Chapter III: The Imprisonment of Peter and John

1 [3:1]AND Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, which is the ninth hour. [3:2]And a certain man lame from his birth was carried and placed daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask charity of those going into the temple; [3:3]who seeing Peter and John about to enter into the temple, asked to receive a charity. [3:4]But Peter looking steadily at him with John, said, Look on us. [3:5]And he gave his attention to them, expecting to receive something from them. [3:6]But Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but what I have, this I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazoraean, walk. [3:7]And taking him by the right hand he raised him up; and immediately his feet and ankles were strengthened, [3:8]and leaping up he stood and walked and entered with them into the temple, walking and leaping, praising God. [3:9]And all the people saw him walking and praising God; [3:10] and they knew him, that he was the one who sat for charity at the beautiful gate of the temple, and they were filled with wonder and astonishment at what had happened to him.

2 [3:11]And as he held Peter and John, all the people ran to them in the porch which is called Solomon's, greatly wondering. [3:12]And Peter seeing it answered the people, Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this? or why do you look intently at us as if by our power or piety we had made him walk? [3:13]The God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied before Pilate when he decided to release him; [3:14]but you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked a murderer to be given you, [3:15]but killed the Prince of life, whom God has raised from the dead, whose witnesses we are. [3:16]And by the faith of his name, his name has made strong this man whom you behold and know, and the faith which is by him has given him this entire soundness before you all. [3:17]And now, brothers, I know that you did it without knowledge, as did also your rulers; [3:18]but what God had before declared by the mouth of all the prophets that his Anointed should suffer, he has so accomplished. [3:19]Change your minds, therefore, and turn yourselves, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, [3:20]and he send to you Jesus Christ before appointed, [3:21]whom heaven must receive till the times of the restoration of all things of which God has spoken by the mouth of his holy prophets since the world began. [3:22]Moses indeed said, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up to you, of your brothers, like me; him shall you hear in all things which he shall speak to you; [3:23]and every soul which will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from the people. [3:24]And all the prophets, from Samuel and those following him in order, who have spoken, have also announced these days. [3:25]You are the children of the prophets, and of the promise which God promised to our fathers, saying to Abraham, And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. [3:26]God having raised up his servant has sent him to you first, to bless you by turning each [one of you] from your evil ways.

3 [4:1]And while they were speaking to the people, the priests, and the commander of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, [4:2]being displeased because they taught the people and declared by Jesus the resurrection of the dead; [4:3]and they laid hands on them and put them in prison till the next day; for it was now evening. [4:4]But many of those that heard the word believed, and the number of the men became about five thousand.

4 [4:5]And on the next day the rulers, and elders, and scribes [4:6]assembled at Jerusalem, and Annas the chief priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and all that were of the family of the chief priesthood, [4:7]and placing them in the midst, asked, By what power, or by what name, have you done this? [4:8] Then Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and elders of Israel, [4:9]if we are to-day examined concerning the good work done to the sick man, by what means he has been cured, [4:10]be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazoraean, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him has this man stood before you sound. [4:11]This is the stone rejected by you builders, which has become the head of a corner. [4:12]And there is salvation in no other; for there is no other name given under heaven among men, by which we can be saved.

5 [4:13]And seeing the boldness of Peter and John, and supposing that they were illiterate and common men, they wondered, and perceived that they had been with Jesus; [4:14]and seeing the man standing with them cured, they could not dispute it. [4:15]And commanding them to withdraw from the Sanhedrim, they conferred one with another, [4:16]saying, What shall we do to these men? for that a notable miracle has been performed by them is manifest to all that live at Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it; [4:17]but that it spread no further among the people, let us threaten them severely, [and charge them] to speak no more to any man in this name. [4:18]And calling them, they charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. [4:19]But Peter and John answered and said to them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to obey you rather than God, judge; [4:20]for we cannot but tell what we have seen and heard. [4:21]And threatening them still further, they dismissed them, not being able to punish them, on account of the people, because all glorified God for what was done; [4:22]for the man was more than forty years old on whom this miracle of the cure was performed.

6 [4:23]And being dismissed they came to their friends, and related to them what the chief priests and elders said to them. [4:24]And when they heard it they lifted up their voice with one consent to God, and said, Master, thou who hast made heaven, and the earth, the sea, and all things in them, [4:25]who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the nations rage and the peoples devise vain things? [4:26]the kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were assembled together against the Lord, and against his anointed. [4:27]For of a truth, in this city, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the gentiles and people of Israel, were assembled together against thy holy servant Jesus whom thou hast anointed, [4:28]to do what thy hand and counsel before appointed to be done. [4:29]And now, Lord, look down upon their threatenings, and grant to thy servants with all boldness to speak thy word, [4:30]by stretching out thy hand, that cures and miracles and prodigies may be performed by the name of thy holy servant Jesus. [4:31]And when they had prayed the place was shaken in which they were assembled, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and spoke the word of God with boldness.