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The Way of the Cross

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 <div class="chapter ch22" data-usfm="ACT.22.30">
 <div class="p">30The commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews. So the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the members of the Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them.</div>
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The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

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Holy Bible, New International Version™ (Anglicised), South Asian Audio Edition

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 <div class="label">23</div><div class="p">1Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, &#8220;My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.&#8221; 2At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. 3Then Paul said to him, &#8220;God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!&#8221;</div><div class="p">4Those who were standing near Paul said, &#8220;How dare you insult God&#8217;s high priest!&#8221;</div><div class="p">5Paul replied, &#8220;Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: &#8216;Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.&#8217;#23:5 Exodus 22:28&#8221;</div><div class="p">6Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, &#8220;My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.&#8221; 7When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8(The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.)</div><div class="p">9There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously. &#8220;We find nothing wrong with this man,&#8221; they said. &#8220;What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?&#8221; 10The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks.</div><div class="p">11The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, &#8220;Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">The Plot to Kill Paul</div><div class="p">12The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. 13More than forty men were involved in this plot. 14They went to the chief priests and the elders and said, &#8220;We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul. 15Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him before you on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets here.&#8221;</div><div class="p">16But when the son of Paul&#8217;s sister heard of this plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul.</div><div class="p">17Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, &#8220;Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him.&#8221; 18So he took him to the commander.</div><div class="p">The centurion said, &#8220;Paul, the prisoner, sent for me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.&#8221;</div><div class="p">19The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside and asked, &#8220;What is it you want to tell me?&#8221;</div><div class="p">20He said: &#8220;Some Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul before the Sanhedrin tomorrow on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about him. 21Don&#8217;t give in to them, because more than forty of them are waiting in ambush for him. They have taken an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are ready now, waiting for your consent to their request.&#8221;</div><div class="p">22The commander dismissed the young man with this warning: &#8220;Don&#8217;t tell anyone that you have reported this to me.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Paul Transferred to Caesarea</div><div class="p">23Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them, &#8220;Get ready a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen#23:23 The meaning of the Greek for this word is uncertain. to go to Caesarea at nine tonight. 24Provide horses for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.&#8221;</div><div class="p">25He wrote a letter as follows:</div><div class="pmo">26Claudius Lysias,</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pmo">To His Excellency, Governor Felix:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pmo">Greetings.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pm">27This man was seized by the Jews and they were about to kill him, but I came with my troops and rescued him, for I had learned that he is a Roman citizen. 28I wanted to know why they were accusing him, so I brought him to their Sanhedrin. 29I found that the accusation had to do with questions about their law, but there was no charge against him that deserved death or imprisonment. 30When I was informed of a plot to be carried out against the man, I sent him to you at once. I also ordered his accusers to present to you their case against him.</div><div class="p">31So the soldiers, carrying out their orders, took Paul with them during the night and brought him as far as Antipatris. 32The next day they let the cavalry go on with him, while they returned to the barracks. 33When the cavalry arrived in Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and handed Paul over to him. 34The governor read the letter and asked what province he was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia, 35he said, &#8220;I will hear your case when your accusers get here.&#8221; Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod&#8217;s palace.</div>
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 <div class="label">24</div><div class="s1">Paul&#8217;s Trial Before Felix</div><div class="p">1Five days later the high priest Ananias went down to Caesarea with some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, and they brought their charges against Paul before the governor. 2When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented his case before Felix: &#8220;We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation. 3Everywhere and in every way, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude. 4But in order not to weary you further, I would request that you be kind enough to hear us briefly.</div><div class="p">5&#8220;We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect 6and even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him. [7]#24:6-7 Some manuscripts include here him, and we would have judged him in accordance with our law. 7 But the commander Lysias came and took him from us with much violence, 8 ordering his accusers to come before you. 8By examining him yourself you will be able to learn the truth about all these charges we are bringing against him.&#8221;</div><div class="p">9The other Jews joined in the accusation, asserting that these things were true.</div><div class="p">10When the governor motioned for him to speak, Paul replied: &#8220;I know that for a number of years you have been a judge over this nation; so I gladly make my defense. 11You can easily verify that no more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship. 12My accusers did not find me arguing with anyone at the temple, or stirring up a crowd in the synagogues or anywhere else in the city. 13And they cannot prove to you the charges they are now making against me. 14However, I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets, 15and I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. 