The Bible (Old and New Testaments)

not to all the people, but to witnesses, to those having been chosen before by God — to us who did eat with [him], and did drink with him, after his rising out of the dead;

and he commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify fully that it is he who hath been ordained by God judge of living and dead —

to this one do all the prophets testify, that through his name every one that is believing in him doth receive remission of sins.'

While Peter is yet speaking these sayings, the Holy spirit fell upon all those hearing the word,

and those of the circumcision believing were astonished — as many as came with Peter — because also upon the nations the gift of the Holy Spirit hath been poured out,

for they were hearing them speaking with tongues and magnifying God.

Then answered Peter, 'The water is any one able to forbid, that these may not be baptized, who the Holy Spirit did receive — even as also we?'

he commanded them also to be baptized in the name of the Lord; then they besought him to remain certain days.

And the apostles and the brethren who are in Judea heard that also the nations did receive the word of God,

and when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision were contending with him,

saying — 'Unto men uncircumcised thou didst go in, and didst eat with them!'

And Peter having begun, did expound to them in order saying,

'I was in the city of Joppa praying, and I saw in a trance a vision, a certain vessel coming down, as a great sheet by four corners being let down out of the heaven, and it came unto me;

at which having looked stedfastly, I was considering, and I saw the four-footed beasts of the earth, and the wild beasts, and the creeping things, and the fowls of heaven;

and I heard a voice saying to me, Having risen, Peter, slay and eat;

and I said, Not so, Lord; because anything common or unclean hath at no time entered into my mouth;

and a voice did answer me a second time out of the heaven, What God did cleanse, thou — declare not thou common.

'And this happened thrice, and again was all drawn up to the heaven,

and, lo, immediately, three men stood at the house in which I was, having been sent from Caesarea unto me,

and the Spirit said to me to go with them, nothing doubting, and these six brethren also went with me, and we did enter into the house of the man,

he declared also to us how he saw the messenger in his house standing, and saying to him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, who is surnamed Peter,

who shall speak sayings by which thou shalt be saved, thou and all thy house.

'And in my beginning to speak, the Holy Spirit did fall upon them, even as also upon us in the beginning,

and I remembered the saying of the Lord, how he said, John indeed did baptize with water, and ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit;

if then the equal gift God did give to them as also to us, having believed upon the Lord Jesus Christ, I — how was I able to withstand God?'

And they, having heard these things, were silent, and were glorifying God, saying, 'Then, indeed, also to the nations did God give the reformation to life.'

Those, indeed, therefore, having been scattered abroad, from the tribulation that came after Stephen, went through unto Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to none except to Jews only;

and there were certain of them men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who having entered into Antioch, were speaking unto the Hellenists, proclaiming good news — the Lord Jesus,

and the hand of the Lord was with them, a great number also, having believed, did turn unto the Lord.

And the account was heard in the ears of the assembly that [is] in Jerusalem concerning them, and they sent forth Barnabas to go through unto Antioch,

who, having come, and having seen the grace of God, was glad, and was exhorting all with purpose of heart to cleave to the Lord,

because he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit, and of faith, and a great multitude was added to the Lord.

And Barnabas went forth to Tarsus, to seek for Saul,

and having found him, he brought him to Antioch, and it came to pass that they a whole year did assemble together in the assembly, and taught a great multitude, the disciples also were divinely called first in Antioch Christians.

And in those days there came from Jerusalem prophets to Antioch,

and one of them, by name Agabus, having stood up, did signify through the Spirit a great dearth is about to be throughout all the world — which also came to pass in the time of Claudius Caesar —

and the disciples, according as any one was prospering, determined each of them to send for ministration to the brethren dwelling in Judea,

which also they did, having sent unto the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

And about that time, Herod the king put forth his hands, to do evil to certain of those of the assembly,

and he killed James, the brother of John, with the sword,

and having seen that it is pleasing to the Jews, he added to lay hold of Peter also — and they were the days of the unleavened food —

whom also having seized, he did put in prison, having delivered [him] to four quaternions of soldiers to guard him, intending after the passover to bring him forth to the people.

Peter, therefore, indeed, was kept in the prison, and fervent prayer was being made by the assembly unto God for him,

and when Herod was about to bring him forth, the same night was Peter sleeping between two soldiers, having been bound with two chains, guards also before the door were keeping the prison,

and lo, a messenger of the Lord stood by, and a light shone in the buildings, and having smitten Peter on the side, he raised him up, saying, 'Rise in haste,' and his chains fell from off [his] hands.

The messenger also said to him, 'Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals;' and he did so; and he saith to him, 'Put thy garment round and be following me;'

and having gone forth, he was following him, and he knew not that it is true that which is done through the messenger, and was thinking he saw a vision,

and having passed through a first ward, and a second, they came unto the iron gate that is leading to the city, which of its own accord did open to them, and having gone forth, they went on through one street, and immediately the messenger departed from him.

And Peter having come to himself, said, 'Now I have known of a truth that the Lord did sent forth His messenger, and did deliver me out of the hand of Herod, and all the expectation of the people of the Jews;'

also, having considered, he came unto the house of Mary, the mother of John, who is surnamed Mark, where there were many thronged together and praying.

