Chapter 2

The Day of Pentecost

1 When athe day of Pentecost 1had come, they were all together in one place.

2 And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled athe whole house where they were sitting.

3 And there appeared to them tongues as of fire 1distributing themselves, and 2they 3rested on each one of them.

4 And they were all afilled with the Holy Spirit and began to bspeak with other 1tongues, as the Spirit was giving them 2utterance.

5 Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, adevout men from every nation under heaven.

6 And when athis sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own 1language.

7 aThey were amazed and astonished, saying, “1Why, are not all these who are speaking bGalileans?

8 “And how is it that we each hear them in our own 1language 2to which we were born?

9 “Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and aCappadocia, bPontus and 1cAsia,

10 aPhrygia and bPamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around cCyrene, and 1dvisitors from Rome, both Jews and 2eproselytes,

11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.”

12 And athey all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

13 But others were mocking and saying, “aThey are full of 1sweet wine.”

Peter’s Sermon

14 But Peter, 1taking his stand with athe eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words.

15 “For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, afor it is only the 1third hour of the day;

16 but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:

17 ‘aAnd it shall be in the last days,’ God says,

‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all 1mankind;

And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

And your young men shall see visions,

And your old men shall dream dreams;

18 Even on My bondslaves, both men and women,

I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit

And they shall prophesy.

19 ‘And I will grant wonders in the sky above

And signs on the earth below,

Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke.

20 ‘The sun will be turned into darkness

And the moon into blood,

Before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come.

21 ‘And it shall be that aeveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: aJesus the Nazarene, ba man 1attested to you by God with 2miracles and cwonders and 3signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know—

23 this Man, delivered over by the apredetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, byou nailed to a cross by the hands of 1godless men and put Him to death.

24 “1But aGod raised Him up again, putting an end to the 2agony of death, since it bwas impossible for Him to be held 3in its power.

25 “For David says of Him,

‘aI saw the Lord always in my presence;

For He is at my right hand, so that I will not be shaken.

26 ‘Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue exulted;

Moreover my flesh also will live in hope;

27 Because You will not abandon my soul to aHades,

bNor 1allow Your 2Holy One to 3undergo decay.

28 ‘You have made known to me the ways of life;

You will make me full of gladness with Your presence.’

29 “1Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the apatriarch David that he both bdied and cwas buried, and dhis tomb is 2with us to this day.

30 “And so, because he was aa prophet and knew that bGod had sworn to him with an oath to seat one 1of his descendants on his throne,

31 he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of 1the Christ, that aHe was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh 2suffer decay.

32 “This Jesus aGod raised up again, to which we are all bwitnesses.

33 “Therefore having been exalted 1ato the right hand of God, and bhaving received from the Father cthe promise of the Holy Spirit, He has dpoured forth this which you both see and hear.

34 “For it was not David who ascended into 1heaven, but he himself says:

‘aThe Lord said to my 2Lord,

“Sit at My right hand,

35 Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” ’

36 “Therefore let all the ahouse of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both bLord and 1Christ—this Jesus cwhom you crucified.”

The Ingathering

37 Now when they heard this, they were 1pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “2Brethren, 3awhat shall we do?”

38 Peter said to them, “aRepent, and each of you be bbaptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

39 “For athe promise is for you and your children and for all who are bfar off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

40 And with many other words he solemnly atestified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “1Be saved from this bperverse generation!”

41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand 1asouls.

42 They were acontinually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to bthe breaking of bread and 1ato prayer.

43 1Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many awonders and 2signs were taking place through the apostles.

44 And all those who had believed 1were together and ahad all things in common;

45 and they abegan selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.

46 aDay by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and bbreaking bread 1from house to house, they were taking their 2meals together with gladness and 3sincerity of heart,

47 praising God and ahaving favor with all the people. And the Lord bwas adding 1to their number day by day cthose who were being saved.

Chapter 3

Healing the Lame Beggar

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

2 And aa man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried along, whom they bused to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, cin order to beg 1alms of those who were entering the temple.

3 When he saw aPeter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms.

4 But Peter, along with John, afixed his gaze on him and said, “Look at us!”

5 And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.

6 But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: aIn the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—walk!”

