Chapter II: Part 2

010:027 So Peter went in and conversed with him, and found a
large company assembled.

010:028 He said to them, "You know better than most that a Jew is
strictly forbidden to associate with a Gentile or visit him;
but God has taught me to call no one unholy or unclean.

010:029 So for this reason, when sent for, I came without raising
any objection. I therefore ask why you sent for me."

010:030 "Just at this hour, three days ago," replied Cornelius, "I was
offering afternoon prayer in my house, when suddenly a man
in shining raiment stood in front of me,

010:031 who said, "`Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your
charities have been put on record before God.

010:032 Send therefore to Jaffa, and invite Simon, surnamed Peter,
to come here. He is staying as a guest in the house of Simon,
a tanner, close to the sea.'

010:033 "Immediately, therefore, I sent to you, and I thank you heartily
for having come. That is why all of us are now assembled here
in God's presence, to listen to what the Lord has commanded
you to say."

010:034 Then Peter began to speak. "I clearly see," he said,
"that God makes no distinctions between one man and another;

010:035 but that in every nation those who fear Him and live good lives
are acceptable to Him.

010:036 The Message which He sent to the descendants of Israel, when He
announced the Good News of peace through Jesus Christ--He is
Lord of all--that Message you cannot but know;

010:037 the story, I mean, which has spread through the length and
breadth of Judaea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism
which John proclaimed.

010:038 It tells how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit
and with power, so that He went about everywhere doing acts
of kindness, and curing all who were being continually
oppressed by the Devil--for God was with Jesus.

010:039 "And we are witnesses as to all that He did both in the country
of the Jews and in Jerusalem. But they even put Him
to death, by crucifixion.

010:040 That same Jesus God raised to life on the third day,
and permitted Him to appear unmistakably,

010:041 not to all the people, but to witnesses--men previously chosen
by God--namely, to us, who ate and drank with Him after He
rose from the dead.

010:042 And He has commanded us to preach to the people and solemnly
declare that this is He who has been appointed by God to be
the Judge of the living and the dead.

010:043 To Him all the Prophets bear witness, and testify that through
His name all who believe in Him receive the forgiveness
of their sins."

010:044 While Peter was speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell
on all who were listening to the Message.

010:045 And all the Jewish believers who had come with Peter were
astonished that on the Gentiles also the gift of the Holy Spirit
was poured out.

010:046 For they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling the majesty
of God. Then Peter said,

010:047 "Can any one forbid the use of water, and object to these persons
being baptized--men who have received the Holy Spirit just
as we did?"

010:048 And he directed that they should be baptized in the name
of Jesus Christ. Then they begged him to remain with them
for a time.

011:001 Now the Apostles, and the brethren in various parts of Judaea,
heard that the Gentiles also had received God's Message;

011:002 and, when Peter returned to Jerusalem, the champions of
circumcision found fault with him.

011:003 "You went into the houses of men who are not Jews," they said,
"and you ate with them."

011:004 Peter, however, explained the whole matter to them
from the beginning.

011:005 "While I was in the town of Jaffa, offering prayer," he said,
"in a trance I saw a vision. There descended what seemed
to be an enormous sail, being let down from the sky by ropes
at the four corners, and it came close to me.

011:006 Fixing my eyes on it, I examined it closely, and saw various
kinds of quadrupeds, wild beasts, reptiles and birds.

011:007 I also heard a voice saying to me, "`Rise, Peter, kill and eat.'

011:008 "`On no account, Lord,' I replied, `for nothing unholy or impure
has ever gone into my mouth.'

011:009 "But a voice answered, speaking a second time from the sky,
"`What God has purified, you must not regard as unholy.'

011:010 "This was said three times, and then everything was drawn up
again out of sight.

011:011 "Now at that very moment three men came to the house where we were,
having been sent from Caesarea to find me.

011:012 And the Spirit told me to accompany them without any misgivings.
There also went with me these six brethren who are now present,
and we reached the Centurion's house.

011:013 Then he described to us how he had seen the angel come and enter
his house and say, "`Send to Jaffa and fetch Simon, surnamed Peter.

011:014 He will teach you truths by which you and all your family
will be saved.'"

011:015 "And," said Peter, "no sooner had I begun to speak than
the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as He fell upon us
at the first.

011:016 Then I remembered the Lord's words, how He used to say,
"`John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized
in the Holy Spirit.'

011:017 "If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we
first believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, why, who was I
to be able to thwart God?"

011:018 This statement of Peter's silenced his opponents. They extolled
the goodness of God, and said, "So, then, to the Gentiles
also God has given the repentance which leads to Life."

011:019 Those, however, who had been driven in various directions
by the persecution which broke out on account of Stephen made
their way to Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, delivering the Message
to none but Jews.

011:020 But some of them were Cyprians and Cyrenaeans, who, on coming
to Antioch, spoke to the Greeks also and told them the Good News
concerning the Lord Jesus.

011:021 The power of the Lord was with them, and there were a vast
number who believed and turned to the Lord.

011:022 When tidings of this reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem,
they sent Barnabas as far as Antioch.

011:023 On getting there he was delighted to see the grace which
God had bestowed; and he encouraged them all to remain,
with fixed resolve, faithful to the Lord.

011:024 For he was a good man, and was full of the Holy Spirit and of faith;
and the number of believers in the Lord greatly increased.

