Bible in 90 Days

⁸ ¶ And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles in the people.

⁹ Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians and Alexandrians and of those of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.

¹⁰ And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.

¹¹ Then they suborned men, who said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.

¹² And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes and came upon him and caught him and brought him to the council

¹³ and set up false witnesses, who said, This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law,

¹⁴ for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place and shall change the traditions which Moses delivered us.

¹⁵ Then all that sat in the council, looking steadfastly on him, saw his face as the face of an angel.

7 ¶ Then the prince of the priests said, Are these things so?

² And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken. The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran,

³ and said unto him, Get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred and come into the land which I shall show thee.

⁴ Then he came out of the land of the Chaldaeans and dwelt in Haran; and from there, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, in which ye now dwell.

⁵ And he gave him no inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on; yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.

⁶ And God spoke thus, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into slavery and mistreat them four hundred years.

⁷ And the Gentiles unto whom they shall be in slavery I will judge, said God; and after that they shall come forth and serve me in this place.

⁸ And he gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham begat Isaac and circumcised him the eighth day, and Isaac begat Jacob, and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs.

⁹ And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt, but God was with him

¹⁰ and delivered him out of all his afflictions and gave him grace and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.

¹¹ Now there came a famine over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and great tribulation, and our fathers found no sustenance.

¹² But when Jacob heard that there was wheat in Egypt, he sent our fathers the first time.

¹³ And in the second Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph’s lineage was made known unto Pharaoh.

¹⁴ Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob unto him and all his kindred, seventy-five souls.

¹⁵ So Jacob went down into Egypt and died, he and our fathers,

¹⁶ who were carried over into Shechem and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor of Shechem.

¹⁷ ¶ But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,

¹⁸ until another king arose, who did not know Joseph.

¹⁹ The same dealt subtly with our kindred and mistreated our fathers so that they exposed their babies to death, to the end that the generation would cease.

²⁰ In which time Moses was born and was beautiful to God and was nourished in his father’s house three months;

²¹ and when he was put in danger, Pharaoh’s daughter took him in and nourished him as her own son.

²² And Moses was taught in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was mighty in his words and deeds.

²³ And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the sons of Israel.

²⁴ And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him and smote the Egyptian, avenging the oppressed;

²⁵ for he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God was to give them saving health by his hand, but they had not understood.

²⁶ And the next day he showed himself unto them as they strove and urged them to peace, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another?

²⁷ But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us?

²⁸ Wilt thou kill me as thou didst the Egyptian yesterday?

²⁹ Then Moses fled at this word and became a sojourner in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons.

³⁰ ¶ And when forty years were expired, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush.

³¹ When Moses saw it, he wondered at the vision; and as he drew near to consider it, the voice of the Lord came unto him,

³² saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled and dared not to behold.

³³ Then the Lord said to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet; for the place where thou dost stand is holy ground.

³⁴ I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt.

³⁵ This Moses, whom they had refused, saying, Who made thee a prince and a judge? the same did God send as prince and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush.

³⁶ He brought them out, showing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years.

³⁷ This is that Moses, who said unto the sons of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren like unto me; him shall ye hear.

³⁸ This is he, who was in the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him in the Mount Sinai and with our fathers, who received the oracles of life to give unto us;

³⁹ to whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt,

⁴⁰ saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us; for as for this Moses, who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him.

⁴¹ And then they made a calf and offered sacrifice unto the idol and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.

⁴² ¶ Then God withdrew and gave them up to worship the host of the heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?

⁴³ On the contrary, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them; and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.

⁴⁴ Our fathers had the tabernacle of the testimony in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen,

⁴⁵ which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus {Joshua in Heb.} into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers unto the days of David,

⁴⁶ who found grace before God and asked to provide a tabernacle for the God of Jacob.

⁴⁷ But Solomon built him a house.

⁴⁸ Howbeit the most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as saith the prophet,

⁴⁹ Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool; what house will ye build me? saith the Lord, or what is the place of my rest?

⁵⁰ Has not my hand made all these things?

