Meditations on select books of the Holy Bible http://youversion.com
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Psalms 63 — ESV
1 A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
6 when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
9 But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth;
10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals.
11 But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped.
Proverbs 15 — ESV
1 A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
2 The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly.
3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.
4 A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.
5 A fool despises his father's instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is prudent.
6 In the house of the righteous there is much treasure, but trouble befalls the income of the wicked.
7 The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the hearts of fools.
8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him.
9 The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but he loves him who pursues righteousness.
10 There is severe discipline for him who forsakes the way; whoever hates reproof will die.
11 Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD; how much more the hearts of the children of man!
12 A scoffer does not like to be reproved; he will not go to the wise.
13 A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed.
14 The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly.
15 All the days of the afflicted are evil, but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast.
16 Better is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble with it.
17 Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it.
18 A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.
19 The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a level highway.
20 A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish man despises his mother.
21 Folly is a joy to him who lacks sense, but a man of understanding walks straight ahead.
22 Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.
23 To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is!
24 The path of life leads upward for the prudent, that he may turn away from Sheol beneath.
25 The LORD tears down the house of the proud but maintains the widow's boundaries.
26 The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD, but gracious words are pure.
27 Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household, but he who hates bribes will live.
28 The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.
29 The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.
30 The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, and good news refreshes the bones.
31 The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise.
32 Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence.
33 The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.
Song of Solomon 7 — ESV
1 How beautiful are your feet in sandals, O noble daughter! Your rounded thighs are like jewels, the work of a master hand.
2 Your navel is a rounded bowl that never lacks mixed wine. Your belly is a heap of wheat, encircled with lilies.
3 Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle.
4 Your neck is like an ivory tower. Your eyes are pools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bath-rabbim. Your nose is like a tower of Lebanon, which looks toward Damascus.
5 Your head crowns you like Carmel, and your flowing locks are like purple; a king is held captive in the tresses.
6 How beautiful and pleasant you are, O loved one, with all your delights!
7 Your stature is like a palm tree, and your breasts are like its clusters.
8 I say I will climb the palm tree and lay hold of its fruit. Oh may your breasts be like clusters of the vine, and the scent of your breath like apples,
9 and your mouth like the best wine. It goes down smoothly for my beloved, gliding over lips and teeth.
10 I am my beloved's, and his desire is for me.
11 Come, my beloved, let us go out into the fields and lodge in the villages;
12 let us go out early to the vineyards and see whether the vines have budded, whether the grape blossoms have opened and the pomegranates are in bloom. There I will give you my love.
13 The mandrakes give forth fragrance, and beside our doors are all choice fruits, new as well as old, which I have laid up for you, O my beloved.
Isaiah 21 — ESV
1 The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on, it comes from the wilderness, from a terrible land.
2 A stern vision is told to me; the traitor betrays, and the destroyer destroys. Go up, O Elam; lay siege, O Media; all the sighing she has caused I bring to an end.
3 Therefore my loins are filled with anguish; pangs have seized me, like the pangs of a woman in labor; I am bowed down so that I cannot hear; I am dismayed so that I cannot see.
4 My heart staggers; horror has appalled me; the twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling.
5 They prepare the table, they spread the rugs, they eat, they drink. Arise, O princes; oil the shield!
6 For thus the Lord said to me: "Go, set a watchman; let him announce what he sees.
7 When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs, riders on donkeys, riders on camels, let him listen diligently, very diligently."
8 Then he who saw cried out: "Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord, continually by day, and at my post I am stationed whole nights.
9 And behold, here come riders, horsemen in pairs!" And he answered, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the carved images of her gods he has shattered to the ground."
10 O my threshed and winnowed one, what I have heard from the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, I announce to you.
11 The oracle concerning Dumah. One is calling to me from Seir, "Watchman, what time of the night? Watchman, what time of the night?"
12 The watchman says: "Morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire; come back again."
13 The oracle concerning Arabia. In the thickets in Arabia you will lodge, O caravans of Dedanites.
14 To the thirsty bring water; meet the fugitive with bread, O inhabitants of the land of Tema.
15 For they have fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow, and from the press of battle.
16 For thus the Lord said to me, "Within a year, according to the years of a hired worker, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end.
17 And the remainder of the archers of the mighty men of the sons of Kedar will be few, for the LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken."
Isaiah 22 — ESV
1 The oracle concerning the valley of vision. What do you mean that you have gone up, all of you, to the housetops,
2 you who are full of shoutings, tumultuous city, exultant town? Your slain are not slain with the sword or dead in battle.
3 All your leaders have fled together; without the bow they were captured. All of you who were found were captured, though they had fled far away.
4 Therefore I said: "Look away from me; let me weep bitter tears; do not labor to comfort me concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people."
5 For the Lord GOD of hosts has a day of tumult and trampling and confusion in the valley of vision, a battering down of walls and a shouting to the mountains.
