The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
1 And when the day of Pentecost was come, they were all together in one place.
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When the day of Pentecost came, all the believers were gathered together in one place.
2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like the rushing of a violent wind, and all the house where they were was full of it.
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Suddenly there was a noise from the sky which sounded like a strong wind blowing, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
3 And they saw tongues, like flames of fire, coming to rest on every one of them.
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Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire which spread out and touched each person there.
4 And they were all full of the Holy Spirit, and were talking in different languages, as the Spirit gave them power.
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They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to talk in other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.
5 Now there were living at Jerusalem, Jews, God-fearing men, from every nation under heaven.
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There were Jews living in Jerusalem, religious people who had come from every country in the world.
6 And when this sound came to their ears, they all came together, and were greatly surprised because every man was hearing the words of the disciples in his special language.
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When they heard this noise, a large crowd gathered. They were all excited, because all of them heard the believers talking in their own languages.
7 And they were full of wonder and said, Are not all these men Galilaeans?
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In amazement and wonder they exclaimed, "These people who are talking like this are Galileans!
8 And how is it that every one of us is hearing their words in the language which was ours from our birth?
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How is it, then, that all of us hear them speaking in our own native languages?
9 Men of Parthia, Media, and Elam, and those living in Mesopotamia, in Judaea and Cappadocia, in Pontus and Asia,
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We are from Parthia, Media, and Elam; from Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia; from Pontus and Asia,
10 In Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and those who have come from Rome, Jews by birth and others who have become Jews,
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from Phrygia and Pamphylia, from Egypt and the regions of Libya near Cyrene. Some of us are from Rome,
11 Men of Crete and Arabia, to all of us they are talking in our different languages, of the great works of God.
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both Jews and Gentiles converted to Judaism, and some of us are from Crete and Arabia - yet all of us hear them speaking in our own languages about the great things that God has done!"
12 And they were all surprised and in doubt saying to one another, What is the reason of this?
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Amazed and confused, they kept asking each other, "What does this mean?"
13 But others, making sport of them, said, They are full of new wine.
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But others made fun of the believers, saying, "These people are drunk!"
14 But Peter, getting up, with the eleven, said in a loud voice, O men of Judaea, and all you who are living in Jerusalem, take note of this and give ear to my words.
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Then Peter stood up with the other eleven apostles and in a loud voice began to speak to the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, listen to me and let me tell you what this means.
15 For these men are not overcome with wine, as it seems to you, for it is only the third hour of the day;
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These people are not drunk, as you suppose; it is only nine o'clock in the morning.
16 But this is the thing which was said by the prophet Joel;
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Instead, this is what the prophet Joel spoke about:
17 And it will come about, in the last days, says God, that I will send out my Spirit on all flesh; and your sons and your daughters will be prophets, and your young men will see visions, and your old men will have dreams:
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"This is what I will do in the last days, God says: I will pour out my Spirit on everyone. Your sons and daughters will proclaim my message; your young men will see visions, and your old men will have dreams.
18 And on my men-servants and my women-servants I will send my Spirit, and they will be prophets.
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Yes, even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will proclaim my message.
19 And wonders will be seen in heaven, and signs on the earth, blood and fire and smoke:
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I will perform miracles in the sky above and wonders on the earth below. There will be blood, fire, and thick smoke;
20 The sun will become dark and the moon will be turned to blood, before that great day of the Lord comes in glory:
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the sun will be darkened, and the moon will turn red as blood, before the great and glorious Day of the Lord comes.
21 And whoever makes his prayer to the Lord will have salvation.
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And then, whoever calls out to the Lord for help will be saved.'
22 Men of Israel, give ear to these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man who had the approval of God, as was made clear to you by the great works and signs and wonders which God did by him among you, as you yourselves have knowledge,
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"Listen to these words, fellow Israelites! Jesus of Nazareth was a man whose divine authority was clearly proven to you by all the miracles and wonders which God performed through him. You yourselves know this, for it happened here among you.
23 Him, when he was given up, by the decision and knowledge of God, you put to death on the cross, by the hands of evil men:
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In accordance with his own plan God had already decided that Jesus would be handed over to you; and you killed him by letting sinful men crucify him.
24 But God gave him back to life, having made him free from the pains of death because it was not possible for him to be overcome by it.
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But God raised him from death, setting him free from its power, because it was impossible that death should hold him prisoner.
