- katapi - New Study Bible ... by URL bible references -
| DB1 | New English Bible
61 DURING THIS PERIOD, when disciples were growing in number, there was disagreement between those of them who spoke Greek and those who spoke the language of the Jews. The former party complained that their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution. 2 So the Twelve called the whole body of disciples together and said, 'It would be a grave mistake for us to neglect the word of God in order to wait at table. 3 Therefore, friends, look out seven men of good reputation from your number, men full of the Spirit and of wisdom, and we will appoint them to deal with these matters, 4 while we devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word.' 5 This proposal proved acceptable to the whole body. They elected Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch, a former convert to Judaism. 6 These they presented to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
7 The word of God now spread more and more widely; the number of disciples in Jerusalem went on increasing rapidly, and very many of the priests adhered to the Faith.
8 Stephen, who was full of grace and power, began to s work great miracles and signs among the people. 9 But some members of the synagogue called the Synagogue of Freedmen, comprising Cyrenians and Alexandrians and people from Cilicia and Asia, came forward and argued with Stephen, 10 but could not hold their own against the inspired wisdom with which he spoke. 11 They then put up men who alleged that they had heard him make blasphemous statements against Moses and against God. 12 They stirred up the people and the elders and doctors of the law, set upon him and seized him, and brought him before the Council. 13 They produced false witnesses who said, 'This man is for ever saying things against this holy place and against the Law. 14 For we have heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and alter the customs handed down to us by Moses.' 15 And all who were sitting in the Council fixed their eyes on him, and his face appeared to them like the face of an angel.
71 Then the High Priest asked, 'Is this so?' 2 And he said, 'My brothers, fathers of this nation, listen to me. The God of glory appeared to Abraham our ancestor while he was in Mesopotamia, before he had settled in Harran, 3 and said: "Leave your country and your kinsfolk and come away to a land that I will show you." 4 Thereupon he left the land of the Chaldaeans and settled in Harran. From there, after his father's death, God led him to migrate to this land where you now live. 5 He gave him nothing in it to call his own, not one yard; but promised to give it in possession to him and his descendants after him, though he was then childless. 6 God spoke in these terms: "Abraham's descendants shall live as aliens in a foreign land, held in slavery and oppression for four hundred years. 7 And I will pass judgement", said God, "on the nation whose slaves they are; and after that they shall come out free, and worship me in this place." 8 He then gave him the covenant of circumcision, and so, after Isaac was born, he circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs.
9 'The patriarchs out of jealousy sold Joseph into slavery in Egypt, 10 but God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles. He also gave him a presence and powers of mind which so commended him to Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he appointed him chief administrator for Egypt and the whole of the royal household.
11 'But famine struck the whole of Egypt and Canaan, and caused great hardship; and our ancestors could find nothing to eat. 12 But Jacob heard that there was food in Egypt and sent our fathers there. This was their first visit. 13 On the second visit Joseph was recognized by his brothers, and his family connexions were disclosed to Pharaoh. 14 So Joseph sent an invitation to his father Jacob and all his relatives, seventy-five persons altogether; 15 and Jacob went down into Egypt. There he ended his days, as also our forefathers did. 16 Their remains were later removed to Shechem and buried in the tomb which Abraham had bought and paid for from the clan of Emmor at Shechem.
17 'Now as the time approached for God to fulfil the promise he had made to Abraham, our nation in is Egypt grew and increased in numbers. 18 At length another king, who knew nothing of Joseph, ascended the throne of Egypt. 19 He made a crafty attack on our race, and cruelly forced our ancestors to expose their children so that they should not survive. 20 At this time Moses was born. He was a fine child, and pleasing to God. For three months he was nursed in his father's' house, and when he was exposed, 21 Pharaoh's daughter herself adopted him and brought him up as her own son. 22 So Moses was trained in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, a powerful speaker and a man of action.
23 'He was approaching the age of forty, when it occurred to him to look into the conditions of his fellow-countrymen the Israelites. 24 He saw one of them being ill-treated, so he went to his aid, and avenged the victim by striking down the Egyptian. 25 He thought his fellow-countrymen would understand that God was offering them deliverance through him, but they did not understand. 26 The next day he came upon two of them fighting, and tried to bring them to make up their quarrel. "My men," he said, "you are brothers; why are you ill-treating one another?" 27 But the man who was at fault pushed him away. "Who set you up as a ruler and judge over us?" he said. 28 "Are you going to kill me like the Egyptian you killed yesterday?" 29 At this Moses fled the country and settled in Midianite territory. There two sons were born to him.
