Acts 19; Acts 20; Acts 21; Acts 22; Acts 23

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Acts 19

1 While Apollos was in Corinth, Sha'ul completed his travels through the inland country and arrived at Ephesus, where he found a few talmidim.
2 He asked them, "Did you receive the Ruach HaKodesh when you came to trust?" "No," they said to him, "we have never even heard that there is such a thing as the Ruach HaKodesh."
3 "In that case," he said, "into what were you immersed?" "The immersion of Yochanan," they answered.
4 Sha'ul said, "Yochanan practiced an immersion in connection with turning from sin to God; but he told the people to put their trust in the one who would come after him, that is, in Yeshua."
5 On hearing this, they were immersed into the name of the Lord Yeshua;
6 and when Sha'ul placed his hands on them, the Ruach HaKodesh came upon them; so that they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.
7 In all, there were about twelve of these men.
8 Sha'ul went into the synagogue; and for three months he spoke out boldly, engaging in dialogue and trying to persuade people about the Kingdom of God.
9 But some began hardening themselves and refusing to listen; and when these started defaming the Way before the whole synagogue, Sha'ul withdrew, took the talmidim with him, and commenced holding daily dialogues in Tyrannus's yeshivah.
10 This went on for two years; so that everyone, both Jews and Greeks, living in the province of Asia heard the message about the Lord.
11 God did extraordinary miracles through Sha'ul.
12 For instance, handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were brought to sick people; they would recover from their ailments; and the evil spirits would leave them.
13 Then some of the Jewish exorcists who traveled from place to place tried to make use of the name of the Lord Yeshua in connection with people who had evil spirits. They would say, "I exorcise you by the Yeshua that Sha'ul is proclaiming!"
14 One time, seven sons of a Jewish cohen gadol named Skeva were doing this;
15 and the evil spirit answered them. It said, "Yeshua I know. And Sha'ul I recognize. But you? Who are you?"
16 Then the man with the evil spirit fell upon them, overpowered them and gave them such a beating that they ran from the house, naked and bleeding.
17 When all this became known to the residents of Ephesus, fear fell on all of them, Jews and Greeks alike; and the name of the Lord Yeshua came to be held in high regard.
18 Many of those who had earlier made professions of faith now came and admitted publicly their evil deeds;
19 and a considerable number of those who had engaged in occult practices threw their scrolls in a pile and burned them in public. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, it came to fifty thousand drachmas.
20 Thus the message about the Lord continued in a powerful way to grow in influence.
21 Some time later, Sha'ul decided by the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and then go to Yerushalayim. "After I have been there," he said, "I must visit Rome."
22 So he dispatched two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia; but he himself remained in the province of Asia for awhile.
23 It was at this time that a major furor arose concerning the Way.
24 There was a silversmith named Demetrius who manufactured from silver, objects connected with the worship of the goddess Artemis; and he provided no small amount of work for the craftsmen.
25 He called a meeting of them and of those engaged in similar trades, and said, "Men, you understand that this line of business provides us our living.
26 And you can see and hear for yourselves that not only here in Ephesus, but in practically the whole province of Asia, this Sha'ul has convinced and turned away a considerable crowd by saying that man-made gods aren't gods at all.
27 Now the danger is not only that the reputation of our trade will suffer, but that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will come to be taken lightly. It could end up with the goddess herself, who is worshipped throughout the province of Asia and indeed throughout the whole world, being ignominiously brought down from her divine majesty!"
28 Hearing this, they were filled with rage and began bellowing, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"
29 Soon the whole city was in an uproar. As one man, the mob rushed into the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Sha'ul's traveling companions from Macedonia.
30 Sha'ul himself wanted to appear before the crowd, but the talmidim wouldn't let him.
31 Even some of the officials of the province, friends of his, sent a message begging him not to risk entering the theater.
32 Meanwhile, some were shouting one thing and others something else, because the assembly was in complete confusion, and the great majority didn't even know why they were there.
33 Some of the crowd explained the situation to Alexander, whom the Jews had pushed to the front. So Alexander motioned for silence, hoping to make a defense speech to the people.
34 But as soon as they recognized that he was a Jew, they began bellowing in unison, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" and they kept it up for about two hours.
