Bible in 90 Days

³⁸ And the sergeants returned and told these words unto the magistrates; and they feared when they heard that they were Romans.

³⁹ And they came and besought them, and bringing them out, asked them to depart out of the city.

⁴⁰ And leaving the prison, they entered into the house of Lydia; and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them and departed.

17 ¶ Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where the synagogue of the Jews was.

² And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,

³ declaring openly and proposing that it behooved the Christ to have suffered and risen again from the dead and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is the Christ.

⁴ And some of them believed and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the noble women not a few.

⁵ But the disobedient Jews, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort and gathered a company and set all the city on an uproar and assaulted the house of Jason and sought to bring them out to the people.

⁶ And when they did not find them, they brought Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down have come here also,

⁷ whom Jason has received, and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.

⁸ And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city when they heard these things.

⁹ And when they had taken security of Jason and of the others, they let them go.

¹⁰ ¶ And the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night unto Berea, who when they got there went into the synagogue of the Jews.

¹¹ These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all diligence and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

¹² Therefore many of them believed, also of honourable women who were Greeks and of men, not a few.

¹³ But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached by Paul at Berea, they came there also and stirred up the people.

¹⁴ And then immediately the brethren sent Paul to go away towards the sea, but Silas and Timothy abode there still.

¹⁵ And those that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens; and receiving an order from him unto Silas and Timothy to come unto him as soon as possible, they departed.

¹⁶ ¶ Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him when he saw the city completely given over to idolatry.

¹⁷ Therefore he disputed in the synagogue with the Jews and with the devout persons and in the market daily with those that he met with.

¹⁸ Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans and of the Stoics encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? others, He seems to be a setter forth of new gods, because he preached unto them Jesus and the resurrection.

¹⁹ And they took him and brought him unto the Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine is, of which thou speakest?

²⁰ For thou bringest certain new things to our ears; we desire, therefore, to know what these things mean.

²¹ (For all the Athenians and strangers who were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell or to hear some new thing.)

²² ¶ Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus, {Mars’ Hill} and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.

²³ For as I passed by and beheld your sanctuaries, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him I declare unto you.

²⁴ The God that made the world and all the things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands;

²⁵ neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he gives to all life and breath and all things

²⁶ and has made of one blood all the lineage of men to dwell on all the face of the earth and has determined the seasons (which he has limited) and the bounds of their habitation;

²⁷ that they should seek the Lord, if in any manner they might reach out to touch him and find him though he is not far from each one of us;

²⁸ for in him we live and move and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also of his lineage.

²⁹ Being therefore of the lineage of God, we ought not to think that which is Divine is like unto gold or silver or stone, bearing the mark of art and man’s imagination.

³⁰ For the times of this ignorance God overlooked, but he now commands all men everywhere to repent

³¹ because he has appointed a day, in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he has ordained; of whom he has given assurance unto all men in that he has raised him from the dead.

³² ¶ And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked; and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.

³³ So Paul departed from among them.

³⁴ But certain men believed and joined themselves with him, among whom was Dionysius of the Areopagus and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

18 ¶ After these things Paul departed from Athens and came to Corinth

² and found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla (for Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome) and came unto them.

³ And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them and worked, for by their occupation they were tentmakers.

⁴ And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath and persuaded Jews and Greeks.

⁵ And when Silas and Timothy were come from Macedonia, Paul was impressed by the Spirit and testified to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.

⁶ And when they opposed themselves and blasphemed, he shook his raiment and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean; from now on I will go unto the Gentiles.

⁷ ¶ And he departed from there and entered into a certain man’s house, named Titus the Just, one that feared God, whose house was next to the synagogue.

⁸ And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.

⁹ Then the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent,

¹⁰ For I am with thee, and no one shall be able to hurt thee, for I have many people in this city.

¹¹ And he continued there a year and six months, teaching them the word of God.

¹² ¶ And when Gallio was the proconsul of Achaia, the Jews rose up with one accord against Paul and brought him to the judgment seat,

¹³ saying, This fellow persuades men to honor God contrary to the law.

¹⁴ And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you;

¹⁵ but if it is a question of words and names and of your law, look ye to it, for I will be no judge of such matters.

