11 and great fear came upon all the church, and upon all that heard these things:

12 and many signs and wonders were wrought among the people, by the hands of the apostles.

13 And they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch; but none of the rest dared to join himself to them, though the people magnified them :

14 nevertheless, believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and of

women:

15 so that they brought out the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that even the shadow of Peter passing by, might fall on some of them :

16 and all from the surrounding towns came together to Jerusalem, bringing their sick, and such as were vexed with unclean spirits; and they were all healed.

up,

17 But the high priest rose and all that were with him, (who were the sect of the Sadducees,) and they were filled with indignation;

18 and laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison:

19 but the angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison by night, and brought them out; and said,

and speak to the people all the words of that life :

21 and when they had heard these words, they went into the temple early in the morning, and taught.

22 And when the high priest was come, and they that were with him, they called together the council, and all the elders of the children of Israel; and sent to the prison to have them brought:

23 but when the officers came, and found them not in the prison, they returned, and told,

24 saying, We found the prison locked, with all security, and the guards standing before the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one within.

25 And when the high priest, and the captain of the temple, and the chief priests, heard these things, they doubted concerning them, what this could be:

26 but one came and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in the prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people:

27 then the captain went with the officers and brought them, but not with violence; for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned:

28 and when they had brought

council and the high priest asked them,

29 saying, Did we not strictly charge you not to teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and desire to bring upon us the blood of this man.

30 Then Peter, and the other apostles, answered and said; It behoves us to obey God, rather than men :

31 the God of our fathers hath raised up that Jesus, on whom ye laid violent hands, and hanged him on a tree: 32 him God hath exalted, by his right hand, to be a Leader and a Saviour, to give to Israel repentance, and forgiveness of

sins:

33 and we are his witnesses of these things; and so also is the Holy Spirit, whom God hath given to them that obey him.

34 When they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them:

35 but a certain Pharisee in the council, named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, honoured by all the people, rose up and gave order to put the apostles out for a little while:

36 and he said to them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye do, respecting these men;

37 for, before these days arose Theudas, boasting himself to

be some one, to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves, who was slain; and all who obeyed him were scattered, and came to nought:

38 after him arose Judas of Galilee, in the days of the enrolment, and drew away many people after him: and he also perished, and all who obeyed him were dispersed :

39 and now I say to you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for, if this counsel, or this work, be from men, it will fall to pieces;

40 but if it be from God, ye cannot overthrow them; take heed, therefore, lest ye be found fighting even against God:

41 and they assented to him: and having called in the apostles, and scourged them, they enjoined them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and released them:

42 and they went out from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they had been accounted worthy to suffer dishonour for that name :

43 and they ceased not daily to teach, and to preach in the c. xvii. 3., and temple, and in every house, that Jesus is the Christ.

xviii. 5, 28.

cons, or

ciples was multiplied, a murmuring arose against the Hebrews, on the part of the Greek converts, that their widows were neglected in the daily distribution:

2 then the twelve called the whole number of the disciples to them, and said, It is not fitting that we should leave the word of God, to minister at tables;

3 but, let us look out among called dea- you, brethren, for seven men, ministers. testified to be full of the Holy Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business;

4 and we will apply ourselves wholly to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.

5 And the saying pleased the whole number: and they chose Stephen, (a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit,) and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioch,

6 whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid their hands. on them:

7 and the word of God increased and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem; and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith:

8 and Stephen, full of grace and power, did great won

ders and miracles among the people.

9 And some of the synagogue called the synagogue of the Libertines, and of Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen;

10 but they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit with which he spake :

11 then they suborned men, who said, We heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God : 12 and they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes; and they came upon him, and seized him, and brought him to the council, 13 and they set up false witwho said, This man ceaseth not to speak words against the holy place, and the law:

nesses,

14 for we heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place, and will change the customs which Moses delivered to us:

15 and as all who sat in the council looked steadfastly on him, they beheld his face as it had been the face of an angel.

CHAPTER VII.

AND the high priest said,

Are these things so?

2 and he said, Brethren, and

fathers, hearken: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran;

3 and said to him, "Come "out from thy country, and "from thy kindred, and go "to the land which I will shew "thee:"

4 then he went out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Haran :

5 and from thence, after his father was dead, he removed him into this land, in which ye now dwell:

6 yet he gave him no portion in it, not a footstep; though he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, that is, to his seed after him, although he had then no child:

7 and God spake thus; "That "his seed should sojourn in

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a strange land, where they "would bring them into bond"age, and treat them evilly four "hundred years:

8 "but the nation to whom "they shall be in bondage, I "will judge, said God: and "after that they shall come "forth, and shall serve me "in this place:" and He gave to him the covenant of circumcision:

9 and thus, he begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob;

and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs:

10 and the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt:

11 but God was with him, and delivered him out of all his afflictions; and gave him grace and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he made him governor over Egypt, and over his whole household.

12 And famine and great affliction came over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan; and our fathers found no suste

nance:

13 but when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers thither, a first time:

14 and, at the second time, Joseph became known to his brethren; and Joseph's family was made known to Pharaoh.

15 Then Joseph sent, and called to him his father Jacob, and all his family, being seventyfive souls :

16 and Jacob went down into Egypt, and died there, he, and our fathers;

17 and were carried back to Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought, for a sum of money, of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem.

18 But, when the time of the

promise, which God had sworn to Abraham, was drawing near, the people had grown and were multiplied in Egypt,

19 until another king arose over Egypt, who knew not Joseph :

20 the same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evilly treated our fathers, by casting out their new-born infants, that they should not live :

21 during which time Moses was born, who was exceeding beautiful, and was nourished in his father's house three months:

22 and when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him as her

son:

23 and Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians; and was powerful in words and in deeds.

24 And when he had attained the full age of forty years, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel:

25 and seeing one of them injured, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and slew the Egyptian :

26 and he thought that his brethren would understand, that God gave them deliverance by his hand; but they understood

not:

27 and, the next day, he shewed himself to two of them who

were contending, and urged them to be at peace, saying, Ye are brethren; why injure ye one another?

28 but, he that had injured his neighbour thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler Luke, xii. 14. and a judge over us?

29 wilt thou kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian yesterday?

30 and Moses fled, at this saying; and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons.

31 And when other forty years were fulfilled, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush :

32 and when Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and, as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came to him,

33 saying, "I am the God of Exod. iii. 2, 6. thy fathers, the God of Abra"ham, and of Isaac, and of "Jacob!" and Moses trembled, and dared not to look at it:

34 and the Lord said to him, "Put off thy shoes from thy "feet; for the place on which "thou standest is holy ground:

35" I have seen and beheld "the affliction of my people "which is in Egypt, and I "have heard their groaning, " and am come down to deliver "them and now come, I "will send thee into Egypt."

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