that city there was a Jewish synagogue. ² Paul went into the synagogue as he always did. On each Sabbath day for three weeks, Paul talked with the Jews about the Scriptures. ³ He explained and proved that the Christ must die and then rise from death. He said, “This Jesus I am telling you about is the Christ.” ⁴ Some of the Jews were convinced and joined Paul and Silas. Many of the Greeks who worshiped the true God and many of the important women joined them.

⁵ But the Jews became jealous. They got some evil men from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot. They ran to Jason’s house, looking for Paul and Silas. The men wanted to bring Paul and Silas out to the people. ⁶ But they did not find them. So they dragged Jason and some other believers to the leaders of the city. The people were yelling, “These men have made trouble everywhere in the world. And now they have come here too! ⁷ Jason is keeping them in his house. All of them do things against the laws of Caesar. They say that there is another king called Jesus.”

⁸ When the people and the leaders of the city heard these things, they became very upset. ⁹ They made Jason and the others put up a sum of money. Then they let the believers go free.

Paul and Silas Go to Berea

¹⁰ That same night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. There Paul and Silas went to the Jewish synagogue. ¹¹ These Jews were better than the Jews in Thessalonica. They were eager to hear the things Paul and Silas said. These Jews in Berea studied the Scriptures every day to find out if these things were true. ¹² So, many of them believed. Many important Greek men and women also believed. ¹³ But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God in Berea, they came there, too. They upset the people and made trouble. ¹⁴ So the believers quickly sent Paul away to the coast. But Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea. ¹⁵ The men who took Paul went with him to Athens. Then they carried a message from Paul back to Silas and Timothy. It said, “Come to me as soon as you can.”

Paul in Athens

¹⁶ Paul was waiting for Silas and Timothy in Athens. He was troubled because he saw that the city was full of idols. ¹⁷ In the synagogue, he talked with the Jews and the Greeks who worshiped the true God. He also talked every day with people in the marketplace.

¹⁸ Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers^[a] argued with him. Some of them said, “This man doesn’t know what he is talking about. What is he trying to say?” Paul was telling them the Good News of Jesus’ rising from death. They said, “He seems to be telling us about some other gods.” ¹⁹ They got Paul and took him to a meeting of the Areopagus.^[b] They said, “Please explain to us this new idea that you have been teaching. ²⁰ The things you are saying are new to us. We want to know what this teaching means.” ²¹ (All the people of Athens and those from other countries always used their time talking about all the newest ideas.)

²² Then Paul stood before the meeting of the Areopagus. He said, “Men of Athens, I can see that you are very religious in all things. ²³ I was going through your city, and I saw the things you worship. I found an altar that had these words written on it: “TO A GOD WHO IS NOT KNOWN.” You worship a god that you don’t know. This is the God I am telling you about! ²⁴ He is the God who made the whole world and everything in it. He is the Lord of the land and the sky. He does not live in temples that men build! ²⁵ This God is the One who gives life, breath, and everything else to people. He does not need any help from them. He has everything he needs. ²⁶ God began by making one man. From him came all the different people who live everywhere in the world. He decided exactly when and where they must live. ²⁷ God wanted them to look for him and perhaps search all around for him and find him. But he is not far from any of us: ²⁸ ‘By his power we live and move and exist.’ Some of your own poets have said: ‘For we are his children.’ ²⁹ We are God’s children. So, you must not think that God is like something that people imagine or make. He is not like gold, silver, or rock. ³⁰ In the past, people did not understand God, but God ignored this. But now, God tells everyone in the world to change his heart and life. ³¹ God has decided on a day that he will judge all the world. He will be fair. He will use a man to do this. God chose that man long ago. And God has proved this to everyone by raising that man from death!”

³² When the people heard about Jesus being raised from death, some of them laughed. They said, “We will hear more about this from you later.” ³³ So Paul went away from them. ³⁴ But some of the people believed Paul and joined him. One of those who believed was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus. Also a woman named Damaris and some others believed.

Paul in Corinth

18 Later, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. ² Here he met a Jew named Aquila. Aquila was born in the country of Pontus. But Aquila and his wife, Priscilla, had recently moved to Corinth from Italy. They left Italy because Claudius^[c] commanded that all Jews must leave Rome. Paul went to visit Aquila and Priscilla. ³ They were tentmakers, just as he was. He stayed with them and worked with them. ⁴ Every Sabbath day he talked with the Jews and Greeks in the synagogue. Paul tried to persuade these people to believe in Jesus.

⁵ Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia and joined Paul in Corinth. After this, Paul used all his time telling people the Good News. He showed the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. ⁶ But they would not accept Paul’s teaching and said some evil things. So he shook off the dust from his clothes.^[d] He said to them, “If you are not saved, it will be your own fault! I have done all I can do! After this, I will go to non-Jewish people!” ⁷ Paul left the synagogue and moved into the home of Titius Justus. It was next to the synagogue. This man worshiped the true God. ⁸ Crispus was the leader of that synagogue. He and all the people living in his house believed in the Lord. Many others in Corinth also listened to Paul. They too believed and were baptized.

⁹ During the night, Paul had a vision. The Lord said to him, “Don’t be afraid! Continue talking to people and don’t be quiet! ¹⁰ I am with you. No one will hurt you because many of my people are in this city.” ¹¹ Paul stayed there for a year and a half, teaching God’s word to the people.

Paul Is Brought Before Gallio

¹² Gallio became the governor of the country of Southern Greece. At that time, some of the Jews came together against Paul and took him to the court. ¹³ They said to Gallio, “This man is teaching people to worship God in a way that is against our law!”

¹⁴ Paul was about to say something, but Gallio spoke to the Jews. Gallio said, “I would listen to you Jews if you were complaining about a crime or some wrong. ¹⁵ But the things you are saying are only questions about words and names—arguments about your own law. So you must solve this problem yourselves. I don’t want to be a judge of these things!” ¹⁶ Then Gallio made them leave the court.