¹⁶ And he drove them from the judgment seat.

¹⁷ Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. And Gallio cared for none of those things.

¹⁸ ¶ And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while and then took his leave of the brethren and sailed from there into Syria and with him Priscilla and Aquila, having shorn his head in Cenchrea, for he had a vow.

¹⁹ And he came to Ephesus and left them there, but he himself entered into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.

²⁰ When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not,

²¹ but bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that comes in Jerusalem, but I will return again unto you, if God wills. And he sailed from Ephesus.

²² And when he had landed at Caesarea and gone up to Jerusalem and after greeting the congregation, {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} he went down to Antioch.

²³ And after he had spent some time there, he departed and went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, confirming all the disciples.

²⁴ ¶ And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.

²⁵ This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spoke and taught diligently the things of the Lord, teaching only in the baptism of John.

²⁶ And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Aquila and Priscilla had heard him, they took him unto them and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.

²⁷ And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the exhorted brethren wrote the disciples to receive him, who, when he was come, was very helpful through grace unto those who had believed;

²⁸ for he mightily convinced the Jews in public, showing by the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.

19 ¶ And it came to pass that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper coasts, came to Ephesus, and finding certain disciples,

² he said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Spirit since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there is any Holy Spirit.

³ And he said unto them, Into what then were ye baptized? And they said, Into John’s baptism.

⁴ Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people that they should believe on him who should come after him, that is, on Christ, Jesus.

⁵ When they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.

⁶ And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.

⁷ And all the men were about twelve.

⁸ ¶ And he went into the synagogue and spoke freely for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God.

⁹ But when some were hardened and disobedient, but cursing the way before the multitude, he departed from them and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus.

¹⁰ And this continued by the space of two years so that all those who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.

¹¹ And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul

¹² so that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.

¹³ ¶ Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon themselves to invoke over those who had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.

¹⁴ (And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew and prince of the priests, who did so.)

¹⁵ And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I am acquainted with, but who are ye?

¹⁶ And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them and overcame them and prevailed against them so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

¹⁷ And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.

¹⁸ And many that believed came, confessing and declaring their deeds.

¹⁹ In the same manner many who had practiced vain arts brought their books together and burned them before everyone, and they counted the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.

²⁰ So the word of God grew mightily and prevailed.

²¹ ¶ After these things were ended, Paul purposed by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem, after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, After I have been there, it behooves me to see Rome also.

²² So he sent into Macedonia two of those that ministered unto him, Timothy and Erastus, but he himself stayed in Asia for a season.

²³ And the same time there arose no small stir about the way.

²⁴ For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen,

²⁵ whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation and said, Sirs, ye know that by this gain we have our wealth.

²⁶ Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands

²⁷ so that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought, but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship.

²⁸ And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.

²⁹ And the whole city was filled with confusion, and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre.

³⁰ And when Paul would have entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not.

³¹ And certain of the chief persons of Asia, who were his friends, sent unto him, asking him that he not present himself in the theatre.

³² Some therefore cried one thing, and some another, for the assembly was confused; and most of them did not know why they were come together.

³³ And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand and would have made his defense unto the people.

³⁴ But when they knew that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.

³⁵ Then the town scribe, appeasing the people, said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that does not know how the city of the Ephesians is honored of the great goddess Diana and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?

³⁶ Seeing then that these things cannot be gainsaid, ye ought to be quiet and to do nothing rashly.

³⁷ For ye have brought here these men, who are neither guilty of sacrilege, nor blasphemers of your goddess.

³⁸ Therefore if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a matter against any man, the law is open, and there are proconsuls; let them accuse one another.

³⁹ But if ye enquire any thing concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly.

⁴⁰ For we are in danger of being accused of sedition for this day’s uproar, there being no cause by which we may give an account of this concourse.

⁴¹ And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly.

20 ¶ And after the uproar was ceased, Paul called the disciples and embraced them and departed to go into Macedonia.

² And when he had gone over those parts and had exhorted them with much word, he came into Greece

³ and there abode three months. And when the Jews laid in wait for him, as he was about to sail into Syria, he took counsel to return through Macedonia.

