Acts 22 Cross References - MSB

¹ “Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense before you.” ² When they heard him speak to them in Hebrew, they became even more silent. Then Paul declared, ³ “I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but raised in this city. I was educated at the feet of Gamaliel in strict conformity to the law of our fathers. I am just as zealous for God as any of you here today. ⁴ I persecuted this Way even to the death, detaining both men and women and throwing them into prison, ⁵ as the high priest and the whole Council can testify about me. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in Damascus, and I was on my way to apprehend these people and bring them to Jerusalem to be punished. ⁶ About noon as I was approaching Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. ⁷ I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?’ ⁸ ‘Who are You, Lord?’ I asked. ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ He replied. ⁹ My companions saw the light and were terrified, but they could not understand the voice of the One speaking to me. ¹⁰ Then I asked, ‘What should I do, Lord?’ ‘Get up and go into Damascus,’ He told me. ‘There you will be told all that you have been appointed to do.’ ¹¹ Because the brilliance of the light had blinded me, my companions led me by the hand into Damascus. ¹² There a man named Ananias, a devout observer of the law who was highly regarded by all the Jews living there, ¹³ came and stood beside me. ‘Brother Saul,’ he said, ‘receive your sight.’ And at that moment I could see him. ¹⁴ Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear His voice. ¹⁵ You will be His witness to everyone of what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away, calling on the name of the Lord.’ ¹⁷ Later, when I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance ¹⁸ and saw the Lord saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem quickly, because the people here will not accept your testimony about Me.’ ¹⁹ ‘Lord,’ I answered, ‘they know very well that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in You. ²⁰ And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval to his death and watching over the garments of those who killed him.’ ²¹ Then He said to me, ‘Go! I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’” ²² The crowd listened to Paul until he made this statement. Then they lifted up their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He is not fit to live!” ²³ As they were crying out and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust into the air, ²⁴ the commander ordered that Paul be brought into the barracks. He directed that Paul be flogged and interrogated to determine the reason for this outcry against him. ²⁵ But as they stretched him out to strap him down, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it lawful for you to flog a Roman citizen without a trial?” ²⁶ On hearing this, the centurion went and reported it to the commander. “Consider what you are about to do,” he said. “This man is a Roman citizen.” ²⁷ The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes,” he answered. ²⁸ “I paid a high price for my citizenship,” said the commander. “But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied. ²⁹ Then those who were about to interrogate Paul stepped back, and the commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put a Roman citizen in chains. ³⁰ The next day the commander, wanting to learn the real reason Paul was accused by the Jews, released him from the bonds and ordered the chief priests and their whole Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul down and had him stand before them.

¹¹ When you are brought before synagogues, rulers, and authorities, do not worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say.

¹⁴ So make up your mind not to worry beforehand how to defend yourselves.

² And Stephen declared: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,

²⁶ Brothers, children of Abraham, and you Gentiles who fear God, it is to you that this message of salvation has been sent.

³³ The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander forward, and he motioned for silence so he could make his defense to the people.

¹ Paul looked directly at the Sanhedrin and said, “Brothers, I have conducted myself before God in all good conscience to this day.”

⁶ Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. It is because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.”

¹⁰ When the governor motioned for Paul to speak, he began his response: “Knowing that you have been a judge over this nation for many years, I gladly make my defense.

⁸ Then Paul made his defense: “I have committed no offense against the law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar.”

¹⁶ I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand a man over to die before he has had an opportunity to face his accusers and defend himself against their charges.

¹ Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense: ² “King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today to defend myself against all the accusations of the Jews,

²⁴ At this stage of Paul’s defense, Festus exclaimed in a loud voice, “You are insane, Paul! Your great learning is driving you to madness!”

¹⁷ After three days, Paul called together the leaders of the Jews. When they had gathered, he said to them, “Brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, I was taken prisoner in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans.

¹⁵ So they show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts either accusing or defending them

³ This is my defense to those who scrutinize me:

¹¹ Consider what this godly sorrow of yours has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what zeal, what vindication! In every way you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.

¹⁹ Have you been thinking all along that we were making a defense to you? We speak before God in Christ, and all of this, beloved, is to build you up.

⁷ It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart. For in my chains and in my defense and confirmation of the gospel, you are all partners in grace with me.

¹⁷ The latter do so in love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel.

¹⁶ At my first defense, no one stood with me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be charged against them.