¹⁷ Then they all grabbed Sosthenes. (Sosthenes was now the leader of the synagogue.) They beat him there before the court. But this did not bother Gallio.

Paul Returns to Antioch

¹⁸ Paul stayed with the believers for many more days. Then he left and sailed for Syria. Priscilla and Aquila went with him. At Cenchrea, Paul cut off his hair.^[e] This showed that he had made a promise to God. ¹⁹ Then they went to Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. While Paul was there, he went into the synagogue and talked with the Jews. ²⁰ When they asked him to stay with them longer, he refused. ²¹ He left them, but he said, “I will come back to you again if God wants me to.” And so he sailed away from Ephesus.

²² Paul landed at Caesarea. Then he went and gave greetings to the church in Jerusalem. After that, Paul went to Antioch. ²³ He stayed there for a while and then left and went through the countries of Galatia and Phrygia. He traveled from town to town in these countries, giving strength to all the followers.

Apollos in Ephesus and Corinth

²⁴ A Jew named Apollos came to Ephesus. He was born in the city of Alexandria. He was an educated man who knew the Scriptures well. ²⁵ He had been taught about the Lord. He was always very excited when he spoke and taught the truth about Jesus. But the only baptism that Apollos knew about was the baptism that John^[f] taught. ²⁶ Apollos began to speak very boldly in the synagogue, and Priscilla and Aquila heard him. So they took him to their home and helped him better understand the way of God. ²⁷ Now Apollos wanted to go to the country of Southern Greece, so the believers helped him. They wrote a letter to the followers there, asking them to accept him. These followers had believed in Jesus because of God’s grace. When Apollos went there, he helped them very much. ²⁸ He argued very strongly with the Jews before all the people. Apollos clearly proved that the Jews were wrong. Using the Scriptures, he proved that Jesus is the Christ.

Paul in Ephesus

19 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul was visiting some places on the way to Ephesus. There he found some followers. ² Paul asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

They said, “We have never even heard of a Holy Spirit!”

³ So he asked, “What kind of baptism did you have?”

They said, “It was the baptism that John^[g] taught.”

⁴ Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of changed hearts and lives. He told people to believe in the One who would come after him. That One is Jesus.”

⁵ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ Then Paul laid his hands on them,^[h] and the Holy Spirit came upon them. They began speaking different languages and prophesying. ⁷ There were about 12 men in this group.

⁸ Paul went into the synagogue and spoke out boldly for three months. He talked with the Jews and persuaded them to accept the things he said about the kingdom of God. ⁹ But some of the Jews became stubborn and refused to believe. These Jews said evil things about the Way of Jesus. All the people heard these things. So Paul left them and took the followers with him. He went to a place where a man named Tyrannus had a school. There Paul talked with people every day ¹⁰ for two years. Because of his work, every Jew and Greek in Asia heard the word of the Lord.

The Sons of Sceva

¹¹ God used Paul to do some very special miracles. ¹² Some people took handkerchiefs and clothes that Paul had used and put them on the sick. When they did this, the sick were healed and evil spirits left them.

^13-14 But some Jews also were traveling around and making evil spirits go out of people. The seven sons of Sceva were doing this. (Sceva was a leading Jewish priest.) These Jews tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus to force the evil spirits out. They would say, “By the same Jesus that Paul talks about, I order you to come out!”

¹⁵ But one time an evil spirit said to these Jews, “I know Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?”

¹⁶ Then the man, who had the evil spirit in him, jumped on these Jews. He was much stronger than all of them. He beat them and tore their clothes off, so they ran away from the house. ¹⁷ All the people in Ephesus, Jews and Greeks, learned about this. They were filled with fear. And the people gave great honor to the Lord Jesus. ¹⁸ Many of the believers began to confess openly and tell all the evil things they had done. ¹⁹ Some of them had used magic. These believers brought their magic books and burned them before everyone. Those books were worth about 50,000 silver coins.^[i]

²⁰ So in a powerful way the word of the Lord kept spreading and growing.

Paul Plans a Trip

²¹ After these things, Paul made plans to go to Jerusalem. He planned to go through the countries of Macedonia and Southern Greece, and then on to Jerusalem. He said, “After I have been to Jerusalem, I must also visit Rome.” ²² Paul sent Timothy and Erastus, two of his helpers, ahead to Macedonia. He himself stayed in Asia for a while.

Trouble in Ephesus

²³ But during that time, there was some serious trouble in Ephesus about the Way of Jesus. ²⁴ There was a man named Demetrius, who worked with silver. He made little silver models that looked like the temple of the goddess Artemis.^[j] The men who did this work made much money. ²⁵ Demetrius had a meeting with these men and some others who did the same kind of work. He told them, “Men, you know that we make a lot of money from our business. ²⁶ But look at what this man Paul is doing! He has convinced and turned away many people in Ephesus and in almost all of Asia! He says the gods that men make are not real. ²⁷ There is a danger that our business will lose its good name. But there is also another danger: People will begin to think that the temple of the great goddess Artemis is not important! Her greatness will be destroyed. And Artemis is the goddess that everyone in Asia and the whole world worships.”

²⁸ When the men heard this, they became very angry. They shouted, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” ²⁹ The whole city became confused. The people grabbed Gaius and Aristarchus. (These two men were from Macedonia and were traveling with Paul.) Then all the people ran to the theater. ³⁰ Paul wanted to go in and talk to the crowd, but the followers did not let him. ³¹ Also, some leaders of Asia were friends of Paul. They sent him a message, begging him not to go into the theater. ³² Some people were shouting one thing, and some were shouting another. The meeting was completely confused. Most of the people did not know why they had come together. ³³ The Jews put a man named Alexander in front of the people. Some of them had told him what to do. Alexander waved his hand because he wanted to explain things to the people. ³⁴ But when they saw that Alexander was a Jew, they all began shouting the same thing. They continued shouting for two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

³⁵ Then the city clerk made the crowd be quiet. He said, “Men of Ephesus, everyone knows that Ephesus is the city that keeps the temple of the great goddess Artemis. All people know that we also keep her holy stone^[k] that fell from heaven. ³⁶ No one can say that this is not true. So you should be quiet. You must stop and think before you do anything. ³⁷ You brought these men here, but they have not said anything evil against our goddess. They have not stolen anything from her temple. ³⁸ We have courts of law, and there are judges. Do Demetrius and the men who work with him have a charge against anyone? They should go to the courts! That is where they can argue with each other! ³⁹ Is there something else you want to talk about? It can be decided at the regular town meeting of the people. ⁴⁰ I say this because some people might see this trouble today and say that we are rioting. We could not explain this because there is no real reason for this meeting.” ⁴¹ After the city clerk said these things, he told the people to go home.