011:025 Then Barnabas paid a visit to Tarsus to try to find Saul.

011:026 He succeeded, and brought him to Antioch; and for a whole year
they attended the meetings of the Church, and taught a large
number of people. And it was in Antioch that the disciples
first received the name of `Christians.'

011:027 At that time certain Prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch,

011:028 one of whom, named Agabus, being instructed by the Spirit,
publicly predicted the speedy coming of a great famine
throughout the world. (It came in the reign of Claudius.)

011:029 So the disciples decided to send relief, every one in proportion
to his means, to the brethren living in Judaea.

011:030 This they did, forwarding their contributions to the Elders
by Barnabas and Saul.

012:001 Now, about that time, King Herod arrested certain members
of the Church, in order to ill-treat them;

012:002 and James, John's brother, he beheaded.

012:003 Finding that this gratified the Jews, he proceeded to seize
Peter also; these being the days of Unleavened Bread.

012:004 He had him arrested and lodged in jail, handing him over to
the care of sixteen soldiers; and intended after the Passover
to bring him out again to the people.

012:005 So Peter was kept in prison; but long and fervent prayer was
offered to God by the Church on his behalf.

012:006 Now when Herod was on the point of taking him out of prison,
that very night Peter was asleep between two soldiers,
bound with two chains, and guards were on duty outside the door.

012:007 Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone
in the cell; and, striking Peter on the side, he woke him
and said, "Rise quickly." Instantly the chains dropped
off his wrists.

012:008 "Fasten your girdle," said the angel, "and tie on your sandals."
He did so. Then the angel said, "Throw your cloak round you,
and follow me."

012:009 So Peter went out, following him, yet could not believe
that what the angel was doing was real, but supposed that
he saw a vision.

012:010 And passing through the first ward and the second, they came
to the iron gate leading into the city. This opened to them
of itself; and, going out, they passed on through one of
the streets, and then suddenly the angel left him.

012:011 Peter coming to himself said, "Now I know for certain that the Lord
has sent His angel and has rescued me from the power of Herod
and from all that the Jewish people were anticipating."

012:012 So, after thinking things over, he went to the house of Mary,
the mother of John surnamed Mark, where a large number
of people were assembled, praying.

012:013 When he knocked at the wicket in the door, a maidservant named
Rhoda came to answer the knock;

012:014 and recognizing Peter's voice, for very joy she did not open
the door, but ran in and told them that Peter was standing there.

012:015 "You are mad," they said. But she strenuously maintained
that it was true. "It is his guardian angel," they said.

012:016 Meanwhile Peter went on knocking, until at last they opened the door
and saw that it was really he, and were filled with amazement.

012:017 But he motioned with his hand for silence, and then described
to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison.
"Tell all this to James and the brethren," he added.
Then he left them, and went to another place.

012:018 When morning came, there was no little commotion among the soldiers,
as to what could possibly have become of Peter.

012:019 And when Herod had had him searched for and could not find him,
after sharply questioning the guards he ordered them away
to execution. He then went down from Judaea to Caesarea
and remained there.

012:020 Now the people of Tyre and Sidon had incurred Herod's
violent displeasure. So they sent a large deputation to wait on him;
and having secured the good will of Blastus, his treasurer,
they begged the king to be friendly with them again,
because their country was dependent on his for its food supply.

012:021 So, on an appointed day, Herod, having arrayed himself in royal robes,
took his seat on the tribunal, and was haranguing them;

012:022 and the assembled people kept shouting, "It is the voice of a god,
and not of a man!"

012:023 Instantly an angel of the Lord struck him, because he had not
given the glory to God, and being eaten up by worms, he died.

012:024 But God's Message prospered, and converts were multiplied.

012:025 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, having discharged
their mission, and they brought with them John, surnamed Mark.

013:001 Now there were in Antioch, in the Church there--as Prophets
and teachers--barnabas, Symeon surnamed `the black,'
Lucius the Cyrenaean, Manaen (who was Herod the Tetrarch's
foster-brother), and Saul.

013:002 While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting,
the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me, now at once,
Barnabas and Saul, for the work to which I have called them."

013:003 So, after fasting and prayer and the laying on of hands,
they let them go.

013:004 They therefore, being thus sent out by the Holy Spirit,
went down to Seleuceia, and from there sailed to Cyprus.

013:005 Having reached Salamis, they began to announce God's Message
in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John
as their assistant.

013:006 When they had gone through the whole length of the island
as far as Paphos, they there met with a Jewish magician
and false prophet, Bar-Jesus by name,

013:007 who was a friend of the Proconsul Sergius Paulus.
The Proconsul was a man of keen intelligence. He sent
for Barnabas and Saul, and asked to be told God's Message.

013:008 But Elymas (or `the Magician,' for such is the meaning of the name)
opposed them, and tried to prevent the Proconsul from
accepting the faith.

013:009 Then Saul, who is also called Paul, was filled with the
Holy Spirit, and, fixing his eyes on Elymas,

013:010 said, "You who are full of every kind of craftiness and
unscrupulous cunning--you son of the Devil and foe to all that
is right--will you never cease to misrepresent the straight
paths of the Lord?

013:011 The Lord's hand is now upon you, and you will be blind for a time
and unable to see the light of day." Instantly there fell
upon him a mist and a darkness, and, as he walked about,
he begged people to lead him by the hand.