¹⁵ But in your hearts sanctify the God Lord. Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you. But respond with gentleness and respect,

⁴⁰ Having received permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the crowd. A great hush came over the crowd, and he addressed them in Hebrew:

³ Surely You love the people; all the holy ones are in Your hand, and they sit down at Your feet; each receives Your words—

² At this, David summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not Israelites, but a remnant of the Amorites. The Israelites had taken an oath concerning them, but in his zeal for Israel and Judah, Saul had sought to kill them.)

³⁸ When Elisha returned to Gilgal, there was a famine in the land. As the sons of the prophets were sitting at his feet, he said to his attendant, “Put on the large pot and boil some stew for the sons of the prophets.”

⁴⁶ Finally, after three days they found Him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

³⁵ So the people went out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the man whom the demons had left, sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.

³⁹ She had a sister named Mary, who sat at Jesus’ feet listening to His message.

³⁴ But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the apostles be put outside for a short time.

⁹ But resistance arose from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and men from the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. They began to argue with Stephen,

¹¹ “Get up!” the Lord told him. “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying.

³⁰ When the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

²⁵ Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul,

²³ and sent them with this letter: The apostles and the elders, your brothers, To the brothers among the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings.

⁴¹ And he traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

²⁰ When they heard this, they glorified the Lord. Then they said to Paul, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law.

³⁹ But Paul answered, “I am a Jew from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city. Now I beg you to allow me to speak to the people.”

³⁴ The governor read the letter and asked what province Paul was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia,

⁵ They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I lived as a Pharisee, adhering to the strictest sect of our religion.

² For I testify about them that they are zealous for God, but not on the basis of knowledge. ³ Because they were ignorant of God’s righteousness and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

¹ I ask then, did God reject His people? Certainly not! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.

²² Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.

¹⁴ I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

²¹ Later I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia.

¹⁷ Those people are zealous for you, but not in a good way. Instead, they want to isolate you from us, so that you may be zealous for them. ¹⁸ Nevertheless, it is good to be zealous if it serves a noble purpose—at any time, and not only when I am with you.

⁵ circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ as to zeal, persecuting the church; as to righteousness in the law, faultless.

⁵⁸ They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile the witnesses laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

¹ And Saul was there, giving approval to Stephen’s death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. ² God-fearing men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him. ³ But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison. ⁴ Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.

¹ Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord. He approached the high priest ² and requested letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way, he could bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

¹³ But Ananias answered, “Lord, many people have told me about this man and all the harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And now he is here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on Your name.”

²¹ All who heard him were astounded and asked, “Isn’t this the man who wreaked havoc in Jerusalem on those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?”

¹⁷ This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to us the way of salvation!”

²⁶ And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him in and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

⁹ But when some of them stubbornly refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way, Paul took his disciples and left the synagogue to conduct daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.

²³ About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way.

¹⁹ ‘Lord,’ I answered, ‘they know very well that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in You. ²⁰ And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval to his death and watching over the garments of those who killed him.’

¹⁴ I do confess to you, however, that I worship the God of our fathers according to the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets,

⁹ So then, I too was convinced that I ought to do all I could to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. ¹⁰ And that is what I did in Jerusalem. With authority from the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were condemned to death, I cast my vote against them. ¹¹ I frequently had them punished in the synagogues, and I tried to make them blaspheme. In my raging fury against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.

⁹ For I am the least of the apostles and am unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

⁶ as to zeal, persecuting the church; as to righteousness in the law, faultless.

¹³ I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man; yet because I had acted in ignorance and unbelief, I was shown mercy. ¹⁴ And the grace of our Lord overflowed to me, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst.

⁶⁶ At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and scribes, met together. They led Jesus into their Sanhedrin and said,

⁵ The next day the rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem,

²¹ At daybreak the apostles entered the temple courts as they had been told and began to teach the people. When the high priest and his associates arrived, they convened the Sanhedrin—the full assembly of the elders of Israel—and sent to the jail for the apostles.

¹⁴ And now he is here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on Your name.”

¹ “Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense before you.”

¹⁰ And that is what I did in Jerusalem. With authority from the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were condemned to death, I cast my vote against them.

¹² In this pursuit I was on my way to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests.

²¹ The leaders replied, “We have not received any letters about you from Judea, nor have any of the brothers from there reported or even mentioned anything bad about you.