16So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.</div><div class="p">17&#8220;After an absence of several years, I came to Jerusalem to bring my people gifts for the poor and to present offerings. 18I was ceremonially clean when they found me in the temple courts doing this. There was no crowd with me, nor was I involved in any disturbance. 19But there are some Jews from the province of Asia, who ought to be here before you and bring charges if they have anything against me. 20Or these who are here should state what crime they found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin&#8212; 21unless it was this one thing I shouted as I stood in their presence: &#8216;It is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p">22Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings. &#8220;When Lysias the commander comes,&#8221; he said, &#8220;I will decide your case.&#8221; 23He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard but to give him some freedom and permit his friends to take care of his needs.</div><div class="p">24Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. 25As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, &#8220;That&#8217;s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.&#8221; 26At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him.</div><div class="p">27When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, but because Felix wanted to grant a favor to the Jews, he left Paul in prison.</div>
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 <div class="label">25</div><div class="s1">Paul&#8217;s Trial Before Festus</div><div class="p">1Three days after arriving in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, 2where the chief priests and the Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul. 3They requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way. 4Festus answered, &#8220;Paul is being held at Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon. 5Let some of your leaders come with me, and if the man has done anything wrong, they can press charges against him there.&#8221;</div><div class="p">6After spending eight or ten days with them, Festus went down to Caesarea. The next day he convened the court and ordered that Paul be brought before him. 7When Paul came in, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him. They brought many serious charges against him, but they could not prove them.</div><div class="p">8Then Paul made his defense: &#8220;I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar.&#8221;</div><div class="p">9Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, &#8220;Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?&#8221;</div><div class="p">10Paul answered: &#8220;I am now standing before Caesar&#8217;s court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well. 11If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!&#8221;</div><div class="p">12After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: &#8220;You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Festus Consults King Agrippa</div><div class="p">13A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. 14Since they were spending many days there, Festus discussed Paul&#8217;s case with the king. He said: &#8220;There is a man here whom Felix left as a prisoner. 15When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked that he be condemned.</div><div class="p">16&#8220;I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over anyone before they have faced their accusers and have had an opportunity to defend themselves against the charges. 17When they came here with me, I did not delay the case, but convened the court the next day and ordered the man to be brought in. 18When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. 19Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive. 20I was at a loss how to investigate such matters; so I asked if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial there on these charges. 21But when Paul made his appeal to be held over for the Emperor&#8217;s decision, I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar.&#8221;</div><div class="p">22Then Agrippa said to Festus, &#8220;I would like to hear this man myself.&#8221;</div><div class="p">He replied, &#8220;Tomorrow you will hear him.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Paul Before Agrippa</div><div class="p">23The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience room with the high-ranking military officers and the prominent men of the city. At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. 24Festus said: &#8220;King Agrippa, and all who are present with us, you see this man! The whole Jewish community has petitioned me about him in Jerusalem and here in Caesarea, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. 25I found he had done nothing deserving of death, but because he made his appeal to the Emperor I decided to send him to Rome. 26But I have nothing definite to write to His Majesty about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that as a result of this investigation I may have something to write. 27For I think it is unreasonable to send a prisoner on to Rome without specifying the charges against him.&#8221;</div>
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 <div class="label">26</div><div class="p">1Then Agrippa said to Paul, &#8220;You have permission to speak for yourself.&#8221;</div><div class="p">So Paul motioned with his hand and began his defense: 2&#8220;King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews, 3and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.</div><div class="p">4&#8220;The Jewish people all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child, from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem. 5They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I conformed to the strictest sect of our religion, living as a Pharisee. 6And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our ancestors that I am on trial today. 7This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. King Agrippa, it is because of this hope that these Jews are accusing me. 8Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?</div><div class="p">9&#8220;I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the Lord&#8217;s people in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. 11Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. I was so obsessed with persecuting them that I even hunted them down in foreign cities.</div><div class="p">12&#8220;On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13About noon, King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. 14We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic,#26:14 Or Hebrew &#8216;Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.&#8217;</div><div class="p">15&#8220;Then I asked, &#8216;Who are you, Lord?&#8217;</div><div class="p">&#8220; &#8216;I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,&#8217; the Lord replied. 16&#8216;Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. 17I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.&#8217;</div><div class="p">19&#8220;So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. 20First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds. 21That is why some Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. 