013:012 Then the Proconsul, seeing what had happened, believed, being struck
with amazement at the teaching of the Lord.

013:013 From Paphos, Paul and his party put out to sea and sailed
to Perga in Pamphylia. John, however, left them and
returned to Jerusalem.

013:014 But they themselves, passing through from Perga, came to
Antioch in Pisidia. Here, on the Sabbath day, they went
into the synagogue and sat down.

013:015 After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the Wardens
of the synagogue sent word to them. "Brethren," they said,
"if you have anything encouraging to say to the people, speak."

013:016 So Paul rose, and motioning with his hand for silence, said,
"Israelites, and you others who fear God, pay attention to me.

013:017 The God of this people of Israel chose our forefathers,
and made the people great during their stay in Egypt,
until with wondrous power He brought them out from that land.

013:018 For a period of about forty years, He fed them, like a nurse,
in the Desert.

013:019 Then, after overthrowing seven nations in the land of Canaan, He
divided that country among them as their inheritance for about
four hundred and fifty years;

013:020 and afterwards He gave them judges down to the time of
the Prophet Samuel.

013:021 Next they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son
of Kish, a Benjamite, who reigned forty years.

013:022 After removing him, He raised up David to be their king,
to whom He also bore witness when He said, "`I have found David
the son of Jesse, a man I love, who will obey all My commands.'

013:023 "It is from among David's descendants that God, in fulfilment
of His promise, has raised up a Saviour for Israel, even Jesus.

013:024 Before the coming of Jesus, John had proclaimed to all the people
of Israel a baptism of repentance.

013:025 But John, towards the end of his career, repeatedly asked
the people, "`What do you suppose me to be? I am not the Christ.
But there is One coming after me whose sandal I am not
worthy to unfasten.'

013:026 "Brethren, descendants of the family of Abraham, and all among
you who fear God, to us has this Message of salvation been sent.

013:027 For the people of Jerusalem and their rulers, by the judgement
they pronounced on Jesus, have actually fulfilled the predictions
of the Prophets which are read Sabbath after Sabbath,
through ignorance of those predictions and of Him.

013:028 Without having found Him guilty of any capital offence they
urged Pilate to have Him put to death;

013:029 and when they had carried out everything which had been written
about Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him
in a tomb.

013:030 "But God raised Him from the dead.

013:031 And, after a few days, He appeared to the people who had gone
up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem and are now witnesses
concerning Him to the Jews.

013:032 And we bring you the Good News about the promise made
to our forefathers,

013:033 that God has amply fulfilled it to our children in raising up Jesus;
as it is also written in the second Psalm, `Thou art My Son:
to-day I have become Thy Father.'

013:034 And as to His having raised Him from among the dead, never again
to be in the position of one soon to return to decay,
He speaks thus: `I will give you the holy and trustworthy
promises made to David.'

013:035 Because in another Psalm also He says, `Thou wilt not give up
Thy Holy One to undergo decay.'

013:036 For David, after having been useful to his own generation
in accordance with God's purpose, did fall asleep, was gathered
to his forefathers, and did undergo decay.

013:037 But He whom God raised to life underwent no decay.

013:038 "Understand therefore, brethren, that through this Jesus
forgiveness of sins is announced to you;

013:039 and in Him every believer is absolved from all offences,
from which you could not be absolved under the Law of Moses.

013:040 Beware, then, lest what is spoken in the Prophets should come
true of you:

013:041 `Behold, you despisers, be astonished and perish, because I am
carrying on a work in your time--a work which you will utterly
refuse to believe, though it be fully declared to you.'"

013:042 As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people
earnestly begged to have all this repeated to them on
the following Sabbath.

013:043 And, when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews
and of the devout converts from heathenism continued with Paul
and Barnabas, who talked to them and urged them to hold fast
to the grace of God.

013:044 On the next Sabbath almost the whole population of the city
came together to hear the Lord's Message.

013:045 Seeing the crowds, the Jews, filled with angry jealousy,
opposed Paul's statements and abused him.

013:046 Then, throwing off all reserve, Paul and Barnabas said,
"We were bound to proclaim God's Message to you first.
But since you spurn it and judge yourselves to be unworthy
of the Life of the Ages--well, we turn to the Gentiles.

013:047 For such is the Lord's command to us. "`I have placed Thee,' He says
of Christ, `as a light to the Gentiles, in order that Thou mayest
be a Saviour as far as the remotest parts of the earth.'"

013:048 The Gentiles listened with delight and extolled the Lord's Message;
and all who were pre-destined to the Life of the Ages believed.

013:049 So the Lord's Message spread through the whole district.

013:050 But the Jews influenced the gentlewomen of rank who worshipped
with them, and also the leading men in the city, and stirred
up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out
of the district.

013:051 But they shook off the dust from their feet as a protest
against them and came to Iconium;

013:052 and as for the disciples, they were more and more filled
with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

014:001 At Iconium the Apostles went together to the Jewish synagogue
and preached, with the result that a great number both of Jews
and Greeks believed.

014:002 But the Jews who had refused obedience stirred up the Gentiles
and embittered their minds against the brethren.

014:003 Yet Paul and Barnabas remained there for a considerable time,
speaking freely and relying on the Lord, while He bore witness
to the Message of His grace by permitting signs and marvels
to be done by them.