³ For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my own flesh and blood, ⁴ the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory and the covenants; theirs the giving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises.

¹⁴ Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given you through the prophecy spoken over you at the laying on of the hands of the elders.

¹⁵ During the night, Abram divided his forces and routed Chedorlaomer’s army, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.

² But Abram replied, “O Lord GOD, what can You give me, since I remain childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”

⁶ Then he placed garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Arameans became subject to David and brought him tribute. So the LORD made David victorious wherever he went.

²³ The moon will be confounded and the sun will be ashamed; for the LORD of Hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before His elders with great glory.

² There He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.

³ As Saul drew near to Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴ He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?” ⁵ “Who are You, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” replied the Lord. ⁶ “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” ⁷ The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless. They heard the voice but did not see anyone. ⁸ Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could not see a thing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus.

¹² In this pursuit I was on my way to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. ¹³ About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions. ¹⁴ We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice say to me in Hebrew, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ ¹⁵ ‘Who are You, Lord?’ I asked. ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ He replied. ¹⁶ ‘But get up and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen from Me and what I will show you. ¹⁷ I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them ¹⁸ to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Me.’

¹⁶ He held in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest.

⁹ But the LORD God called out to the man, “Where are you?”

⁸ “Hagar, servant of Sarai,” he said, “where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I am running away from my mistress Sarai,” she replied.

¹ Some time later God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he answered.

¹¹ Just then the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied.

⁴ When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from within the bush, “Moses, Moses!” “Here I am,” he answered.

¹⁰ Then the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”

²² But you have not called on Me, O Jacob, because you have grown weary of Me, O Israel. ²³ You have not brought Me sheep for burnt offerings, nor honored Me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with offerings, nor wearied you with frankincense. ²⁴ You have not bought Me sweet cane with your silver, nor satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened Me with your sins; you have wearied Me with your iniquities. ²⁵ I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more. ²⁶ Remind Me, let us argue the matter together. State your case, so that you may be vindicated.

⁵ This is what the LORD says: “What fault did your fathers find in Me that they strayed so far from Me, and followed worthless idols, and became worthless themselves?

⁹ Therefore, I will contend with you again, declares the LORD, and I will bring a case against your children’s children.

⁴⁵ Then the King will answer, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’

²³ “Why?” asked the governor. “What evil has He done?” But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify Him!”

¹³ I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man; yet because I had acted in ignorance and unbelief, I was shown mercy.

⁷ and in the morning you will see the LORD’s glory, because He has heard your grumbling against Him. For who are we that you should grumble against us?” ⁸ And Moses added, “The LORD will give you meat to eat this evening and bread to fill you in the morning, for He has heard your grumbling against Him. Who are we? Your grumblings are not against us but against the LORD.”

⁷ And the LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you. For it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me as their king.

⁸ For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “After His Glory has sent Me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye—

²³ and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

⁴⁰ He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives the One who sent Me. ⁴¹ Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. ⁴² And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is My disciple, truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward.”

⁴⁰ And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’

⁶ But Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!”

¹⁰ then let this be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.

¹⁴ For we have heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.”

⁹ So then, I too was convinced that I ought to do all I could to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth.

¹⁴ We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice say to me in Hebrew, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ ¹⁵ ‘Who are You, Lord?’ I asked. ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ He replied.

¹² The body is a unit, though it is composed of many parts. And although its parts are many, they all form one body. So it is with Christ.

²⁶ If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. ²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ, and each of you is a member of it.

⁷ Only I, Daniel, saw the vision; the men with me did not see it, but a great terror fell upon them, and they ran and hid themselves.

²⁹ The crowd standing there heard it and said that it had thundered. Others said that an angel had spoken to Him. ³⁰ In response, Jesus said, “This voice was not for My benefit, but yours.

⁷ The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless. They heard the voice but did not see anyone.

¹³ About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions.

⁸ Good and upright is the LORD; therefore He shows sinners the way. ⁹ He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way.

⁸ Let me hear Your loving devotion in the morning, for I have put my trust in You. Teach me the way I should walk, for to You I lift up my soul. ⁹ Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD; I flee to You for refuge. ¹⁰ Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God. May Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

³⁷ When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and asked Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

⁶ “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

³³ So I sent for you immediately, and you were kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything God has instructed you to tell us.”

