Acts 3; Acts 22; Acts 23

Acts 3

1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.

2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at that gate of the temple which is called Beautiful to ask alms of those who entered the temple.

3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked for alms.

4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, with John, and said, "Look at us."

5 And he fixed his attention upon them, expecting to receive something from them.

6 But Peter said, "I have no silver and gold, but I give you what I have; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk."

7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up; and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.

8 And leaping up he stood and walked and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God,

10 and recognized him as the one who sat for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

11 While he clung to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the portico called Solomon's, astounded.

12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people, "Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk?

13 The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him.

14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,

15 and killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.

16 And his name, by faith in his name, has made this man strong whom you see and know; and the faith which is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

17 "And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers.

18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ should suffer, he thus fulfilled.

19 Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,

20 and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus,

21 whom heaven must receive until the time for establishing all that God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old.

22 Moses said, 'The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet from your brethren as he raised me up. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you.

23 And it shall be that every soul that does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.'

24 And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came afterwards, also proclaimed these days.

25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God gave to your fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your posterity shall all the families of the earth be blessed.'

26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you in turning every one of you from your wickedness."

Acts 22

1 "Brethren and fathers, hear the defense which I now make before you."

2 And when they heard that he addressed them in the Hebrew language, they were the more quiet. And he said:

3 "I am a Jew, born at Tarsus in Cili'cia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gama'li-el, educated according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as you all are this day.

4 I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women,

5 as the high priest and the whole council of elders bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brethren, and I journeyed to Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.

6 "As I made my journey and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone about me.

7 And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?'

8 And I answered, 'Who are you, Lord?' And he said to me, 'I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting.'

9 Now those who were with me saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.

10 And I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, 'Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.'

11 And when I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.

12 "And one Anani'as, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there,

13 came to me, and standing by me said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And in that very hour I received my sight and saw him.

14 And he said, 'The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Just One and to hear a voice from his mouth;

15 for you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and heard.

16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.'

17 "When I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance

18 and saw him saying to me, 'Make haste and get quickly out of Jerusalem, because they will not accept your testimony about me.'

19 And I said, 'Lord, they themselves know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in thee.

20 And when the blood of Stephen thy witness was shed, I also was standing by and approving, and keeping the garments of those who killed him.'

21 And he said to me, 'Depart; for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'"

22 Up to this word they listened to him; then they lifted up their voices and said, "Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he ought not to live."

23 And as they cried out and waved their garments and threw dust into the air,

24 the tribune commanded him to be brought into the barracks, and ordered him to be examined by scourging, to find out why they shouted thus against him.

25 But when they had tied him up with the thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen, and uncondemned?"

26 When the centurion heard that, he went to the tribune and said to him, "What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen."

27 So the tribune came and said to him, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" And he said, "Yes."

28 The tribune answered, "I bought this citizenship for a large sum." Paul said, "But I was born a citizen."

29 So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him instantly; and the tribune also was afraid, for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had bound him.

30 But on the morrow, desiring to know the real reason why the Jews accused him, he unbound him, and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them.

Acts 23

1 And Paul, looking intently at the council, said, "Brethren, I have lived before God in all good conscience up to this day."

2 And the high priest Anani'as commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth.

3 Then Paul said to him, "God shall strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?"

4 Those who stood by said, "Would you revile God's high priest?

5 And Paul said, "I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, 'You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.'"

6 But when Paul perceived that one part were Sad'ducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, "Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead I am on trial."

7 And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sad'ducees; and the assembly was divided.

8 For the Sad'ducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit; but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.

9 Then a great clamor arose; and some of the scribes of the Pharisees' party stood up and contended, "We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?"

10 And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn in pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them and bring him into the barracks.

11 The following night the Lord stood by him and said, "Take courage, for as you have testified about me at Jerusalem, so you must bear witness also at Rome."

12 When it was day, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.

13 There were more than forty who made this conspiracy.

14 And they went to the chief priests and elders, and said, "We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul

15 You therefore, along with the council, give notice now to the tribune to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more exactly. And we are ready to kill him before he comes near."

16 Now the son of Paul's sister heard of their ambush; so he went and entered the barracks and told Paul.

17 And Paul called one of the centurions and said, "Take this young man to the tribune; for he has something to tell him."

18 So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said, "Paul the prisoner called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, as he has something to say to you."

19 The tribune took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, "What is it that you have to tell me?

20 And he said, "The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more closely about him.

21 But do not yield to them; for more than forty of their men lie in ambush for him, having bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him; and now they are ready, waiting for the promise from you.

22 So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, "Tell no one that you have informed me of this."

23 Then he called two of the centurions and said, "At the third hour of the night get ready two hundred soldiers with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go as far as Caesare'a.

24 Also provide mounts for Paul to ride, and bring him safely to Felix the governor."

25 And he wrote a letter to this effect:

26 "Claudius Lys'ias to his Excellency the governor Felix, greeting.

27 This man was seized by the Jews, and was about to be killed by them, when I came upon them with the soldiers and rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman citizen.

28 And desiring to know the charge on which they accused him, I brought him down to their council.

29 I found that he was accused about questions of their law, but charged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment.

30 And when it was disclosed to me that there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, ordering his accusers also to state before you what they have against him."

31 So the soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul and brought him by night to Antip'atris.

32 And on the morrow they returned to the barracks, leaving the horsemen to go on with him.

33 When they came to Caesare'a and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also before him.

34 On reading the letter, he asked to what province he belonged. When he learned that he was from Cili'cia

35 he said, "I will hear you when your accusers arrive." And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod's praetorium.