014:004 At length the people of the city split into parties, some siding
with the Jews and some with the Apostles.

014:005 And when a hostile movement was made by both Gentiles and Jews,
with the sanction of their magistrates, to maltreat and stone them,

014:006 the Apostles, having become aware of it, made their
escape into the Lycaonian towns of Lystra and Derbe,
and the neighbouring country.

014:007 And there they continued to tell the Good News.

014:008 Now a man who had no power in his feet used to sit in the streets
of Lystra. He had been lame from his birth and had never walked.

014:009 After this man had listened to one of Paul's sermons, the Apostle,
looking steadily at him and perceiving that he had faith
to be cured,

014:010 said in a loud voice, "Stand upright upon your feet!"

014:011 So he sprang up and began to walk about. Then the crowds,
seeing what Paul had done, rent the air with their shouts
in the Lycaonian language, saying, "The gods have assumed
human form and have come down to us."

014:012 They called Barnabas `Zeus,' and Paul, as being the
principal speaker, `Hermes.'

014:013 And the priest of Zeus--the temple of Zeus being at the entrance
to the city--brought bullocks and garlands to the gates,
and in company with the crowd was intending to offer
sacrifices to them.

014:014 But the Apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it; and tearing
their clothes they rushed out into the middle of the crowd,
exclaiming, "Sirs, why are you doing all this?

014:015 We also are but men, with natures kindred to your own;
and we bring you the Good News that you are to turn from these
unreal things, to worship the ever-living God, the Creator
of earth and sky and sea and of everything that is in them.

014:016 In times gone by He allowed all the nations to go their own ways;

014:017 and yet by His beneficence He has not left His existence unattested--
His beneficence, I mean, in sending you rain from Heaven and
fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and joyfulness."

014:018 Even with words like these they had difficulty in preventing
the thronging crowd from offering sacrifices to them.

014:019 But now a party of Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and,
having won over the crowd, they stoned Paul and dragged him
out of the town, believing him to be dead.

014:020 When, however, the disciples had collected round him,
he rose and went back into the town. The next day he went
with Barnabas to Derbe;

014:021 and, after proclaiming the Good News to the people there
and gaining a large number of converts, they retraced their
steps to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch.

014:022 Everywhere they strengthened the disciples by encouraging
them to hold fast to the faith, and warned them saying,
"It is through many afflictions that we must make our way
into the Kingdom of God."

014:023 And in every Church, after prayer and fasting, they selected
Elders by show of hands, and commended them to the Lord
on whom their faith rested.

014:024 Then passing through Pisidia they came into Pamphylia;

014:025 and after telling the Message at Perga they came down to Attaleia.

014:026 Thence they sailed to Antioch, where they had previously been
commended to the grace of God in connexion with the work
which they had now completed.

014:027 Upon their arrival they called the Church together and proceeded
to report in detail all that God, working with them, had done,
and how He had opened for the Gentiles the door of faith.

014:028 And they remained a considerable time in Antioch with the disciples.

015:001 But certain persons who had come down from Judaea tried
to convince the brethren, saying, "Unless you are circumcised
in accordance with the Mosaic custom, you cannot be saved."

015:002 Between these new comers and Paul and Barnabas there was
no little disagreement and controversy, until at last it
was decided that Paul and Barnabas and some other brethren
should go up to consult the Apostles and Elders in Jerusalem
on this matter.

015:003 So they set out, being accompanied for a short distance
by some other members of the Church; and as they passed
through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told the whole story
of the conversion of the Gentiles and inspired all the brethren
with great joy.

015:004 Upon their arrival in Jerusalem they were cordially received
by the Church, the Apostles, and the Elders; and they reported
in detail all that God, working with them, had done.

015:005 But certain men who had belonged to the sect of the Pharisees
but were now believers, stood up in the assembly, and said,
"Yes, Gentile believers ought to be circumcised and be ordered
to keep the Law of Moses."

015:006 Then the Apostles and Elders met to consider the matter;

015:007 and after there had been a long discussion Peter rose to his feet.
"It is within your own knowledge," he said, "that God originally
made choice among you that from my lips the Gentiles were
to hear the Message of the Good News, and believe.

015:008 And God, who knows all hearts, gave His testimony in their favour
by bestowing the Holy Spirit on them just as He did on us;

015:009 and He made no difference between us and them, in that He
cleansed their hearts by their faith.

015:010 Now, therefore, why try an experiment upon God, by laying
on the necks of these disciples a yoke which neither our
forefathers nor we have been able to bear?

015:011 On the contrary, we believe that it is by the grace of the
Lord Jesus that we, as well as they, shall be saved."

015:012 Then the whole assembly remained silent while they listened
to the statement made by Paul and Barnabas as to all
the signs and marvels that God had done among the Gentiles
through their instrumentality.

015:013 When they had finished speaking, James said, "Brethren,
listen to me.

015:014 Symeon has related how God first looked graciously on the Gentiles
to take from among them a People to be called by His name.

015:015 And this is in harmony with the language of the Prophets, which says:

015:016 "`"Afterwards I will return, and will rebuild David's fallen tent.
Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will set it up again;

015:017 In order that the rest of mankind may earnestly seek the Lord--
even all the nations which are called by My name,"

015:018 Says the Lord, who has been making these things known from
ages long past.'

