And straight away she went down at his feet, and her life went from her: and the young men came in and saw her dead, and they took her out and put her in the earth with her husband.
Then great fear came on all the church and on all who had knowledge of these things.
Now a number of signs and wonders were done among the people by the hands of the Apostles; and they were all together in Solomon's covered way.
The others, in fear, kept back from joining them: but the people made much of them;
And a great number of men and women had faith, and were joined to the Lord;
And they even took into the streets people who were ill, and put them on beds, so that when Peter went by, some of them might be in his shade.
And numbers of people came together from the towns round about Jerusalem, with those who were ill and those who were troubled with unclean spirits: and they were all made well.
But the high priest and those who were with him (the Sadducees) were full of envy,
And they took the apostles and put them in the common prison.
But in the night an angel of the Lord, opening the doors of the prison, took them out and said,
Go, take your place in the temple and give the people all the teaching about this Life.
And hearing this, they went into the Temple at dawn, and were teaching. But the high priest and those who were with him got together the Sanhedrin and the representatives of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to get them.
But the men who were sent saw that they were not in the prison, and came back with the news,
Saying, The doors of the prison were safely shut, and the keepers were at the doors, but when they were open, there was nobody inside.
Now, at these words, the captain of the Temple and the chief priests were greatly troubled about what might be the end of this business.
And someone came and said to them, The men, whom you put in prison, are in the Temple teaching the people.
Then the captain and some of the police went and took them, but not violently, for fear that they might be stoned by the people.
And they took them into the Sanhedrin, and the high priest said to them,
We gave you very clear orders not to give teaching in this name: and now Jerusalem is full of your teaching, and you are attempting to make us responsible for this man's death.
But Peter and the Apostles, answering, said, We have to do the orders of God, not of man.
The God of our fathers gave Jesus back to life, whom you had put to death, hanging him on a tree.
Him God has put on high at his right hand, as a ruler and a Saviour, to give to Israel a change of heart and forgiveness of sins.
And we are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who keep his laws.
But when these words came to their ears, they were cut to the heart, and had a mind to put them to death.
But one of the Sanhedrin, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a man of learning in the law, of whom all the people had a high opinion, got up and made a suggestion for the men to be put outside for a little time.
And he said to them, Men of Israel, take care what you do about these men.
For before this there was Theudas, who said he was someone important, to whom about four hundred men gave their support: he was put to death, and his band was broken up and came to nothing.
After this man, there was Judas of Galilee, at the time of the numbering, and some of the people went after him: he was put to death, and all his supporters were put to flight.
And now I say to you, Do nothing to these men, but let them be: for if this teaching or this work is of men, it will come to nothing:
But if it is of God, you will not be able to overcome them, and you are in danger of fighting against God.
And he seemed to them to be right: and they sent for the Apostles, and, after having them whipped and giving them orders to give no teaching in the name of Jesus, they let them go.
So they went away from the Sanhedrin, happy to undergo shame for the Name.
And every day, in the Temple and privately, they went on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.
Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was increasing, protests were made by the Greek Jews against the Hebrews, because their widows were not taken care of in the distribution of food every day.
And the Apostles sent for all the disciples and said, It is not right for us to give up preaching the word of God in order to make distribution of food.
Take then from among you seven men of good name, full of the spirit and of wisdom, to whom we may give control of this business.
Then we will give all our time to prayer and the teaching of the word.
And this saying was pleasing to all of them: and they made selection of Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and philip and Prochorus and Nicanor and Timon and Parmenas and Nicolas of Antioch, who had become a Jew:
These they took to the Apostles, who, after prayer, put their hands on them.
And the word of God was increasing in power; and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem became very great, and a great number of priests were in agreement with the faith.
And Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.
But some of those who were of the synagogue named that of the Libertines, and some of the men of Cyrene and of Alexandria and those from Cilicia and Asia, had arguments with Stephen.
But they were not able to get the better of him, for his words were full of wisdom and of the Spirit.
Then they got men to say, He has said evil against Moses and against God, in our hearing.
