So they stayed there<n id="1" /> for a considerable time, speaking out courageously for the Lord, who testified<n id="2" /> to the message<n id="3" /> of his grace, granting miraculous signs<n id="4" /> and wonders to be performed through their hands.

So they were sent on their way by the church, and as they passed through both Phoenicia<n id="1" /> and Samaria, they were relating at length<n id="2" /> the conversion of the Gentiles and bringing great joy<n id="3" /> to all the brothers.

<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>

But the Jews became jealous,<n id="1" /> and gathering together some worthless men from the rabble in the marketplace,<n id="2" /> they formed a mob<n id="3" /> and set the city in an uproar.<n id="4" /> They attacked Jason&#8217;s house,<n id="5" /> trying to find Paul and Silas<n id="6" /> to bring them out to the assembly.<n id="7" />

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.

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;

Large numbers<n id="1" /> of those who had practiced magic<n id="2" /> collected their books<n id="3" /> and burned them up in the presence of everyone.<n id="4" /> When<n id="5" /> the value of the books was added up, it was found to total fifty thousand silver coins.<n id="6" />

On the first day<n id="1" /> of the week, when we met<n id="2" /> to break bread, Paul began to speak<n id="3" /> to the people, and because he intended<n id="4" /> to leave the next day, he extended<n id="5" /> his message until midnight.

When they heard this, they praised<n id="1" /> God. Then they said to him, &#8220;You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews<n id="2" /> there are who have believed, and they are all ardent observers<n id="3" /> of the law.<n id="4" />

When the commanding officer<n id="1" /> had given him permission,<n id="2" /> Paul stood<n id="3" /> on the steps and gestured<n id="4" /> to the people with his hand. When they had become silent,<n id="5" /> he addressed<n id="6" /> them in Aramaic,<n id="7" />p>

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,

And when the blood of your witness<n id="1" /> Stephen was shed,<n id="2" /> I myself was standing nearby, approving,<n id="3" /> and guarding the cloaks<n id="4" /> of those who were killing him.&#8217;<n id="5" />

<t /><p class="bodytext">The next day, because the commanding officer<n id="1" /> wanted to know the true reason<n id="2" /> Paul<n id="3" /> was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole council<n id="4" /> to assemble. He then brought<n id="5" /> Paul down and had him stand before them.p>

Then<n id="1" /> he summoned<n id="2" /> two of the centurions<n id="3" /> and said, &#8220;Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea<n id="4" /> along with seventy horsemen<n id="5" /> and two hundred spearmen<n id="6" /> by<n id="7" /> nine o&#8217;clock tonight,<n id="8" />

Paul replied, &#8220;I pray to God that whether in a short or a long time<n id="1" /> not only you but also all those who are listening to me today could become such as I am, except for these chains.&#8221;<n id="2" />p>

&#8220;Men, I can see the voyage is going to end<n id="1" /> in disaster<n id="2" /> and great loss not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.&#8221;<n id="3" />

So they slipped<n id="1" /> the anchors<n id="2" /> and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the linkage<n id="3" /> that bound the steering oars<n id="4" /> together. Then they hoisted<n id="5" /> the foresail<n id="6" /> to the wind and steered toward<n id="7" /> the beach.

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.

When they heard this, they entered the temple courts<n id="1" /> at daybreak and began teaching.<n id="2" />p> <p class="bodytext">Now when the high priest and those who were with him arrived, they summoned the Sanhedrin<n id="3" /> &#8211; that is, the whole high council<n id="4" /> of the Israelites<n id="5" /> &#8211; and sent to the jail to have the apostles<n id="6" /> brought before them.<n id="7" />

They said, &#8220;Cornelius the centurion,<n id="1" /> a righteous<n id="2" /> and God-fearing man, well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation,<n id="3" /> was directed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear a message<n id="4" /> from you.&#8221;