³⁰ Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

¹² There a man named Ananias, a devout observer of the law who was highly regarded by all the Jews living there, ¹³ came and stood beside me. ‘Brother Saul,’ he said, ‘receive your sight.’ And at that moment I could see him. ¹⁴ Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear His voice. ¹⁵ You will be His witness to everyone of what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away, calling on the name of the Lord.’

¹⁶ I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on unfamiliar paths. I will turn darkness into light before them and rough places into level ground. These things I will do for them, and I will not forsake them.

⁸ Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could not see a thing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. ⁹ For three days he was without sight, and he did not eat or drink anything.

¹¹ Now look, the hand of the Lord is against you, and for a time you will be blind and unable to see the light of the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness fell over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

³ Therefore, brothers, select from among you seven men confirmed to be full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. We will appoint this responsibility to them

² God-fearing men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him.

¹⁰ In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Here I am, Lord,” he answered. ¹¹ “Get up!” the Lord told him. “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. ¹² In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” ¹³ But Ananias answered, “Lord, many people have told me about this man and all the harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And now he is here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on Your name.” ¹⁵ “Go!” said the Lord. “This man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings, and before the people of Israel. ¹⁶ I will show him how much he must suffer for My name.” ¹⁷ So Ananias went to the house, and when he arrived, he placed his hands on Saul. “Brother Saul,” he said, “the Lord, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here, has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸ At that instant, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and his sight was restored. He got up and was baptized,

²² “Cornelius the centurion has sent us,” they said. “He is a righteous and God-fearing man with a good reputation among the whole Jewish nation. A holy angel instructed him to request your presence in his home so he could hear a message from you.”

⁴ Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few leading women.

⁸ through glory and dishonor, slander and praise; viewed as imposters, yet genuine;

⁷ Furthermore, he must have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the snare of the devil.

² This is why the ancients were commended.

¹² Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also testify for him, and you know that our testimony is true.

¹⁶ no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a beloved brother. He is especially beloved to me, but even more so to you, both in person and in the Lord.

¹³ Then Moses asked God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is His name?’ What should I tell them?” ¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” ¹⁵ God also told Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered in every generation. ¹⁶ Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—has appeared to me and said: I have surely attended to you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt.

² The LORD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.

²² He abandoned the LORD, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the LORD.

¹⁷ And David went out to meet them, saying, “If you have come to me in peace to help me, my heart will be united with you; but if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free of violence, may the God of our fathers see it and judge you.”

¹⁸ O LORD, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, keep this desire forever in the intentions of the hearts of Your people, and direct their hearts toward You.

²⁵ In every city of Judah he built high places to offer incense to other gods, and so he provoked the LORD, the God of his fathers.

¹⁹ who sets his heart on seeking God—the LORD, the God of his fathers—even if he is not cleansed according to the purification rules of the sanctuary.”

²⁷ Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, who has put into the heart of the king to so honor the house of the LORD in Jerusalem,

⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

²³ To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, because You have given me wisdom and power. And now You have made known to me what we have requested, for You have made known to us the dream of the king.”

¹⁶ You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will remain—so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.

¹³ The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus. You handed Him over and rejected Him before Pilate, even though he had decided to release Him. ¹⁴ You rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you.

³⁰ The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging Him on a tree.

⁵² Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers—

¹⁵ “Go!” said the Lord. “This man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings, and before the people of Israel.

¹⁷ So Ananias went to the house, and when he arrived, he placed his hands on Saul. “Brother Saul,” he said, “the Lord, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here, has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

¹⁷ The God of the people chose our fathers. He made them into a great people during their stay in Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out of that land.

¹⁸ and saw the Lord saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem quickly, because the people here will not accept your testimony about Me.’

¹⁶ ‘But get up and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen from Me and what I will show you.

¹ Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of God—

¹ Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are you yourselves not my workmanship in the Lord?

²³ For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread,

³ For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

⁸ And last of all He appeared to me also, as to one of untimely birth.

²¹ For God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

¹² I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

¹⁵ But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased

¹ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus,

¹ Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness,

²² “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.”

¹ My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

⁴⁷ and in His name repentance and forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things.

²⁷ And you also must testify, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

²² beginning from John’s baptism until the day Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”

²⁰ For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

³⁹ We are witnesses of all that He did, both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. And although they put Him to death by hanging Him on a tree, ⁴⁰ God raised Him up on the third day and caused Him to be seen— ⁴¹ not by all the people, but by the witnesses God had chosen beforehand, by us who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead.