35 At last, the city clerk was able to quiet the crowd. "Men of Ephesus!" he said, "Is there anyone who doesn't know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone which fell from the sky?
36 Since this is beyond dispute, you had better calm down and not do anything rash.
37 For you have brought these men here who have neither robbed the temple nor insulted your goddess.
38 So if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open and the judges are there - let them bring charges and counter-charges.
39 But if there is something more you want, it will have to be settled in a lawful assembly.
40 For we are in danger of being accused of rioting on account of what has happened today. There is no justification for it; and if we are asked, we will be unable to give any reasonable explanation for this disorderly gathering."
41 And with these words, he dismissed the assembly.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Acts 20

1 After the furor died down, Sha'ul sent for the talmidim and encouraged them, then took his leave and set out on his way to Macedonia.
2 He went through that area, and, after saying much to encourage them, passed on to Greece,
3 where he spent three months. As he was preparing to set sail for Syria, he discovered a plot against him by the unbelieving Jews; so he changed his mind and decided to return by way of Macedonia.
4 Sopater from Berea, the son of Pyrrhus, accompanied him; as did Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.
5 These men went on and waited for us in Troas,
6 while we sailed from Philippi after the Days of Matzah. Five days later, we met them in Troas, where we spent a week.
7 On Motza'ei-Shabbat, when we were gathered to break bread, Sha'ul addressed them. Since he was going to leave the next day, he kept talking until midnight.
8 Now there were many oil lamps burning in the upstairs room where we were meeting,
9 and there was a young fellow named Eutychus sitting on the window-sill. As Sha'ul's drash went on and on, Eutychus grew sleepier and sleepier; until finally he went sound asleep and fell from the third story to the ground. When they picked him up, he was dead.
10 But Sha'ul went down, threw himself onto him, put his arms around him and said, "Don't be upset, he's alive!"
11 Then he went back upstairs, broke the bread and ate. He continued talking with them till daylight, then left.
12 So, greatly relieved, they brought the boy home alive.
13 We went on ahead to the ship and set sail for Assos, where we were planning to take Sha'ul aboard - he had arranged this because he wanted to go there by land.
14 After he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene.
15 The next day, we sailed from there and arrived off Chios; the following day, we crossed over to Samos; and the day after that, we reached Miletus.
16 For Sha'ul had decided to bypass Ephesus on his voyage, in order to avoid losing time in the province of Asia, because he was hurrying to get to Yerushalayim, if possible in time to celebrate Shavu'ot.
17 But he did send from Miletus to Ephesus, summoning the elders of the Messianic community.
18 When they arrived, he said to them, "You yourselves know how, from the first day I set foot in the province of Asia, I was with you the whole time,
19 serving the Lord with much humility and with tears, in spite of the tests I had to undergo because of the plots of the unbelieving Jews.
20 You know that I held back nothing that could be helpful to you, and that I taught you both in public and from house to house,
21 declaring with utmost seriousness the same message to Jews and Greeks alike: turn from sin to God; and put your trust in our Lord, Yeshua the Messiah.
22 "And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Yerushalayim. I don't know what will happen to me there,
23 other than that in every city the Ruach HaKodesh keeps warning me that imprisonment and persecution await me.
24 But I consider my own life of no importance to me whatsoever, as long as I can finish the course ahead of me, the task I received from the Lord Yeshua - to declare in depth the Good News of God's love and kindness.
25 "Now, listen! I know that none of you people among whom I have gone about proclaiming the Kingdom will ever see me again.
26 Therefore, I testify on this day that I am innocent of the blood of all.
27 For I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the whole plan of God.
28 "Watch out for yourselves, and for all the flock in which the Ruach HaKodesh has placed you as leaders, to shepherd God's Messianic community, which he won for himself at the cost of his own Son's blood.
29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you; and they won't spare the flock.
30 Even from among your own number, men will arise and teach perversions of the truth, in order to drag away the talmidim after themselves.
31 So stay alert! Remember that for three years, night and day, with tears in my eyes, I never stopped warning you!
32 "And now I entrust you to the care of the Lord and to the message of his love and kindness, for it can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who have been set apart for God.
33 "I have not wanted for myself anyone's silver or gold or clothing.