30 'After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the flame of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. 31 Moses was amazed at the sight. But as he approached to look closely, the voice of the Lord was heard: 32 "I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." Moses was terrified and dared not look. 33 Then the Lord said to him, "Take off your shoes; the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have indeed seen how my people are oppressed in Egypt and have heard their groans; and I have come down to rescue them. Up, then; let me send you to Egypt."
35 'This Moses, whom they had rejected with the words, "Who made you ruler and judge?" - this very man was commissioned as ruler and liberator by God himself, speaking through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 It was Moses who led them out, working miracles and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and for forty years in the desert. 37 It was he again who said to the Israelites, "God will raise up a prophet for you from among yourselves as he raised me." 38 He it was who, when they were assembled there in the desert, conversed with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our forefathers; he received the living utterances of God, to pass on to us.
39 'But our forefathers would not accept his leadership. They thrust him aside. They wished themselves back in Egypt, 40 and said to Aaron, "Make us gods to go before us. As for that Moses, who brought us out of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." 41 That was when they made the bull-calf, and offered sacrifice to the idol, and held a feast in honour of the thing their hands had made. 42 But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the hosts of heaven, as it stands written in the book of the prophets: "Did you bring me victims and offerings those forty years in the desert, you house of Israel? 43 No, you carried aloft the shrine of Moloch, and the star of the god Rephan, the images which you had made for your adoration. I will banish you beyond Babylon."
44 'Our forefathers had the Tent of the Testimony in the desert, as God commanded when he told Moses to make it after the pattern which he had seen. 45 Our fathers of the next generation, with Joshua, brought it with them when they dispossessed the nations whom God drove out before them, and there it was until the time of David. 46 David found favour with God and asked to be allowed to provide a dwelling-place for the God of Jacob; 47 but it was Solomon who built him a house. 48 However, the Most High does not live in houses made by men: 49 as the prophet says,
51 'How stubborn you are, heathen still at heart and deaf to the truth! You always fight against the Holy Spirit. Like fathers, like sons. 52 Was there ever a prophet whom your fathers did not persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One; and now you have betrayed him and murdered him, 53 you who received the Law as God's angels gave it to you, and yet have not kept it.'
54 This touched them on the raw and they ground their teeth with fury. 55 But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, and gazing intently up to heaven, saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God's right hand. 56 'Look,' he said, 'there is a rift in the sky; I can see the Son of Man standing at God's right hand!' 57 At this they gave a great shout and stopped their ears. Then they made one rush at him and, 58 flinging him out of the city, set about stoning him. The witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 So they stoned Stephen, and as they did so, he called out, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried aloud, 'Lord, do not hold this sin against them', and with that he died.
THIS WAS THE BEGINNING of a time of violent persecution for the church in Jerusalem; and all except the apostles were scattered over the country districts of Judaea and Samaria. 2 Stephen was given burial by certain devout men, who made a great lamentation for him. 3 Saul, meanwhile, was harrying the church; he entered house after house, seizing men and women, and sending them to prison.
4 As for those who had been scattered, they went through the country preaching the Word. 5 Philip came down to a city in Samaria and began proclaiming the Messiah to them. 6 The crowds, to a man, listened eagerly to what Philip said, when they heard him and saw the miracles that he performed. 7 For in many cases of possession the unclean spirits came out with a great outcry; and many Plysed and crippled folk were cured; 8 and there was great joy in that city.
9 A man named Simon had been in the city for some time, and had swept the Samaritans off their feet with his magical arts, claiming to be someone great. 10 All of them, high and low, listened eagerly to him. 'This man', they said, 'is that power of God which is called "The Great Power".' 11 They listened because they had for so long been carried away by his magic. 12 But when they came to believe Philip with his good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, men and women alike. 13 Even Simon himself believed, and was baptized, and thereupon was constantly in Philip's company. He was carried away when he saw the powerful signs and miracles that were taking place.
14 The apostles in Jerusalem now heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God. They sent off Peter and John, 15 who went down there and prayed for the converts, asking that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For until then the Spirit had not come upon any of them. They had been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus, that and nothing more. 17 So Peter and John laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.