25 For David said of him, I saw the Lord before my face at all times, for he is at my right hand, so that I may not be moved:
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For David said about him, "I saw the Lord before me at all times; he is near me, and I will not be troubled.
26 And for this cause my heart was glad and my tongue full of joy, and my flesh will be resting in hope:
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And so I am filled with gladness, and my words are full of joy. And I, mortal though I am, will rest assured in hope,
27 For you will not let my soul be in hell and you will not give up your Holy One to destruction.
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because you will not abandon me in the world of the dead; you will not allow your faithful servant to rot in the grave.
28 You have made me see the ways of life; I will be full of joy when I see your face.
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You have shown me the paths that lead to life, and your presence will fill me with joy.'
29 My brothers, I may say to you openly that David came to his death, and was put in the earth, and his resting-place is with us today.
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"My friends, I must speak to you plainly about our famous ancestor King David. He died and was buried, and his grave is here with us to this very day.
30 But being a prophet, and having in mind the oath which God had given to him, that of the fruit of his body one would take his place as a king,
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He was a prophet, and he knew what God had promised him: God had made a vow that he would make one of David's descendants a king, just as David was.
31 He, having knowledge of the future, was talking of the coming again of Christ from the dead, that he was not kept in hell and his body did not see destruction.
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David saw what God was going to do in the future, and so he spoke about the resurrection of the Messiah when he said, "He was not abandoned in the world of the dead; his body did not rot in the grave.'
32 This Jesus God has given back to life, of which we all are witnesses.
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God has raised this very Jesus from death, and we are all witnesses to this fact.
33 And so, being lifted up to the right hand of God, and having the Father's word that the Holy Spirit would come, he has sent this thing, which now you see and have knowledge of.
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He has been raised to the right side of God, his Father, and has received from him the Holy Spirit, as he had promised. What you now see and hear is his gift that he has poured out on us.
34 For David has not gone up into heaven, but says, himself, The Lord said to my Lord, Be seated at my right hand,
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For it was not David who went up into heaven; rather he said, "The Lord said to my Lord: Sit here at my right side
35 Till I put all those who are against you under your feet.
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until I put your enemies as a footstool under your feet.'
36 For this reason, let all Israel be certain that this Jesus, whom you put to death on the cross, God has made Lord and Christ.
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"All the people of Israel, then, are to know for sure that this Jesus, whom you crucified, is the one that God has made Lord and Messiah!"
37 Now when these words came to their ears their hearts were troubled, and they said to Peter and the other Apostles, Brothers, what are we to do?
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When the people heard this, they were deeply troubled and said to Peter and the other apostles, "What shall we do, brothers?"
38 And Peter said, Let your hearts be changed, every one of you, and have baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will have the Holy Spirit given to you.
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Peter said to them, "Each one of you must turn away from your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven; and you will receive God's gift, the Holy Spirit.
39 For the word of God is for you and for your children and for all those who are far off, even all those who may be marked out by the Lord our God.
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For God's promise was made to you and your children, and to all who are far away - all whom the Lord our God calls to himself."
40 And with more such words he gave his witness, offering them salvation and saying, Come out from this evil generation.
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Peter made his appeal to them and with many other words he urged them, saying, "Save yourselves from the punishment coming on this wicked people!"
41 Then those who gave hearing to his words had baptism: and about three thousand souls were joined to them that day.
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Many of them believed his message and were baptized, and about three thousand people were added to the group that day.
42 And they kept their attention fixed on the Apostles' teaching and were united together in the taking of broken bread and in prayer.
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They spent their time in learning from the apostles, taking part in the fellowship, and sharing in the fellowship meals and the prayers.
43 But fear came on every soul: and all sorts of wonders and signs were done by the Apostles.
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Many miracles and wonders were being done through the apostles, and everyone was filled with awe.
44 And all those who were of the faith kept together, and had all things in common;
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All the believers continued together in close fellowship and shared their belongings with one another.
45 And exchanging their goods and property for money, they made division of it among them all, as they had need.
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They would sell their property and possessions, and distribute the money among all, according to what each one needed.
46 And day by day, going in agreement together regularly to the Temple and, taking broken bread together in their houses, they took their food with joy and with true hearts,
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Day after day they met as a group in the Temple, and they had their meals together in their homes, eating with glad and humble hearts,
47 Giving praise to God, and having the approval of all the people; and every day the number of those who had salvation was increased by the Lord.
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praising God, and enjoying the good will of all the people. And every day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.