And the people, with the rulers and the scribes, were moved against him, and they came and took him before the Sanhedrin,
And they got false witnesses who said, This man is for ever saying things against this holy place and against the law:
For he has said in our hearing that this Jesus of Nazareth will put this place to destruction and make changes in the rules which were handed down to us by Moses.
And all those who were in the Sanhedrin, looking at him, saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
Then the high priest said, Are these things true?
And he said, My brothers and fathers, give hearing. The God of glory came to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he was living in Haran,
And said to him, Go out of your land, and away from your family, and come into the land to which I will be your guide.
Then he came out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and went into Haran; and from there, when his father was dead, he was guided by God into this land, where you are living now:
And God gave him no heritage in it, not even enough to put his foot on: but he gave him an undertaking that he would give it to him and to his children after him, though he had no child at that time.
And God said that his seed would be living in a strange land, and that they would make them servants, and be cruel to them for four hundred years.
And I will be the judge, said God, of that nation which made them servants: and after that, they will come out and give me worship in this place.
And he made with him the agreement of which circumcision was the sign. And so Abraham had a son, Isaac, and gave him circumcision on the eighth day; and Isaac had a son, Jacob, and Jacob was the father of the twelve heads of the families of Israel.
And the brothers, moved with envy against Joseph, gave him to the egyptians for money: but God was with him,
And made him free from all his troubles, and gave him wisdom and the approval of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and all his house.
Now there was no food to be had in all Egypt and Canaan, and there was great trouble: and our fathers were not able to get food.
But Jacob, hearing that there was grain in Egypt, sent out our fathers the first time.
And the second time his brothers had a meeting with Joseph, and pharaoh had knowledge of Joseph's family.
Then Joseph sent for Jacob his father and all his family, seventy-five persons.
And Jacob went down to Egypt, and came to his end there, and so did our fathers;
And they were taken over to Shechem, and put to rest in the place which Abraham got for a price in silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.
But when the time was near for putting into effect the undertaking which God had given to Abraham, the people were increasing in Egypt,
Till another king came to power, who had no knowledge of Joseph.
He, having evil designs against our nation, was cruel to our fathers, and they were forced to put out their young children, so that they might not go on living.
At which time Moses came to birth, and he was very beautiful; and he was kept for three months in his father's house:
And when he was put out, Pharaoh's daughter took him and kept him as her son.
And Moses was trained in all the wisdom of Egypt, and was great in his words and works.
But when he was almost forty years old, it came into his heart to go and see his brothers, the children of Israel.
And seeing one of them being attacked, he went to his help and gave the Egyptian a death-blow:
And he was hoping that his brothers would see that God had sent him to be their saviour; but they did not see.
And the day after, he came to them, while they were having a fight, and would have made peace between them, saying, Sirs, you are brothers; why do you do wrong to one another?
But the man who was doing wrong to his neighbour, pushing him away, said, Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?
Will you put me to death as you did the Egyptian yesterday?
And at these words, Moses went in flight to the land of Midian, and was living there for a time, and had two sons.
At the end of forty years, an angel came to him in the waste land of Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn-tree.
And Moses, seeing it, was full of wonder, and when he came up to have a nearer view of it, the voice of the Lord came to him, saying,
I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob. And Moses, shaking with fear, kept his eyes from looking at it.
And the Lord said, Take off the shoes from your feet, for the place where you are is holy.
Truly, I have seen the sorrows of my people in Egypt, and their cries have come to my ears, and I have come down to make them free: and now, come, I will send you to Egypt.
This Moses, whom they would not have, saying, Who made you a ruler and a judge? him God sent to be a ruler and a saviour, by the hand of the angel whom he saw in the thorn-tree.
This man took them out, having done wonders and signs in Egypt and in the Red sea and in the waste land, for forty years.
This is the same Moses, who said to the children of Israel, God will give you a prophet from among your brothers, like me.
This is the man who was in the church in the waste land with the angel who was talking to him in Sinai, and with our fathers; and to him were given the living words of God, so that he might give them to you.
