So he replied,<n id="1" /> &#8220;Brothers and fathers, listen to me. The God of glory appeared to our forefather<n id="2" /> Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran,

Our ancestors<n id="1" /> had the tabernacle<n id="2" /> of testimony in the wilderness,<n id="3" /> just as God<n id="4" /> who spoke to Moses ordered him<n id="5" /> to make it according to the design he had seen.

Now the passage of scripture the man<n id="1" /> was reading was this:p> <p class="otpoetry">&#8220;<b><i>He was led like a sheep to slaughter,i>b>p> <p class="otpoetry"><b><i>and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,i>b>p> <p class="otpoetry"><b><i>so he didi>b><n id="2" /> <i><b>not open his mouthb>.i>p>

<p class="bodytext">Then<n id="1" /> the church throughout Judea, Galilee,<n id="2" /> and Samaria experienced<n id="3" /> peace and thus was strengthened.<n id="4" /> Living<n id="5" /> in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, the church<n id="6" /> increased in numbers.p>

But Peter sent them all outside,<n id="1" /> knelt down,<n id="2" /> and prayed. Turning<n id="3" /> to the body, he said, &#8220;Tabitha, get up.&#8221; Then she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up.<n id="4" />

But when her owners<n id="1" /> saw their hope of profit<n id="2" /> was gone, they seized<n id="3" /> Paul and Silas and dragged<n id="4" /> them into the marketplace before the authorities.

because he has set<n id="1" /> a day on which he is going to judge the world<n id="2" /> in righteousness, by a man whom he designated,<n id="3" /> having provided proof to everyone by raising<n id="4" /> him from the dead.&#8221;p>

But just as Paul was about to speak,<n id="1" /> Gallio said to the Jews, &#8220;If it were a matter of some crime or serious piece of villainy,<n id="2" /> I would have been justified in accepting the complaint<n id="3" /> of you Jews,<n id="4" />

so that when even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his body<n id="1" /> were brought<n id="2" /> to the sick, their diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.<n id="3" />

By all these things,<n id="1" /> I have shown you that by working in this way we must help<n id="2" /> the weak,<n id="3" /> and remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, &#8216;It is more blessed to give than to receive.&#8217;&#8221;<n id="4" />p>

The whole city was stirred up,<n id="1" /> and the people rushed together.<n id="2" /> They seized<n id="3" /> Paul and dragged him out of the temple courts,<n id="4" /> and immediately the doors were shut.

There was a great commotion,<n id="1" /> and some experts in the law<n id="2" /> from the party of the Pharisees stood up<n id="3" /> and protested strongly,<n id="4" /> &#8220;We find nothing wrong<n id="5" /> with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?&#8221;

<p class="bodytext">After Festus<n id="1" /> had stayed<n id="2" /> not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea,<n id="3" /> and the next day he sat<n id="4" /> on the judgment seat<n id="5" /> and ordered Paul to be brought.

I answered them<n id="1" /> that it was not the custom of the Romans to hand over anyone<n id="2" /> before the accused had met his accusers face to face<n id="3" /> and had been given<n id="4" /> an opportunity to make a defense against the accusation.<n id="5" />

When the local people<n id="1" /> saw the creature hanging from Paul&#8217;s<n id="2" /> hand, they said to one another, &#8220;No doubt this man is a murderer! Although he has escaped from the sea, Justice herself<n id="3" /> has not allowed him to live!&#8221;<n id="4" />

But they were expecting that he was going to swell up<n id="1" /> or suddenly drop dead. So after they had waited<n id="2" /> a long time and had seen<n id="3" /> nothing unusual happen<n id="4" /> to him, they changed their minds<n id="5" /> and said he was a god.<n id="6" />p>

They replied,<n id="1" /> &#8220;We have received no letters from Judea about you, nor have any of the brothers come from there<n id="2" /> and reported or said anything bad about you.

So Ananias departed and entered the house, placed<n id="1" /> his hands on Saul<n id="2" /> and said, &#8220;Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came here,<n id="3" /> has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.&#8221;<n id="4" />

So Peter got up and went with them, and<n id="1" /> when he arrived<n id="2" /> they brought him to the upper room. All<n id="3" /> the widows stood beside him, crying and showing him<n id="4" /> the tunics<n id="5" /> and other clothing<n id="6" /> Dorcas used to make<n id="7" /> while she was with them.

He came<n id="1" /> to us, took<n id="2" /> Paul&#8217;s belt,<n id="3" /> tied<n id="4" /> his own hands and feet with it,<n id="5" /> and said, &#8220;The Holy Spirit says this: &#8216;This is the way the Jews in Jerusalem will tie up the man whose belt this is, and will hand him over<n id="6" /> to the Gentiles.&#8217;&#8221;