Paul in Macedonia and Greece

20 When the trouble stopped, Paul sent for the followers to come to him. He encouraged them and then told them good-bye. Paul left and went to the country of Macedonia. ² He said many things to strengthen the followers in the different places on his way through Macedonia. Then he went to Southern Greece. ³ He stayed there three months. He was ready to sail for Syria, but some Jews were planning something against him. So Paul decided to go back through Macedonia to Syria. ⁴ Some men went with him. They were Sopater son of Pyrrhus, from the city of Berea; Aristarchus and Secundus, from the city of Thessalonica; Gaius, from Derbe; and Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus, two men from Asia. ⁵ These men went first, ahead of Paul, and waited for us at Troas. ⁶ We sailed from Philippi after the Feast of Unleavened Bread and we met them in Troas five days later. We stayed there seven days.

Paul’s Last Visit to Troas

⁷ On the first day of the week,^[l] we all met together to break bread.^[m] Paul spoke to the group. Because he was planning to leave the next day, he kept on talking till midnight. ⁸ We were all together in a room upstairs, and there were many lamps in the room. ⁹ A young man named Eutychus was sitting in the window. As Paul continued talking, Eutychus was falling into a deep sleep. Finally, he went sound asleep and fell to the ground from the third floor. When they picked him up, he was dead. ¹⁰ Paul went down to Eutychus. He knelt down and put his arms around him. He said, “Don’t worry. He is alive now.” ¹¹ Then Paul went upstairs again, broke bread, and ate. He spoke to them a long time, until it was early morning. Then he left. ¹² They took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.

The Trip from Troas to Miletus

¹³ We sailed for the city of Assos. We went first, ahead of Paul. He wanted to join us on the ship there. Paul planned it this way because he wanted to go to Assos by land. ¹⁴ When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went to Mitylene. ¹⁵ The next day, we sailed from Mitylene and came to a place near Chios. The next day, we sailed to Samos. A day later, we reached Miletus. ¹⁶ Paul had already decided not to stop at Ephesus. He did not want to stay too long in Asia. He was hurrying to be in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, if that was possible.

The Elders from Ephesus

¹⁷ Now from Miletus Paul sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. ¹⁸ When they came to him, he said, “You know about my life from the first day I came to Asia. You know the way I lived all the time I was with you. ¹⁹ The Jews plotted against me. This troubled me very much. But you know that I always served the Lord. I never thought of myself first, and I often cried. ²⁰ You know I preached to you, and I did not hold back anything that would help you. You know that I taught you in public and in your homes. ²¹ I warned both Jews and Greeks to change their lives and turn to God. And I told them all to believe in our Lord Jesus. ²² But now I must obey the Holy Spirit and go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what will happen to me there. ²³ I know only that in every city the Holy Spirit tells me that troubles and even jail wait for me. ²⁴ I don’t care about my own life. The most important thing is that I complete my mission. I want to finish the work that the Lord Jesus gave me—to tell people the Good News about God’s grace.

²⁵ “And now, I know that none of you will ever see me again. All the time I was with you, I was preaching the kingdom of God. ²⁶ So today I can tell you one thing that I am sure of: If any of you should be lost, I am not responsible. ²⁷ This is because I have told you everything God wants you to know. ²⁸ Be careful for yourselves and for all the people God has given you. The Holy Spirit gave you the work of caring for this flock. You must be like shepherds to the church of God.^[n] This is the church that God bought with his own death. ²⁹ I know that after I leave, some men will come like wild wolves and try to destroy the flock. ³⁰ Also, men from your own group will rise up and twist the truth. They will lead away followers after them. ³¹ So be careful! Always remember this: For three years I never stopped warning each of you. I taught you night and day. I often cried over you.

³² “Now I am putting you in the care of God and the message about his grace. That message is able to give you strength, and it will give you the blessings that God has for all his holy people. ³³ When I was with you, I never wanted anyone’s money or fine clothes. ³⁴ You know that I always worked to take care of my own needs and the needs of those who were with me. ³⁵ I showed you in all things that you should work as I did and help the weak. I taught you to remember the words of Jesus. He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

³⁶ When Paul had said this, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. ^37-38 And they all cried because Paul had said that they would never see him again. They put their arms around him and kissed him. Then they went with him to the ship.

Paul Goes to Jerusalem

21 We all said good-bye to them and left. We sailed straight to Cos island. The next day, we reached Rhodes, and from Rhodes we went to Patara. ² There we found a ship that was going to Phoenicia. We went aboard and sailed away. ³ We sailed near the island of Cyprus. We could see it to the north, but we sailed on to Syria. We stopped at Tyre because the ship needed to unload its cargo there. ⁴ We found some followers in Tyre, and we stayed with them for seven days. Through the Holy Spirit they warned Paul not to go to Jerusalem. ⁵ When we finished our visit, we left and continued our trip. All the followers, even the women and children, came outside the city with us. We all knelt down on the beach and prayed. ⁶ Then we said good-bye and got on the ship. The followers went back home.