⁵¹ ¶ Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do ye.

⁵² Who of the prophets have your fathers not persecuted? and they have slain those who announced before the coming of the Just One, of whom ye have now been the betrayers and murderers,

⁵³ who have received the law by the disposition of angels and have not kept it.

⁵⁴ ¶ When they heard these things, they were divided in their hearts and gnashed on him with their teeth.

⁵⁵ But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God

⁵⁶ and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

⁵⁷ And crying out with a loud voice, they stopped their ears and ran upon him with one accord;

⁵⁸ and casting him out of the city, they stoned him; and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.

⁵⁹ And they stoned Stephen calling upon God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

⁶⁰ And he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice, Lord, impute not this sin to their charge. And having said this, he fell asleep in the Lord.

8 ¶ And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} which was at Jerusalem, and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.

² And devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation over him.

³ As for Saul, he made havoc of the congregation; {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} entering into the houses and dragging out men and women, he committed them to prison.

⁴ ¶ But those that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word of the gospel.

⁵ Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached the Christ unto them.

⁶ And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spoke, hearing and seeing the signs which he did.

⁷ For many unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of those who were possessed with them, and many paralytics and that were lame were healed.

⁸ And there was great joy in that city.

⁹ But there was a certain man called Simon, who before this in the same city used magic arts and amazed the people of Samaria, giving out that he himself was some great one,

¹⁰ to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This is the great virtue of God.

¹¹ And to him they had regard because for a long time he had amazed them with magic arts.

¹² But when they believed Philip preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

¹³ Then Simon himself believed also; and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were being done.

¹⁴ ¶ Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John unto them,

¹⁵ who, when they were come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit.

¹⁶ (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them; they were baptized only in the name of the Lord Jesus.)

¹⁷ Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸ And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money,

¹⁹ saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Spirit.

²⁰ But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

²¹ Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter, for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.

²² Repent therefore of this thy wickedness and pray God, if perhaps this thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.

²³ For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness and in the prison of iniquity.

²⁴ Then Simon answered and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.

²⁵ And they, when they had testified and preached the word of God, returned to Jerusalem and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.

²⁶ ¶ And the angel of the Lord spoke unto Philip, saying, Arise and go toward the south unto the way that goes down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.

²⁷ Then he arose and went, and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure and had come to Jerusalem to worship,

²⁸ was returning and sitting in his chariot reading Isaiah the prophet.

²⁹ Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near and join thyself to this chariot.

³⁰ And Philip ran there to him and heard him read the prophet Isaiah and said, Dost thou understand what thou readest?

³¹ And he said, How can I, except someone should guide me? And he besought Philip to come up and sit with him.

³² The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth;

³³ in his humiliation his judgment was taken away, and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.

³⁴ And the eunuch answered Philip and said, I pray thee, of whom does the prophet speak this? of himself or of some other?

³⁵ Then Philip opened his mouth and began at the same scripture and preached unto him the gospel of Jesus.

³⁶ And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water; and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what hinders me to be baptized?

³⁷ And Philip said, If thou dost believe with all thine heart, thou may. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

³⁸ And he commanded the chariot to stand still, and they went both down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.

³⁹ And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, so that the eunuch saw him no more, and he went on his way rejoicing.

⁴⁰ But Philip was found at Azotus, and passing through, he preached the gospel in all the cities until he came to Caesarea.

9 ¶ And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, came unto the prince of the priests

² and asked him for letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.

³ And as he proceeded, he came near Damascus; and suddenly there shone round about him a light from heaven;

⁴ and falling to the earth, he heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute me?

⁵ And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I AM Jesus whom thou dost persecute; it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

⁶ And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what it behooves thee to do.

⁷ And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing indeed the voice, but seeing no one.

⁸ Then Saul arose from the earth; and opening his eyes, he saw no one; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus

⁹ where he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

¹⁰ ¶ And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; to whom the Lord said in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.

¹¹ And the Lord said unto him, Arise and go into the street which is called Straight and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus; for, behold, he prays

¹² and has seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.