6 And Elam bore the quiver with chariots and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield.
7 Your choicest valleys were full of chariots, and the horsemen took their stand at the gates.
8 He has taken away the covering of Judah. In that day you looked to the weapons of the House of the Forest,
9 and you saw that the breaches of the city of David were many. You collected the waters of the lower pool,
10 and you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall.
11 You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago.
12 In that day the Lord GOD of hosts called for weeping and mourning, for baldness and wearing sackcloth;
13 and behold, joy and gladness, killing oxen and slaughtering sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine. "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."
14 The LORD of hosts has revealed himself in my ears: "Surely this iniquity will not be atoned for you until you die," says the Lord GOD of hosts.
15 Thus says the Lord GOD of hosts, "Come, go to this steward, to Shebna, who is over the household, and say to him:
16 What have you to do here, and whom have you here, that you have cut out here a tomb for yourself, you who cut out a tomb on the height and carve a dwelling for yourself in the rock?
17 Behold, the LORD will hurl you away violently, O you strong man. He will seize firm hold on you
18 and whirl you around and around, and throw you like a ball into a wide land. There you shall die, and there shall be your glorious chariots, you shame of your master's house.
19 I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your station.
20 In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah,
21 and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your sash on him, and will commit your authority to his hand. And he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
22 And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
23 And I will fasten him like a peg in a secure place, and he will become a throne of honor to his father's house.
24 And they will hang on him the whole honor of his father's house, the offspring and issue, every small vessel, from the cups to all the flagons.
25 In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, the peg that was fastened in a secure place will give way, and it will be cut down and fall, and the load that was on it will be cut off, for the LORD has spoken."
Acts 5 — ESV
1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property,
2 and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet.
3 But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?
4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God."
5 When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it.
6 The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.
7 After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.
8 And Peter said to her, "Tell me whether you sold the land for so much." And she said, "Yes, for so much."
9 But Peter said to her, "How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out."
10 Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
11 And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.
12 Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico.
13 None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem.
14 And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,
15 so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them.
16 The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.
17 But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy
18 they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison.
19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said,
20 "Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life."
21 And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach. Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council and all the senate of the people of Israel and sent to the prison to have them brought.
22 But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported,
23 "We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside."
24 Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to.
25 And someone came and told them, "Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people."
26 Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.
27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them,
28 saying, "We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us."
29 But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men.
30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.
31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."
33 When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them.
34 But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while.
35 And he said to them, "Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men.
36 For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing.
37 After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered.
38 So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail;
39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!" So they took his advice,
40 and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.
42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.
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Psalms 63 — ESV
1 A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
6 when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
9 But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth;
10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals.
11 But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped.
Proverbs 15 — ESV
1 A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
2 The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly.
3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.
4 A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.
5 A fool despises his father's instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is prudent.
6 In the house of the righteous there is much treasure, but trouble befalls the income of the wicked.
7 The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the hearts of fools.
8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him.
9 The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but he loves him who pursues righteousness.
10 There is severe discipline for him who forsakes the way; whoever hates reproof will die.
11 Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD; how much more the hearts of the children of man!
12 A scoffer does not like to be reproved; he will not go to the wise.
13 A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed.
14 The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly.
15 All the days of the afflicted are evil, but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast.
16 Better is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble with it.
17 Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it.
18 A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.
19 The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a level highway.
20 A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish man despises his mother.
21 Folly is a joy to him who lacks sense, but a man of understanding walks straight ahead.
22 Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.
23 To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is!
24 The path of life leads upward for the prudent, that he may turn away from Sheol beneath.
25 The LORD tears down the house of the proud but maintains the widow's boundaries.
26 The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD, but gracious words are pure.
27 Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household, but he who hates bribes will live.
28 The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.
29 The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.
30 The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, and good news refreshes the bones.
31 The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise.
32 Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence.
33 The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.
Song of Solomon 7 — ESV
1 How beautiful are your feet in sandals, O noble daughter! Your rounded thighs are like jewels, the work of a master hand.
2 Your navel is a rounded bowl that never lacks mixed wine. Your belly is a heap of wheat, encircled with lilies.
3 Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle.
4 Your neck is like an ivory tower. Your eyes are pools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bath-rabbim. Your nose is like a tower of Lebanon, which looks toward Damascus.
5 Your head crowns you like Carmel, and your flowing locks are like purple; a king is held captive in the tresses.
6 How beautiful and pleasant you are, O loved one, with all your delights!
7 Your stature is like a palm tree, and your breasts are like its clusters.
8 I say I will climb the palm tree and lay hold of its fruit. Oh may your breasts be like clusters of the vine, and the scent of your breath like apples,
9 and your mouth like the best wine. It goes down smoothly for my beloved, gliding over lips and teeth.
10 I am my beloved's, and his desire is for me.
11 Come, my beloved, let us go out into the fields and lodge in the villages;
12 let us go out early to the vineyards and see whether the vines have budded, whether the grape blossoms have opened and the pomegranates are in bloom. There I will give you my love.
