Acts 1:6–26

⁶Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore^m the kingdom to Israel?”

⁷He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.^{n 8}But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you;^o and you will be my witnesses^p in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,^q and to the ends of the earth.”^r

⁹After he said this, he was taken up^s before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

¹⁰They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white^t stood beside them. ¹¹“Men of Galilee,”^u they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back^v in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas

¹²Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem^w from the hill called the Mount of Olives,^x a Sabbath day’s walk^c from the city. ¹³When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room^y where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.^{z 14}They all joined together constantly in prayer,^a along with the women^b and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.^c

¹⁵In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) ¹⁶and said, “Brothers and sisters,^dd the Scripture had to be fulfilled^e in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas,^f who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. ¹⁷He was one of our number^g and shared in our ministry.”^h

¹⁸(With the paymentⁱ he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field;^j there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. ¹⁹Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language^k Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

²⁰“For,” said Peter, “it is written in the Book of Psalms:

“ ‘May his place be deserted;

let there be no one to dwell in it,’^el

and,

“ ‘May another take his place of leadership.’^fm

²¹Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, ²²beginning from John’s baptismⁿ to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness^o with us of his resurrection.”

²³So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. ²⁴Then they prayed,^p “Lord, you know everyone’s heart.^q Show us^r which of these two you have chosen ²⁵to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” ²⁶Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.^s