"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

"Men [and] brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to you the word of this salvation has been sent.

"And we declare to you glad tidings -- that 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.'

Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.

"For so the Lord has commanded us: 'I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.' "

And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.

But when they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook [his] garments and said to them, "Your blood [be] upon your [own] heads; I [am] clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles."

"but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and [then] to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.

So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at [his] lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening.

So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word: "The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers,

For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with [their] eyes and hear with [their] ears, Lest they should understand with [their] hearts and turn, So that I should heal them." '

These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans.

"But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

"and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek;

but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred [and] forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel [were] sealed:

of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand [were] sealed; of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand [were] sealed; of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand [were] sealed;

of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand [were] sealed; of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand [were] sealed; of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand [were] sealed.

"and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.

"For Moses truly said to the fathers, 'The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you.

"and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before,

"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.'

[Then] the earth shall yield her increase; God, our own God, shall bless us.

God shall bless us, And all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.

His name shall endure forever; His name shall continue as long as the sun. And [men] shall be blessed in Him; All nations shall call Him blessed.

Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.

"For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

But I know that when I come to you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.

So then those who [are] of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.

But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God [is] evident, for "the just shall live by faith."

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed [is] everyone who hangs on a tree"),

Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly [places] in Christ,

Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.

" The Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob," Says the LORD.

"As for Me," says the LORD, "this [is] My covenant with them: My Spirit who [is] upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants' descendants," says the LORD, "from this time and forevermore."

'They shall be My people, and I will be their God;

'And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.

'I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me.

'Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them; they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide for it.'

"Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh,

"that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.

"Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.

"I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do [them.]

"I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you.

"And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins."

that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,

that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,

looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.

Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present [you] faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,