⁴ And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe and Timothy; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.

⁵ These going before tarried for us at Troas.

⁶ And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread and came unto them to Troas in five days, where we abode seven days.

⁷ ¶ And the first of the sabbaths, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart the next day, and continued his word until midnight.

⁸ And there were many lamps in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together.

⁹ And a certain young man named Eutychus sat in a window, being fallen into a deep sleep; and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep and fell down from the third loft and was taken up dead.

¹⁰ And Paul went down and fell on him and, embracing him, said, Trouble not yourselves, for his soul is still in him.

¹¹ When he therefore was come up again and had broken bread and eaten and talked a long while, even until day break, thus he departed.

¹² And they took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.

¹³ ¶ And we went into the ship and sailed unto Assos, intending to take in Paul there, for so he had determined that he should go by land.

¹⁴ And when he met with us at Assos, we took him in and came to Mitylene.

¹⁵ And we sailed from there and came the next day over against Chios, and the next day we arrived in port at Samos; and having rested in Trogyllium, the next day we came to Miletus.

¹⁶ For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, not to detain himself in Asia, for he hasted to keep the day of Pentecost, if it were possible for him, in Jerusalem.

¹⁷ ¶ And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the congregation. {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones}

¹⁸ And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons,

¹⁹ serving the Lord with all humility and with many tears and temptations, which have befallen me by the ambushes of the Jews,

²⁰ and how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you and have taught you publicly and from house to house,

²¹ testifying both to the Jews and also to the Gentiles, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

²² And now, behold, I go bound of the Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there,

²³ except that the Holy Spirit witnesses in every city, saying that prisons and tribulations await me.

²⁴ But none of these things move me, neither do I count my life dear unto myself, only that I might finish my course with joy and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

²⁵ And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more.

²⁶ Therefore I take you to record this day that I am pure from the blood of everyone.

²⁷ For I have not refrained from declaring unto you the full counsel of God.

²⁸ Take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has placed you as bishops to feed the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} of God, which he has purchased with his own blood.

²⁹ For I know this, that after my departing, grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock.

³⁰ Also from among your own selves, men shall arise, speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after themselves.

³¹ Therefore watch and remember that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.

³² And now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is powerful to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

³³ I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel.

³⁴ Moreover, ye yourselves know that these hands have ministered unto my necessities and to those that were with me.

³⁵ I have showed you in all things how that so labouring, ye ought to support the weak and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

³⁶ ¶ And when he had thus spoken, he knelt down and prayed with them all.

³⁷ Then they all wept sore and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him,

³⁸ sorrowing most of all for the word which he spoke, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him unto the ship.

21 ¶ And it came to pass that after we had left them and had launched, we came with a straight course unto Coos, and the day following unto Rhodes, and from there unto Patara;

² and finding a ship sailing over unto Phenicia, we went aboard and set forth.

³ Now when we had sighted Cyprus, we left it on the left hand and sailed into Syria and landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload her cargo.

⁴ And finding the disciples, we tarried there seven days, who said to Paul through the Spirit that he should not go up to Jerusalem.

⁵ And when we had accomplished those days, we departed; and they all brought us on our way, with wives and children, until we were out of the city; and we knelt down on the shore and prayed.

⁶ And when we had taken our leave one of another, we embarked on the ship, and they returned home again.

⁷ And when we had finished our course from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais and saluted the brethren and abode with them one day.

⁸ ¶ And the next day Paul and those of us that were with him departed and came unto Caesarea; and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and abode with him.

⁹ And he had four daughters, virgins, who prophesied.

¹⁰ And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.

¹¹ And when he was come unto us, he took Paul’s girdle and bound his own hands and feet and said, Thus saith the Holy Spirit, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owns this girdle and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.

¹² And when we heard these things, both we and those of that place besought him not to go up to Jerusalem.

¹³ Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.

¹⁴ And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, Let the will of the Lord be done.

¹⁵ ¶ And after those days we packed our baggage and went up to Jerusalem.

¹⁶ There went with us also certain of the disciples of Caesarea and brought with them one Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge.

¹⁷ And when we arrived at Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.