015:019 "My judgement, therefore, is against inflicting unexpected
annoyance on those of the Gentiles who are turning to God.

015:020 Yet let us send them written instructions to abstain from
things polluted by connexion with idolatry, from fornication,
from meat killed by strangling, and from blood.

015:021 For Moses from the earliest times has had his preachers
in every town, being read, as he is, Sabbath after Sabbath,
in the various synagogues."

015:022 Thereupon it was decided by the Apostles and Elders,
with the approval of the whole Church, to choose suitable
persons from among themselves and send them to Antioch,
with Paul and Barnabas. Judas, called Bar-sabbas, and Silas,
leading men among the brethren, were selected,

015:023 and they took with them the following letter: "The Apostles
and the elder brethren send greeting to the Gentile brethren
throughout Antioch, Syria and Cilicia.

015:024 As we have been informed that certain persons who have gone
out from among us have disturbed you by their teaching
and have unsettled your minds, without having received any
such instructions from us;

015:025 we have unanimously decided to select certain men and send them
to you in company with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul,

015:026 who have endangered their very lives for the sake of our
Lord Jesus Christ.

015:027 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who are themselves
bringing you the same message by word of mouth.

015:028 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay
upon you no burden heavier than these necessary requirements--

015:029 You must abstain from things sacrificed to idols,
from blood, from things strangled, and from fornication.
Keep yourselves clear of these things, and it will be well
with you. Farewell."

015:030 They, therefore, having been solemnly sent, came down
to Antioch, where they called together the whole assembly
and delivered the letter.

015:031 The people read it, and were delighted with the comfort
it brought them.

015:032 And Judas and Silas, being themselves also Prophets,
gave them a long and encouraging talk, and strengthened them
in the faith.

015:033 After spending some time there they received an affectionate
farewell from the brethren to return to those who had sent them.

015:034 []

015:035 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and,
in company with many others, telling the Good News of
the Lord's Message.

015:036 After a while Paul said to Barnabas, "Suppose we now revisit
the brethren in the various towns in which we have made known
the Lord's Message--to see whether they are prospering!"

015:037 Barnabas, however, was bent on taking with them John,
whose other name was Mark,

015:038 while Paul deemed it undesirable to have as their companion
one who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone
on with them to the work.

015:039 So there arose a serious disagreement between them, which resulted
in their parting from one another, Barnabas taking Mark
and setting sail for Cyprus.

015:040 But Paul chose Silas as his travelling companion; and set out,
after being commended by the brethren to the grace of the Lord;

015:041 and he passed through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the Churches.

016:001 He also came to Derbe and to Lystra. At Lystra he found
a disciple, Timothy by name--the son of a Christian Jewess,
though he had a Greek father.

016:002 Timothy was well spoken of by the brethren at Lystra and Iconium,

016:003 and Paul desiring that he should accompany him on his journey,
took him and circumcised him on account of the Jews in those parts,
for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

016:004 As they journeyed on from town to town, they handed to the brethren
for their observance the decisions which had been arrived
at by the Apostles and Elders in Jerusalem.

016:005 So the Churches went on gaining a stronger faith and growing
in numbers from day to day.

016:006 Then Paul and his companions passed through Phrygia and Galatia,
having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to proclaim the Message
in the province of Asia.

016:007 When they reached the frontier of Mysia, they were about to
enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not permit this.

016:008 So, passing along Mysia, they came to Troas.

016:009 Here, one night, Paul saw a vision. There was a Macedonian
who was standing, entreating him and saying, "Come over into
Macedonia and help us."

016:010 So when he had seen the vision, we immediately looked
out for an opportunity of passing on into Macedonia,
confidently inferring that God had called us to proclaim
the Good News to the people there.

016:011 Accordingly we put out to sea from Troas, and ran a straight
course to Samothrace. The next day we came to Neapolis,

016:012 and thence to Philippi, which is a city in Macedonia,
the first in its district, a Roman colony. And there we
stayed some little time.

016:013 On the Sabbath we went beyond the city gate to the riverside,
where we had reason to believe that there was a place for prayer;
and sitting down we talked with the women who had come together.

016:014 Among our hearers was one named Lydia, a dealer in purple goods.
She belonged to the city of Thyateira, and was a worshipper
of the true God. The Lord opened her heart, so that she gave
attention to what Paul was saying.

016:015 When she and her household had been baptized, she urged us,
saying, "If in your judgement I am a believer in the Lord,
come and stay at my house." And she made us go there.

016:016 One day, as we were on our way to the place of prayer, a slave
girl met us who claimed to be inspired and was accustomed
to bring her owners large profits by telling fortunes.

016:017 She kept following close behind Paul and the rest of us,
crying aloud, "These men are the bondservants of the Most High God,
and are proclaiming to you the way of salvation."

016:018 This she persisted in for a considerable time, until Paul,
wearied out, turned round and said to the spirit, "I command
you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her."
And it came out immediately.

016:019 But when her owners saw that their hopes of gain were gone,
they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them off to the magistrates
in the public square.

016:020 Then they brought them before the praetors. "These men,"
they said, "are creating a great disturbance in our city.

016:021 They are Jews, and are teaching customs which we, as Romans,
are not permitted to adopt or practise."