By whom our fathers would not be controlled; but they put him on one side, turning back in their hearts to Egypt,
And saying to Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: as for this Moses, who took us out of the land of Egypt, we have no idea what has become of him.
And they made the image of a young ox in those days, and made an offering to it, and had joy in the work of their hands.
But God was turned from them and let them give worship to the stars of heaven, as it says in the book of the prophets, Did you make offerings to me of sheep and oxen for forty years in the waste land, O house of Israel?
And you took up the tent of Moloch and the star of the god Rephan, images which you made to give worship to them: and I will take you away, farther than Babylon.
Our fathers had the Tent of witness in the waste land, as God gave orders to Moses to make it after the design which he had seen.
Which our fathers, in their turn, took with them when, with Joshua, they came into the heritage of the nations whom God was driving out before the face of our fathers, till the time of David,
Who was pleasing to God; and he had a desire to make a holy tent for the God of Jacob.
But Solomon was the builder of his house.
But still, the Most High has not his resting-place in houses made with hands, as the prophet says,
Heaven is the seat of my power, and earth is a resting-place for my feet: what sort of house will you make for me, says the Lord, or what is my place of rest?
Did not my hand make all these things?
You whose hearts are hard and whose ears are shut to me; you are ever working against the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.
Which of the prophets was not cruelly attacked by your fathers? and they put to death those who gave them the news of the coming of the Upright One; whom you have now given up and put to death;
You, to whom the law was given as it was ordered by angels, and who have not kept it.
Hearing these things, they were cut to the heart and moved with wrath against him.
But he was full of the Holy Spirit, and looking up to heaven, he saw the glory of God and Jesus at the right hand of God.
And he said, Now I see heaven open, and the Son of man at the right hand of God.
But with loud cries, and stopping their ears, they made an attack on him all together,
Driving him out of the town and stoning him: and the witnesses put their clothing at the feet of a young man named Saul.
And Stephen, while he was being stoned, made prayer to God, saying, Lord Jesus, take my spirit.
And going down on his knees, he said in a loud voice, Lord, do not make them responsible for this sin. And when he had said this, he went to his rest.
And Saul gave approval to his death. Now at that time a violent attack was started against the church in Jerusalem; and all but the apostles went away into all parts of judaea and Samaria.
And God-fearing men put Stephen's body in its last resting-place, making great weeping over him.
But Saul was burning with hate against the church, going into every house and taking men and women and putting them in prison.
But those who had gone in flight went everywhere preaching the word.
And Philip went down to Samaria and was teaching them about Christ.
And all the people gave attention to the words which philip said, when they saw the signs which he did.
For unclean spirits came out from those who had them, crying with a loud voice; and a number of those who were ill and broken in body were made well.
And there was much joy in that town.
But there was a certain man named Simon, who in the past had been a wonder-worker and a cause of surprise to the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was a great man:
To whom they all gave attention, from the smallest to the greatest, saying, This man is that power of God which is named Great.
And they gave attention to him, because for a long time his wonder-working powers had kept them under his control.
But when they had faith in the good news given by Philip about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, a number of men and women had baptism.
And Simon himself had faith and, having had baptism, he went with Philip and, seeing the signs and the great wonders which he did, he was full of surprise.
Now when the Apostles at Jerusalem had news that the people of Samaria had taken the word of God into their hearts, they sent to them Peter and John;
Who, when they came there, made prayer for them, that the holy Spirit might be given to them:
For up to that time he had not come on any of them; only baptism had been given to them in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Then they put their hands on them, and the Holy spirit came on them.
Now when Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given through the touch of the Apostles' hands, he made them an offering of money, saying,
Give me this power, so that when I put my hands on anyone he may get the Holy Spirit.
But Peter said, May your money come to destruction with you, because you had the idea that what is freely given by God may be got for a price.
You have no part in this business, because your heart is not right before God.
Let your heart be changed, and make prayer to God that you may have forgiveness for your evil thoughts.
For I see that you are prisoned in bitter envy and the chains of sin.
