Acts 1–2

The Preface

1I produced the former account, O Theophilus, about all that^a Jesus began to do and to teach, ²until the day he was taken up, after he^* had given orders through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen, ³to whom he also presented himself alive after he suffered, with many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking the things about the kingdom of God. ⁴And while he^* was with^b them,^* he commanded them, “Do not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for what was promised by the Father, which you heard about from me. ⁵For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”^c

The Ascension

⁶So when^* they had come together, they began asking^* him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time you are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷But he said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸But you will receive power when^* the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest part of the earth.” ⁹And after he^* had said these things, while^* they were watching, he was taken up, and a cloud received him from their sight. ¹⁰And as they were staring into the sky while^* he was departing, behold, two men in white clothing stood by them ¹¹who also said, “Men of Galilee,^d why do you stand there looking^e into the sky? This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven like this will come back in the same way you saw him departing into heaven!”

Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas

¹²Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain that is called Olive Grove^f which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.^{g 13}And when they had entered, they went up to the upstairs room where they were staying—Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas son of James. ¹⁴All these were busily engaged with one mind in prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus and with^h his brothers.

¹⁵And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers (and it was a crowd of persons of about one hundred twenty at the same place) and^* said, ¹⁶“Men and brothers, it was necessary that the scripture be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit proclaimed beforehand through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus, ¹⁷because he was counted among us and received a share in this ministry.” ¹⁸(Now this man acquired a field for the wages of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines spilled out. ¹⁹And it became known to all who live in Jerusalem, so that that field was called in their own languageⁱ “Akeldama,” that is, “Field of Blood.”) ²⁰“For it is written in the book of Psalms,

‘Let his residence become deserted,

and let there be no one to live in it,’^j

and,

‘Let another person take his position.’^k

²¹Therefore it is necessary for one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time in which the Lord Jesus went in and went out among us, ²²beginning from the baptism of John until the day on which he was taken up from us—one of these men must become a witness of his resurrection together with us.” ²³And they proposed two men, Joseph called Barsabbas (who was called Justus) and Matthias. ²⁴And they prayed and^* said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show clearly which one of these two you have chosen ²⁵to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to depart to his own place.” ²⁶And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was added to serve^* with the eleven apostles.

Pentecost and the Coming of the Holy Spirit

2And when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in the same place. ²And suddenly a sound like a violent rushing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³And divided^a tongues like fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. ⁴And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages^b as the Spirit gave them ability to speak out.

⁵Now there were Jews residing in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. ⁶And when^* this sound occurred, the crowd gathered and was in confusion, because each one was hearing them speaking in his own language. ⁷And they were astounded and astonished, saying, “Behold, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸And how do we hear, each one of us, in our own native language?^{c 9}Parthians and Medes and Elamites and those residing in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,^{d 10}Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya toward Cyrene, and the Romans who were in town, ¹¹both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own languages the great deeds of God!” ¹²And all were amazed and greatly perplexed, saying to one another,^e “What can this mean?”^{f 13}But others jeered and^* said, “They are full of sweet new wine!”

Peter’s Sermon on the Day of Pentecost

¹⁴But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them, “Judean men, and all those who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and pay attention to my words! ¹⁵For these men are not drunk, as you assume, because it is the third hour of the day. ¹⁶But this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

¹⁷‘And it will be in the last days,’ God says,

‘I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,

and your sons and your daughters will prophesy,

and your young men will see visions,

and your old men will dream dreams.

¹⁸And even on my male slaves and on my female slaves

I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.

¹⁹And I will cause wonders in the heaven^g above

and signs on the earth below,

blood and fire and vapor of smoke.

²⁰The sun will be changed to darkness

and the moon to blood,

before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.

²¹And it will be that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.’^h

²²“Israelite men, listen to these words! Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, just as you yourselves know—²³this man, delivered up by the determined plan and foreknowledge of God, you executed by^* nailing to a cross^* through the hand of lawless men. ²⁴God raised himⁱ up, having brought to an end the pains of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. ²⁵For David says with reference to him,

‘I saw the Lord before me continually,^j

for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken.

²⁶For this reason my heart was glad

and my tongue rejoiced greatly,

furthermore also my flesh will live in hope,

²⁷because you will not abandon my soul in Hades,

nor will you permit your Holy One to experience decay.

²⁸You have made known to me the paths of life;

you will fill me with gladness with your presence.’^k

²⁹“Men and brothers, it is possible to speak with confidence to you about the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us until this day. ³⁰Therefore, because he^* was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants^l on his throne, ³¹by^* having foreseen this,^* he spoke about the resurrection of the Christ,^m that neither was he abandoned in Hades nor did his flesh experience decay. ³²This Jesus God raised up, of whichⁿ we all are witnesses. ³³Therefore, having been exalted to the right hand of God and having received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, he has poured out this that you see and hear.^{o 34}For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says,

‘The Lord said to my Lord,

“Sit at my right hand,

³⁵until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” ’^p

³⁶Therefore let all the house of Israel know beyond a doubt, that God has made him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified!”

The Response to Peter’s Sermon

³⁷Now when they^* heard this,^* they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “What should we do, men and brothers?” ³⁸And Peter said^q to them, “Repent and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all those who are far away, as many as the Lord our God calls to himself.” ⁴⁰And with many other words he solemnly urged and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this crooked generation!” ⁴¹So those who accepted his message were baptized, and on that day about three thousand souls were added.

The Fellowship of the First Believers

⁴²And they were devoting themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayers. ⁴³And fear came on every soul, and many wonders and signs were being performed by the apostles. ⁴⁴And all who believed were in the same place, and had everything in common. ⁴⁵And they began selling^* their^* possessions and property, and distributing these things to all, to the degree that anyone had need. ⁴⁶And every day, devoting themselves to meeting^* with one purpose in the temple courts^* and breaking bread from house to house, they were eating their food with joy and simplicity of heart, ⁴⁷praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding every day to the total of those who were being saved.