¹⁸ And the day following, Paul went in with us to see James, and all the elders were gathered.

¹⁹ And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.

²⁰ And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous of the law;

²¹ and they are informed of thee that thou teachest all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.

²² What is it therefore? The multitude must needs come together, for they will hear that thou art come.

²³ Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men among us who have a vow on them;

²⁴ them take, and purify thyself with them, and pay their expenses, that they may shave their heads, and all may know that those things, of which they were informed concerning thee, are nothing, but that thou thyself dost also walk orderly and keep the law.

²⁵ As touching the Gentiles who believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, except only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols and from blood and from that which has been strangled and from fornication.

²⁶ Then Paul took the men and the next day, purifying himself with them, entered into the temple to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification until an offering should be offered for each one of them.

²⁷ ¶ And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews, who were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people and laid hands on him,

²⁸ crying out, Men of Israel, help; this is the man that teaches everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place and further brought Greeks also into the temple and has polluted this holy place.

²⁹ (For before this they had seen Trophimus, an Ephesian, with him in the city, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)

³⁰ So that all the city was moved, and the people ran together; and they took Paul and drew him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut.

³¹ And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the tribunal of the company that all Jerusalem was in an uproar

³² who immediately took soldiers and centurions and ran down unto them; and when they saw the tribunal and the soldiers, they left off beating Paul.

³³ Then the tribunal came near and took him and commanded him to be bound with two chains and demanded to know who he was and what he had done.

³⁴ And some cried one thing, some another, among the multitude; and when he could not know the certainty for the tumult, he commanded him to be carried into the fortress.

³⁵ And when he came upon the stairs, so it was that he was borne of the soldiers because of the violence of the people.

³⁶ For the multitude of the people followed after, crying, Away with him.

³⁷ And as Paul was to be led into the fortress, he said unto the tribunal, May I speak unto thee? Who said, Canst thou speak Greek?

³⁸ Art not thou that Egyptian, who before these days made an uproar and led four thousand men out into the wilderness that were murderers?

³⁹ But Paul said, I am certainly a Jew, a citizen of Tarsus, a city known in Cilicia; and, I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people.

⁴⁰ And when he had given him license, Paul stood on the stairs and beckoned with the hand unto the people. And when there was made a great silence, he spoke unto them in the Hebrew tongue, saying,

22 ¶ Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defense which I make now unto you.

² (And when they heard that he spoke in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence, and he said,)

³ ¶ I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel and taught according to the truth of the law of the fathers, zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.

⁴ And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.

⁵ As also the prince of the priests bears me witness, and all the estate of the elders, from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring those who were bound there unto Jerusalem to be punished.

⁶ And it came to pass that, as I made my journey and was come near unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me.

⁷ And I fell unto the ground and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute me?

⁸ And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I Am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou dost persecute.

⁹ And those that were with me saw indeed the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of him that spoke to me.

¹⁰ And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise and go into Damascus, and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.

¹¹ And when I could not see for the clarity of that light, being led by the hand of those that were with me, I came into Damascus.

¹² And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good witness of all the Jews who dwelt there,

¹³ came unto me and stood and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him.

¹⁴ And he said, The God of our fathers has chosen thee that thou should know his will and see that Just One and should hear the voice of his mouth.

¹⁵ For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.

¹⁶ And now why tarriest thou? Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

¹⁷ And it came to pass that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a rapture of understanding

¹⁸ and saw him saying unto me, Make haste and go quickly out of Jerusalem, for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.

¹⁹ And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and in every synagogue beat those that believed on thee;

²⁰ and when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by and consenting unto his death and kept the raiment of those that slew him.

²¹ And he said unto me, Depart, for I will send thee far from here unto the Gentiles.

²² ¶ And they gave him audience unto this word and then lifted up their voices and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth, for it is not fit that he should live.

²³ And as they cried out and cast off their clothes and threw dust into the air,

²⁴ the tribunal commanded him to be brought into the fortress and bade that he should be examined by scourging that he might know why they cried out so against him.

²⁵ And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman and uncondemned?

²⁶ When the centurion heard that, he went and told the tribunal, saying, Take heed what thou doest, for this man is a Roman.