And Simon, answering, said, Make prayer for me to the Lord, so that these things which you have said may not come on me.
So they, having given their witness and made clear the word of the Lord, went back to Jerusalem, giving the good news on their way in a number of the small towns of Samaria.
But an angel of the Lord said to Philip, Get up, and go to the south, to the road which goes from Jerusalem to Gaza, through the waste land.
And he went and there was a man of Ethiopia, a servant of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, and controller of all her property, who had come up to Jerusalem for worship;
He was going back, seated in his carriage, and was reading the book of the prophet Isaiah.
And the Spirit said to Philip, Go near, and get on his carriage.
And Philip, running up to him, saw that he was reading Isaiah the prophet, and said to him, Is the sense of what you are reading clear to you?
And he said, How is that possible when I have no guide? And he made Philip get up by his side.
Now the place in the book where he was reading was this: He was taken, like a sheep, to be put to death; and as a lamb is quiet when its wool is being cut, so he made no sound:
Being of low degree, his cause was not given a hearing: who has knowledge of his family? for his life is cut off from the earth.
And the Ethiopian said to Philip, About whom are these words said by the prophet? about himself, or some other?
So Philip, starting from this writing, gave him the good news about Jesus.
And while they were going on their way, they came to some water, and the Ethiopian said, See, here is water; why may I not have baptism?
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And he gave orders for the carriage to be stopped, and the two of them went down into the water, and Philip gave him baptism.
And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away; and the Ethiopian saw him no more, for he went on his way full of joy.
But Philip came to Azotus, and went through all the towns, preaching the good news, till he came to Caesarea.
But Saul, still burning with desire to put to death the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest,
And made a request for letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if there were any of the Way there, men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
And while he was journeying, he came near Damascus; and suddenly he saw a light from heaven shining round him;
And he went down on the earth, and a voice said to him, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly?
And he said, Who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are attacking:
But get up, and go into the town, and it will be made clear to you what you have to do.
And the men who were with him were not able to say anything; hearing the voice, but seeing no one.
And Saul got up from the earth, and when his eyes were open, he saw nothing; and he was guided by the hand into Damascus.
And for three days he was not able to see, and he took no food or drink.
Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias! and he said, Here I am, Lord.
And the Lord said to him, Get up, and go to the street which is named Straight, and make search at the house of Judas for one named Saul of Tarsus: for he is at prayer;
And he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hands on him, so that he may be able to see.
But Ananias said, Lord, I have had accounts of this man from a number of people, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem:
And here he has authority from the chief priests to make prisoners all who give worship to your name.
But the Lord said, Go without fear: for he is a special vessel for me, to give to the gentiles and kings and to the children of Israel the knowledge of my name:
For I will make clear to him what troubles he will have to undergo for me.
And Ananias went out and came to the house, and putting his hands on him, said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, whom you saw when you were on your journey, has sent me, so that you may be able to see, and be full of the holy Spirit.
And straight away it seemed as if a veil was taken from his eyes, and he was able to see; and he got up, and had baptism;
And when he had taken food his strength came back. And for some days he kept with the disciples who were in Damascus.
And straight away, in the Synagogues, he was preaching Jesus as the Son of God.
And all those hearing him were full of wonder and said, Is not this the man who in Jerusalem was attacking all the worshippers of this name? and he had come here so that he might take them as prisoners before the chief priests.
But Saul went on increasing in power, and the Jews in Damascus were not able to give answers to the arguments by which he made it clear that Jesus was the Christ.
Then, after some days, the Jews made an agreement together to put him to death:
But Saul got knowledge of their design. And they kept watch day and night on the roads out of the town, so that they might put him to death:
But his disciples took him by night and let him down from the wall in a basket.
And when he came to Jerusalem, he made an attempt to be joined to the disciples, but they were all in fear of him, not taking him for a disciple.
But barnabas took him to the Apostles and gave them an account of how he had seen the Lord on the road, and had given hearing to his words, and how at Damascus he had been preaching in the name of Jesus without fear.