18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money 19 and said, 'Give me the same power too, so that when I lay my hands on anyone, he will receive the Holy Spirit.' 20 'You and your money,' said Peter sternly, 'may you come to a bad end, for thinking God's gift is for sale! 21 You have no part nor lot in this, for you are dishonest with God. 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray the Lord to forgive you for imagining such a thing. 23 I can see that you are doomed to taste the bitter fruit and wear the fetters of sin.' 24 Simon answered, 'Pray to the Lord for me yourselves and ask that none of the things you have spoken of may fall upon me.'
25 And so, after giving their testimony and speaking the word of the Lord, they took the road back to Jerusalem, bringing the good news to many Samaritan villages on the way.
32 The passage he was reading was this:
91 MEANWHILE SAUL was still breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the High Priest 2 and applied for letters to the synagogues at Damascus authorizing him to arrest anyone he found, men or women, who followed the new way, and bring them to Jerusalem. 3 While he was still on the road and nearing Damascus, suddenly a light flashed from the sky all around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?' 5 'Tell me. Lord,' he said, 'who you are.' The voice answered, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you have to do.' 7 Meanwhile the men who were travelling with him stood speechless; they heard the voice but could see no one. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could not see, so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 He was blind for three days, and took no food or drink.
10 There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. He had a vision in which he heard the voice of the Lord: 'Ananias!' 'Here I am. Lord', he answered. 11 The Lord said to him, 'Go at once to Straight Street, to the house of Judas, and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. 12 You will find him at prayer; he has had a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying his hands on him to restore his sight.' 13 Ananias answered, 'Lord, I have often heard about this man and all the harm he has done to thy people in Jerusalem. 14 And here he is with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who invoke thy name.' 15 But the Lord said to him, 'You must go, for this man is my chosen instrument to bring my name before the nations and their kings, and before the people of Israel. 16 I myself will show him all that he must go through for my name's sake.'
17 So Ananias went. He entered the house, laid his hands on him and said, 'Saul, my brother, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me to you so that you may recover your sight, and be filled with the Holy Spirit.' 18 And immediately it seemed that scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight.
He stayed some time with the disciples in Damascus.
20 Soon he was proclaiming Jesus publicly in the synagogues: 'This', he said, 'is the Son of God.' 21 All who heard were astounded. 'Is not this the man', they said, 'who was in Jerusalem trying to destroy those who invoke this name? Did he not come here for the sole purpose of arresting them and taking them to the chief priests?' 22 But Saul grew more and more forceful, and silenced the Jews of Damascus with his cogent proofs that Jesus was the Messiah.
23 As the days mounted up, the Jews hatched a plot against his life; 24 but their plans became known to Saul. They kept watch on the city gates day and night so that they might murder him; 25 but his converts took him one night and let him down by the wall, lowering him in a basket.
26 When he reached Jerusalem he tried to join the body of disciples there; but they were all afraid of him, because they did not believe that he was really a convert. 27 Barnabas, however, took him by the hand and introduced him to the apostles. He described to them how Saul had seen the Lord on his journey, and heard his voice, and how he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus at Damascus. 28 Saul now stayed with them, moving about freely in Jerusalem. 29 He spoke out boldly and openly in the name of the Lord, talking and debating with the Greek-speaking Jews. 30 But they planned to murder him, and when the brethren learned of this they escorted him to Caesarea and saw him off to Tarsus.
31 MEANWHILE THE CHURCH, throughout Judaea, Galilee, and Samaria, was left in peace to build up its strength. In the fear of the Lord, upheld by the Holy Spirit, it held on its way and grew in numbers.
36 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek, Dorcas, meaning a gazelle), who filled her days with acts of kindness and charity. 37 At that time she fell ill and died; and they washed her body and laid it in a room upstairs. 38 As Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who had heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the urgent request, 'Please come over to us without delay.' 39 Peter thereupon went off with them. When he arrived they took him upstairs to the room, where all the widows came and stood round him in tears, showing him the shirts and coats that Dorcas used to make while she was with them. 40 Peter sent them all outside, and knelt down and prayed. Then, turning towards the body, he said, 'Tabitha, arise.' She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up. 41 He gave her his hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the members of the congregation and the widows and showed her to them alive. 42 The news spread all over Joppa, and many came to believe in the Lord. 43 Peter stayed on in Joppa for some time with one Simon, a tanner.