²⁷ Then the tribunal came and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yes.

²⁸ And the tribunal answered, With a great sum I obtained this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born.

²⁹ Then straightway those who should have tormented him departed from him, and the tribunal was also afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman and because he had bound him.

³⁰ On the next day, because he wanted to know of certainty the cause for which he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands and commanded the princes of the priests and all their council to appear and brought Paul down and set him before them.

23 ¶ Then Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.

² And the prince of the priests, Ananias, commanded those that stood by him to smite him on the mouth.

³ Then Paul said unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whitewashed wall, for dost thou sit to judge me after the law and command me to be smitten contrary to the law?

⁴ And those that stood by said, Dost thou revile God’s high priest?

⁵ Then Paul said, I did not know, brethren, that he was the prince of the priests, for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.

⁶ ¶ But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee, and of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.

⁷ And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the multitude was divided.

⁸ For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit; but the Pharisees confess both.

⁹ And there arose a great cry; and the scribes that were of the Pharisees’ part arose and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man, but if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God.

¹⁰ And when there arose a great dissension, the tribunal, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and to take him by force from among them and to bring him into the fortress.

¹¹ And the night following the Lord stood by him and said, Be of good cheer, Paul, for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou also bear witness at Rome.

¹² ¶ And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together and they vowed under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.

¹³ And they were more than forty who had made this conspiracy.

¹⁴ And they came to the princes of the priests and the elders and said, We have made a vow of anathema that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul.

¹⁵ Now therefore ye with the council signify to the tribunal that he bring him down unto you tomorrow, as though ye would enquire something more certain concerning him, and we, before he arrives, are ready to kill him.

¹⁶ And when Paul’s sister’s son heard of their ambush, he went and entered into the fortress and told Paul.

¹⁷ Then Paul called one of the centurions unto him and said, Bring this young man unto the tribunal, for he has a certain thing to tell him.

¹⁸ So he took him and brought him to the tribunal and said, Paul the prisoner called me unto him and asked me to bring this young man unto thee, who has something to say unto thee.

¹⁹ Then the tribunal took him by the hand and went with him aside privately and asked him, What is that thou hast to tell me?

²⁰ And he said, The Jews have agreed to ask thee that thou would bring down Paul tomorrow into the council, as though they would enquire something more certain of him.

²¹ But do not believe them, for more than forty of them lie in wait to ambush him, who have vowed under a curse that they will neither eat nor drink until they have killed him, and now they are ready, looking for a promise from thee.

²² So the tribunal then let the young man depart and charged him, See thou tell no one that thou hast showed these things to me.

²³ And he called unto him two centurions, saying, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea and seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen, at the third hour of the night

²⁴ and provide them beasts that they may set Paul on and bring him safe unto Felix the governor.

²⁵ And he wrote a letter after this manner:

²⁶ Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent governor Felix sends greeting.

²⁷ This man was taken of the Jews and should have been killed by them; then I came with an army and rescued him, having understood that he was a Roman.

²⁸ And when I desired to know the cause of why they accused him, I brought him forth into their council,

²⁹ whom I found to be accused of questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds.

³⁰ And when it was told me how the Jews lay in wait to ambush the man, I sent straightway to thee and gave commandment to his accusers also to say before thee what they had against him. Farewell.

³¹ Then the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris.

³² On the next day they left the horsemen to go with him and returned to the fortress,

³³ who, when they came to Caesarea and delivered the epistle to the governor, presented Paul also before him.

³⁴ And when the governor had read the letter, he asked of what province he was. And when he understood that he was of Cilicia,

³⁵ I will hear thee, said he, when thine accusers are also come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod’s judgment hall.

24 ¶ And after five days Ananias, the prince of the priests, descended with the elders and with a certain orator named Tertullus, who informed the governor against Paul.

² And when he was called forth, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying, Seeing that by thee we enjoy great peace and that very worthy deeds are done unto this nation by thy prudence,

³ we accept it always and in all places, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness.

⁴ Notwithstanding, that I be not further tedious unto thee, I pray thee that thou would hear us of thy clemency a few words.