016:022 The crowd, too, joined in the outcry against them, till at length
the praetors ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods;

016:023 and, after severely flogging them, they threw them into jail
and bade the jailer keep them safely.

016:024 He, having received an order like that, lodged them in the
inner prison, and secured their feet in the stocks.

016:025 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns
to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,

016:026 when suddenly there was such a violent shock of earthquake
that the prison shook to its foundations. Instantly the doors
all flew open, and the chains fell off from every prisoner.

016:027 Starting up from sleep and seeing the doors of the jail wide open,
the jailer drew his sword and was on the point of killing himself,
supposing that the prisoners had escaped.

016:028 But Paul shouted loudly to him, saying, "Do yourself no injury:
we are all here.

016:029 Then, calling for lights, he sprang in and fell trembling
at the feet of Paul and Silas;

016:030 and, bringing them out of the prison, he exclaimed, "O sirs,
what must I do to be saved?"

016:031 "Believe on the Lord Jesus," they replied, "and both you
and your household will be saved."

016:032 And they told the Lord's Message to him as well as to all
who were in his house.

016:033 Then he took them, even at that time of night, washed their wounds,
and he and all his household were immediately baptized;

016:034 and bringing the Apostles up into his house, he spread a meal
for them, and was filled with gladness, with his whole household,
his faith resting on God.

016:035 In the morning the praetors sent their lictors with the order,
"Release those men."

016:036 So the jailer brought Paul word, saying, "The praetors have sent
orders for you to be released. Now therefore you can go,
and proceed on your way in peace."

016:037 But Paul said to them, "After cruelly beating us in public,
without trial, Roman citizens though we are, they have thrown us
into prison, and are they now going to send us away privately?
No, indeed! Let them come in person and fetch us out."

016:038 This answer the lictors took back to the praetors, who were alarmed
when they were told that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens.

016:039 Accordingly they came and apologized to them; and, bringing them out,
asked them to leave the city.

016:040 Then Paul and Silas, having come out of the prison, went to
Lydia's house; and, after seeing the brethren and encouraging them,
they left Philippi.

017:001 Then, passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they went
to Thessalonica. Here there was a synagogue of the Jews.

017:002 Paul--following his usual custom--betook himself to it,
and for three successive Sabbaths reasoned with them
from the Scriptures,

017:003 which he clearly explained, pointing out that it had been
necessary for the Christ to suffer and rise again from the dead,
and insisting, "The Jesus whom I am announcing to you
is the Christ."

017:004 Some of the people were won over, and attached themselves
to Paul and Silas, including many God-fearing Greeks and not
a few gentlewomen of high rank.

017:005 But the jealousy of the Jews was aroused, and, calling to
their aid some ill-conditioned and idle fellows, they got
together a riotous mob and filled the city with uproar.
They then attacked the house of Jason and searched for Paul
and Silas, to bring them out before the assembly of people.

017:006 But, failing to find them, they dragged Jason and some of the other
brethren before the magistrates of the city, loudly accusing them.
"These men," they said, "who have raised a tumult throughout
the Empire, have come here also.

017:007 Jason has received them into his house; and they all set Caesar's
authority at defiance, declaring that there is another Emperor--
one called Jesus."

017:008 Great was the excitement among the crowd, and among the magistrates
of the city, when they heard these charges.

017:009 They required Jason and the rest to find substantial bail,
and after that they let them go.

017:010 The brethren at once sent Paul and Silas away by night to Beroea,
and they, on their arrival, went to the synagogue of the Jews.

017:011 The Jews at Beroea were of a nobler disposition than those
in Thessalonica, for they very readily received the Message,
and day after day searched the Scriptures to see whether it
was as Paul stated.

017:012 As the result many of them became believers, and so did not
a few of the Greeks--gentlewomen of good position, and men.

017:013 As soon, however, as the Jews of Thessalonica learnt
that God's Message had been proclaimed by Paul at Beroea,
they came there also, and incited the mob to a riot.

017:014 Then the brethren promptly sent Paul down to the sea-coast,
but Silas and Timothy remained behind.

017:015 Those who were caring for Paul's safety went with him as far
as Athens, and then left him, taking a message from him to Silas
and Timothy, asking them to join him as speedily as possible.

017:016 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was stirred
within him when he noticed that the city was full of idols.

017:017 So he had discussions in the synagogue with the Jews and
the other worshippers, and in the market place, day after day,
with those whom he happened to meet.

017:018 A few of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also encountered him.
Some of them asked, "What has this beggarly babbler to say?"
"His business," said others, "seems to be to cry up
some foreign gods." This was because he had been telling
the Good News of Jesus and the Resurrection.

017:019 Then they took him and brought him up to the Areopagus, asking him,
"May we be told what this new teaching of yours is?

017:020 For the things you are saying sound strange to us.
We should therefore like to be told exactly what they mean."

017:021 (For all the Athenians and their foreign visitors used to devote
their whole leisure to telling or hearing about something new.)

017:022 So Paul, taking his stand in the centre of the Areopagus,
spoke as follows: "Men of Athens, I perceive that you are
in every respect remarkably religious.

017:023 For as I passed along and observed the things you worship, I found
also an altar bearing the inscription, `TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.'
"The Being, therefore, whom you, without knowing Him, revere,
Him I now proclaim to you.