34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine have provided not only for my own needs, but for the needs of my co-workers as well.
35 In everything I have given you an example of how, by working hard like this, you must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Yeshua himself, 'There is more happiness in giving than in receiving.'"
36 When he had finished speaking, Sha'ul kneeled down with them all and prayed.
37 They were all in tears as they threw their arms around his neck and kissed him farewell.
38 What saddened them the most was his remark that they would never see him again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Acts 21

1 After we had torn ourselves away from the Ephesian elders, we set sail and made a straight run to Cos. The next day we went to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.
2 On finding a ship that was crossing over to Phoenicia, we embarked and set sail.
3 After sighting Cyprus, we passed it on the left, sailed to Syria and landed at Tzor, because that was where the ship was unloading its cargo.
4 Having searched out the talmidim there, we remained for a week. Guided by the Spirit, they told Sha'ul not to go up to Yerushalayim;
5 but when the week was over, we left to continue our journey. All of them, with their wives and children, accompanied us until we were outside the town. Kneeling on the beach and praying,
6 we said good-bye to each other. Then we boarded the ship, and they returned home.
7 When the voyage from Tzor was over, we arrived at Ptolemais. There we greeted the brothers and stayed with them overnight.
8 The following day, we left and came to Caesarea, where we went to the home of Philip the proclaimer of the Good News, one of the Seven, and stayed with him.
9 He had four unmarried daughters with the gift of prophecy.
10 While we were staying there, a prophet named Agav came down from Y'hudah
11 to visit us. He took Sha'ul's belt, tied up his own hands and feet and said, "Here is what the Ruach HaKodesh says: the man who owns this belt - the Judeans in Yerushalayim will tie him up just like this and hand him over to the Goyim."
12 When we heard this, both we and the people there begged him not to go up to Yerushalayim;
13 but Sha'ul answered, "What are you doing, crying and trying to weaken my resolve? I am prepared not only to be tied up, but even to die in Yerushalayim for the name of the Lord Yeshua."
14 And when he would not be convinced, we said, "May the Lord's will be done," and kept quiet.
15 So at the end of our stay, we packed and went up to Yerushalayim;
16 and with us went some of the talmidim from Caesarea. They brought us to the home of the man with whom we were to stay, Mnason from Cyprus, who had been a talmid since the early days.
17 In Yerushalayim, the brothers received us warmly.
18 The next day Sha'ul and the rest of us went in to Ya'akov, and all the elders were present.
19 After greeting them, Sha'ul described in detail each of the things God had done among the Gentiles through his efforts.
20 On hearing it, they praised God; but they also said to him, "You see, brother, how many tens of thousands of believers there are among the Judeans, and they are all zealots for the Torah.
21 Now what they have been told about you is that you are teaching all the Jews living among the Goyim to apostatize from Moshe, telling them not to have a b'rit-milah for their sons and not to follow the traditions.
22 "What, then, is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come.
23 So do what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow.
24 Take them with you, be purified with them, and pay the expenses connected with having their heads shaved. Then everyone will know that there is nothing to these rumors which they have heard about you; but that, on the contrary, you yourself stay in line and keep the Torah.
25 "However, in regard to the Goyim who have come to trust in Yeshua, we all joined in writing them a letter with our decision that they should abstain from what had been sacrificed to idols, from blood, from what is strangled and from fornication."
26 The next day Sha'ul took the men, purified himself along with them and entered the Temple to give notice of when the period of purification would be finished and the offering would have to be made for each of them.
27 The seven days were almost up when some unbelieving Jews from the province of Asia saw him in the Temple, stirred up all the crowd and grabbed him.
28 "Men of Isra'el, help!" they shouted. "This is the man who goes everywhere teaching everyone things against the people, against the Torah and against this place! And now he has even brought some Goyim into the Temple and defiled this holy place!"
29 (They had previously seen Trophimus from Ephesus in the city with him and assumed that Sha'ul had brought him into the Temple.)
30 The whole city was aroused, and people came running from all over. They seized Sha'ul and dragged him out of the Temple, and at once the gates were shut.
31 But while they were attempting to kill him, word reached the commander of the Roman battalion that all Yerushalayim was in turmoil.