⁷ We continued our trip from Tyre and arrived at Ptolemais. We greeted the believers there and stayed with them for a day. ⁸ We left Ptolemais and went to the city of Caesarea. There we went into the home of Philip and stayed with him. Philip had the work of telling the Good News. He was one of the seven helpers.^{[o] 9} He had four unmarried daughters who had the gift of prophesying. ¹⁰ After we had been there for some time, a prophet named Agabus arrived from Judea. ¹¹ He came to us and borrowed Paul’s belt. Then he used the belt to tie his own hands and feet. He said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘This is how the Jews in Jerusalem will tie up the man who wears this belt. Then they will give him to the non-Jewish people.’”

¹² We all heard these words. So we and the people there begged Paul not to go to Jerusalem. ¹³ But he said, “Why are you crying and making me so sad? I am ready to be tied up in Jerusalem. And I am ready to die for the Lord Jesus!”

¹⁴ We could not persuade him to stay away from Jerusalem. So we stopped begging him and said, “We pray that what the Lord wants will be done.”

¹⁵ After this, we got ready and started on our way to Jerusalem. ¹⁶ Some of the followers from Caesarea went with us. They took us to the home of Mnason, a man from Cyprus. Mnason was one of the first followers. They took us to his home so that we could stay with him.

Paul Visits James

¹⁷ In Jerusalem the believers were glad to see us. ¹⁸ The next day, Paul went with us to visit James. All the elders were there, too. ¹⁹ Paul greeted them and told them everything that God had done among the non-Jewish people through him. ²⁰ When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul, “Brother, you can see that many thousands of Jews have become believers. But they think it is very important to obey the law of Moses. ²¹ These Jews have heard about your teaching. They heard that you tell the Jews who live among non-Jews to leave the law of Moses. They heard that you tell them not to circumcise their children and not to obey Jewish customs. ²² What should we do? The Jewish believers here will learn that you have come. ²³ So we will tell you what to do: Four of our men have made a promise to God. ²⁴ Take these men with you and share in their cleansing ceremony.^[p] Pay their expenses. Then they can shave their heads.^[q] Do this and it will prove to everyone that what they have heard about you is not true. They will see that you follow the law of Moses in your own life. ²⁵ We have already sent a letter to the non-Jewish believers. The letter said: ‘Do not eat food that has been offered to idols. Do not taste blood. Do not eat animals that have been strangled. Do not take part in any kind of sexual sin.’”

²⁶ Then Paul took the four men with him. The next day, he shared in the cleansing ceremony. Then he went to the Temple. Paul announced the time when the days of the cleansing ceremony would be finished. On the last day an offering would be given for each of the men.

²⁷ The seven days were almost over. But some Jews from Asia saw Paul at the Temple. They caused all the people to be upset, and they grabbed Paul. ²⁸ They shouted, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who goes everywhere teaching things that are against the law of Moses, against our people, and against this Temple. And now he has brought some Greek men into the Temple. He has made this holy place unclean!” ²⁹ (The Jews said this because they had seen Trophimus with Paul in Jerusalem. Trophimus was a man from Ephesus. The Jews thought that Paul had brought him into the Temple.)

³⁰ All the people in Jerusalem became very upset. They ran and took Paul and dragged him out of the Temple. The Temple doors were closed immediately. ³¹ The people were about to kill Paul. Now the commander of the Roman army in Jerusalem learned that there was trouble in the whole city. ³² Immediately he ran to the place where the crowd was gathered. He brought officers and soldiers with him, and the people saw them. So they stopped beating Paul. ³³ The commander went to Paul and arrested him. He told his soldiers to bind Paul with two chains. Then he asked, “Who is this man? What has he done wrong?” ³⁴ Some in the crowd were yelling one thing, and some were yelling another. Because of all this confusion and shouting, the commander could not learn what had happened. So he ordered the soldiers to take Paul to the army building. ^35-36 The whole mob was following them. When the soldiers came to the steps, they had to carry Paul. They did this because the people were ready to hurt him. They were shouting, “Kill him!”

³⁷ The soldiers were about to take Paul into the army building. But he spoke to the commander, “May I say something to you?”

The commander said, “Do you speak Greek? ³⁸ I thought you were the Egyptian who started some trouble against the government not long ago. He led 4,000 killers out to the desert.”

³⁹ Paul said, “No, I am a Jew from Tarsus in the country of Cilicia. I am a citizen of that important city. Please, let me speak to the people.”

⁴⁰ The commander gave permission, so Paul stood on the steps. He waved with his hand so that the people would be quiet. When there was silence, Paul spoke to them in the Jewish language.^[r]

Paul Speaks to the People

22 Paul said, “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! I will make my defense to you.” ² When the Jews heard him speaking the Jewish language,^[s] they became very quiet. Paul said, ³ “I am a Jew. I was born in Tarsus in the country of Cilicia. I grew up in this city. I was a student of Gamaliel.^[t] He carefully taught me everything about the law of our ancestors. I was very serious about serving God, just as are all of you here today. ⁴ I hurt the people who followed the Way of Jesus. Some of them were even killed. I arrested men and women and put them in jail. ⁵ The high priest and the whole council of Jewish elders can tell you that this is true. These leaders gave me letters to the Jewish brothers in Damascus. So I was going there to arrest these people and bring them back to Jerusalem to be punished.

⁶ “But something happened to me on my way to Damascus. It was about noon when I came near Damascus. Suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed all around me. ⁷ I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you doing things against me?’ ⁸ I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The voice said, ‘I am Jesus from Nazareth. I am the One you are trying to hurt.’ ⁹ The men who were with me did not understand the voice. But they saw the light. ¹⁰ I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ The Lord answered, ‘Get up and go to Damascus. There you will be told about all the things I have planned for you to do.’ ¹¹ I could not see, because the bright light had made me blind. So the men led me into Damascus.

¹² “There a man named Ananias came to me. He was a religious man; he obeyed the law of Moses. All the Jews who lived there respected him. ¹³ Ananias came to me, stood by me, and said, ‘Brother Saul, see again!’ Immediately I was able to see him. ¹⁴ Ananias told me, ‘The God of our fathers chose you long ago. He chose you to know his plan. He chose you to see the Righteous One and to hear words from him. ¹⁵ You will be his witness to all people. You will tell them about the things you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ Now, why wait any longer? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away. Do this, trusting in him to save you.’