¹³ Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, of how much evil he has done to thy saints in Jerusalem,

¹⁴ and even here he has authority from the princes of the priests to bind all that call on thy name.

¹⁵ But the Lord said unto him, Go; for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;

¹⁶ for I will show him how much it behooves him to suffer for my name.

¹⁷ Then Ananias went and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared unto thee in the way as thou didst come, has sent me, that thou might receive thy sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸ And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales; and he received sight immediately and arose and was baptized.

¹⁹ And when he had received food, he was comforted. Then Saul was certain days with the disciples who were at Damascus.

²⁰ And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.

²¹ But all that heard him were amazed and said, Is not this he that destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem and came here for that intent that he might bring them bound unto the princes of the priests?

²² But Saul increased the more in strength and confounded the Jews who dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is the Christ.

²³ ¶ And as many days passed, the Jews took counsel among themselves to kill him;

²⁴ but their ambushes were understood by Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him.

²⁵ Then the disciples took him by night and let him down by the wall in a basket.

²⁶ And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he tried to join himself to the disciples; but they were all afraid of him and did not believe that he was a disciple.

²⁷ But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way and that he had spoken to him and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.

²⁸ And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem;

²⁹ and he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Greeks; but they went about to slay him,

³⁰ which when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him forth to Tarsus.

³¹ Then the congregations {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} had rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria and were edified, walking in the fear of the Lord, and with the comfort of the Holy Spirit they were multiplied.

³² ¶ And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters, he came down also to the saints who dwelt at Lydda.

³³ And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been in bed eight years, for he was a paralytic.

³⁴ And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, the Lord Jesus, the Christ, makes thee whole; arise and make thy bed. And he arose immediately.

³⁵ And all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him and turned to the Lord.

³⁶ ¶ Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas; this woman was full of good works and alms-deeds {lit. acts of mercy} which she did.

³⁷ And it came to pass in those days that she was sick and died, whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber.

³⁸ And since as Lydda was close to Joppa and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, asking him that he not delay to come to them.

³⁹ Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping and showing the coats and garments which Dorcas had made them while she was with them.

⁴⁰ Then Peter put them all out and knelt down and prayed and turned to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes; and when she saw Peter, she sat up.

⁴¹ And he gave her his hand and lifted her up; and calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive.

⁴² And it was known throughout all Joppa; and many believed in the Lord.

⁴³ And it came to pass that he tarried many days in Joppa with one Simon a tanner.

10 ¶ There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the company called the Italian,

² a devout man and one that feared God with all his house, who gave many alms to the people and prayed to God always.

³ He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him and saying unto him, Cornelius.

⁴ And when he looked on him, he was afraid and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms {lit. thine acts of mercy} are come up for a memorial before God.

⁵ And now send men to Joppa and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter;

⁶ he lodges with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side; he shall tell thee what it behooves thee to do.

⁷ And when the angel who spoke unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants and a devout soldier of those that waited on him continually;

⁸ and when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa.

⁹ ¶ On the morrow, as they went on their journey and drew near unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour;

¹⁰ and he became very hungry and would have eaten; but while they made ready, he fell into a rapture of understanding

¹¹ and saw the heaven opened and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners and let down to the earth,

¹² in which were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth and wild beasts and reptiles and fowls of the air.

¹³ And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter, kill and eat.

¹⁴ But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.

¹⁵ And the voice spoke unto him again the second time, That which God has cleansed, do not call common.

¹⁶ This was done three times, and the vessel was received up again into heaven.

¹⁷ Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men who were sent from Cornelius had made enquiry for Simon’s house and stood before the gate

¹⁸ and called and asked whether Simon, who was surnamed Peter, were lodged there.

¹⁹ ¶ While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee.

²⁰ Arise therefore and get thee down and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them.

²¹ Then Peter went down to the men who were sent unto him from Cornelius and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek; what is the cause for which ye are come?

²² And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man and one that fears God and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by a holy angel to send for thee into his house and to hear words of thee.

²³ Then he called them in and lodged them. And on the morrow Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him.