101 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in the Italian Cohort, as it was called. 2 He was a religious man, and he and his whole family joined in the worship of God. He gave generously to help the Jewish people, and was regular in his prayers to God. 3 One day about three in the afternoon he had a vision in which he clearly saw an angel of God, who came into his room and said, 'Cornelius!' 4 He stared at him in terror. 'What is it, my lord?' he asked. The angel said, 'Your prayers and acts of charity have gone up to heaven to speak for you before God. 5 And now send to Joppa for a man named Simon, also called Peter: 6 he is lodging with another Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.' 7 So when the angel who was speaking to him had gone, he summoned two of his servants and a military orderly who was a religious man, 8 told them the whole story, and sent them to Joppa.
9 Next day, while they were still on their way and approaching the city, about noon Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He grew hungry and wanted something to eat. While they were getting it ready, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw a rift in the sky, and a thing coming down that looked like a great sheet of sailcloth. It was slung by the four corners, and was being lowered to the ground. 12 In it he saw creatures of every kind, whatever walks or crawls or flies. 13 Then there was a voice which said to him, 'Up, Peter, kill and eat.' 14 But Peter said, 'No, Lord, no: I have never eaten anything profane or unclean.' 15 The voice came again a second time: 'It is not for you to call profane what God counts clean.' 16 This happened three times; and then the thing was taken up again into the sky.
17 While Peter was still puzzling over the meaning of the vision he had seen, the messengers of Cornelius had been asking the way to Simon's house, and now arrived at the entrance. 18 They called out and asked if Simon Peter was lodging there. 19 But Peter was thinking over the vision, when the Spirit said to him, 'Some men are here looking for you; 20 make haste and go downstairs. You may go with them without any misgiving, for it was I who sent them.' 21 Peter came down to the men and said, 'You are looking for me? Here I am. What brings you here?' 22 'We are from the centurion Cornelius,' they replied, 'a good and religious man, acknowledged as such by the whole Jewish nation. He was directed by a holy angel to send for you to his house and to listen to what you have to say.' 23 So Peter asked them in and gave them a night's lodging. Next day he set out with them, accompanied by some members of the congregation at Joppa.
24 The day after that, he arrived at Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relalives and close friends. 25 When Peter arrived, Cornelius came to meet him, and bowed to the ground in deep reverence. 26 But Peter raised him to his feet and said, 'Stand up; I am a man like anyone else.' 27 Still talking with him he went in and found a large gathering. 28 He said to them, 'I need not tell you that a Jew is forbidden by his religion to visit or associate with a man of another race; yet God has shown me clearly that I must not call any man profane or unclean. 29 That is why I came here without demur when you sent for me. May I ask what was your reason for sending?'
30 Cornelius said, 'Four days ago, just about this time, I was in the house here saying the afternoon prayers, when suddenly a man in shining robes stood before me. 31 He said: "Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your acts of charity remembered before God. 32 Send to Joppa, then, to Simon Peter, and ask him to come. He is lodging in the house of Simon the tanner, by the sea." 33 So I sent to you there and then; it was kind of you to come. And now we are all met here before God, to hear all that the Lord has ordered you to say.'
34 Peter began: 'I now see how true it is that God has no favourites, 35 but that in every nation the man who is godfearing and does what is right is acceptable to him.
44 Peter was still speaking when the Holy Spirit came upon all who were listening to the message. 45 The believers who had come with Peter, men of Jewish birth, were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit should have been poured out even on Gentiles. 46 For they could hear them speaking in tongues of ecstasy and acclaiming the greatness of God. Then Peter spoke: 47 'Is anyone prepared to withhold the water for baptism from these persons, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did ourselves?' 48 Then he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. After that they asked him to stay on with them for a time.
111 News came to the apostles and the members of the church in Judaea that Gentiles too had accepted the word of God; 2 and when Peter came up to Jerusalem those who were of Jewish birth raised the question with him. 3 'You have been visiting men who are uncircumcised,' they said, 'and sitting at table with them!' 4 Peter began by laying before them the facts as they had happened.
