The Spirit told me to accompany them without hesitation. These six brothers<n id="1" /> also went with me, and we entered the man&#8217;s house.

The angel said to him, &#8220;Fasten your belt<n id="1" /> and put on your sandals.&#8221; Peter<n id="2" /> did so. Then the angel<n id="3" /> said to him, &#8220;Put on your cloak<n id="4" /> and follow me.&#8221;

<p class="bodytext">Now Herod<n id="1" /> was having an angry quarrel<n id="2" /> with the people of Tyre<n id="3" /> and Sidon.<n id="4" /> So they joined together<n id="5" /> and presented themselves before him. And after convincing<n id="6" /> Blastus, the king&#8217;s personal assistant,<n id="7" /> to help them,<n id="8" /> they asked for peace,<n id="9" /> because their country&#8217;s food supply was provided by the king&#8217;s country.

But while John was completing his mission,<n id="1" /> he said repeatedly,<n id="2" /> &#8216;What do you think I am? I am not he. But look, one is coming after me. I am not worthy to untie the sandals on his feet!&#8217;<n id="3" />

<p class="bodytext">The whole group kept quiet<n id="1" /> and listened to Barnabas and Paul while they explained all the miraculous signs<n id="2" /> and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.

<p class="otpoetry"><b><i>so that the rest of humanityi>b><n id="1" /> <b><i>may seek the Lord,i>b>p> <p class="otpoetry"><b><i>namely,i>b><n id="2" /> <b><i>all the Gentilesi>b><n id="3" /> <b><i>I have called to be my own,i>b>&#8217;<n id="4" /> <b><i>says the Lord,i>b><n id="5" /> <i>who makes these thingsi>

These Jews<n id="1" /> were more open-minded<n id="2" /> than those in Thessalonica,<n id="3" /> for they eagerly<n id="4" /> received<n id="5" /> the message, examining<n id="6" /> the scriptures carefully every day<n id="7" /> to see if these things were so.

There he<n id="1" /> found<n id="2" /> a Jew named Aquila,<n id="3" /> a native of Pontus,<n id="4" /> who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius<n id="5" /> had ordered all the Jews to depart from<n id="6" /> Rome.<n id="7" /> Paul approached<n id="8" /> them,

When they opposed him<n id="1" /> and reviled him,<n id="2" /> he protested by shaking out his clothes<n id="3" /> and said to them, &#8220;Your blood<n id="4" /> be on your own heads! I am guiltless!<n id="5" /> From now on I will go to the Gentiles!&#8221;

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" />

He had been instructed in<n id="1" /> the way of the Lord, and with great enthusiasm<n id="2" /> he spoke and taught accurately the facts<n id="3" /> about Jesus, although he knew<n id="4" /> only the baptism of John.

But some itinerant<n id="1" /> Jewish exorcists tried to invoke the name<n id="2" /> of the Lord Jesus over those who were possessed by<n id="3" /> evil spirits, saying, &#8220;I sternly warn<n id="4" /> you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.&#8221;

This became known to all who lived in Ephesus,<n id="1" /> both Jews and Greeks; fear came over<n id="2" /> them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was praised.<n id="3" />

<t /><p class="bodytext">Now after all these things had taken place,<n id="1" /> Paul resolved<n id="2" /> to go to Jerusalem,<n id="3" /> passing through Macedonia<n id="4" /> and Achaia.<n id="5" /> He said,<n id="6" /> &#8220;After I have been there, I must also see Rome.&#8221;<n id="7" />

<t /><p class="bodytext">We went on ahead<n id="1" /> to the ship and put out to sea<n id="2" /> for Assos,<n id="3" /> intending<n id="4" /> to take Paul aboard there, for he had arranged it this way.<n id="5" /> He<n id="6" /> himself was intending<n id="7" /> to go there by land.<n id="8" />

But I do not consider my life<n id="1" /> worth anything<n id="2" /> to myself, so that<n id="3" /> I may finish my task<n id="4" /> and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news<n id="5" /> of God&#8217;s grace.p>

After we sighted Cyprus<n id="1" /> and left it behind on our port side,<n id="2" /> we sailed on to Syria and put in<n id="3" /> at Tyre,<n id="4" /> because the ship was to unload its cargo there.

But some in the crowd shouted one thing, and others something else,<n id="1" /> and when the commanding officer<n id="2" /> was unable<n id="3" /> to find out the truth<n id="4" /> because of the disturbance,<n id="5" /> he ordered Paul<n id="6" /> to be brought into the barracks.<n id="7" />

as both the high priest and the whole council of elders<n id="1" /> can testify about me. From them<n id="2" /> I also received<n id="3" /> letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I was on my way<n id="4" /> to make arrests there and bring<n id="5" /> the prisoners<n id="6" /> to Jerusalem<n id="7" /> to be punished.

Then he said, &#8216;The God of our ancestors<n id="1" /> has already chosen<n id="2" /> you to know his will, to see<n id="3" /> the Righteous One,<n id="4" /> and to hear a command<n id="5" /> from his mouth,