¹⁷ “Later, I returned to Jerusalem. I was praying in the Temple, and I saw a vision. ¹⁸ I saw the Lord saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem now! The people here will not accept the truth about me.’ ¹⁹ But I said, ‘Lord, they know that in every synagogue I put the believers in jail and beat them. ²⁰ They also know that I was there when Stephen, your witness, was killed. I stood there and agreed that they should kill him. I even held the coats of the men who were killing him!’ ²¹ But the Lord said to me, ‘Leave now. I will send you far away to the non-Jewish people.’”

²² The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they began shouting, “Get rid of him! A man like this doesn’t deserve to live!” ²³ They shouted and threw off their coats.^[u] They threw dust into the air.^[v]

²⁴ Then the commander ordered the soldiers to take Paul into the army building and beat him. The commander wanted to make Paul tell why the people were shouting against him like this. ²⁵ So the soldiers were tying him up, preparing to beat him. But Paul said to an officer there, “Do you have the right to beat a Roman citizen^[w] who has not been proven guilty?”

²⁶ When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and told him about it. The officer said, “Do you know what you are doing? This man is a Roman citizen!”

²⁷ The commander came to Paul and said, “Tell me, are you really a Roman citizen?”

He answered, “Yes.”

²⁸ The commander said, “I paid a lot of money to become a Roman citizen.”

But Paul said, “I was born a citizen.”

²⁹ The men who were preparing to question Paul moved away from him immediately. The commander was frightened because he had already tied Paul, and Paul was a Roman citizen.

Paul Speaks to Jewish Leaders

³⁰ The next day the commander decided to learn why the Jews were accusing Paul. So he ordered the leading priests and the Jewish council to meet. The commander took Paul’s chains off. Then he brought Paul out and stood him before their meeting.

23 Paul looked at the Jewish council and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life in a good way before God up to this day.” ² Ananias,^[x] the high priest, heard this and told the men who were standing near Paul to hit him on his mouth. ³ Paul said to Ananias, “God will hit you too! You are like a wall that has been painted white! You sit there and judge me, using the law of Moses. But you are telling them to hit me, and that is against the law.”

⁴ The men standing near Paul said to him, “You cannot talk like that to God’s high priest! You are insulting him!”

⁵ Paul said, “Brothers, I did not know this man was the high priest. It is written in the Scriptures, ‘You must not curse a leader of your people.’”^[y]

⁶ Some of the men in the meeting were Sadducees, and others were Pharisees. So Paul shouted to them, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee and my father was a Pharisee! I am on trial here because I hope that people will rise from death!”

⁷ When Paul said this, there was an argument between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The group was divided. ⁸ (The Sadducees believe that after people die, they cannot live again. The Sadducees also teach that there are no angels or spirits. But the Pharisees believe in them all.) ⁹ So there was a great uproar. Some of the teachers of the law, who were Pharisees, stood up and argued, “We find nothing wrong with this man! Maybe an angel or a spirit did speak to him.”

¹⁰ The argument was beginning to turn into a fight. The commander was afraid that the Jews would tear Paul to pieces. So the commander told the soldiers to go down and take Paul away and put him in the army building.

¹¹ The next night the Lord came and stood by Paul. He said, “Be brave! You have told people in Jerusalem about me. You must do the same in Rome also.”

¹² In the morning some of the Jews made a plan to kill Paul. They made a promise that they would not eat or drink anything until they had killed him. ¹³ There were more than 40 Jews who made this plan. ¹⁴ They went and talked to the leading priests and the Jewish elders. They said, “We have made a promise to ourselves that we will not eat or drink until we have killed Paul! ¹⁵ So this is what we want you to do: Send a message to the commander to bring Paul out to you. Tell him you want to ask Paul more questions. We will be waiting to kill him while he is on the way here.”

¹⁶ But Paul’s nephew heard about this plan. He went to the army building and told Paul about it. ¹⁷ Then Paul called one of the officers and said, “Take this young man to the commander. He has a message for him.”

¹⁸ So the officer brought Paul’s nephew to the commander. The officer said, “The prisoner, Paul, asked me to bring this young man to you. He wants to tell you something.”

¹⁹ The commander led the young man to a place where they could be alone. The commander asked, “What do you want to tell me?”

²⁰ The young man said, “The Jews have decided to ask you to bring Paul down to their council meeting tomorrow. They want you to think that they are going to ask him more questions. ²¹ But don’t believe them! There are more than 40 men who are hiding and waiting to kill Paul. They have all made a promise not to eat or drink until they have killed him! Now they are waiting for you to agree.”

²² The commander sent the young man away. He said to him, “Don’t tell anyone that you have told me about their plan.”

Paul Is Sent to Caesarea

²³ Then the commander called two officers. He said to them, “I need some men to go to Caesarea. Get 200 soldiers ready. Also, get 70 horsemen and 200 men with spears. Be ready to leave at nine o’clock tonight. ²⁴ Get some horses for Paul to ride. He must be taken to Governor Felix safely.” ²⁵ And he wrote a letter that said:

³¹ So the soldiers did what they were told. They took Paul and brought him to the city of Antipatris that night. ³² The next day the horsemen went with Paul to Caesarea. But the other soldiers went back to the army building in Jerusalem. ³³ The horsemen came to Caesarea and gave the letter to the governor. Then they turned Paul over to him. ³⁴ The governor read the letter. Then he asked Paul, “What area are you from?” He learned that Paul was from Cilicia. ³⁵ He said, “I will hear your case when those who are against you come here too.” Then the governor gave orders for Paul to be kept under guard in the palace. (This building had been built by Herod.)