22But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen&#8212; 23that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles.&#8221;</div><div class="p">24At this point Festus interrupted Paul&#8217;s defense. &#8220;You are out of your mind, Paul!&#8221; he shouted. &#8220;Your great learning is driving you insane.&#8221;</div><div class="p">25&#8220;I am not insane, most excellent Festus,&#8221; Paul replied. &#8220;What I am saying is true and reasonable. 26The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner. 27King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.&#8221;</div><div class="p">28Then Agrippa said to Paul, &#8220;Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?&#8221;</div><div class="p">29Paul replied, &#8220;Short time or long&#8212;I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.&#8221;</div><div class="p">30The king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them. 31After they left the room, they began saying to one another, &#8220;This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment.&#8221;</div><div class="p">32Agrippa said to Festus, &#8220;This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.&#8221;</div>
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 <div class="label">27</div><div class="s1">Paul Sails for Rome</div><div class="p">1When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment. 2We boarded a ship from Adramyttium about to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.</div><div class="p">3The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, in kindness to Paul, allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs. 4From there we put out to sea again and passed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us. 5When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. 6There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board. 7We made slow headway for many days and had difficulty arriving off Cnidus. When the wind did not allow us to hold our course, we sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone. 8We moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.</div><div class="p">9Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Day of Atonement.#27:9 That is, Yom Kippur So Paul warned them, 10&#8220;Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.&#8221; 11But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship. 12Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in Crete, facing both southwest and northwest.</div><div class="s1">The Storm</div><div class="p">13When a gentle south wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. 14Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the Northeaster, swept down from the island. 15The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along. 16As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure, 17so the men hoisted it aboard. Then they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Because they were afraid they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor#27:17 Or the sails and let the ship be driven along. 18We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. 19On the third day, they threw the ship&#8217;s tackle overboard with their own hands. 20When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.</div><div class="p">21After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: &#8220;Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. 22But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. 23Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me 24and said, &#8216;Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.&#8217; 25So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. 26Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">The Shipwreck</div><div class="p">27On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic#27:27 In ancient times the name referred to an area extending well south of Italy. Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land. 28They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet#27:28 Or about 37 meters deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet#27:28 Or about 27 meters deep. 29Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight. 30In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. 31Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, &#8220;Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.&#8221; 32So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it drift away.</div><div class="p">33Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. &#8220;For the last fourteen days,&#8221; he said, &#8220;you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food&#8212;you haven&#8217;t eaten anything. 34Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.&#8221; 35After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. 36They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37Altogether there were 276 of us on board. 38When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.</div><div class="p">39When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. 40Cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea and at the same time untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach. 41But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf.</div><div class="p">42The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping. 43But the centurion wanted to spare Paul&#8217;s life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. 44The rest were to get there on planks or on other pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land safely.</div>
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 <div class="label">28</div><div class="s1">Paul Ashore on Malta</div><div class="p">1Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. 2The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. 3Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. 4When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, &#8220;This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live.&#8221; 5But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. 6The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.</div><div class="p">7There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and showed us generous hospitality for three days. 8His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. 9When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured. 10They honored us in many ways; and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed.</div><div class="s1">Paul&#8217;s Arrival at Rome</div><div class="p">11After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island&#8212;it was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux. 12We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days. 13From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli. 14There we found some brothers and sisters who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome. 15The brothers and sisters there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these people Paul thanked God and was encouraged. 16When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him.</div><div class="s1">Paul Preaches at Rome Under Guard</div><div class="p">17Three days later he called together the local Jewish leaders. When they had assembled, Paul said to them: &#8220;My brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. 