⁵ For we have found this man a pestilent fellow and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world and prince of the seditious sect of the Nazarenes,

⁶ who also has gone about to profane the temple, whom we took and would have judged according to our law.

⁷ But the tribunal Lysias came upon us, and with great violence took him away out of our hands,

⁸ commanding his accusers to come unto thee; by examining of whom thou may take knowledge of all these things, of which we accuse him.

⁹ And the Jews also assented, saying that these things were so.

¹⁰ ¶ Then Paul, after the governor had beckoned unto him to speak, answered, Forasmuch as I know that thou hast been of many years a judge unto this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself;

¹¹ because thou art able to understand that there have been but twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship.

¹² And they neither found me in the temple disputing with any man, neither raising up the people, neither in the synagogues, nor in the city,

¹³ neither can they prove the things of which they now accuse me.

¹⁴ But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call a sect, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets,

¹⁵ and have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.

¹⁶ And for this reason do I exercise myself to have always a conscience void of offense toward God and toward men.

¹⁷ Now after many years I came to bring alms to my nation and offerings.

¹⁸ Whereupon certain Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, neither with multitude, nor with tumult,

¹⁹ who ought to have been here before thee and object if they had anything against me.

²⁰ Or else let these same here say if they have found any evil doing in me, while I stood before the council,

²¹ except it be for this one voice, that I cried out standing among them, Touching the resurrection of the dead, I am called in question by you this day.

²² ¶ And when Felix heard these things, he deferred them, saying, I shall have more information regarding that way, when Lysias the tribunal shall come down, Then I will know the uttermost of your matter.

²³ And he commanded a centurion to keep Paul and to let him have liberty, and that he should forbid none of his own to minister or come unto him.

²⁴ And after certain days when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess, he sent for Paul and heard of him the faith which is in Christ.

²⁵ And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled and answered, Go away for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.

²⁶ He hoped also that money should have been given him from Paul, that he might loose him; therefore he sent for him many times and communed with him.

²⁷ But after two years Felix received Porcius Festus as successor; and Felix, wanting to win the grace of the Jews, left Paul bound.

25 ¶ Now when Festus was come into the province, after three days he ascended from Caesarea to Jerusalem.

² Then the prince of the priests and the principals of the Jews informed him against Paul and besought him,

³ asking for grace against him, that he would send for him to Jerusalem, they placing an ambush in the way to kill him.

⁴ But Festus answered that Paul should be kept at Caesarea and that he himself would depart shortly there.

⁵ Let them, therefore, said he, who among you are able, go down with me and accuse this man, if there is anything in him.

⁶ And when he had tarried among them no more than ten days, he went down unto Caesarea and the next day, sitting on the judgment seat, commanded Paul to be brought.

⁷ And when he was come, the Jews who came down from Jerusalem stood round about and laid many and grievous complaints against Paul, which they could not prove.

⁸ While he answered for himself, Neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Caesar have I sinned in anything at all.

⁹ But Festus, willing to ingratiate himself with the Jews, answered Paul and said, Wilt thou go up to Jerusalem, and there be judged of these things before me?

¹⁰ Then said Paul, I stand at Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be judged; to the Jews I have done no wrong, as thou very well knowest.

¹¹ For if I am an offender or have committed anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die; but if there are none of these things of which these accuse me, no one may deliver me unto them. I appeal unto Caesar.

¹² Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, Hast thou appealed unto Caesar? unto Caesar shalt thou go.

¹³ ¶ And after certain days King Agrippa and Bernice came unto Caesarea to salute Festus.

¹⁴ And when they had been there many days, Festus declared Paul’s cause unto the king, saying, There is a certain man left in bonds by Felix,

¹⁵ about whom, when I was at Jerusalem, the princes of the priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, desiring to have vengeance against him.

¹⁶ To whom I answered, It is not the manner of the Romans to deliver any man to die, before the one who is accused is face to face with his accusers and is given license to answer for himself concerning the crime laid against him.

¹⁷ Therefore, when they were come here, without any delay on the next day I sat on the judgment seat and commanded the man to be brought forth.

¹⁸ Against whom when the accusers stood up, they brought no accusation of such things as I supposed,

¹⁹ but had certain questions against him of their own superstition, and of one Jesus, who was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive.