017:024 GOD who made the universe and everything in it--He, being Lord
of Heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries built by men.

017:025 Nor is He ministered to by human hands, as though He needed anything--
but He Himself gives to all men life and breath and all things.

017:026 He caused to spring from one forefather people of every race,
for them to live on the whole surface of the earth, and marked
out for them an appointed span of life and the boundaries
of their homes;

017:027 that they might seek God, if perhaps they could grope for Him
and find Him. Yes, though He is not far from any one of us.

017:028 For it is in closest union with Him that we live and move
and have our being; as in fact some of the poets in repute
among yourselves have said, `For we are also His offspring.'

017:029 Since then we are God's offspring, we ought not to imagine
that His nature resembles gold or silver or marble, or anything
sculptured by the art and inventive faculty of man.

017:030 Those times of ignorance God viewed with indulgence.
But now He commands all men everywhere to repent,

017:031 seeing that He has appointed a day on which, before long,
He will judge the world in righteousness, through the
instrumentality of a man whom He has pre-destined to this work,
and has made the fact certain to every one by raising Him
from the dead."

017:032 When they heard Paul speak of a resurrection of dead men,
some began to scoff. But others said, "We will hear you
again on that subject."

017:033 So Paul went away from them.

017:034 A few, however, attached themselves to him and believed,
among them being Dionysius a member of the Council,
a gentlewoman named Damaris, and some others.

018:001 After this he left Athens and came to Corinth.

018:002 Here he found a Jew, a native of Pontus, of the name of Aquila.
He and his wife Priscilla had recently come from Italy
because of Claudius's edict expelling all the Jews from Rome.
So Paul paid them a visit;

018:003 and because he was of the same trade--that of tent-maker--
he lodged with them and worked with them.

018:004 But, Sabbath after Sabbath, he preached in the synagogue
and tried to win over both Jews and Greeks.

018:005 Now at the time when Silas and Timothy came down from
Macedonia, Paul was preaching fervently and was solemnly
telling the Jews that Jesus is the Christ.

018:006 But upon their opposing him with abusive language,
he shook his clothes by way of protest, and said to them,
"Your ruin will be upon your own heads. I am not responsible:
in future I will go among the Gentiles."

018:007 So he left the place and went to the house of a person
called Titius Justus, a worshipper of the true God.
His house was next door to the synagogue.

018:008 And Crispus, the Warden of the synagogue, believed in the Lord,
and so did all his household; and from time to time many of
the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and received baptism.

018:009 And, in a vision by night, the Lord said to Paul, "Dismiss
your fears: go on speaking, and do not give up.

018:010 I am with you, and no one shall attack you to injure you;
for I have very many people in this city."

018:011 So Paul remained in Corinth for a year and six months,
teaching among them the Message of God.

018:012 But when Gallio became Proconsul of Greece, the Jews with one accord
made a dead set at Paul, and brought him before the court.

018:013 "This man," they said, "is inducing people to offer unlawful
worship to God."

018:014 But, when Paul was about to begin his defence, Gallio said
to the Jews, "If it had been some wrongful act or piece of
cunning knavery I might reasonably have listened to you Jews.

018:015 But since these are questions about words and names and your Law,
you yourselves must see to them. I refuse to be a judge
in such matters."

018:016 So he ordered them out of court.

018:017 Then the people all set upon Sosthenes, the Warden of
the synagogue, and beat him severely in front of the court.
Gallio did not concern himself in the least about this.

018:018 After remaining a considerable time longer in Corinth, Paul took
leave of the brethren and set sail for Syria; and Priscilla
and Aquila were with him. He had shaved his head at Cenchreae,
because he was bound by a vow.

018:019 They put in at Ephesus, and there Paul left his companions behind.
As for himself, he went to the synagogue and had a discussion
with the Jews.

018:020 When they asked him to remain longer he did not consent,

018:021 but took leave of them with the promise, "I will return to you,
God willing." So he set sail from Ephesus.

018:022 Landing at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and inquired after
the welfare of the Church, and then went down to Antioch.

018:023 After spending some time in Antioch, Paul set out on a tour,
visiting the whole of Galatia and Phrygia in order,
and strengthening all the disciples.

018:024 Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos came to Ephesus. He was a native
of Alexandria, a man of great learning and well versed
in the Scriptures.

018:025 He had been instructed by word of mouth in the way of
the Lord, and, being full of burning zeal, he used to speak
and teach accurately the facts about Jesus, though he knew
of no baptism but John's.

018:026 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, and Priscilla
and Aquila, after hearing him, took him home and explained
God's way to him more accurately.

018:027 Then, as he had made up his mind to cross over into Greece,
the brethren wrote to the disciples in Corinth begging them
to give him a kindly welcome. Upon his arrival he rendered
valuable help to those who through grace had believed;

018:028 for he powerfully and in public overcame the Jews in argument,
proving to them from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.

019:001 During the stay of Apollos in Corinth, Paul, after passing
through the inland districts, came to Ephesus, where he found
a few disciples.

019:002 "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you first believed?"
he asked them. "No," they replied, "we did not even hear
that there is a Holy Spirit."

019:003 "Into what then were you baptized?" he asked.
"Into John's baptism," they replied.

019:004 "John," he said, "administered a baptism of repentance,
bidding the people believe on One who was to come after him;
namely, on Jesus."