5 'I was in the city of Joppa', he said, 'at prayer; and while in a trance I had a vision: a thing was coming down that looked like a great sheet of sail-cloth, slung by the four corners and lowered from the sky till it reached me. 6 I looked intently to make out what was in it and I saw four-footed creatures of the earth, wild beasts, and things that crawl or fly. 7 Then I heard a voice saying to me, "Up, Peter, kill and eat." 8 But I said, "No, Lord, no: nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth." 9 A voice from heaven answered a second time, "It is not for you to call profane what God counts clean." 10 This happened three times, and then they were all drawn up again into the sky. 11 At that moment three men, who had been sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where I was staying; 12 and the Spirit told me to go with them. My six companions here came with me and we went into the man's house. 13 He told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house who said, "Send to Joppa for Simon also called Peter. 14 He will speak words that will bring salvation to you and all your household." 15 Hardly had I begun speaking, when the Holy Spirit came upon them, just as upon us at the beginning. 16 Then I recalled what the Lord had said: "John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." 17 God gave them no less a gift than he gave us when we put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ; then how could I possibly stand in God's way?'
18 When they heard this their doubts were silenced. They gave praise to God and said, 'This means that God has granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles also.'
19 MEANWHILE THOSE who had been scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen made their way to Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, bringing the message to Jews only and to no others. 20 But there were some natives of Cyprus and Cyrene among them, and these, when they arrived at Antioch, began to speak to pagans as well, telling them the good news of the Lord Jesus. 21 The power of the Lord was with them, and a great many became believers, and turned to the Lord.
22 The news reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem; and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw the divine grace at work, he rejoiced, and encouraged them all to hold fast to the Lord with resolute hearts; 24 for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And large numbers were won over to the Lord.
25 He then went off to Tarsus to look for Saul; 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year the two of them lived in fellowship with the congregation there, and gave instruction to large numbers. It was in Antioch that the disciples first got the name of Christians.
27 During this period some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, Agabus by name, was inspired to stand up and predict a severe and world-wide famine, which in fact occurred in the reign of Claudius. 29 So the disciples agreed to make a contribution, each according to his means, for the relief of their fellow-Christians in Judaea. 30 This they did, and sent it off in the charge of Barnabas and Saul to the elders.
121 IT WAS ABOUT THIS TIME that King Herod attacked certain members of the church. 2 He beheaded James, the brother of John, 3 and then, when he saw that the Jews approved, proceeded to arrest Peter also. This happened during the festival of Unleavened Bread. 4 Having secured him, he put him in prison under a military guard, four squads of four men each, meaning to produce him in public after Passover. 5 So Peter was kept in prison under constant watch, while the church kept praying fervently for him to God.
6 On the very night before Herod had planned to bring him forward, Peter was asleep between two soldiers, secured by two chains, while outside the doors sentries kept guard over the prison. 7 All at once an angel of the Lord stood there, and the cell was ablaze with light. He tapped Peter on the shoulder and woke him. 'Quick! Get up', he said, and the chains fell away from his wrists. 8 The angel then said to him, 'Do up your belt and put your shoes on.' He did so. 'Now wrap your cloak round you and follow me.' 9 He followed him out, with no idea that the angel's intervention was real: he thought it was just a vision. 10 But they passed the first guard-post, then the second, and reached the iron gate leading out into the city, which opened for them of its own accord. And so they came out and walked the length of one street; and the angel left him.
11 Then Peter came to himself. 'Now I know it is true,' he said; 'the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.' 12 When he realized how things stood, he made for the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where a large company was at prayer. 13 He knocked at the outer door and a maid called Rhoda came to answer it. 14 She recognized Peter's voice and was so overjoyed that instead of opening the door she ran in and announced that Peter was standing outside. 15 'You are crazy', they told her; but she insisted that it was so. Then they said, 'It must be his guardian angel.'
16 Meanwhile Peter went on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astounded. 17 With a movement of the hand he signed to them to keep quiet, and told them how the Lord had brought him out of prison. 'Report this to James and the members of the church', he said. Then he left the house and went off elsewhere.
18 When morning came, there was consternation is among the soldiers: what could have become of Peter? 19 Herod made close search, but failed to find him, so he interrogated the guards and ordered their execution.
Afterwards he left Judaea to reside for a time at Caesarea.
24 Meanwhile the word of God continued to grow and spread.
25 Barnabas and Saul, their task fulfilled, returned from Jerusalem, taking John Mark with them.