"You yourselves must watch out. You will be arrested and taken to court. You will be beaten in the synagogues; you will stand before rulers and kings for my sake to tell them the Good News.

Watch out, for there will be those who will arrest you and take you to court, and they will whip you in the synagogues.

"People will hand over their own brothers to be put to death, and fathers will do the same to their children; children will turn against their parents and have them put to death.

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our ancestors, has given divine glory to his Servant Jesus. But you handed him over to the authorities, and you rejected him in Pilate's presence, even after Pilate had decided to set him free.

But Moses said, "No, LORD, don't send me. I have never been a good speaker, and I haven't become one since you began to speak to me. I am a poor speaker, slow and hesitant."

Now, go! I will help you to speak, and I will tell you what to say."

I answered, "Sovereign LORD, I don't know how to speak; I am too young."

Do not be afraid of them, for I will be with you to protect you. I, the LORD, have spoken!"

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered, "Your Majesty, we will not try to defend ourselves.

But even if he doesn't, Your Majesty may be sure that we will not worship your god, and we will not bow down to the gold statue that you have set up."

When they bring you to trial, do not worry about what you are going to say or how you will say it; when the time comes, you will be given what you will say.

For the words you will speak will not be yours; they will come from the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

"When they bring you to be tried in the synagogues or before governors or rulers, do not be worried about how you will defend yourself or what you will say.

For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say."

Make up your minds ahead of time not to worry about how you will defend yourselves,

because I will give you such words and wisdom that none of your enemies will be able to refute or contradict what you say.

They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to talk in other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.

Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, answered them, "Leaders of the people and elders:

then you should all know, and all the people of Israel should know, that this man stands here before you completely well through the power of the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth---whom you crucified and whom God raised from death.

Salvation is to be found through him alone; in all the world there is no one else whom God has given who can save us."

But there was nothing that they could say, because they saw the man who had been healed standing there with Peter and John.

"What shall we do with these men?" they asked. "Everyone in Jerusalem knows that this extraordinary miracle has been performed by them, and we cannot deny it.

So they called them back in and told them that under no condition were they to speak or to teach in the name of Jesus.

For we cannot stop speaking of what we ourselves have seen and heard."

The man on whom this miracle of healing had been performed was over forty years old.

But the Spirit gave Stephen such wisdom that when he spoke, they could not refute him.

All those sitting in the Council fixed their eyes on Stephen and saw that his face looked like the face of an angel.

But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw God's glory and Jesus standing at the right side of God.

The Sovereign LORD has taught me what to say, so that I can strengthen the weary. Every morning he makes me eager to hear what he is going to teach me.

John answered, "No one can have anything unless God gives it.

And pray also for me, that God will give me a message when I am ready to speak, so that I may speak boldly and make known the gospel's secret.

For the sake of this gospel I am an ambassador, though now I am in prison. Pray that I may be bold in speaking about the gospel as I should.

But if any of you lack wisdom, you should pray to God, who will give it to you; because God gives generously and graciously to all.

The spirit of the LORD speaks through me; his message is on my lips.

So then, we do not speak in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, as we explain spiritual truths to those who have the Spirit.

In past times human beings were not told this secret, but God has revealed it now by the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets.

God revealed to these prophets that their work was not for their own benefit, but for yours, as they spoke about those things which you have now heard from the messengers who announced the Good News by the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. These are things which even the angels would like to understand.