The Jews Accuse Paul

24 Five days later Ananias, the high priest, went to the city of Caesarea. With him were some of the Jewish elders and a lawyer named Tertullus. They had come to make charges against Paul before the governor. ² Paul was called into the meeting, and Tertullus began to accuse him, saying: “Most Excellent Felix! Our people enjoy much peace because of you, and many wrong things in our country are being made right through your wise help. ³ We accept these things always and in every place. And we are thankful for them. ⁴ But I do not want to take any more of your time. I beg you to be kind and listen to our few words. ⁵ This man is a troublemaker. He makes trouble among the Jews everywhere in the world. He is a leader of the Nazarene group. ⁶ Also, he was trying to make the Temple unclean, but we stopped him. [And we wanted to judge him by our own law. ⁷ But the officer Lysias came and used much force to take him from us. And Lysias commanded his people to come to you to accuse us.]^{[z] 8} You can decide if all these things are true. Ask him some questions yourself.” ⁹ The other Jews agreed and said that all of this was true.

¹⁰ The governor made a sign for Paul to speak. So Paul said, “Governor Felix, I know that you have been a judge over this nation for a long time. So I am happy to defend myself before you. ¹¹ I went to worship in Jerusalem only 12 days ago. You can learn for yourself that this is true. ¹² Those who are accusing me did not find me arguing with anyone in the Temple. I was not stirring up the people. And I was not making trouble in the Temple or in the synagogues or in the city. ¹³ They cannot prove the things they are saying against me now. ¹⁴ But I will tell you this: I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way of Jesus. The Jews say that the Way of Jesus is not the right way. But I believe everything that is taught in the law of Moses and that is written in the books of the Prophets. ¹⁵ I have the same hope in God that they have—the hope that all people, good and bad, will be raised from death. ¹⁶ This is why I always try to do what I believe is right before God and men.

¹⁷ “I was away from Jerusalem for several years. I went back there to bring money to my people and to offer sacrifices. ¹⁸ I was doing this when they found me in the Temple. I had finished the cleansing ceremony. I had not made any trouble; no people were gathering around me. ¹⁹ But some Jews from Asia were there. They should be here, standing before you. If I have really done anything wrong, they are the ones who should accuse me. ²⁰ Or ask these Jews here if they found any wrong in me when I stood before the Jewish council in Jerusalem. ²¹ But I did say one thing when I stood before them: ‘You are judging me today because I believe that people will rise from death!’”

²² Felix already understood much about the Way of Jesus. He stopped the trial and said, “When commander Lysias comes here, I will decide about your case.” ²³ Felix told the officer to keep Paul guarded. But he told the officer to give Paul some freedom and to let his friends bring what he needed.

Paul Speaks to Felix and His Wife

²⁴ After some days Felix came with his wife, Drusilla, who was a Jew. He asked for Paul to be brought to him. He listened to Paul talk about believing in Christ Jesus. ²⁵ But Felix became afraid when Paul spoke about things like right living, self-control, and the time when God will judge the world. He said, “Go away now. When I have more time, I will call for you.” ²⁶ At the same time Felix hoped that Paul would give him some money. So he sent for Paul often and talked with him.

²⁷ But after two years, Porcius Festus became governor. Felix was no longer governor, but he had left Paul in prison to please the Jews.

Paul Asks to See Caesar

25 Three days after Festus became governor, he went from Caesarea to Jerusalem. ² There the leading priests and the important Jewish leaders made charges against Paul before Festus. ³ They asked Festus to do something for them; they wanted him to send Paul back to Jerusalem. (They had a plan to kill Paul on the way.) ⁴ But Festus answered, “No! Paul will be kept in Caesarea. I will return there soon myself. ⁵ Some of your leaders should go with me. They can accuse the man there in Caesarea, if he has really done something wrong.”

⁶ Festus stayed in Jerusalem another eight or ten days. Then he went back to Caesarea. The next day he told the soldiers to bring Paul before him. Festus was seated on the judge’s seat ⁷ when Paul came into the room. The Jews who had come from Jerusalem stood around him. They started making serious charges against Paul. But they could not prove any of them. ⁸ This is what Paul said to defend himself: “I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law, against the Temple, or against Caesar!”

⁹ But Festus wanted to please the Jews. So he asked Paul, “Do you want to go to Jerusalem? Do you want me to judge you there on these charges?”

¹⁰ Paul said, “I am standing at Caesar’s judgment seat now. This is where I should be judged! I have done nothing wrong to the Jews; you know this is true. ¹¹ If I have done something wrong and the law says I must die, I do not ask to be saved from death. But if these charges are not true, then no one can give me to them. No! I want Caesar to hear my case!”

¹² Festus talked about this with the people who advised him. Then he said, “You have asked to see Caesar; so you will go to Caesar!”

Paul Before King Agrippa

¹³ A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to visit Festus. ¹⁴ They stayed there for some time, and Festus told the king about Paul’s case. Festus said, “There is a man that Felix left in prison. ¹⁵ When I went to Jerusalem, the leading priests and the Jewish elders there made charges against him. They wanted me to sentence him to death. ¹⁶ But I answered, ‘When a man is accused of a crime, Romans do not hand him over just to please someone. The man must be allowed to face his accusers and defend himself against their charges.’ ¹⁷ So these Jews came here to Caesarea for the trial. And I did not waste time. The next day I sat on the judge’s seat and commanded that the man be brought in. ¹⁸ The Jews stood up and accused him. But they did not accuse him of any serious crime as I thought they would. ¹⁹ The things they said were about their own religion and about a man named Jesus. Jesus died, but Paul said that he is still alive. ²⁰ I did not know much about these things; so I did not ask questions. But I asked Paul, ‘Do you want to go to Jerusalem and be judged there?’ ²¹ But he asked to be kept in Caesarea. He wants a decision from the Emperor.^[aa] So I ordered that Paul be held until I could send him to Caesar in Rome.”

²² Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear this man, too.”

Festus said, “Tomorrow you will hear him!”