13 The mandrakes give forth fragrance, and beside our doors are all choice fruits, new as well as old, which I have laid up for you, O my beloved.
Isaiah 21 — ESV
1 The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on, it comes from the wilderness, from a terrible land.
2 A stern vision is told to me; the traitor betrays, and the destroyer destroys. Go up, O Elam; lay siege, O Media; all the sighing she has caused I bring to an end.
3 Therefore my loins are filled with anguish; pangs have seized me, like the pangs of a woman in labor; I am bowed down so that I cannot hear; I am dismayed so that I cannot see.
4 My heart staggers; horror has appalled me; the twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling.
5 They prepare the table, they spread the rugs, they eat, they drink. Arise, O princes; oil the shield!
6 For thus the Lord said to me: "Go, set a watchman; let him announce what he sees.
7 When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs, riders on donkeys, riders on camels, let him listen diligently, very diligently."
8 Then he who saw cried out: "Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord, continually by day, and at my post I am stationed whole nights.
9 And behold, here come riders, horsemen in pairs!" And he answered, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the carved images of her gods he has shattered to the ground."
10 O my threshed and winnowed one, what I have heard from the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, I announce to you.
11 The oracle concerning Dumah. One is calling to me from Seir, "Watchman, what time of the night? Watchman, what time of the night?"
12 The watchman says: "Morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire; come back again."
13 The oracle concerning Arabia. In the thickets in Arabia you will lodge, O caravans of Dedanites.
14 To the thirsty bring water; meet the fugitive with bread, O inhabitants of the land of Tema.
15 For they have fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow, and from the press of battle.
16 For thus the Lord said to me, "Within a year, according to the years of a hired worker, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end.
17 And the remainder of the archers of the mighty men of the sons of Kedar will be few, for the LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken."
Isaiah 22 — ESV
1 The oracle concerning the valley of vision. What do you mean that you have gone up, all of you, to the housetops,
2 you who are full of shoutings, tumultuous city, exultant town? Your slain are not slain with the sword or dead in battle.
3 All your leaders have fled together; without the bow they were captured. All of you who were found were captured, though they had fled far away.
4 Therefore I said: "Look away from me; let me weep bitter tears; do not labor to comfort me concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people."
5 For the Lord GOD of hosts has a day of tumult and trampling and confusion in the valley of vision, a battering down of walls and a shouting to the mountains.
6 And Elam bore the quiver with chariots and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield.
7 Your choicest valleys were full of chariots, and the horsemen took their stand at the gates.
8 He has taken away the covering of Judah. In that day you looked to the weapons of the House of the Forest,
9 and you saw that the breaches of the city of David were many. You collected the waters of the lower pool,
10 and you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall.
11 You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago.
12 In that day the Lord GOD of hosts called for weeping and mourning, for baldness and wearing sackcloth;
13 and behold, joy and gladness, killing oxen and slaughtering sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine. "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."
14 The LORD of hosts has revealed himself in my ears: "Surely this iniquity will not be atoned for you until you die," says the Lord GOD of hosts.
15 Thus says the Lord GOD of hosts, "Come, go to this steward, to Shebna, who is over the household, and say to him:
16 What have you to do here, and whom have you here, that you have cut out here a tomb for yourself, you who cut out a tomb on the height and carve a dwelling for yourself in the rock?
17 Behold, the LORD will hurl you away violently, O you strong man. He will seize firm hold on you
18 and whirl you around and around, and throw you like a ball into a wide land. There you shall die, and there shall be your glorious chariots, you shame of your master's house.
19 I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your station.
20 In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah,
21 and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your sash on him, and will commit your authority to his hand. And he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
22 And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
23 And I will fasten him like a peg in a secure place, and he will become a throne of honor to his father's house.
24 And they will hang on him the whole honor of his father's house, the offspring and issue, every small vessel, from the cups to all the flagons.
25 In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, the peg that was fastened in a secure place will give way, and it will be cut down and fall, and the load that was on it will be cut off, for the LORD has spoken."
Acts 5 — ESV
1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property,
2 and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet.
3 But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?
4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God."
5 When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it.
6 The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.
7 After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.
8 And Peter said to her, "Tell me whether you sold the land for so much." And she said, "Yes, for so much."
9 But Peter said to her, "How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out."
10 Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
11 And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.
12 Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico.
13 None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem.
14 And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,
15 so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them.
16 The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.
17 But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy
18 they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison.
19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said,
20 "Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life."
21 And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach. Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council and all the senate of the people of Israel and sent to the prison to have them brought.
22 But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported,
23 "We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside."
24 Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to.
25 And someone came and told them, "Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people."
26 Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.
27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them,
28 saying, "We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us."
29 But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men.
30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.
31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."
33 When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them.
34 But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while.
35 And he said to them, "Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men.
36 For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing.
37 After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered.
38 So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail;
39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!" So they took his advice,
40 and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.
42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.
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