32 Immediately he took officers and soldiers and charged down upon them. As soon as they saw the commander, they quit beating Sha'ul.
33 Then the commander came up, arrested him and ordered him to be tied up with two chains. He asked who he was and what he had done.
34 Everyone in the crowd shouted something different; so, since he couldn't find out what had happened because of the uproar, he ordered him brought to the barracks.
35 When Sha'ul got to the steps, he actually had to be carried by the soldiers, because the mob was so wild -
36 the crowd kept following and screaming, "Kill him!"
37 As Sha'ul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the commander, "Is it all right if I say something to you?" The commander said, "You know Greek!
38 Say, aren't you that Egyptian who tried to start a revolution a while back, and led four thousand armed terrorists out into the desert?"
39 Sha'ul said, "I am a Jew from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city; and I ask your permission to let me speak to the people."
40 Having received permission, Sha'ul stood on the steps and motioned with his hand to the people. When they finally became still, he addressed them in Hebrew:
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Acts 22

1 "Brothers and fathers! Listen to me as I make my defense before you now!"
2 When they heard him speaking to them in Hebrew, they settled down more; so he continued:
3 "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city and trained at the feet of Gamli'el in every detail of the Torah of our forefathers. I was a zealot for God, as all of you are today.
4 I persecuted to death the followers of this Way, arresting both men and women and throwing them in prison.
5 The cohen hagadol and the whole Sanhedrin can also testify to this. Indeed, after receiving letters from them to their colleagues in Dammesek, I was on my way there in order to arrest the ones in that city too and bring them back to Yerushalayim for punishment.
6 "As I was traveling and approaching Dammesek, around noon, suddenly a brilliant light from heaven flashed all around me!
7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Sha'ul! Sha'ul! Why do you keep persecuting me?'
8 I answered, 'Sir, who are you?' 'I am Yeshua from Natzeret,' he said to me, 'and you are persecuting me!'
9 Those who were with me did see the light, but they didn't hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.
10 I said 'What should I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, 'Get up, and go into Dammesek, and there you will be told about everything that has been laid out for you to do.'
11 I had been blinded by the brightness of the light, so my companions led me by the hand into Dammesek.
12 "A man named Hananyah, an observant follower of the Torah who was highly regarded by the entire Jewish community there,
13 came to me, stood by me and said, 'Brother Sha'ul, see again!' And at that very moment, I recovered my sight and saw him.
14 He said, 'The God of our fathersy determined in advance that you should know his will, see the Tzaddik and hear his voice;
15 because you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard.
16 So now, what are you waiting for? Get up, immerse yourself and have your sins washed away as you call on his name.'
17 "After I had returned to Yerushalayim, it happened that as I was praying in the Temple, I went into a trance,
18 and I saw Yeshua. 'Hurry!' he said to me, 'Get out of Yerushalayim immediately, because they will not accept what you have to say about me.'
19 I said, 'Lord, they know themselves that in every synagogue I used to imprison and flog those who trusted in you;
20 also that when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I was standing there too, in full agreement; I was even looking after the clothes of the ones who were killing him!'
21 But he said, 'Get going! For I am going to send you far away - to the Goyim!'"
22 They had been listening to him up to this point; but now they shouted at the top of their lungs, "Rid the earth of such a man! He's not fit to live!"
23 They were screaming, waving their clothes and throwing dust into the air;
24 so the commander ordered him brought into the barracks and directed that he be interrogated and whipped, in order to find out why they were yelling at him like this.
25 But as they were stretching him out with thongs to be flogged, Sha'ul said to the captain standing by, "Is it legal for you to whip a man who is a Roman citizen and hasn't even had a trial?"
26 When the captain heard that, he went and reported it to the commander, "Do you realize what you're doing? This man is a Roman citizen!"
27 The commander came and said to Sha'ul, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" "Yes," he said.
28 The commander replied, "I bought this citizenship for a sizeable sum of money." "But I was born to it," Sha'ul said.
29 At once the men who had been about to interrogate him drew back from him; and the commander was afraid too, because he realized that he had put this man who was a Roman citizen in chains.