¹⁴ Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear His voice.

¹¹ The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage, Paul! As you have testified about Me in Jerusalem, so also you must testify in Rome.”

²⁰ First to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, then to everyone throughout the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I declared that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds worthy of their repentance.

²⁴ and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And look, God has granted you the lives of all who sail with you.’

⁶⁰ I hurried without hesitating to keep Your commandments.

¹⁴ Why are we just sitting here? Gather together, let us flee to the fortified cities and perish there, for the LORD our God has doomed us. He has given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.

²¹ And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

³⁸ Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸ At that instant, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and his sight was restored. He got up and was baptized,

³ Or aren’t you aware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? ⁴ We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life.

¹² For there is no difference between Jew and Greek: The same Lord is Lord of all, and gives richly to all who call on Him, ¹³ for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” ¹⁴ How then can they call on the One in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach?

² To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:

¹¹ And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

¹³ For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free, and we were all given into one Spirit to drink.

²⁷ For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

⁵ He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

²² let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

²¹ And this water symbolizes the baptism that now saves us also—not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

²⁶ When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. ²⁷ Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and described how Saul had seen the Lord, who spoke to him on the road to Damascus, and how Saul had spoken boldly in that city in the name of Jesus. ²⁸ So Saul stayed with them, moving about freely in Jerusalem and speaking boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus.

⁹ The next day at about the sixth hour, as the men were approaching the city on their journey, Peter went up on the roof to pray. ¹⁰ He became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance.

¹ I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to gain, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. ² I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of it I do not know, but God knows. ³ And I know that this man—whether in the body or out of it I do not know, but God knows— ⁴ was caught up to Paradise. The things he heard were too sacred for words, things that man is not permitted to tell.

¹⁸ Only after three years did I go up to Jerusalem to confer with Peter, and I stayed with him fifteen days.

¹⁰ On the Lord’s day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,

⁶ not to the many peoples of unfamiliar speech and difficult language whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you. ⁷ But the house of Israel will be unwilling to listen to you, since they are unwilling to listen to Me. For the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted.

¹⁴ And if anyone will not welcome you or heed your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.

²³ When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not reach all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

²¹ Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country stay out of the city.

¹⁹ Repent, then, and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped away,

²⁹ He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him.

¹⁷ But beware of men; for they will hand you over to their councils and flog you in their synagogues.

³ But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.

¹ Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord. He approached the high priest

⁴ I persecuted this Way even to the death, detaining both men and women and throwing them into prison,

⁹ So then, I too was convinced that I ought to do all I could to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. ¹⁰ And that is what I did in Jerusalem. With authority from the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were condemned to death, I cast my vote against them. ¹¹ I frequently had them punished in the synagogues, and I tried to make them blaspheme. In my raging fury against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them. ¹² In this pursuit I was on my way to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests.

⁴⁸ So you bear witness and consent to the deeds of your fathers: They killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.

¹ And Saul was there, giving approval to Stephen’s death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.

³² Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things are worthy of death, they not only continue to do these things, but also approve of those who practice them.

¹³ I know your works and where you live, where the throne of Satan sits. Yet you have held fast to My name and have not denied your faith in Me, even in the day when My faithful witness Antipas was killed among you, where Satan dwells.

⁶ I could see that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and witnesses for Jesus. And I was utterly amazed at the sight of her.

² While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

⁴⁶ Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “It was necessary to speak the word of God to you first. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. ⁴⁷ For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

⁶ But when they opposed and insulted him, he shook out his garments and told them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

⁵ Through Him and on behalf of His name, we received grace and apostleship to call all those among the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.

¹³ I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry

¹⁶ to be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

²⁶ but now revealed and made known through the writings of the prophets by the command of the eternal God, in order to lead all nations to the obedience that comes from faith—

¹⁵ But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased ¹⁶ to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not rush to consult with flesh and blood,

⁷ On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted to preach the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised. ⁸ For the One who was at work in Peter’s apostleship to the circumcised was also at work in my apostleship to the Gentiles.

⁶ This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of His promise in Christ. ⁷ I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace, given me through the working of His power. ⁸ Though I am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given me: to preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

⁷ For this reason I was appointed as a preacher, an apostle, and a faithful and true teacher of the Gentiles. I am telling the truth in Christ; I am not lying about anything.

¹¹ to which I was appointed as a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.

¹⁸ But they all cried out in unison: “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!”

