Acts 3–4

CHAPTER 3

The Lame Beggar Healed

¹Now ^aPeter and John were going up to the temple at the ¹ninth hour, ^bthe hour of prayer.

²And ^aa man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried, whom they ^bused to set down daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, ^cin order to beg ¹alms of those who were entering the temple.

³When he saw ^aPeter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms.

⁴But when Peter, along with John, ^afixed his gaze on him, he said, “Look at us!”

⁵And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.

⁶But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: ^aIn the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—walk!”

⁷And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened.

^8aAnd leaping up, he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

⁹And ^aall the people saw him walking and praising God;

¹⁰and they were recognizing him, that he was the one who used to ^asit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Peter’s Sermon in Solomon’s Portico

¹¹And while he was clinging to ^aPeter and John, all the people ran together to them at the ^1bportico called Solomon’s, full of wonder.

¹²But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk?

¹³“^aThe God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, ^bthe God of our fathers, has glorified His ^cServant Jesus, whom ^dyou delivered and denied in the presence of ^ePilate, when he had ^fdecided to release Him.

¹⁴“But you denied ^athe Holy and Righteous One and ^basked for a murderer to be granted to you,

¹⁵but put to death the ^aAuthor of life, whom ^bGod raised from the dead, a fact to which we are ^cwitnesses.

¹⁶“And on the basis of faith ^ain His name, it is ¹the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which is through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.

¹⁷“And now, brothers, I know that you acted ^ain ignorance, just as your ^brulers did also.

¹⁸“But the things which ^aGod announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, ^bthat His ¹Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.

¹⁹“Therefore ^arepent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that ^1btimes of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;

²⁰and that He may send Jesus, the ¹Christ appointed for you,

^21awhom heaven must receive until the ¹period of ^brestoration of all things about which ^cGod spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.

²²“Moses said, ‘^aThe ¹Lord God will raise up for you a prophet ²like me from your brothers; to Him you shall listen to everything He says to you.

²³‘^aAnd it will be that every ^bsoul that does not heed that prophet ^cshall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’

²⁴“And likewise, ^aall the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also proclaimed these days.

²⁵“It is you who are ^athe sons of the prophets and of the ^bcovenant which God ¹made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘^cAnd in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’

²⁶“For you ^afirst, God ^braised up His ¹Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”

CHAPTER 4

Peter and John Arrested

¹Now as they were speaking to the people, the priests and ^athe captain of the temple guard and ^bthe Sadducees ^ccame up to them,

²being greatly agitated because they were teaching the people and proclaiming ^1ain Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

³And they laid hands on them and ^aput them in jail until the next day, for it was already evening.

⁴But many of those who had heard the ¹message believed, and ^athe number of the men came to be about five thousand.

⁵Now it happened that on the next day, their ^arulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem;

⁶and ^aAnnas the high priest was there, and ^bCaiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent.

⁷And when they had placed them in their midst, they began to inquire, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?”

⁸Then Peter, ^1afilled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “^2bRulers and elders of the people,

⁹if we are ¹being examined today for ^aa good deed done to a sick man, ²as to how this man has been ³saved from his sickness,

¹⁰let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that ^1aby the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom ^bGod raised from the dead—²by ³this name this man stands here before you in good health.

¹¹“^1aHe is the ^bstone which was ^crejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone.

¹²“And there is salvation in ^ano one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

Peter and John Threatened and Released

¹³Now as they observed the ^aconfidence of ^bPeter and John and comprehended that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were marveling, and ^cbegan to recognize them ¹as having been with Jesus.

¹⁴And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply.

¹⁵But when they had ordered them to leave the ^1aSanhedrin, they began to confer with one another,

¹⁶saying, “^aWhat should we do with these men? For the fact that a ^bnoteworthy ¹sign has happened through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

¹⁷“But lest it spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to any man ^ain this name.”

¹⁸And when they had summoned them, they ^acommanded them not to speak or teach at all ¹in the name of Jesus.

¹⁹But ^aPeter and John answered and said to them, “^bWhether it is right in the sight of God to hear you rather than God, you be the judge;

²⁰for ^awe cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

²¹And when they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which to punish them) ^aon account of the people, because they were all ^bglorifying God for what had happened;

²²for the man was more than forty years old on whom this sign of healing had occurred.

²³So when they were released, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.

²⁴And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, “O Master, it is You who ^amade the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them,

²⁵who ^aby the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said,

‘^bWhy did the ¹Gentiles rage,

And the peoples devise vain things?

²⁶‘^aThe kings of the earth ¹took their stand,

And the rulers were gathered together

Against the lord and against His ^2bChrist.’

²⁷“For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy ^1aServant Jesus, whom You anointed, both ^bHerod and ^cPontius Pilate, along with ^dthe ²Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,

²⁸to do whatever Your hand and ^aYour purpose predestined to occur.

²⁹“And ¹now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your slaves may ^aspeak Your word with all ^bconfidence,

³⁰while You extend Your hand to heal, and ^1asigns and wonders happen through the name of Your holy ^2bServant Jesus.”

³¹And when they had prayed earnestly, the ^aplace where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all ^bfilled with the Holy Spirit and began to ^cspeak the word of God with ^dconfidence.

Distribution Among Needy Believers

³²And the ¹congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and not one was saying that any of his possessions was his own, but, for them, ^aeverything was common.

³³And ^awith great power the apostles were bearing ^bwitness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.

³⁴For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses ^awould sell them and bring the ¹proceeds of the sales

³⁵and ^alay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be ^bdistributed to each as any had need.

³⁶Now Joseph, a Levite of ^aCyprian birth, who was also called ^bBarnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of ^1cEncouragement),

³⁷and who owned a field, sold it and brought the money and ^alaid it at the apostles’ feet.