²⁰ And because I doubted of such manner of questions, I asked him whether he would go to Jerusalem and there be judged of these matters.

²¹ But when Paul had appealed to be reserved unto the hearing of Augustus, I commanded him to be kept until I might send him to Caesar.

²² Then Agrippa said unto Festus, I would also hear the man myself. Tomorrow, said he, thou shalt hear him.

²³ And the next day when Agrippa was come and Bernice, with great pomp, and was entered into the place of hearing, with the tribunals and principal men of the city, at Festus’ commandment, Paul was brought forth.

²⁴ Then Festus said, King Agrippa, and all men who are here present with us, ye see this man, about whom all the multitude of the Jews have dealt with me, both at Jerusalem and also here, crying that he ought not to live any longer.

²⁵ But when I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death and that he himself has appealed to Augustus, I have determined to send him.

²⁶ Of whom I have no certain thing to write unto my lord. Therefore I have brought him forth before you, and specially before thee, O King Agrippa, that, after examination, I might have something to write.

²⁷ For it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner, and not to signify the crimes laid against him.

26 ¶ Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth the hand and answered for himself:

² I esteem myself blessed, King Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day before thee concerning all the things of which I am accused of the Jews,

³ especially because I know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews; therefore, I beseech thee to hear me patiently.

⁴ My manner of life from my youth, which from the beginning was among my own nation at Jerusalem, is known of all the Jews,

⁵ who knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most perfect sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.

⁶ And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers;

⁷ unto which promise our twelve tribes, constantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope’s sake, King Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews.

⁸ Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you that God should raise the dead?

⁹ I verily had thought that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.

¹⁰ Which things I also did in Jerusalem, and I shut up many of the saints in prison, having received authority from the princes of the priests, and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them.

¹¹ And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto foreign cities.

¹² ¶ Whereupon as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the princes of the priests,

¹³ at midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and those who journeyed with me.

¹⁴ And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute me? It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

¹⁵ And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou dost persecute.

¹⁶ But rise and stand upon thy feet, for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen and of those things in which I will appear unto thee;

¹⁷ delivering thee from the people and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee

¹⁸ to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive remission of sins and inheritance among those who are sanctified by the faith that is in me.

¹⁹ Whereupon, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision,

²⁰ but I announced first unto those of Damascus and at Jerusalem and throughout all the coasts of Judaea and then to the Gentiles that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance.

²¹ For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple and went about to kill me.

²² Having, therefore, obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said should come:

²³ that the Christ should suffer and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead and should show light unto this people and to the Gentiles.

²⁴ ¶ And as he spoke these things and answered for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad.

²⁵ But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak forth words of truth and temperance.

²⁶ For the king knows of these things, before whom I also speak freely; for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him, for this thing was not done in a corner.

²⁷ King Agrippa, dost thou believe the prophets? I know that thou believest.

²⁸ Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.

²⁹ And Paul said, I desire before God that by little or by much, not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were such as I am, except these bonds.

³⁰ And when he had said these things, the king rose up and the governor and Bernice and those that sat with them;

³¹ and when they were gone aside, they talked between themselves, saying, This man does nothing worthy of death or of bonds.

³² Then Agrippa said unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty if he had not appealed unto Caesar.

27 ¶ But when it was determined that we should sail unto Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners unto one named Julius, a centurion of the Augustus company.

² And entering into the ship, Adramyttium, we launched, meaning to sail by the coasts of Asia, one Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us.

³ And the next day we touched at Sidon. And Julius courteously entreated Paul and gave him liberty to go unto his friends to refresh himself.

⁴ And when we had launched from there, we sailed under Cyprus because the winds were contrary.

⁵ And when we had sailed over the sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia.

⁶ And there the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing into Italy, and he put us in it.

⁷ And when we had sailed slowly many days and scarce were come over against Cnidus, the wind not allowing us, we sailed under Crete, over against Salmone,

⁸ and, passing it with difficulty, came unto a place which is called The Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.

⁹ Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them,

¹⁰ saying, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives.

¹¹ Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship more than those things which were spoken by Paul.