And he was with them, going in and out at Jerusalem,
Preaching in the name of the Lord without fear; and he had discussions with the Greek Jews; but they were working for his death.
And when the brothers had knowledge of it, they took him to Caesarea and sent him to Tarsus.
And so the church through all judaea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was made strong; and, living in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, was increased greatly.
And it came about that while Peter was going through all parts of the country he came to the saints who were living at Lydda.
And there was a certain man there, named Aeneas, who for eight years had been in bed, without power of moving.
And Peter said to him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ makes you well: get up and make your bed. And straight away he got up.
And all those living in Lydda and Sharon saw him, and were turned to the Lord.
Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, that is, Dorcas: this woman was given to good works and acts of mercy at all times.
And it came about, in those days, that she got ill and came to her death: and when she had been washed, they put her in a room which was high up.
And because Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, having knowledge that Peter was there, sent two men to him, requesting him to come to them straight away.
And Peter went with them. And when he had come, they took him into the room: and all the widows were there, weeping and putting before him the coats and clothing which Dorcas had made while she was with them.
But Peter made them all go outside, and went down on his knees in prayer; and turning to the body, he said, Tabitha, get up. And, opening her eyes, she saw Peter and got up.
And he took her hand, lifting her up; and, sending for the saints and widows, he gave her to them, living.
And news of it went all through Joppa, and a number of people had faith in the Lord.
And he was living in Joppa for some time with Simon, a leather-worker.
Now there was a certain man in Caesarea, named Cornelius, the captain of the Italian band of the army;
A serious-minded man, fearing God with all his family; he gave much money to the poor, and made prayer to God at all times.
He saw in a vision, clearly, at about the ninth hour of the day, an angel of the Lord coming to him and saying to him, Cornelius!
And he, looking on him in fear, said, What is it, Lord? And he said to him, Your prayers and your offerings have come up to God, and he has kept them in mind.
Now send men to Joppa, and get one Simon, named Peter,
Who is living with Simon, a leather-worker, whose house is by the sea.
And when the angel who said these words to him had gone away, he sent for two of his house-servants, and a God-fearing man of the army, one of those who were waiting on him at all times;
And having given them an account of everything, he sent them to Joppa.
Now the day after, when they were on their journey and were near the town, Peter went up to the top of the house for prayer, about the sixth hour:
And he was in need of food: but while they were getting it ready, a deep sleep came on him;
And he saw the heavens opening, and a vessel coming down, like a great cloth let down on the earth,
In which were all sorts of beasts and birds.
And a voice came to him, saying, Come, Peter; take them for food.
But Peter said, No, Lord; for I have never taken food which is common or unclean.
And the voice came to him a second time, What God has made clean, do not you make common.
And this was done three times: and then the vessel was taken back into heaven.
Now while Peter was in doubt as to the purpose of this vision, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made search for Simon's house, came to the door,
To see if Simon, named Peter, was living there.
And, while Peter was turning the vision over in his mind, the spirit said to him, See, three men are looking for you.
Go down, then, and go with them, doubting nothing, for I have sent them.
And Peter went down to the men, and said, I am the man you are looking for: why have you come?
And they said, Cornelius, a captain, an upright and God-fearing man, respected by all the nation of the Jews, had word from God by an angel to send for you to his house, and to give hearing to your words.
So he took them in for the night. And the day after, he went with them, taking some of the brothers from Joppa with him.
And the day after that, they came to Caesarea. And Cornelius was waiting for them, having got together his relations and his near friends.
And when Peter came in, Cornelius came to him and, falling down at his feet, gave him worship.
But Peter, lifting him up, said, Get up, for I am a man as you are.
And saying these words, he went in, and saw that a great number of people had come together;
And he said to them, You yourselves have knowledge that it is against the law for a man who is a Jew to be in the company of one who is of another nation; but God has made it clear to me that no man may be named common or unclean:
And so I came without question, when I was sent for. What then is your purpose in sending for me?
And Cornelius said, Four days from now I was in my house in prayer at the ninth hour; and I saw before me a man in shining clothing,
Who said, Cornelius, your prayer has come to the ears of God, and your offerings are kept in his memory.
