The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
1 Now Peter and John were going up to the Temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer;
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One day Peter and John went to the Temple at three o'clock in the afternoon, the hour for prayer.
2 And a certain man who from birth had had no power in his legs, was taken there every day, and put down at the door of the Temple which is named Beautiful, requesting money from those who went into the Temple;
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There at the Beautiful Gate, as it was called, was a man who had been lame all his life. Every day he was carried to the gate to beg for money from the people who were going into the Temple.
3 He then, seeing Peter and John going into the Temple, made a request to them.
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When he saw Peter and John going in, he begged them to give him something.
4 And Peter, looking at him, with John, said, Keep your eyes on us.
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They looked straight at him, and Peter said, "Look at us!"
5 And he gave attention to them, hoping to get something from them.
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So he looked at them, expecting to get something from them.
6 But Peter said, I have no silver or gold, but what I have, that I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up on your feet.
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But Peter said to him, "I have no money at all, but I give you what I have: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth I order you to get up and walk!"
7 And he took him by his right hand, lifting him up; and straight away his feet and the bones of his legs became strong,
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Then he took him by his right hand and helped him up. At once the man's feet and ankles became strong;
8 And, jumping up, he got on to his feet and went into the Temple with them, walking and jumping and giving praise to God.
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he jumped up, stood on his feet, and started walking around. Then he went into the Temple with them, walking and jumping and praising God.
9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God:
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The people there saw him walking and praising God,
10 And they saw that it was the man who made requests for money at the door of the Temple, and they were full of wonder and surprise at what had taken place.
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and when they recognized him as the beggar who had sat at the Beautiful Gate, they were all surprised and amazed at what had happened to him.
11 And while he kept his hands on Peter and John, all the people came running together to the covered way which is named Solomon's, full of wonder.
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As the man held on to Peter and John in Solomon's Porch, as it was called, the people were amazed and ran to them.
12 And when Peter saw it he said to the people, You men of Israel, why are you so greatly surprised at this man? or why are you looking at us as if by our power or virtue we had given him the use of his legs?
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When Peter saw the people, he said to them, "Fellow Israelites, why are you surprised at this, and why do you stare at us? Do you think that it was by means of our own power or godliness that we made this man walk?
13 The God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has given glory to his servant Jesus; whom you gave up, turning your backs on him, when Pilate had made the decision to let him go free.
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The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our ancestors, has given divine glory to his Servant Jesus. But you handed him over to the authorities, and you rejected him in Pilate's presence, even after Pilate had decided to set him free.
14 But you would have nothing to do with the Holy and Upright One, and made request for a man of blood to be given to you,
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He was holy and good, but you rejected him, and instead you asked Pilate to do you the favor of turning loose a murderer.
15 And put to death the Lord of life; whom God gave back from the dead; of which fact we are witnesses.
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You killed the one who leads to life, but God raised him from death - and we are witnesses to this.
16 And his name, through faith in his name, has made this man strong, whom you see and have knowledge of: yes, the faith which is through him has made him well, before you all.
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It was the power of his name that gave strength to this lame man. What you see and know was done by faith in his name; it was faith in Jesus that has made him well, as you can all see.
17 And now, my brothers, I am conscious that you did this, as did your rulers, without knowledge.
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"And now, my friends, I know that what you and your leaders did to Jesus was due to your ignorance.
18 But the things which God had made clear before, by the mouth of all the prophets, that the Christ would have to undergo, he has put into effect in this way.
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God announced long ago through all the prophets that his Messiah had to suffer; and he made it come true in this way.
19 So then, let your hearts be changed and be turned to God, so that your sins may be completely taken away, and times of blessing may come from the Lord;
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Repent, then, and turn to God, so that he will forgive your sins. If you do,
20 And that he may send the Christ who was marked out for you from the first, even Jesus:
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times of spiritual strength will come from the Lord, and he will send Jesus, who is the Messiah he has already chosen for you.
21 Who is to be kept in heaven till the time when all things are put right, of which God has given word by the mouth of his holy prophets, who have been from the earliest times.
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He must remain in heaven until the time comes for all things to be made new, as God announced through his holy prophets of long ago.
22 For Moses said, The Lord will give you a prophet from among your people, like me; you will give ear to everything which he will say to you.
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For Moses said, "The Lord your God will send you a prophet, just as he sent me, and he will be one of your own people. You are to obey everything that he tells you to do.
23 And every soul who does not give attention to that prophet, will be cut off from among the people.
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Anyone who does not obey that prophet shall be separated from God's people and destroyed.'
24 And all the prophets from Samuel and those who came after, every one of them, gave word of these days.
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And all the prophets who had a message, including Samuel and those who came after him, also announced what has been happening these days.
25 You are the sons of the prophets, and of the agreement which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, Through your seed a blessing will come on all the families of the earth.
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The promises of God through his prophets are for you, and you share in the covenant which God made with your ancestors. As he said to Abraham, "Through your descendants I will bless all the people on earth.'
26 To you, first, God sent his servant, blessing you by turning every one of you from his sins.
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And so God chose his Servant and sent him to you first, to bless you by making every one of you turn away from your wicked ways."
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.