²⁴ And the next day they entered into Caesarea. And Cornelius waited for them and had called together his kinsmen and near friends.

²⁵ And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshipped him.

²⁶ But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man.

²⁷ And as he talked with him, he went in and found many that were come together.

²⁸ And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an abominable thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company or come unto one of another nation; but God has showed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.

²⁹ Therefore I came unto you without doubting, as soon as I was sent for; I ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me?

³⁰ And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing

³¹ and said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God.

³² Send therefore to Joppa, and call here Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side, who, when he comes, shall speak unto thee.

³³ Immediately therefore I sent to thee, and thou hast done well to come. Now therefore we are all here present before God to hear all things that are commanded thee of God.

³⁴ ¶ Then Peter opened his mouth and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons;

³⁵ but in every nation he that fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him.

³⁶ The word which God sent unto the sons of Israel, preaching the gospel: peace by Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all),

³⁷ that word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached,

³⁸ how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with him.

³⁹ And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of Judea and in Jerusalem, whom they slew hanging him on a tree.

⁴⁰ This same one God raised up the third day and showed him openly,

⁴¹ not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

⁴² And he commanded us to preach unto the people and to testify that it is he who is ordained of God to be the Judge of living and dead.

⁴³ Unto him all the prophets give witness, that whosoever believes in him shall receive remission of sins through his name.

⁴⁴ ¶ While Peter yet spoke these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all those who heard the word.

⁴⁵ And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, that also on the Gentiles the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out.

⁴⁶ For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered,

⁴⁷ Can anyone forbid water that these should not be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit as well as we?

⁴⁸ And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they begged him to tarry certain days.

11 ¶ And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.

² When Peter was come up to Jerusalem, those that were of the circumcision contended with him,

³ saying, Why didst thou go in to men uncircumcised and eat with them?

⁴ But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning and expounded it by order unto them, saying,

⁵ I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a rapture of understanding I saw a vision: A certain vessel descended like a great sheet let down from heaven by the four corners, and it came unto me,

⁶ upon which when I had fastened my eyes, I considered and saw fourfooted beasts of the earth and wild beasts and reptiles and fowls of the air.

⁷ And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter, slay and eat.

⁸ But I said, Not so, Lord, for nothing common or unclean has at any time entered into my mouth.

⁹ But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God has cleansed, do not call common.

¹⁰ And this was done three times, and it was all drawn up again into heaven.

¹¹ And, behold, immediately there were three men already come unto the house where I was, sent from Caesarea unto me.

¹² And the Spirit bade me go with them, doubting nothing. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man’s house:

¹³ And he showed us how he had seen an angel in his house, who stood and said unto him, Send to Joppa and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter,

¹⁴ who shall tell thee words, by which thou and all thy house shall be saved.

¹⁵ And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, as on us at the beginning.

¹⁶ Then I remembered the word of the Lord, when he said, John indeed baptized in water, but ye shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit.

¹⁷ So then, if God gave them the same gift as he did unto us, who have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I, that I should withstand God?

¹⁸ When they heard these things, they were silent and glorified God, saying, Then God has also granted repentance unto life to the Gentiles.

¹⁹ ¶ Now those who were scattered abroad by the tribulation that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice and Cyprus and Antioch, preaching the word to no one except only unto the Jews.

²⁰ And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they came into Antioch, spoke unto the Greeks, preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus.

²¹ And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned unto the Lord.

²² Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} which was in Jerusalem, and they sent forth Barnabas that he should go unto Antioch.

²³ Who, when he came and had seen the grace of God, was glad and exhorted them all to remain in their purpose of heart in the Lord.

²⁴ For he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and many people were added unto the Lord.

²⁵ Then Barnabas departed to Tarsus to seek Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch.

²⁶ And it came to pass that for a whole year they gathered themselves together with the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} and taught many people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

²⁷ ¶ And in those days prophets came down from Jerusalem unto Antioch.

²⁸ And one of them named Agabus stood up and signified by the Spirit that there should be great famine throughout all the world, which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.