18They examined me and wanted to release me, because I was not guilty of any crime deserving death. 19The Jews objected, so I was compelled to make an appeal to Caesar. I certainly did not intend to bring any charge against my own people. 20For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.&#8221;</div><div class="p">21They replied, &#8220;We have not received any letters from Judea concerning you, and none of our people who have come from there has reported or said anything bad about you. 22But we want to hear what your views are, for we know that people everywhere are talking against this sect.&#8221;</div><div class="p">23They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus. 24Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. 25They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: &#8220;The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said through Isaiah the prophet:</div><div class="q1">26&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Go to this people and say,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;You will be ever hearing but never understanding;</div><div class="q2">you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.&#8221;</div><div class="q1">27For this people&#8217;s heart has become calloused;</div><div class="q2">they hardly hear with their ears,</div><div class="q2">and they have closed their eyes.</div><div class="q1">Otherwise they might see with their eyes,</div><div class="q2">hear with their ears,</div><div class="q2">understand with their hearts</div><div class="q1">and turn, and I would heal them.&#8217;#28:27 Isaiah 6:9,10 (see Septuagint)</div><div class="p">28&#8220;Therefore I want you to know that God&#8217;s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!&#8221; [29]#28:29 Some manuscripts include here After he said this, the Jews left, arguing vigorously among themselves.</div><div class="p">30For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. 31He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ&#8212;with all boldness and without hindrance!</div>
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 <div class="p">1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God&#8212; 2the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life#1:3 Or who according to the flesh was a descendant of David, 4and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power#1:4 Or was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from#1:5 Or that is faith for his name&#8217;s sake. 6And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p">7To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p">Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.</div><div class="s1">Paul&#8217;s Longing to Visit Rome</div><div class="p">8First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God&#8217;s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.</div><div class="p">11I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong&#8212; 12that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other&#8217;s faith. 13I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,#1:13 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God&#8217;s family; also in 7:1, 4; 8:12, 29; 10:1; 11:25; 12:1; 15:14, 30; 16:14, 17. that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.</div><div class="p">14I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.</div><div class="p">16For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed&#8212;a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,#1:17 Or is from faith to faith just as it is written: &#8220;The righteous will live by faith.&#8221;#1:17 Hab. 2:4</div>
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 <div class="p">1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p">2To God&#8217;s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters#1:2 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God&#8217;s family; also in 4:15. in Christ:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p">Grace and peace to you from God our Father.#1:2 Some manuscripts Father and the Lord Jesus Christ</div><div class="s1">Thanksgiving and Prayer</div><div class="p">3We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God&#8217;s people&#8212; 5the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel 6that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world&#8212;just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God&#8217;s grace. 7You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant,#1:7 Or slave who is a faithful minister of Christ on our#1:7 Some manuscripts your behalf, 8and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.</div><div class="p">9For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,#1:9 Or all spiritual wisdom and understanding 10so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you#1:12 Some manuscripts us to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.</div><div class="s1">The Supremacy of the Son of God</div><div class="p">15The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.</div><div class="p">21Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of#1:21 Or minds, as shown by your evil behavior. 22But now he has reconciled you by Christ&#8217;s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation&#8212; 23if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.</div>
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 <div class="label">1</div><div class="s1">Prologue</div><div class="p">1The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2who testifies to everything he saw&#8212;that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.</div><div class="s1">Greetings and Doxology</div><div class="p">4John,</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p">To the seven churches in the province of Asia:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p">Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits#1:4 That is, the sevenfold Spirit before his throne, 5and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="b"></div><div class="p">To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father&#8212;to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.</div><div class="q1">7&#8220;Look, he is coming with the clouds,&#8221;#1:7 Daniel 7:13</div><div class="q2">and &#8220;every eye will see him,</div><div class="q1">even those who pierced him&#8221;;</div><div class="q2">and all peoples on earth &#8220;will mourn because of him.&#8221;#1:7 Zech. 12:10</div><div class="q4">So shall it be! Amen.</div><div class="p">8&#8220;I am the Alpha and the Omega,&#8221; says the Lord God, &#8220;who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">John&#8217;s Vision of Christ</div><div class="p">9I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10On the Lord&#8217;s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 11which said: &#8220;Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.&#8221;</div><div class="p">12I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man,#1:13 See Daniel 7:13. dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.</div><div class="p">17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: &#8220;Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.</div><div class="p">19 &#8220;Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 20The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels#1:20 Or messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.</div>
