Now all the Jews know the way I lived<n id="1" /> from my youth, spending my life from the beginning among my own people<n id="2" /> and in Jerusalem.<n id="3" />

I punished<n id="1" /> them often in all the synagogues<n id="2" /> and tried to force<n id="3" /> them to blaspheme. Because I was so furiously enraged<n id="4" /> at them, I went to persecute<n id="5" /> them even in foreign cities.p>

When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and a violent<n id="1" /> storm continued to batter us,<n id="2" /> we finally abandoned all hope of being saved.<n id="3" />p>

and said,<n id="1" /> &#8216;Do not be afraid, Paul! You must stand before<n id="2" /> Caesar,<n id="3" /> and God has graciously granted you the safety<n id="4" /> of all who are sailing with you.&#8217;

and the rest were to follow,<n id="1" /> some on planks<n id="2" /> and some on pieces of the ship.<n id="3" /> And in this way<n id="4" /> all were brought safely to land.p>

let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ<n id="1" /> the Nazarene whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, this man stands before you healthy.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts<n id="1" /> of the earth.&#8221;

<t /><p class="bodytext">But Peter stood up<n id="1" /> with the eleven, raised his voice, and addressed them: &#8220;You men of Judea<n id="2" /> and all you who live in Jerusalem,<n id="3" /> know this<n id="4" /> and listen carefully to what I say.

And on the basis of faith in Jesus&#8217;<n id="1" /> name,<n id="2" /> his very name has made this man &#8211; whom you see and know &#8211; strong. The<n id="3" /> faith that is through Jesus<n id="4" /> has given him this complete health in the presence<n id="5" /> of you all.

Moses said, &#8216;<i><b>The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothersb>. <b>You must obeyb>i><n id="1" /> <b><i>him in everything he tells youi>b>.<n id="2" />

You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors,<n id="1" /> saying to Abraham, &#8216;<b><i>And in your descendantsi>b><n id="2" /> <b><i>all the nationsi>b><n id="3" /> <b><i>of the earth will be blessedi>b>.&#8217;<n id="4" />

saying, &#8220;What should we do with these men? For it is plain<n id="1" /> to all who live in Jerusalem that a notable miraculous sign<n id="2" /> has come about through them,<n id="3" /> and we cannot deny it.

After threatening them further, they released them, for they could not find how to punish them on account of the people, because they were all praising<n id="1" /> God for what had happened.

When they heard this, they raised their voices to God with one mind<n id="1" /> and said, &#8220;Master of all,<n id="2" /> you who made the heaven, the earth,<n id="3" /> the sea, and everything that is in them,

<t /><p class="bodytext">The group of those who believed were of one heart and mind,<n id="1" /> and no one said that any of his possessions was his own, but everything was held in common.<n id="2" />

For some time ago<n id="1" /> Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men joined him. He<n id="2" /> was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and nothing came of it.<n id="3" />

After him Judas the Galilean arose in the days of the census,<n id="1" /> and incited people to follow him in revolt.<n id="2" /> He too was killed, and all who followed him were scattered.

The<n id="1" /> proposal pleased the entire group, so<n id="2" /> they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, with<n id="3" /> Philip,<n id="4" /> Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a Gentile convert to Judaism<n id="5" /> from Antioch.<n id="6" />

and rescued him from all his troubles, and granted him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made<n id="1" /> him ruler over Egypt and over all his household.

And Saul agreed completely with killing<n id="1" /> him.p><t /><p class="bodytext">Now on that day a great<n id="2" /> persecution began<n id="3" /> against the church in Jerusalem,<n id="4" /> and all<n id="5" /> except the apostles were forced to scatter throughout the regions<n id="6" /> of Judea and Samaria.