²⁹ Then the disciples, each one according to what he had, determined to send relief unto the brethren who dwelt in Judea,

³⁰ which they likewise did and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

12 ¶ Now at that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to mistreat certain of the congregation. {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones}

² And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

³ And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)

⁴ And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him, intending after the Passover to bring him forth to the people.

⁵ ¶ Peter therefore was kept in the prison, and the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} made prayer without unto God for him.

⁶ And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and the guards before the door that kept the prison.

⁷ And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shone in the prison, and he smote Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, Arise quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.

⁸ And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he said unto him, Cast thy garment about thee and follow me.

⁹ And he went out and followed him and knew not that it was true which was done by the angel, but thought he saw a vision.

¹⁰ When they were past the first and the second guard, they came unto the iron gate that leads unto the city, which opened to them of its own accord, and they went out and passed on through one street, and then the angel departed from him.

¹¹ And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety that the Lord has sent his angel and has delivered me out of the hand of Herod and from all the people of the Jews who waited for me.

¹² And considering this, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying.

¹³ And as Peter knocked at the door of the patio, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda.

¹⁴ And when she recognized Peter’s voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in and told how Peter stood at the gate.

¹⁵ And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then they said, It is his angel.

¹⁶ But Peter continued knocking, and when they had opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.

¹⁷ But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to be silent, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go make these things known unto James and to the brethren. And he departed and went to another place.

¹⁸ Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers concerning what was become of Peter.

¹⁹ And when Herod had sought for him and found him not, he examined the guards and commanded that they should be taken away. Then he went down from Judaea to Caesarea and abode there.

²⁰ ¶ And Herod was highly displeased with those of Tyre and Sidon, but they came with one accord to him, and, having bribed Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace because their lands were supplied through those of the king’s.

²¹ And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne and made an oration unto them.

²² And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of god, and not of man.

²³ And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him because he did not give God the glory, and he expired eaten of worms.

²⁴ But the word of the Lord grew and multiplied.

²⁵ And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.

13 ¶ Now there were in the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} that was at Antioch prophets and teachers: Barnabas and Simeon that was called Niger and Lucius of Cyrene and Manaen, who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

² As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work unto which I have called them.

³ And when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they released them.

⁴ ¶ So they, being sent forth by the Holy Spirit, departed unto Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.

⁵ And when they arrived at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews, and they also had John as an attendant.

⁶ And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain wise man, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus,

⁷ who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man, who called for Barnabas and Saul and desired to hear the word of God.

⁸ But Elymas the wise man (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the proconsul from the faith.

⁹ Then Saul (who also is Paul), filled with the Holy Spirit, set his eyes on him

¹⁰ and said, O full of all deception and all licentiousness, thou son of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?

¹¹ And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is against thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness, and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.

¹² Then the proconsul, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.

¹³ Now when Paul and his company sailed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia; then John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem.

¹⁴ ¶ But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day and sat down.

¹⁵ And after the reading of the law and the prophets the princes of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, speak.

¹⁶ Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel and ye that fear God hearken.

¹⁷ The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with a high arm he brought them out of it.

¹⁸ And for the time of about forty years, he suffered their manners in the wilderness.

¹⁹ And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he divided their land to them by lot.

²⁰ And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.

²¹ And afterward they asked for a king, and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.

²² And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king, to whom also he gave testimony, saying, I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who shall fulfil all my will.

²³ Of this man’s seed has God according to his promise raised up Jesus as Saviour unto Israel:

²⁴ John, having first proclaimed before his coming, the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

²⁵ And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there comes one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose.

²⁶ Men and brethren, sons of the lineage of Abraham, and whosoever among you fears God, unto you is this word of saving health sent.

²⁷ For those that dwell at Jerusalem and their princes, because they knew him not nor yet the voices of the prophets who are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.

²⁸ And without finding cause of death in him, yet they asked Pilate that he should be slain.

²⁹ And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a sepulchre.

³⁰ But God raised him from the dead,

³¹ and he was seen many days by those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who until now are his witnesses unto the people.