¹⁵ At this, they shouted, “Away with Him! Away with Him! Crucify Him!” “Shall I crucify your King?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” replied the chief priests.

⁵⁴ On hearing this, the members of the Sanhedrin were enraged, and they gnashed their teeth at him. ⁵⁵ But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked intently into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶ “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” ⁵⁷ At this they covered their ears, cried out in a loud voice, and rushed together at him.

³⁶ For the crowd that followed him kept shouting, “Away with him!”

²⁴ Then Festus said, “King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man. The whole Jewish community has petitioned me about him, both here and in Jerusalem, crying out that he ought not to live any longer.

¹³ So David and his men proceeded along the road as Shimei went along the ridge of the hill opposite him. As Shimei went, he yelled curses, threw stones, and flung dust at David.

³ Even as the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking, and he shows everyone that he is a fool.

⁵³ you who received the law ordained by angels, yet have not kept it.”

¹¹ I frequently had them punished in the synagogues, and I tried to make them blaspheme. In my raging fury against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.

¹ Then Pilate took Jesus and had Him flogged.

²² The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered that they be stripped and beaten with rods. ²³ And after striking them with many blows, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to guard them securely.

³⁷ But Paul said to the officers, “They beat us publicly without a trial and threw us into prison, even though we are Roman citizens. And now do they want to send us away secretly? Absolutely not! Let them come themselves and escort us out!”

³¹ While they were trying to kill him, the commander of the Roman regiment received a report that all Jerusalem was in turmoil. ³² Immediately he took some soldiers and centurions and ran down to the crowd. When the people saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

³⁴ Some in the crowd were crying out one thing, and some another. And since the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be brought into the barracks.

²⁵ But as they stretched him out to strap him down, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it lawful for you to flog a Roman citizen without a trial?” ²⁶ On hearing this, the centurion went and reported it to the commander. “Consider what you are about to do,” he said. “This man is a Roman citizen.” ²⁷ The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes,” he answered. ²⁸ “I paid a high price for my citizenship,” said the commander. “But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied. ²⁹ Then those who were about to interrogate Paul stepped back, and the commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put a Roman citizen in chains.

¹⁰ The dispute grew so violent that the commander was afraid they would tear Paul to pieces. He ordered the soldiers to go down and remove him by force and bring him into the barracks.

²⁷ This man was seized by the Jews, and they were about to kill him when I came with my troops to rescue him. For I had learned that he is a Roman citizen,

³⁵ Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused their release, so that they might gain a better resurrection.

⁸ The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.

⁵⁴ When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified and said, “Truly this was the Son of God.”

¹ At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was called the Italian Regiment.

²⁷ The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes,” he answered. ²⁸ “I paid a high price for my citizenship,” said the commander. “But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied.

¹⁷ Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him.”

¹ When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment.

³ The next day we landed at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul with consideration, allowing him to visit his friends and receive their care.

⁴³ But the centurion, wanting to spare Paul’s life, thwarted their plan. He commanded those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land.

²⁹ Then those who were about to interrogate Paul stepped back, and the commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put a Roman citizen in chains.

³⁸ So the officers relayed this message to the magistrates, who were alarmed to hear that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. ³⁹ They came to appease them and led them out, requesting that they leave the city.

³³ The commander came up and arrested Paul, ordering that he be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done.

²⁴ the commander ordered that Paul be brought into the barracks. He directed that Paul be flogged and interrogated to determine the reason for this outcry against him. ²⁵ But as they stretched him out to strap him down, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it lawful for you to flog a Roman citizen without a trial?” ²⁶ On hearing this, the centurion went and reported it to the commander. “Consider what you are about to do,” he said. “This man is a Roman citizen.”

²² But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother without cause will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to the fire of hell.

² They bound Him, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pontius Pilate the governor.

¹¹ Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own feet and hands, and said, “The Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and hand him over to the Gentiles.’”

⁵ as the high priest and the whole Council can testify about me. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in Damascus, and I was on my way to apprehend these people and bring them to Jerusalem to be punished.

¹⁵ Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him down to you tomorrow on the pretext of examining his case more carefully. We are ready to kill him on the way.”

²⁸ and since I wanted to know their charges against him, I brought him down to their Sanhedrin.

²⁹ “Short time or long,” Paul replied, “I wish to God that not only you but all who hear me this day may become what I am, except for these chains.”