²³ The next day Agrippa and Bernice appeared. They dressed and acted like very important people. Agrippa and Bernice, the army leaders, and the important men of Caesarea went into the judgment room. Then Festus ordered the soldiers to bring Paul in. ²⁴ Festus said, “King Agrippa and all who are gathered here with us, you see this man. All the Jewish people, here and in Jerusalem, have complained to me about him. They shout that he should not live any longer. ²⁵ When I judged him, I could find nothing wrong. I found no reason to order his death. But he asked to be judged by Caesar. So I decided to send him. ²⁶ But I have nothing definite to write the Emperor about him. So I have brought him before all of you—especially you, King Agrippa. I hope that you can question him and give me something to write. ²⁷ I think it is foolish to send a prisoner to Caesar without telling what the charges are against him.”

Paul Defends Himself

26 Agrippa said to Paul, “You may now speak to defend yourself.”

Then Paul raised his hand and began to speak. ² He said, “King Agrippa, I will answer all the charges that the Jews make against me. I think it is a blessing that I can stand here before you today. ³ I am very happy to talk to you, because you know so much about all the Jewish customs and the things that the Jews argue about. Please listen to me patiently.

⁴ “All the Jews know about my whole life. They know the way I lived from the beginning in my own country and later in Jerusalem. ⁵ They have known me for a long time. If they want to, they can tell you that I was a good Pharisee. And the Pharisees obey the laws of the Jewish religion more carefully than any other group of Jewish people. ⁶ Now I am on trial because I hope for the promise that God made to our ancestors. ⁷ This is the promise that the 12 tribes of our people hope to receive. For this hope the Jews serve God day and night. My king, the Jews have accused me because I hope for this same promise! ⁸ Why do any of you people think it is impossible for God to raise people from death?

⁹ “I too thought I ought to do many things against Jesus from Nazareth. ¹⁰ And in Jerusalem I did many things against God’s people. The leading priests gave me the power to put many of them in jail. When they were being killed, I agreed that it was a good thing. ¹¹ In every synagogue, I often punished them. I tried to make them say evil things against Jesus. I was so angry against them that I even went to other cities to find them and punish them.

¹² “One time the leading priests gave me permission and the power to go to Damascus. ¹³ On the way there, at noon, I saw a light from heaven. The light was brighter than the sun. It flashed all around me and the men who were traveling with me. ¹⁴ We all fell to the ground. Then I heard a voice speaking to me in the Jewish language.^[ab] The voice said, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you doing things against me? You are only hurting yourself by fighting me.’ ¹⁵ I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The Lord said, ‘I am Jesus. I am the One you are trying to hurt. ¹⁶ Stand up! I have chosen you to be my servant. You will be my witness—you will tell people the things that you have seen and the things that I will show you. This is why I have come to you today. ¹⁷ I will not let your own people hurt you. And I will keep you safe from the non-Jewish people too. These are the people I am sending you to. ¹⁸ I send you to open their eyes that they may turn away from darkness to the light. I send you that they may turn away from the power of Satan and turn to God. Then their sins can be forgiven and they can have a place with those people who have been made holy by believing in me.’

¹⁹ “King Agrippa, after I had this vision from heaven, I obeyed it. ²⁰ I began telling people that they should change their hearts and lives and turn to God. I told them to do things to show that they really had changed. I told this first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and in every part of Judea, and also to the non-Jewish people. ²¹ This is why the Jews took me and were trying to kill me in the Temple. ²² But God helped me and is still helping me today. With God’s help I am standing here today and telling all people what I have seen. But I am saying nothing new. I am saying what Moses and the prophets said would happen. ²³ They said that the Christ would die and be the first to rise from death. They said that the Christ would bring light to the Jewish and non-Jewish people.”

Paul Tries to Persuade Agrippa

²⁴ While Paul was saying these things to defend himself, Festus said loudly, “Paul, you are out of your mind! Too much study has driven you crazy!”

²⁵ Paul said, “Most Excellent Festus, I am not crazy. My words are true. They are not the words of a foolish man. ²⁶ King Agrippa knows about these things. I can speak freely to him. I know that he has heard about all of these things. They did not happen off in a corner. ²⁷ King Agrippa, do you believe what the prophets wrote? I know you believe!”

²⁸ King Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian in such a short time?”

²⁹ Paul said, “Whether it is a short or a long time, I pray to God that not only you but every person listening to me today would be saved and be like me—except for these chains I have!”

³⁰ Then King Agrippa, Governor Festus, Bernice, and all the people sitting with them stood up ³¹ and left the room. They were talking to each other. They said, “There is no reason why this man should die or be put in jail.” ³² And Agrippa said to Festus, “We could let this man go free, but he has asked Caesar to hear his case.”

Paul Sails for Rome

27 It was decided that we would sail for Italy. An officer named Julius, who served in the Emperor’s^[ac] army, guarded Paul and some other prisoners. ² We got on a ship and left. The ship was from the city of Adramyttium and was about to sail to different ports in Asia. Aristarchus, a man from the city of Thessalonica in Macedonia, went with us. ³ The next day we came to Sidon. Julius was very good to Paul. He gave Paul freedom to go visit his friends, who took care of his needs. ⁴ We left Sidon and sailed close to the island of Cyprus because the wind was blowing against us. ⁵ We went across the sea by Cilicia and Pamphylia. Then we came to the city of Myra, in Lycia. ⁶ There the officer found a ship from Alexandria that was going to Italy. So he put us on it.

⁷ We sailed slowly for many days. We had a hard time reaching Cnidus because the wind was blowing against us. We could not go any farther that way. So we sailed by the south side of the island of Crete near Salmone. ⁸ We sailed along the coast, but the sailing was hard. Then we came to a place called Safe Harbors, near the city of Lasea.

⁹ But we had lost much time. It was now dangerous to sail, because it was already after the Day of Cleansing.^[ad] So Paul warned them, ¹⁰ “Men, I can see there will be a lot of trouble on this trip. The ship and the things in the ship will be lost. Even our lives may be lost!” ¹¹ But the captain and the owner of the ship did not agree with Paul. So the officer did not believe Paul. Instead, the officer believed what the captain and owner of the ship said. ¹² And that harbor was not a good place for the ship to stay for the winter. So most of the men decided that the ship should leave. The men hoped we could go to Phoenix. The ship could stay there for the winter. (Phoenix was a city on the island of Crete. It had a harbor which faced southwest and northwest.)

