And in every province and city, wherever the king's command and decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many of the people of the land became Jews, because fear of the Jews fell upon them.

Behold, the days are coming, says Jehovah, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of beasts.

Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold whose height was sixty cubits; its breadth, six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.

Then were gathered the satraps, the prefects, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the justices, and all the officials of the provinces, to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, the pipe, zither, the lyre, harp, bagpipe, and all kinds of music, you shall fall down and prostrate yourselves before the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up.

And I will sow her unto Me in the earth. And I will have mercy on No Mercy. And I will say to those who were Not My People, You are My people! And they shall say, You are My God!

For, behold, I will command, and I will shake the house of Israel among all the nations, as one sifts with a sieve; yet not a grain shall fall to the ground.

And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples as dew from Jehovah, as showers on the grass, which does not wait for man, nor delay for the sons of men.

Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the Word.

Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the Word to no one but the Jews only.

And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.

Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.

And when they arrived in Salamis, they preached the Word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John as their assistant.

who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the Word of God.

Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him

And now, lo, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time. And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

Now when Paul and his party set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia; and John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem.

And after the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, Men and brethren, if you have any word of exhortation to the people, speak.

The God of this people Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He brought them out of it.

And when He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land to them by allotment.

And afterward they asked for a king; so God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.

From this man's seed, according to promise, God raised up for Israel a Savior, Jesus;

And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Who do you think I am? I am not He. But behold, there comes One after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to loose.

For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him.

Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb.

He was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people.

God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: You are My Son, today I have begotten You.

Therefore He also says in another place: You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption.

but He whom God raised up saw no corruption.

Now it happened in Iconium that they went together to the synagogue of the Jews, and spoke in such a manner that a great multitude both of the Jews and of the Greeks believed.

Then, indeed, they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, Who was bearing witness to the Word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done through their hands.

And when a violent attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to inflict injury and stone them,

And they were preaching the gospel there.

This man heard Paul speaking; who, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be saved,

Now when the people saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in the Lycaonian language, The gods have come down to us, becoming like men!

Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, determined to sacrifice with the multitudes.

and saying, Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these vain things to the living God, who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them,

Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, doing good, giving us rain from the heavens and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.

Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there; and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to have died.

And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,

I say then, have they stumbled that they should come to an end? Let it not be! But through their trespass, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles.

For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,

For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their reception be but life from the dead?

And it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where Jehovah your God has thrust you away,

that Jehovah your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and will return and gather you from all the nations where Jehovah your God has scattered you.

yet when they have returned in their minds in the land where they have been carried captive, and have repented in their hearts, and made supplication to You in the land of those holding them captive, saying, We have sinned and done perversely, we have committed wickedness;

and when they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, and have prayed to You toward their land which You have given to their fathers, the city which You have chosen and the house which I have built for Your name:

but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though you were cast out to the ends of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place where I have chosen to establish My name.

You who have escaped the sword, go away! Do not stand still! Remember Jehovah from afar, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.

And those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations where they are carried captive, because I was crushed by their adulterous heart which has turned away from Me, and by their eyes which go whoring after their idols; they will loathe themselves for the evils which they did in all their abominations.

And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah one who inherits My mountains; and My elect shall inherit it, and My servants shall dwell there.

They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth children for terror. For they are the seed of the blessed of Jehovah, and their offspring with them.

Then Peter said to them, Repent, and let every one of you be immersed in the name of Jesus Christ to the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.

You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, And in your Seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

Having raised up His Son Jesus, God sent Him to you first, to bless you in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.

And we preach the gospel to you; the promise which was made to the fathers.

God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: You are My Son, today I have begotten You.

For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree,

For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree.