He found favor with God and asked that he could find a dwelling place for the house of Jacob.

Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They killed those who foretold long ago the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become!

One of them, named Agabus, got up and predicted by the Spirit that a severe famine was about to come over the whole inhabited world. (This took place during the reign of Claudius.)

For we have found this man to be a troublemaker, one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.

When Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood and was putting it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand.

for he was counted as one of us and received a share in this ministry.”

There were more than forty of them who formed this conspiracy.

Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria experienced peace and thus was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, the church increased in numbers.

He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and with great enthusiasm he spoke and taught accurately the facts about Jesus, although he knew only the baptism of John.

When he knocked at the door of the outer gate, a slave girl named Rhoda answered.

“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated with strictness under Gamaliel according to the law of our ancestors, and was zealous for God just as all of you are today.

On the next Sabbath almost the whole city assembled together to hear the word of the Lord.

But the population of the city was divided; some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles.

But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and proclaiming (along with many others) the word of the Lord.

Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him, along with all those who were in his house.

When they heard this they became enraged and began to shout, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors,

She continued to do this for many days. But Paul became greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out of her at once.

But God turned away from them and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘It was not to me that you offered slain animals and sacrifices forty years in the wilderness, was it, house of Israel?

But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back for yourself part of the proceeds from the sale of the land?