Send, then, to Joppa, and get Simon, named Peter, to come to you; he is living in the house of Simon, a leather-worker, by the sea.
So, straight away, I sent for you; and you have done well to come. And now, we are all present before God, ready to give attention to all the things which the Lord has given you to say.
Then Peter said, Truly, I see clearly that God is no respecter of persons:
But in every nation, the man who has fear of him and does righteousness is pleasing to him.
The word which he sent to the children of Israel, giving the good news of peace through Jesus Christ (who is Lord of all)--
That word you yourselves have knowledge of, which was made public through all Judaea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism of which John was the preacher,
About Jesus of Nazareth, how God gave the holy Spirit to him, with power: and how he went about doing good and making well all who were troubled by evil spirits, for God was with him.
And we are witnesses of all the things which he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem; whom they put to death, hanging him on a tree.
On the third day God gave him back to life, and let him be seen,
Not by all the people, but by witnesses marked out before by God, even by us, who took food and drink with him after he came back from the dead.
And he gave us orders to give news of this to the people, and to give public witness that this is he whom God has made judge of the living and the dead.
To him all the prophets give witness, that through his name everyone who has faith in him will have forgiveness of sins.
While Peter was saying these words, the Holy Spirit came on all those who were hearing the word.
And the Jews of the faith, who had come with Peter, were full of wonder, because the Holy Spirit was given to the Gentiles,
And they were talking in tongues, and giving glory to God. Then Peter said,
Will any man say that these may not have baptism who have been given the Holy Spirit as we have?
And he gave orders for them to have baptism in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they kept him with them for some days.
Now the apostles and the brothers who were in judaea had news that the word of God had been given to the Gentiles.
And when Peter came to Jerusalem, those who kept the rule of circumcision had an argument with him,
Saying, You went to men without circumcision, and took food with them.
But Peter gave them an account of it all in order, saying to them,
I was in the town of Joppa, at prayer: and falling into a deep sleep, I saw in a vision a vessel like a great cloth let down from heaven, and it came down to me:
And looking on it with attention I saw in it all sorts of beasts and birds.
And a voice came to my ears saying, Come, Peter; take them for food.
But I said, No, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever come into my mouth.
But the voice, coming a second time from heaven, said, What God has made clean, do not you make common.
And this was done three times, and they were all taken up again into heaven.
And at that minute, three men, sent from Caesarea, came to the house where we were.
And the spirit gave me orders to go with them, doubting nothing. And these six brothers came with me; and we went into that man's house:
And he gave us an account of how he had seen the angel in his house, saying, Send to Joppa, and get Simon, named Peter, to come to you;
Who will say words to you through which you and all your family may get salvation.
And, while I was talking to them, the holy Spirit came on them, as on us at first.
And the words of the Lord came into my mind, how he said, The baptism of John was with water, but you will have baptism with the Holy Spirit.
If then God gave them, when they had faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the same as he gave to us, who was I to go against God?
And hearing these things they said nothing more, but gave glory to God, saying, Then to the gentiles as to us has God given a change of heart, so that they may have life.
Then those who had gone away at the time of the trouble about Stephen, went as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus, preaching to the Jews only.
But some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, when they came to Antioch, gave the good news about the Lord Jesus to the Greeks.
And the power of the Lord was with them, and a great number had faith and were turned to the Lord.
And news of them came to the ears of the church at Jerusalem: and they sent barnabas as far as Antioch:
Who, when he came and saw the grace of God, was glad; and he made clear to them the need of keeping near the Lord with all the strength of their hearts:
For he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith: and a great number were joined to the Lord.
Then he went on to Tarsus, looking for Saul;
And when he had come across him, he took him to Antioch. And they were with the church there for a year, teaching the people; and the disciples were first given the name of Christians in Antioch.
Now in those days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch.
And one of them, named Agabus, said publicly through the Spirit that there would be serious need of food all over the earth: which came about in the time of Claudius.