The Storm

¹³ Then a good wind began to blow from the south. The men on the ship thought, “This is the wind we wanted, and now we have it!” So they pulled up the anchor. We sailed very close to the island of Crete. ¹⁴ But then a very strong wind named the “Northeaster” came from the island. ¹⁵ This wind took the ship and carried it away. The ship could not sail against it. So we stopped trying and let the wind blow us. ¹⁶ We went below a small island named Cauda. Then we were able to bring in the lifeboat, but it was very hard to do. ¹⁷ After the men took the lifeboat in, they tied ropes around the ship to hold it together. The men were afraid that the ship would hit the sandbanks of Syrtis.^[ae] So they lowered the sail and let the wind carry the ship. ¹⁸ The next day the storm was blowing us so hard that the men threw out some of the cargo. ¹⁹ A day later they threw out the ship’s equipment. ²⁰ For many days we could not see the sun or the stars. The storm was very bad. We lost all hope of staying alive—we thought we would die.

²¹ The men had gone without food for a long time. Then one day Paul stood up before them and said, “Men, I told you not to leave Crete. You should have listened to me. Then you would not have all this trouble and loss. ²² But now I tell you to cheer up. None of you will die! But the ship will be lost. ²³ Last night an angel from God came to me. This is the God I worship. I am his. ²⁴ God’s angel said, ‘Paul, do not be afraid! You must stand before Caesar. And God has given you this promise: He will save the lives of all those men sailing with you.’ ²⁵ So men, be cheerful! I trust in God. Everything will happen as his angel told me. ²⁶ But we will crash on an island.”

²⁷ On the fourteenth night we were floating around in the Adriatic Sea.^[af] The sailors thought we were close to land. ²⁸ They threw a rope into the water with a weight on the end of it. They found that the water was 120 feet deep. They went a little farther and threw the rope in again. It was 90 feet deep. ²⁹ The sailors were afraid that we would hit the rocks, so they threw four anchors into the water. Then they prayed for daylight to come. ³⁰ Some of the sailors wanted to leave the ship, and they lowered the lifeboat. These sailors wanted the other men to think that they were throwing more anchors from the front of the ship. ³¹ But Paul told the officer and the other soldiers, “If these men do not stay in the ship, your lives cannot be saved!” ³² So the soldiers cut the ropes and let the lifeboat fall into the water.

³³ Just before dawn Paul began persuading all the people to eat something. He said, “For the past 14 days you have been waiting and watching. You have not eaten. ³⁴ Now I beg you to eat something. You need it to stay alive. None of you will lose even one hair off your heads.” ³⁵ After he said this, Paul took some bread and thanked God for it before all of them. He broke off a piece and began eating. ³⁶ All the men felt better. They all started eating too. ³⁷ (There were 276 people on the ship.) ³⁸ We ate all we wanted. Then we began making the ship lighter by throwing the grain into the sea.

The Ship Is Destroyed

³⁹ When daylight came, the sailors saw land. They did not know what land it was, but they saw a bay with a beach. They wanted to sail the ship to the beach, if they could. ⁴⁰ So they cut the ropes to the anchors and left the anchors in the sea. At the same time, they untied the ropes that were holding the rudders. Then they raised the front sail into the wind and sailed toward the beach. ⁴¹ But the ship hit a sandbank. The front of the ship stuck there and could not move. Then the big waves began to break the back of the ship to pieces.

⁴² The soldiers decided to kill the prisoners so that none of them could swim away and escape. ⁴³ But Julius, the officer, wanted to let Paul live. He did not allow the soldiers to kill the prisoners. Instead he ordered everyone who could swim to jump into the water and swim to land. ⁴⁴ The rest used wooden boards or pieces of the ship. And this is how all the people made it safely to land.

Paul on the Island of Malta

28 When we were safe on land, we learned that the island was called Malta. ² It was raining and very cold. But the people who lived there were very good to us. They made us a fire and welcomed all of us. ³ Paul gathered a pile of sticks for the fire. He was putting them on the fire when a poisonous snake came out because of the heat and bit him on the hand. ⁴ The people living on the island saw the snake hanging from Paul’s hand. They said to each other, “This man must be a murderer! He did not die in the sea, but Justice^[ag] does not want him to live.” ⁵ But Paul shook the snake off into the fire. He was not hurt. ⁶ The people thought that Paul would swell up or fall down dead. The people waited and watched him for a long time, but nothing bad happened to him. So they changed their minds about Paul. Now they said, “He is a god!”

⁷ There were some fields around there owned by a very important man on the island. His name was Publius. He welcomed us into his home and was very good to us. We stayed in his house for three days. ⁸ Publius’ father was very sick with a fever and dysentery.^[ah] But Paul went to him and prayed. Then he put his hands on the man and healed him. ⁹ After this, all the other sick people on the island came to Paul, and he healed them, too. ^10-11 The people on the island gave us many honors. We stayed there three months. When we were ready to leave, they gave us the things we needed.

Paul Goes to Rome

We got on a ship from Alexandria. The ship had stayed on the island during the winter. On the front of the ship was the sign of the twin gods.^{[ai] 12} We stopped at Syracuse for three days and then left. ¹³ From there we sailed to Rhegium. The next day a wind began to blow from the southwest, so we were able to leave. A day later we came to Puteoli. ¹⁴ We found some believers there, and they asked us to stay with them for a week. Finally, we came to Rome. ¹⁵ The believers in Rome heard that we were there. They came out as far as the Market of Appius^[aj] and the Three Inns^[ak] to meet us. When Paul saw them, he was encouraged and thanked God.

Paul in Rome

¹⁶ Then we arrived at Rome. There, Paul was allowed to live alone. But a soldier stayed with him to guard him.