30 However, the next day, since he wanted to know the specific charge the Judeans were bringing against him, he released him and ordered the head cohanim and the whole Sanhedrin to meet. Then he brought Sha'ul down and put him in front of them.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Acts 23

1 Sha'ul looked straight at them and said, "Brothers, I have been discharging my obligations to God with a perfectly clear conscience, right up until today."
2 But the cohen hagadol, Hananyah, ordered those standing near him to strike him on the mouth.
3 Then Sha'ul said to him, "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! Will you sit there judging me according to the Torah, yet in violation of the Torah order me to be struck?"
4 The men nearby said, "This is the cohen hagadol of God that you're insulting!
5 Sha'ul said, "I didn't know, brothers, that he was the cohen hagadol; for it says in the Torah, 'You are not to speak disparagingly of a ruler of your people.'"
6 But knowing that one part of the Sanhedrin consisted of Tz'dukim and the other of P'rushim, Sha'ul shouted, "Brothers, I myself am a Parush and the son of P'rushim; and it is concerning the hope of the resurrection of the dead that I am being tried!"
7 When he said this, an argument arose between the P'rushim and the Tz'dukim, and the crowd was divided.
8 For the Tz'dukim deny the resurrection and the existence of angels and spirits; whereas the P'rushim acknowledge both.
9 So there was a great uproar, with some of the Torah-teachers who were on the side of the P'rushim standing up and joining in - "We don't find anything wrong with this man; and if a spirit or an angel spoke to him, what of it?"
10 The dispute became so violent that the commander, fearing that Sha'ul would be torn apart by them, ordered the soldiers to go down, take him by force and bring him back into the barracks.
11 The following night, the Lord stood by him and said, "Take courage! For just as you have borne a faithful witness to me in Yerushalayim, so now you must bear witness in Rome."
12 The next day, some of the Judeans formed a conspiracy. They took an oath, saying they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Sha'ul;
13 more than forty were involved in this plot.
14 They went to the head cohanim and the elders and said, "We have bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food until we have killed Sha'ul
15 What you are to do is make it appear to the commander that you and the Sanhedrin want to get more accurate information about Sha'ul's case, so that he will bring him down to you; while we, for our part, are prepared to kill him before he ever gets here."
16 But the son of Sha'ul's sister got wind of the planned ambush, and he went into the barracks and told Sha'ul.
17 Sha'ul called one of the officers and said, "Take this man up to the commander; he has something to tell him."
18 So he took him and brought him to the commander and said, "The prisoner Sha'ul called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, because he has something to tell you."
19 The commander took him by the hand, led him aside privately and asked, "What is it you have to tell me?
20 He said, "The Judeans have agreed to ask you tomorrow to bring Sha'ul down to the Sanhedrin on the pretext that they want to investigate his case more thoroughly.
21 But don't let yourself be talked into it, because more than forty men are lying in wait for him. They have taken an oath neither to eat nor to drink until they kill him; and they are ready now, only waiting for you to give your consent to their request.
22 The commander let the young man go, cautioning him, "Don't tell anyone that you have reported this to me."
23 Then he summoned two of the captains and said, "Get two hundred infantry soldiers ready to leave for Caesarea at nine o'clock tonight, and seventy mounted cavalry and two hundred spearmen;
24 also provide replacements for Sha'ul's horse when it gets tired; and bring him through safely to Felix the governor."
25 And the commander wrote the following letter:
26 From: Claudius Lysias To: His Excellency, Governor Felix: Greetings!
27 This man was seized by the Judeans and was about to be killed by them, when I came on the scene with my troops and rescued him. After learning that he was a Roman citizen,
28 I wanted to understand exactly what they were charging him with; so I brought him down to their "Sanhedrin."
29 I found that he was charged in connection with questions of their "Torah" but that there was no charge deserving death or prison.
30 But when I was informed of a plot against the man, I immediately sent him to you and also ordered his accusers to state their case against him before you.
31 So the soldiers, following their orders, took Sha'ul during the night and brought him to Antipatris,
32 then returned to the barracks after leaving the cavalry to go on with him.
33 The cavalry took him to Caesarea, delivered the letter to the governor, and handed Sha'ul over to him.
34 The governor read the letter and asked what province he was from. On learning he was from Cilicia,
35 he said, "I will give you a full hearing after your accusers have also arrived," and ordered him to be kept under guard in Herod's headquarters.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.