Shǐtúxíngzhuàn 1:12-26

12 Yǒu yī zuò shān míng jiào Gǎnlǎnshān , lí Yēlùsǎlĕng bù yuǎn , yuē yǒu ānxīrì kè zǒu de lùchéng . dāngxià méntǔ cōng nàli huí Yēlùsǎlĕng qù .

13 Jìn le chéng , jiù shàng le suǒ zhù de yī jiān lóu fáng . zaì nàli yǒu Bǐdé , Yuēhàn , Yǎgè , Āndéliè , Féilì , Duōmǎ , Bāduōluómǎi , Mǎtaì , Yàlèféi de érzi Yǎgè , Fènruìdǎng de Xīmén , hé Yǎgè de érzi ( huò zuō "xiōngdi" ) Yóudà .

14 Zhèxie rén , tòng zhe jǐ gè fùrén , hé Yēsū de mǔqin Mǎlìyà , bìng Yēsū de dìxiōng , dōu tóngxīn héyì de héng qiē dǎogào .

15 Nàshí , yǒu xǔduō rén jùhuì , yuē yǒu yī bǎi èr shí míng , Bǐdé jiù zaì dìxiōng zhōngjiān zhàn qǐlai , shuō ,

16 Dìxiōng men , Shènglíng jiè Dàwèi de kǒu , zaì Shèngjīng shàng , yùyán lǐng rén zhuōná Yēsū de Yóudà . zhè huà shì bìxū yìngyàn de .

17 Tā bĕnlái liè zaì wǒmen shǔ zhòng , bìngqiĕ zaì shǐtú de zhírèn shàng dé le yī fēn .

18 Zhè rén yòng tā zuò ĕ de gōngjià , mǎi le yī kuaì tián , yǐhòu shēnzi pú dǎo , dù fù bēngliè , cháng zǐ dōu liú chūlai .

19 Zhù zaì Yēlùsǎlĕng de zhòngrén dōu zhīdào zhè shì , suǒyǐ àn zhe tāmen nàli de huà , gĕi nà kuaì tián qǐmíng jiào Yàgédàmǎ , jiù shì xuè tián de yìsi .

20 Yīnwei shīpiān shǎng xiĕ zhe shuō , yuàn tāde zhù chù , biàn wéi huāng cháng , wú rén zaì neì jūzhù . yòu shuō , yuàn biérén dé tāde zhífèn .

21 Suǒyǐ zhǔ Yēsū zaì wǒmen zhōngjiān shǐ zhōng chūrù de shíhou ,

22 Jiù shì cōng Yuēhàn shīxǐ qǐ , zhídào zhǔ líkāi wǒmen beì jiē shàng shēng de rìzi wéizhǐ , bìxū cōng nà cháng yǔ wǒmen zuò bàn de rén zhōng , lì yī wèi yǔ wǒmen tóng zuò Yēsū fùhuó de jiànzhèng .

23 Yúshì xuǎnjǔ liǎng gèrén , jiù shì nà jiào zuò Bāsābā yòu chēnghu Yóushìdōu de Yūesè , hé Mǎtíyà, .

24 Zhòngrén jiù dǎogào shuō , Zhǔ a , nǐ zhīdào wàn rén de xīn , qiú nǐ cōng zhè liǎng gèrén zhòng , zhí míng nǐ suǒ jiǎnxuǎn de shì shuí , jiào tā dé zhè shǐtú de wèi fèn .

25 Zhè wèi fèn Yóudà yǐjing diūqì , wǎng zìjǐ de dìfang qù le .

26 Yúshì zhòngrén wéi tāmen yáo qiā , yáo chū Mǎtíyà, lái . tā jiù hé shí yī gè shǐtú tóng liè .

Shǐtúxíngzhuàn 1:12-26 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ACTS

This book, in some copies, is called, "The Acts of the holy Apostles". It contains an history of the ministry and miracles of the apostles of Christ, and is a sort of a journal of their actions, from whence it takes its name. It begins at the ascension of Christ, and reaches to the imprisonment of the Apostle Paul at Rome; and is a history of upwards of thirty years: it gives an account of the first Gospel church at Jerusalem, and of the progress of the Gospel there, and in Judea, by the means of all the apostles, and particularly Peter, the minister of the circumcision, and who also first opened the door of faith to the Gentiles: it shows how the Gospel went forth from Jerusalem, and was spread in the Gentile world, especially by the Apostle Paul, whose companion Luke was, that was the writer of this book; for that it was written by him is very evident from the beginning of it, it being dedicated to the same person his Gospel is, and of which he makes mention; and in the Complutensian edition the book is called, "The Acts of the Apostles of Saint Luke the Evangelist"; and so the title of it in the Syriac version is, "the Book of the Acts: that is, the history of the blessed apostles, which my Lord Luke the Evangelist collected for the saints". It was by him written in the Greek language; and we are told {a}, that there was a version of it into the Hebrew language, and which was laid up in the library of the Jews at Tiberias; and is cited by R. Azarias {b} under the name of twlweph, "the Acts": of the authority of this book there has been no doubt, among the ancients, only Cerinthus the heretic endeavoured to discredit it; and it was not received by another sort of heretics called Severiani, from Severus, a disciple of Tatian {c}. It is a most excellent and useful work, showing the first planting of Christianity, and of Christian churches, both among the Jews and Gentiles; the spread and progress of the Gospel in several parts of the world; what sufferings the apostles endured for the sake of it; and with what patience and courage they bore them; and what success attended them; and is a standing proof and confirmation of the Christian religion.

{a} Epiphan. Contr. Haeres. l. 1. Haeres. 30. {b} Meor Enayim, p. 167. {c} Euseb. Eccl. Hist. l. 4. c. 29.