And the disciples, everyone as he was able, made a decision to send help to the brothers living in Judaea:
Which they did, sending it to the rulers of the church by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.
Now, about that time, herod the king made cruel attacks on the Christians.
And he put James, the brother of John, to death with the sword.
And when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews he went on to take Peter in addition. This was at the time of the feast of unleavened bread.
And having taken him, he put him in prison, with four bands of armed men to keep watch over him; his purpose being to take him out to the people after the Passover.
So Peter was kept in prison: but the church made strong prayer to God for him.
And when Herod was about to take him out, the same night Peter was sleeping in chains between two armed men, and the watchmen were keeping watch before the door of the prison.
And a great light was seen shining in the room, and an angel of the Lord came to Peter and, touching him on his side so that he came out of his sleep, said, Get up quickly. And his chains came off his hands.
Then the angel said, Put on your shoes and get ready to go. And he did so. And he said, Put your coat round you and come with me.
And he went out after him; and he was not certain if what was done by the angel was a fact, for it seemed to him that he was seeing a vision.
And when they had gone past the first and second watchmen they came to the iron door into the town, which came open by itself: and they went out and down one street; and then the angel went away.
And when Peter came to his senses he said, Now, truly, I am certain that the Lord has sent his angel and taken me out of the hands of Herod, against all the hopes of the Jews.
And when he became clear about this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John named Mark, where a number of them had come together for prayer.
And he gave a blow on the door, and a young girl came to it, named Rhoda.
And hearing the voice of Peter, in her joy she went running, without opening the door, to say that Peter was outside.
And they said to her, You are off your head. But still she said, with decision, that it was so. And they said, It is his angel.
But Peter went on giving blows on the door: and when it was open and they saw him, they were full of wonder.
But he made a sign to them with his hand to be quiet, and gave them an account of how the Lord had taken him out of prison. And he said, Give the news to James and the brothers. And then he went away.
Now when it was day, the armed men were greatly troubled about what had become of Peter.
And Herod, when he sent for him, and he was not there, after questioning the watchmen, gave orders that they were to be put to death. Then he went down from judaea to Caesarea for a time.
Now he was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon: and they came to him, all together, and having made friends with Blastus, the controller of the king's house, they made a request for peace, because their country was dependent on the king's country for its food.
And on the day which had been fixed, Herod, dressed in his robes and seated in his place, made a public statement to them.
And the people, with loud cries, said, It is the voice of a god, not of a man.
And straight away the angel of the Lord sent a disease on him, because he did not give the glory to God: and his flesh was wasted away by worms, and so he came to his end.
But the word of the Lord went on increasing.
And barnabas and Saul came back from Jerusalem, when their work was ended, taking with them John named Mark.
Now there were at Antioch, in the church there, prophets and teachers, Barnabas, and Symeon who was named Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, a relation of herod the king, and Saul.
And while they were doing the Lord's work, and going without food, the holy Spirit said, Let Barnabas and Saul be given to me for the special work for which they have been marked out by me.
Then, after prayer and going without food they put their hands on them, and sent them away.
So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia; and from there they went by ship to Cyprus.
And at Salamis they were preaching the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and John was with them, helping them.
And when they had gone through all the island to Paphos, they came across a certain wonder-worker and false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus;
Who was with the ruler, Sergius Paulus, an able man. This man sent for barnabas and Saul, desiring to have knowledge of the word of God.
But Elymas, the wonder-worker (for that is the sense of his name), put himself against them, with the purpose of turning the ruler from the faith.
But Saul, whose other name is Paul, being full of the Holy Spirit, looking hard at him, said,
O you, who are full of false tricks and evil ways, a son of the Evil One, hating all righteousness, will you for ever be turning people from the right ways of the Lord?
And now, see, the hand of the Lord is on you, and you will be blind and not able to see the sun for a time. And straight away a dark mist came down on him; and he went about looking for a guide.
Then the ruler, when he saw what was done, had faith, being full of wonder at the teaching of the Lord.
Then Paul and those who were with him went by ship from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia: and there John went away from them and came back to Jerusalem.