¹² ¶ And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, many were in agreement to depart from there also, if by any means they might attain to Phenice and winter there, which is a port of Crete and lies toward Africa and the west.

¹³ And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, raising sails, they sailed close by Crete.

¹⁴ But not long after, there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon. {devastating cold north wind from Europe}

¹⁵ And when the ship was caught up by it and could not resist against the wind, the ship was taken by the wind and drifted.

¹⁶ And running under a certain island which is called Clauda, we had much work to come by the boat,

¹⁷ Which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into Syrtis, {or the sandbanks} struck sail and so were driven.

¹⁸ And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship;

¹⁹ and the third day with our own hands we cast off the dead works of the ship.

²⁰ And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then lost.

²¹ ¶ Then after long abstinence, Paul stood forth in the midst of them and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me and not have loosed from Crete to have avoided this harm and loss.

²² And now I exhort you to be of good cheer, for there shall be no loss of any person’s life among you, but only of the ship.

²³ For the angel of God stood by me this night, whose I am and whom I serve,

²⁴ saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar; and, behold, God has given thee all those that sail with thee.

²⁵ Therefore, sirs, be of good cheer; for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.

²⁶ However we must be cast upon a certain island.

²⁷ And when the fourteenth night was come as we were driven up and down in the Adriatic sea, about midnight the shipmen deemed that they drew near to some country

²⁸ and sounded and found it twenty fathoms; and when they had gone a little further, they sounded again and found it fifteen fathoms.

²⁹ Then fearing lest we should fall upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern and wished for the day.

³⁰ And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, when they had let down the boat into the sea, under colour as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship,

³¹ Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.

³² Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat and let her fall off.

³³ And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take food, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have waited and continued fasting, having taken nothing.

³⁴ Therefore I pray you to take some food, for this is for your salvation and health, for there shall not one hair fall from the head of any of you.

³⁵ And when he had thus spoken, he took bread and gave thanks to God in presence of them all; and when he had broken it, he began to eat.

³⁶ Then they were all of good cheer, and they also took some food.

³⁷ And we were in all, in the ship, two hundred and seventy-six souls.

³⁸ And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship and cast out the grain into the sea.

³⁹ And when it was day, they did not recognize the land, but they discovered a certain gulf with a shore, into which they decided, if it were possible, to thrust in the ship.

⁴⁰ And when they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves unto the sea and loosed the rudder bands and hoisted up the mainsail to the wind and made toward shore.

⁴¹ But falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the forepart stuck fast and remained unmovable, but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves.

⁴² And the soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out and escape.

⁴³ But the centurion, desiring to save Paul, frustrated this counsel and commanded that those who could swim should cast themselves first into the sea and get to land;

⁴⁴ and the rest, some on boards and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass that they were all saved by making it to land.

28 ¶ And when they were escaped, then we knew that the island was called Melita. {or Malta}

² And the barbarous people showed us no little kindness; for they kindled a great fire and received all of us because of the present rain and because of the cold.

³ And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out of the heat and fastened on his hand.

⁴ And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet vengeance does not suffer him to live.

⁵ And he shook off the beast into the fire and felt no harm.

⁶ But they were waiting to see when he should have swollen or fallen down dead suddenly; but after they had waited a great while and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.

⁷ In the same quarters were possessions of a principal man of the island, whose name was Publius, who received us and lodged us three days courteously.

⁸ And it came to pass that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of dysentery, to whom Paul entered in and prayed and laid his hands on him and healed him.

⁹ So when this was done, others also, who had diseases in the island, came and were healed,

¹⁰ who also honoured us with many gifts; and when we departed, they laded us with such things as were necessary.

¹¹ ¶ And after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose ensign was Castor and Pollux.

¹² And landing at Syracuse, we tarried there three days.

¹³ And having gone around, we came to Rhegium, and after one day the south wind blew, and we came the next day to Puteoli,

¹⁴ where we found brethren, who asked us to tarry with them seven days, and so we went toward Rome.

¹⁵ And from there, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum and The Three Taverns whom when Paul saw, he thanked God and took courage.

¹⁶ And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the praetorian prefect, but Paul was allowed to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him.