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Today's Bible Reading :: Acts 11 - 13 (ESV)

Acts 11Listen to the passage

Acts 12Listen to the passage

Acts 13Listen to the passage

Acts 11

Peter Reports to the Church

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 11:1

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 11:1 - Now the apostles and the brothers[fn] who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 11:2

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 11:2 - So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party[fn] criticized him, saying,

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 11:3

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 11:3 - “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 11:4

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 11:4 - But Peter began and explained it to them in order:

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 11:5

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 11:5 - “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 11:6

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 11:6 - Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 11:7

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 11:7 - And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 11:8

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 11:8 - But I said, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 11:9

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 11:9 - But the voice answered a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 11:10

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 11:10 - This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 11:11

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 11:11 - And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 11:12

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 11:12 - And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 11:13

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 11:13 - And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter;

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 11:14

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 11:14 - he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 11:15

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 11:15 - As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 11:16

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 11:16 - And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 11:17

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 11:17 - If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 11:18

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 11:18 - When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

The Church in Antioch

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 11:19

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 11:19 - Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 11:20

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 11:20 - But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists[fn] also, preaching the Lord Jesus.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 11:21

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 11:21 - And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 11:22

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 11:22 - The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 11:23

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 11:23 - When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose,

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 11:24

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 11:24 - for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 11:25

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 11:25 - So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul,

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 11:26

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 11:26 - and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 11:27

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 11:27 - Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 11:28

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 11:28 - And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius).

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 11:29

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 11:29 - So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers[fn] living in Judea.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 11:30

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 11:30 - And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.
ESV Footnotes
Or brothers and sisters
Or Jerusalem, those of the circumcision
Or Greeks (that is, Greek-speaking non-Jews)
Or brothers and sisters

Acts 12

James Killed and Peter Imprisoned

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 12:1

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 12:1 - About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 12:2

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 12:2 - He killed James the brother of John with the sword,

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 12:3

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 12:3 - and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 12:4

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 12:4 - And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 12:5

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 12:5 - So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.

Peter Is Rescued

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 12:6

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 12:6 - Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 12:7

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 12:7 - And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 12:8

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 12:8 - And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 12:9

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 12:9 - And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 12:10

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 12:10 - When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 12:11

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 12:11 - When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 12:12

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 12:12 - When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 12:13

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 12:13 - And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 12:14

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 12:14 - Recognizing Peter’s voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 12:15

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 12:15 - They said to her, “You are out of your mind.” But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, “It is his angel!”

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 12:16

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 12:16 - But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 12:17

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 12:17 - But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Tell these things to James and to the brothers.”[fn] Then he departed and went to another place.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 12:18

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 12:18 - Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 12:19

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 12:19 - And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and ordered that they should be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there.

The Death of Herod

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 12:20

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 12:20 - Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, the king’s chamberlain,[fn] they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king’s country for food.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 12:21

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 12:21 - On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 12:22

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 12:22 - And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!”

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 12:23

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 12:23 - Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 12:24

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 12:24 - But the word of God increased and multiplied.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 12:25

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 12:25 - And Barnabas and Saul returned from[fn] Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them John, whose other name was Mark.
ESV Footnotes
Or brothers and sisters
That is, trusted personal attendant
Some manuscripts to

Acts 13

Barnabas and Saul Sent Off

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:1

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:1 - Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger,[fn] Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:2

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:2 - While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:3

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:3 - Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

Barnabas and Saul on Cyprus

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:4

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:4 - So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:5

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:5 - When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:6

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:6 - When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:7

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:7 - He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:8

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:8 - But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:9

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:9 - But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:10

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:10 - and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:11

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:11 - And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:12

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:12 - Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

Paul and Barnabas at Antioch in Pisidia

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:13

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:13 - Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John left them and returned to Jerusalem,

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:14

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:14 - but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:15

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:15 - After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:16

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:16 - So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said: “Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:17

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:17 - The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:18

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:18 - And for about forty years he put up with[fn] them in the wilderness.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:19

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:19 - And after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:20

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:20 - All this took about 450 years. And after that he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:21

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:21 - Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:22

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:22 - And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:23

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:23 - Of this man’s offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:24

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:24 - Before his coming, John had proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:25

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:25 - And as John was finishing his course, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:26

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:26 - “Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:27

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:27 - For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:28

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:28 - And though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him executed.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:29

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:29 - And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:30

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:30 - But God raised him from the dead,

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:31

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:31 - and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:32

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:32 - And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers,

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:33

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:33 - this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm,
“‘You are my Son,
today I have begotten you.’

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:34

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:34 - And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way,
“‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:35

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:35 - Therefore he says also in another psalm,
“‘You will not let your Holy One see corruption.’

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:36

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:36 - For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption,

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:37

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:37 - but he whom God raised up did not see corruption.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:38

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:38 - Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you,

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:39

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:39 - and by him everyone who believes is freed[fn] from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:40

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:40 - Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about:

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:41

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:41 - “‘Look, you scoffers,
be astounded and perish;
for I am doing a work in your days,
a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.’”

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:42

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:42 - As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:43

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:43 - And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:44

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:44 - The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:45

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:45 - But when the Jews[fn] saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:46

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:46 - And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:47

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:47 - For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,
“‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:48

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:48 - And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:49

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:49 - And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:50

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:50 - But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:51

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:51 - But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 13:52

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 13:52 - And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
See the ESV Preface
ESV Footnotes
Niger is a Latin word meaning black, or dark
Some manuscripts he carried (compare Deuteronomy 1:31)
Or justified; twice in this verse
Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time; also verse 50
ESV

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016, 2025 by Crossway Books and Bibles, a Publishing Ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

See detailed copyright information.

For more information on this translation, see the ESV Preface.

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