But they, going through from Perga, came to antioch in Pisidia; and they went into the synagogue on the Sabbath and were seated.
And after the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the Synagogue sent to them, saying, Brothers, if you have a word of comfort for the people, say on.
And Paul, getting up and making a sign with his hand, said, Men of Israel, and you who have the fear of God, give ear.
The God of this people Israel made selection of our fathers, lifting the people up from their low condition when they were living in the land of Egypt, and with a strong arm took them out of it.
And for about forty years he put up with their ways in the waste land.
And having put to destruction seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them the land for their heritage for about four hundred and fifty years.
And after these things he gave them judges, till the time of Samuel the prophet.
Then at their request for a king, God gave them Saul, the son of Kish, a man of the family of Benjamin, who was their king for forty years.
Most of the teaching of Jesus are recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The Complete Sayings of Jesus presents every word spoken by Jesus in one place and provides an index to assist in finding specific ocassions, places and/or events. It is a must read aid for serious Bible study.
He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, saith the Lord. These are the words of Christ; and they direct us to imitate his life and character. The Imitation of Christ is guide to following the example of Jesus Christ. Let it be our most earnest study to dwell upon the life and example of Jesus.
The Apocrypha books are 14 books that were included between the old and new testaments in the original King James Version of the bible and many others. Church leaders agreed that these books were valuable for instruction in life and manners, but did not all agree that they should be considered cannon.
The Childrens Bible provides bible lessons from the Old and New testaments. There are 216 stories written in plain english. The stories are easy to read and understand but they are not just for childern. It is a pleasure to read and enjoy these important stories.
Let us love one another, for love comes from God and every one who loves is a child of God and knows God. He who loves not man does not know God, for God is love. God showed his love for us, for he sent his only Son into the world that through him we might have life. Love the stranger.
In Mark 12:30 Jesus said;
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this [is] the first commandment.
And the second Mark 12:31 [is] like, [namely] this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
The Gospel of The Birth of Mary was attributed to St. Matthew and was received as genuine and authentic by early Christians. It is to be found in the works of Jerome, a Father of the Church in the 4th century and is translated from his collection.
The Book of Enoch is ascribed to the great-grandfather of Noah and is included in the cannon of some churches. It describes the fall of the angels (watchers), visions of heaven and hell and the birth of Noah. Quotes from the book of Enoch are found in the New Testament.
The First Book of Adam and Eve. Books 1 begins immediately after the expulsion from the Garden of Eden. We learn about the fall but also of the promise to save Adam and his decendents. The story depicts mans struggle against evil, the devil and sin.
The Second Book of Adam and Eve. Discusses Adam's sorrow and death. The history of the patriarchs who lived before the Flood until the birth of Noah; the children of Seth on Mount Hermon and Cain's death. It ends with the testament and translation of Enoch.
The Infancy of Jesus Christ (Infancy Gospel of Thomas) relates the life of Jesus from the ages of five to twelve. It is believed that the document was transcribed from oral traditions some time prior to the second century. The ancient writing is possibly Gnostic and many early church leaders considered it heretical.
Daily Bible study is essential. The Bible Verse of the Day provides a collection of enlightening and inspiration bible verses. Improve your knowledge and understanding of the Bible and your life by studying the words of the holy scripture. Explore the King James Bible (kjv) and discover new insights.
The World English Bible was produced to provide speakers of modern English with a version of the Bible that is easily understood. The Bible is in the public domain and available world-wide. It is an accurate modern translation of the original King James Bible, including the Apocryphal books.
Looking for something in the Bible? Want to find a specifc verse or list of words? The Bible search feature makes it easy find verses or words. Enter the verses or words in the search bar or visit the search page to access additional search options. Finding information in the Bible will never be easier.
The favorite verses page is a list of popular bible verses. Each verse includes a link to the chapter and verse of the book where it is found in the bible. Click on any link for a bible verse and it will take you to that location in the bible.
The bible contains great stories. Visit the bible stories page for links to some of the best known and most significant stories and passages in the bible.