7 And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened.

8 1aWith a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

9 And aall the people saw him walking and praising God;

10 and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to asit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Peter’s Second Sermon

11 While he was clinging to aPeter and John, all the people ran together to them at the so-called 1bportico of Solomon, full of amazement.

12 But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk?

13 “aThe God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, bthe God of our fathers, has glorified His 1cservant Jesus, the one whom dyou delivered and disowned in the presence of ePilate, when he had fdecided to release Him.

14 “But you disowned athe Holy and Righteous One and basked for a murderer to be granted to you,

15 but put to death the 1aPrince of life, the one whom bGod raised from the dead, a fact to which we are cwitnesses.

16 “And on the basis of faith ain His name, it is 1the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.

17 “And now, brethren, I know that you acted ain ignorance, just as your brulers did also.

18 “But the things which aGod announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, bthat His 1Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.

19 “Therefore arepent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that btimes of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;

20 and that He may send Jesus, the 1Christ appointed for you,

21 awhom heaven must receive until the 1period of brestoration of all things about which cGod spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.

22 “Moses said, ‘aThe Lord God will raise up for you a prophet 1like me from your brethren; to Him you shall give heed to everything He says to you.

23 ‘aAnd it will be that every bsoul that does not heed that prophet cshall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’

24 “And likewise, aall the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also announced these days.

25 “It is you who are athe sons of the prophets and of the bcovenant which God 1made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘cAnd in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’

26 “For you afirst, God braised up His 1Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”

Chapter 4

Peter and John Arrested

1 As they were speaking to the people, the priests and athe captain of the temple guard and bthe Sadducees ccame up to them,

2 being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming 1ain Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

3 And they laid hands on them and aput them in jail until the next day, for it was already evening.

4 But many of those who had heard the 1message believed; and athe number of the men came to be about five thousand.

5 On the next day, their arulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem;

6 and aAnnas the high priest was there, and bCaiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent.

7 When they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?”

8 Then Peter, 1afilled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “2bRulers and elders of the people,

9 if we are 1on trial today for aa benefit done to a sick man, 2as to how this man has been made well,

10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that 1aby the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom bGod raised from the dead—1by 2this name this man stands here before you in good health.

11 “1aHe is the bstone which was crejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone.

12 “And there is salvation in ano one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

Threat and Release

13 Now as they observed the aconfidence of bPeter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and cbegan to recognize them 1as having been with Jesus.

14 And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply.

15 But when they had ordered them to leave the 1aCouncil, they began to confer with one another,

16 saying, “aWhat shall we do with these men? For the fact that a bnoteworthy 1miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

17 “But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to any man ain this name.”

18 And when they had summoned them, they acommanded them not to speak or teach at all 1in the name of Jesus.

19 But aPeter and John answered and said to them, “bWhether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge;

20 for awe cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

21 When they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which to punish them) aon account of the people, because they were all bglorifying God for what had happened;

22 for the man was more than forty years old on whom this 1miracle of healing had been performed.

23 When they had been released, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.

24 And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, “O 1Lord, it is You who amade the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them,

25 who aby the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said,

‘bWhy did the 1Gentiles rage,

And the peoples devise futile things?

26 ‘aThe kings of the earth 1took their stand,

And the rulers were gathered together

Against the Lord and against His 2bChrist.’

27 “For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy 1aservant Jesus, whom You anointed, both bHerod and cPontius Pilate, along with dthe 2Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,

28 to do whatever Your hand and aYour purpose predestined to occur.

29 “And 1now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may aspeak Your word with all bconfidence,

30 while You extend Your hand to heal, and 1asigns and wonders take place through the name of Your holy 2bservant Jesus.”

31 And when they had prayed, the aplace where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all bfilled with the Holy Spirit and began to cspeak the word of God with dboldness.

Sharing among Believers

32 And the 1congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them 2claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but aall things were common property to them.

33 And awith great power the apostles were giving btestimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.

34 For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses awould sell them and bring the 1proceeds of the sales

35 and alay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be bdistributed to each as any had need.

36 Now Joseph, a Levite of aCyprian birth, who was also called bBarnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of 1cEncouragement),

37 and who owned a tract of land, sold it and brought the money and alaid it at the apostles’ feet.