019:005 On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus;

019:006 and when Paul laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came
on them, and they began to speak in tongues and to prophesy.

019:007 They numbered in all about twelve men.

019:008 Afterwards he went into the synagogue. There for three months
he continued to preach fearlessly, explaining in words which
carried conviction the truths which concern the Kingdom of God.

019:009 But some grew obstinate in unbelief and spoke evil of the new
faith before all the congregation. So Paul left them, and,
taking with him those who were disciples, held discussions
daily in Tyrannus's lecture-hall.

019:010 This went on for two years, so that all the inhabitants
of the province of Asia, Jews as well as Greeks,
heard the Lord's Message.

019:011 God also brought about extraordinary miracles through
Paul's instrumentality.

019:012 Towels or aprons, for instance, which Paul had handled used to be
carried to the sick, and they recovered from their ailments,
or the evil spirits left them.

019:013 But there were also some wandering Jewish exorcists who undertook
to invoke the name of Jesus over those who had the evil spirits,
saying, "I command you by that Jesus whom Paul preaches."

019:014 There were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew of high-priestly family,
who were doing this.

019:015 "Jesus I know," the evil spirit answered, "and Paul I have
heard of, but who are you?"

019:016 And the man in whom the evil spirit was sprang on two of them,
over-mastered them both, and treated them with such violence,
that they fled from the house stripped of their clothes and wounded.

019:017 All the people of Ephesus, Jews as well as Greeks, came to know
of this. There was widespread terror, and they began to hold
the name of the Lord Jesus in high honour.

019:018 Many also of those who believed came confessing without reserve
what their conduct had been,

019:019 and not a few of those who had practised magical arts brought
their books together and burnt them in the presence of all.
The total value was reckoned and found to be 50,000 silver coins.

019:020 Thus mightily did the Lord's Message spread and triumph!

019:021 When matters had reached this point, Paul decided in his own mind
to travel through Macedonia and Greece, and go to Jerusalem.
"After that," he said, "I must also see Rome."

019:022 But he sent two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia,
while he himself remained for a while in Roman Asia.

019:023 Now just at that time there arose no small commotion about
the new faith.

019:024 There was a certain Demetrius, a silversmith, who made miniature
silver sanctuaries of Diana, a business which brought great
gain to the mechanics in his employ.

019:025 He called his workmen together, and others who were engaged
in similar trades, and said to them, "You men well know
that our prosperity depends on this business of ours;

019:026 and you see and hear that, not in Ephesus only but throughout
almost the whole province of Asia, this fellow Paul has led
away a vast number of people by inducing them to believe
that they are not gods at all that are made by men's hands.

019:027 There is danger, therefore, not only that this our trade will
become of no account, but also that the temple of the great
goddess Diana will fall into utter disrepute, and that before
long she will be actually deposed from her majestic rank--
she who is now worshipped by the whole province of Asia;
nay, by the whole world."

019:028 After listening to this harangue, they became furiously angry
and kept calling out, "Great is the Ephesian Diana!"

019:029 The riot and uproar spread through the whole city,
till at last with one accord they rushed into the Theatre,
dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, two Macedonians
who were fellow travellers with Paul.

019:030 Then Paul would have liked to go in and address the people,
but the disciples would not let him do so.

019:031 A few of the public officials, too, who were friendly to him,
sent repeated messages entreating him not to venture
into the Theatre.

019:032 The people, meanwhile, kept shouting, some one thing and
some another; for the assembly was all uproar and confusion,
and the greater part had no idea why they had come together.

019:033 Then some of the people crowded round Alexander, whom the Jews
had pushed forward; and Alexander, motioning with his hand
to get silence, was prepared to make a defence to the people.

019:034 No sooner, however, did they see that he was a Jew, than there arose
from them all one roar of shouting, lasting about two hours.
"Great is the Ephesian Diana," they said.

019:035 At length the Recorder quieted them down. "Men of Ephesus,"
he said, "who is there of all mankind that needs to be told
that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of
the great Diana and of the image which fell down from Zeus?

019:036 These facts, then, being unquestioned, it becomes you to maintain
your self-control and not act recklessly.

019:037 For you have brought these men here, who are neither robbers
of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess.

019:038 If, however, Demetrius and the mechanics who support his
contention have a grievance against any one, there are
Assize-days and there are Proconsuls: let the persons
interested accuse one another.

019:039 But if you desire anything further, it will have to be settled
in the regular assembly.

019:040 For in connexion with to-day's proceedings there is danger
of our being charged with attempted insurrection, there having
been no real reason for this riot; nor shall we be able
to justify the behaviour of this disorderly mob."

019:041 With these words he dismissed the assembly.

020:001 When the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples;
and, after speaking words of encouragement to them, he took
his leave, and started for Macedonia.

020:002 Passing through those districts he encouraged the disciples
in frequent addresses, and then came into Greece, and spent
three months there.

020:003 The Jews having planned to waylay him whenever he might be
on the point of taking ship for Syria, he decided to travel
back by way of Macedonia.

020:004 He was accompanied as far as the province of Asia by Sopater
the Beroean, the son of Pyrrhus; by the Thessalonians,
Aristarchus and Secundus; by Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy;
and by the Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus.

020:005 These brethren had gone on and were waiting for us in the Troad.