³² And we declare unto you the gospel of the promise which was made unto the fathers,

³³ which God has fulfilled unto us their children, in that he has raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.

³⁴ And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said this, I will give you the sure mercies promised to David.

³⁵ Therefore he also says in another place, Thou shalt not suffer thy Holy One to see corruption.

³⁶ For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep and was gathered unto his fathers and saw corruption;

³⁷ but he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.

³⁸ Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this one is preached unto you the remission of sins;

³⁹ and in him all that believe are justified from all the things from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

⁴⁰ Beware, therefore, lest what is spoken of in the prophets come upon you:

⁴¹ Behold, ye despisers, and wonder and perish, for I do a work in your days, a work which ye would in no wise believe, if one should declare it unto you.

⁴² ¶ And when they were gone out of the synagogue of the Jews, the Gentiles besought that these words might be spoken to them the next sabbath.

⁴³ Now when the synagogue was dismissed, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to remain in the grace of God.

⁴⁴ And the next sabbath day almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God.

⁴⁵ But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy and spoke against that which Paul said, contradicting and blaspheming.

⁴⁶ Then Paul and Barnabas speaking with freedom, said, It was necessary indeed that the word of God should first have been spoken to you; but seeing ye put it from you and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.

⁴⁷ For so has the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles that thou should be for saving health unto the ends of the earth.

⁴⁸ And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord, and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.

⁴⁹ And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.

⁵⁰ But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women and the principals of the city and raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them out of their borders.

⁵¹ But they shook off the dust of their feet against them and came unto Iconium.

⁵² And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

14 ¶ And it came to pass in Iconium that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews and so spoke, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed.

² But the disobedient Jews stirred up the Gentiles and corrupted their desire against the brethren.

³ With all this, they abode there a long time speaking with freedom in the Lord, who gave testimony unto the word of his grace and granted that signs and wonders be done by their hands.

⁴ But the multitude of the city was divided, and part held with the Jews, and part with the apostles.

⁵ And when there was an assault made both of the Gentiles and also of the Jews with their princes, to insult them and to stone them,

⁶ they were aware of it and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region that lies round about.

⁷ And there they preached the gospel.

⁸ ¶ And a certain man sat at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked;

⁹ this man heard Paul speak, who steadfastly beholding him and perceiving that he had faith to be healed,

¹⁰ said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.

¹¹ And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.

¹² And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius because he was the chief speaker.

¹³ Then the priest of Jupiter, who was before their city, brought bulls and garlands unto the gates and would have done sacrifice unto them with the people.

¹⁴ Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it, they rent their clothes and ran in among the people, crying out

¹⁵ and saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all the things that are therein,

¹⁶ who in generations past suffered all the Gentiles to walk in their own ways.

¹⁷ Nevertheless he did not leave himself without witness, in that he did good and gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.

¹⁸ And with these words they scarcely restrained the people, that they not sacrifice unto them.

¹⁹ ¶ And certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he was dead.

²⁰ But as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up and came into the city, and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.

²¹ And when they had preached the gospel to that city and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra and to Iconium and Antioch,

²² confirming the souls of the disciples and exhorting them to remain in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

²³ And having ordained elders for them in every congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} and having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord on whom they believed.

²⁴ And after they had passed throughout Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia.

²⁵ And when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down into Attalia

²⁶ and from there sailed to Antioch, where they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled.

²⁷ And when they were come and had gathered the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} together, they related what great things God had done with them and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.

²⁸ And there they abode a long time with the disciples.

15 ¶ Then certain men who came down from Judaea taught the brethren and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.

² When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain other of them should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.

³ And they, being accompanied by some from the congregation, {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles, and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.

⁴ And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received by the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} and by the apostles and elders, and they declared all the things that God had done with them.

⁵ But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses.

⁶ ¶ And the apostles and elders came together to consider of this matter.

⁷ And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God chose that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel and believe.

⁸ And God, who knows the hearts, bore them witness, giving them the Holy Spirit, even as he did unto us,

⁹ and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

¹⁰ Now therefore why tempt ye God, putting a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

¹¹ For we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

¹² Then all the multitude kept silence and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what great miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.