And Peter having knocked at the door of the porch, there came a damsel to hearken, by name Rhoda,

and having known the voice of Peter, from the joy she did not open the porch, but having run in, told of the standing of Peter before the porch,

and they said unto her, 'Thou art mad;' and she was confidently affirming [it] to be so, and they said, 'It is his messenger;'

and Peter was continuing knocking, and having opened, they saw him, and were astonished,

and having beckoned to them with the hand to be silent, he declared to them how the Lord brought him out of the prison, and he said, 'Declare to James and to the brethren these things;' and having gone forth, he went on to another place.

And day having come, there was not a little stir among the soldiers what then was become of Peter,

and Herod having sought for him, and not having found, having examined the guards, did command [them] to be led away to punishment, and having gone down from Judea to Caesarea, he was abiding [there].

And Herod was highly displeased with the Tyrians and Sidonians, and with one accord they came unto him, and having made a friend of Blastus, who [is] over the bed-chambers of the king, they were asking peace, because of their country being nourished from the king's;

and on a set day, Herod having arrayed himself in kingly apparel, and having sat down upon the tribunal, was making an oration unto them,

and the populace were shouting, 'The voice of a god, and not of a man;'

and presently there smote him a messenger of the Lord, because he did not give the glory to God, and having been eaten of worms, he expired.

And the word of God did grow and did multiply,

and Barnabas and Saul did turn back out of Jerusalem, having fulfilled the ministration, having taken also with [them] John, who was surnamed Mark.

And there were certain in Antioch, in the assembly there, prophets and teachers; both Barnabas, and Simeon who is called Niger, and Lucius the Cyrenian, Manaen also — Herod the tetrarch's foster-brother — and Saul;

and in their ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Separate ye to me both Barnabas and Saul to the work to which I have called them,'

then having fasted, and having prayed, and having laid the hands on them, they sent [them] away.

These, indeed, then, having been sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia, thence also they sailed to Cyprus,

and having come unto Salamis, they declared the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews, and they had also John [as] a ministrant;

and having gone through the island unto Paphos, they found a certain magian, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name [is] Bar-Jesus;

who was with the proconsul Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man; this one having called for Barnabas and Saul, did desire to hear the word of God,

and there withstood them Elymas the magian — for so is his name interpreted — seeking to pervert the proconsul from the faith.

And Saul — who also [is] Paul — having been filled with the Holy Spirit, and having looked stedfastly on him,

said, 'O full of all guile, and all profligacy, son of a devil, enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease perverting the right ways of the Lord?

and now, lo, a hand of the Lord [is] upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season;' and presently there fell upon him a mist and darkness, and he, going about, was seeking some to lead [him] by the hand;

then the proconsul having seen what hath come to pass, did believe, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

And those about Paul having set sail from Paphos, came to Perga of Pamphylia, and John having departed from them, did turn back to Jerusalem,

and they having gone through from Perga, came to Antioch of Pisidia, and having gone into the synagogue on the sabbath-day, they sat down,

and after the reading of the law and of the prophets, the chief men of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, 'Men, brethren, if there be a word in you of exhortation unto the people — say on.'

And Paul having risen, and having beckoned with the hand, said, 'Men, Israelites, and those fearing God, hearken:

the God of this people Israel did choose our fathers, and the people He did exalt in their sojourning in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm did He bring them out of it;

and about a period of forty years He did suffer their manners in the wilderness,

and having destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He did divide by lot to them their land.

'And after these things, about four hundred and fifty years, He gave judges — till Samuel the prophet;

and thereafter they asked for a king, and God did give to them Saul, son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years;

and having removed him, He did raise up to them David for king, to whom also having testified, he said, I found David, the [son] of Jesse, a man according to My heart, who shall do all My will.

'Of this one's seed God, according to promise, did raise to Israel a Saviour — Jesus,

John having first preached, before his coming, a baptism of reformation to all the people of Israel;

and as John was fulfilling the course, he said, Whom me do ye suppose to be? I am not [he], but, lo, he doth come after me, of whom I am not worthy to loose the sandal of [his] feet.

'Men, brethren, sons of the race of Abraham, and those among you fearing God, to you was the word of this salvation sent,

for those dwelling in Jerusalem, and their chiefs, this one not having known, also the voices of the prophets, which every sabbath are being read — having judged [him] — did fulfil,

and no cause of death having found, they did ask of Pilate that he should be slain,

and when they did complete all the things written about him, having taken [him] down from the tree, they laid him in a tomb;

and God did raise him out of the dead,

and he was seen for many days of those who did come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people.

'And we to you do proclaim good news — that the promise made unto the fathers,

God hath in full completed this to us their children, having raised up Jesus, as also in the second Psalm it hath been written, My Son thou art — I to-day have begotten thee.

'And that He did raise him up out of the dead, no more to return to corruption, he hath said thus — I will give to you the faithful kindnesses of David;

wherefore also in another [place] he saith, Thou shalt not give Thy kind One to see corruption,

for David, indeed, his own generation having served by the will of God, did fall asleep, and was added unto his fathers, and saw corruption,

but he whom God did raise up, did not see corruption.