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 <div class="label">2</div><div class="s1">To the Church in Ephesus</div><div class="m">1 &#8220;To the angel #2:1 Or messenger ; also in verses 8, 12 and 18 of the church in Ephesus write:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pi1">These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.</div><div class="pi1">4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.</div><div class="pi1">7 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.</div><div class="s1">To the Church in Smyrna</div><div class="m">8 &#8220;To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pi1">These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9I know your afflictions and your poverty&#8212;yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor&#8217;s crown.</div><div class="pi1">11 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.</div><div class="s1">To the Church in Pergamum</div><div class="m">12 &#8220;To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pi1">These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. 13I know where you live&#8212;where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city&#8212;where Satan lives.</div><div class="pi1">14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. 15Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.</div><div class="pi1">17 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.</div><div class="s1">To the Church in Thyatira</div><div class="m">18 &#8220;To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pi1">These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.</div><div class="pi1">20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.</div><div class="pi1">24 Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan&#8217;s so-called deep secrets, &#8216;I will not impose any other burden on you, 25except to hold on to what you have until I come.&#8217;</div><div class="pi1">26 To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations&#8212; 27that one &#8216;will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery&#8217;#2:27 Psalm 2:9&#8212;just as I have received authority from my Father. 28I will also give that one the morning star. 29Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.</div>
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 <div class="label">3</div><div class="s1">To the Church in Sardis</div><div class="m">1 &#8220;To the angel #3:1 Or messenger ; also in verses 7 and 14 of the church in Sardis write:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pi1">These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits #3:1 That is, the sevenfold Spirit of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. 3Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.</div><div class="pi1">4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. 6Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.</div><div class="s1">To the Church in Philadelphia</div><div class="m">7 &#8220;To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pi1">These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 8I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars&#8212;I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. 10Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.</div><div class="pi1">11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. 12The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. 13Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.</div><div class="s1">To the Church in Laodicea</div><div class="m">14 &#8220;To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pi1">These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God&#8217;s creation. 15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm&#8212;neither hot nor cold&#8212;I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17You say, &#8216;I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.&#8217; But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.</div><div class="pi1">19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.</div><div class="pi1">21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.&#8221;</div>
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 <div class="label">4</div><div class="s1">The Throne in Heaven</div><div class="p">1After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, &#8220;Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.&#8221; 2At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. 4Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits#4:5 That is, the sevenfold Spirit of God. 6Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.</div><div class="p">In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="qc">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Holy, holy, holy</div><div class="qc">is the Lord God Almighty,&#8217;#4:8 Isaiah 6:3</div><div class="qc">who was, and is, and is to come.&#8221;</div><div class="b"></div><div class="m">9Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:</div><div class="q1">11&#8220;You are worthy, our Lord and God,</div><div class="q2">to receive glory and honor and power,</div><div class="q1">for you created all things,</div><div class="q2">and by your will they were created</div><div class="q2">and have their being.&#8221;</div>
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 <div class="chapter ch5" data-usfm="REV.5">
 <div class="label">5</div><div class="s1">The Scroll and the Lamb</div><div class="p">1Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. 2And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, &#8220;Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?&#8221; 3But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5Then one of the elders said to me, &#8220;Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.&#8221;</div><div class="p">6Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits#5:6 That is, the sevenfold Spirit of God sent out into all the earth. 7He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 8And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God&#8217;s people. 9And they sang a new song, saying:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;You are worthy to take the scroll</div><div class="q2">and to open its seals,</div><div class="q1">because you were slain,</div><div class="q2">and with your blood you purchased for God</div><div class="q2">persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.</div><div class="q1">10You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,</div><div class="q2">and they will reign#5:10 Some manuscripts they reign on the earth.&#8221;</div><div class="p">11Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12In a loud voice they were saying:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,</div><div class="q2">to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength</div><div class="q2">and honor and glory and praise!&#8221;</div><div class="p">13Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb</div><div class="q2">be praise and honor and glory and power,</div><div class="qc">for ever and ever!&#8221;</div><div class="m">14The four living creatures said, &#8220;Amen,&#8221; and the elders fell down and worshiped.</div>
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