¹³ And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:

¹⁴ Simeon has declared how God first visited the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.

¹⁵ And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,

¹⁶ After this I will return and will restore the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will repair its ruins, and I will set it up again,

¹⁷ that the men that are left might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who does all these things.

¹⁸ Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.

¹⁹ Therefore my sentence is that those from among the Gentiles who are converted to God not be troubled,

²⁰ but that we write unto them that they abstain from pollutions of idols and from fornication and from things strangled and from blood.

²¹ For Moses of old time has in every city those that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.

²² ¶ Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole congregation, {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas and Silas, principal men among the brethren;

²³ and they wrote letters by them after this manner: The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia;

²⁴ forasmuch as we have heard that certain ones who went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised and keep the law, to whom we gave no such commandment,

²⁵ it seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

²⁶ men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁷ We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth.

²⁸ For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:

²⁹ that ye abstain from foods offered to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication; from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

³⁰ So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch; and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle,

³¹ which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation.

³² And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words and confirmed them.

³³ And after they had tarried there a space, they were let go in peace from the brethren unto the apostles.

³⁴ Notwithstanding it pleased Silas to abide there still.

³⁵ Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching the word of the Lord and announcing the gospel, with many others also.

³⁶ ¶ And some days after, Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord and see how they do.

³⁷ And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark.

³⁸ But Paul thought it not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia and did not go with them to the work.

³⁹ And the contention was so sharp between them that they departed asunder one from the other, and so Barnabas took Mark and sailed unto Cyprus;

⁴⁰ and Paul chose Silas and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God.

⁴¹ And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the congregations. {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones}

16 ¶ Then he came to Derbe and Lystra; and, behold, a certain disciple was there named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman, who was faithful, but his father was a Gentile,

² of whom the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium gave good witness.

³ Paul desired to have him go forth with him and took and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those quarters, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

⁴ And as they went through the cities, they asked them to keep the decrees that had been determined by the apostles and elders who were at Jerusalem.

⁵ And so the congregations {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} were established in the faith and increased in number daily.

⁶ ¶ Now passing through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia;

⁷ after they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit suffered them not.

⁸ And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas.

⁹ And a vision was shown to Paul in the night: There stood a man of Macedonia, asking him, saying, Come over into Macedonia and help us.

¹⁰ And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel unto them.

¹¹ Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis,

¹² and from there to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony; and we were in that city abiding certain days.

¹³ And on one of the sabbaths we went out of the city by a river side, where it was customary to pray; and we sat down and spoke unto the women who gathered there.

¹⁴ Then a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, who feared God, heard us, whose heart the Lord opened that she attended unto the things which were spoken by Paul.

¹⁵ And when she was baptized, with her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and abide there. And she constrained us.

¹⁶ ¶ And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a Pythian spirit met us, which brought her masters much gain by divination:

¹⁷ she followed Paul and us and cried out, saying, These men are the slaves of the most high God, who announce unto us the way of deliverance.

¹⁸ And she did this for many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

¹⁹ And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers

²⁰ and brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city

²¹ and teach rites which are not lawful for us to receive neither to observe, being Romans.

²² And the multitude rose up together against them, and the magistrates rent off their clothes and commanded to beat them.

²³ And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely,

²⁴ who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stocks.

²⁵ ¶ But at midnight as Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God, and the prisoners heard them,

²⁶ then suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.

²⁷ And the keeper of the prison, awaking out of his sleep and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had fled.

²⁸ But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm, for we are all here.

²⁹ Then he called for a light and came inside and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas

³⁰ and brought them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

³¹ And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

³² And they spoke unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.

³³ And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.

³⁴ And when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.

³⁵ ¶ And when it was day, the magistrates sent the sergeants, saying, Let those men go.

³⁶ And the keeper of the prison made these words known unto Paul, The magistrates have sent to let you go; now therefore depart and go in peace.

³⁷ But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out in secret? no indeed; but let them come themselves and fetch us out.