Joab Murders Abner

26 When Joab came out from David’s presence, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern of Sirah. But David did not know about it. 27 And when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the midst of the gate to speak with him privately, ^pand there he struck him ^qin the stomach, so that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother. 28 Afterward, when David heard of it, he said, “I and my kingdom are forever guiltless before the Lord for the blood of Abner the son of Ner. 29 ^rMay it fall upon the head of Joab and upon all his father’s house, and may the house of Joab never be without ^sone who has a discharge or who is ^tleprous or who holds a spindle or who falls by the sword or who lacks bread!” 30 So Joab and Abishai his brother killed Abner, because ^uhe had put their brother Asahel to death in the battle at Gibeon.

David Mourns Abner

31 Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, ^v“Tear your clothes and ^wput on sackcloth and mourn before Abner.” And King David followed the bier. 32 They buried Abner at Hebron. And the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept. 33 And the king ^xlamented for Abner, saying,

And all the people wept again over him. 35 Then all the people came ^ato persuade David to eat bread while it was yet day. But David swore, saying, ^b“God do so to me and more also, if I taste bread or anything else ^ctill the sun goes down!” 36 And all the people took notice of it, and it pleased them, as everything that the king did pleased all the people. 37 So all the people and all Israel understood that day that it had not been the king’s will to put to death Abner the son of Ner. 38 And the king said to his servants, “Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel? 39 And I was gentle today, though anointed king. ^dThese men, the sons of Zeruiah, are more severe than I. ^eThe Lord repay the evildoer according to his wickedness!”

Ish-bosheth Murdered

1 When Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, heard that Abner had died at Hebron, ^fhis courage failed, and all Israel was dismayed. 2 Now Saul’s son had two men who were captains of raiding bands; the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab, sons of Rimmon a man of Benjamin from Beeroth (^gfor Beeroth also is counted part of Benjamin; 3 ^hthe Beerothites fled ⁱto Gittaim and have been sojourners there to this day).

4 ^jJonathan, the son of Saul, had a son who was crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan ^kcame from Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled, and as she fled in her haste, he fell and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.

5 Now the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, set out, and about the heat of the day they came to the house of Ish-bosheth as he was taking his noonday rest. 6 And they came into the midst of the house as if to get wheat, and they stabbed him ^lin the stomach. Then Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped.¹ 7 When they came into the house, as he lay on his bed in his bedroom, they struck him and put him to death and beheaded him. They took his head and went by the way of ^mthe Arabah all night, 8 and brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron. And they said to the king, “Here is the head of Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, your enemy, ⁿwho sought your life. The Lord has avenged my lord the king this day on Saul and on his offspring.” 9 But David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, ^o“As the Lord lives, ^pwho has redeemed my life out of every adversity, 10 ^qwhen one told me, ‘Behold, Saul is dead,’ and thought he was bringing good news, ^rI seized him and killed him at Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news. 11 How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous man in his own house on his bed, shall I not now ^srequire his blood at your hand and destroy you from the earth?” 12 And David commanded his young men, and they killed them and cut off their hands and feet and hanged them beside the pool at Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-bosheth and buried it ^tin the tomb of Abner at Hebron.

Stephen’s Speech

1 And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” 2 And Stephen said:

^j“Brothers and fathers, hear me. ^kThe God ^lof glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, ^mbefore he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, ⁿ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ 4 ^mThen he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And ^oafter his father died, ^pGod removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. 5 Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot’s length, but promised ^qto give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, ^rthough he had no child. 6 And God spoke to this effect—that ^shis offspring would ^tbe sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them ^ufour hundred years. 7 ‘But ^vI will judge the nation that they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out ^wand worship me in this place.’ 8 And ^xhe gave him the covenant of circumcision. And ^yso Abraham became the father of Isaac, and ^zcircumcised him on the eighth day, and ^aIsaac became the father of Jacob, and ^bJacob of the twelve patriarchs.

9 “And the patriarchs, ^cjealous of Joseph, ^dsold him into Egypt; but ^eGod was with him 10 and rescued him out of all his afflictions and ^fgave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, ^gwho made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. 11 Now ^hthere came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. 12 ⁱBut when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. 13 And ^jon the second visit ^kJoseph made himself known to his brothers, and ^lJoseph’s family became known to Pharaoh. 14 And ^mJoseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, ⁿseventy-five persons in all. 15 And ^oJacob went down into Egypt, and ^phe died, he ^qand our fathers, 16 and ^rthey were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that ^sAbraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

17 “But ^tas the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, ^uthe people increased and multiplied in Egypt 18 until there arose over Egypt another king ^vwho did not know Joseph. 19 ^wHe dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, ^xso that they would not be kept alive. 20 ^yAt this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God’s sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father’s house, 21 and ^zwhen he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. 22 And Moses ^awas instructed in ^ball the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was ^cmighty in his words and deeds.

23 “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart ^dto visit his brothers, the children of Israel. 24 And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. 25 He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. 26 ^eAnd on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’ 27 But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ^f‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 At this retort ^gMoses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, ^hwhere he became the father of two sons.

30 “Now when forty years had passed, ⁱan angel appeared to him ^jin the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 ^k‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. 33 Then the Lord said to him, ^l‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 ^mI have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and ⁿhave heard their groaning, and ^oI have come down to deliver them. ^pAnd now come, I will send you to Egypt.’

35 “This Moses, whom they rejected, ^qsaying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer ^rby the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 ^sThis man led them out, performing ^twonders and signs ^uin Egypt and ^vat the Red Sea and ^win the wilderness for ^xforty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you ^ya prophet like me from your brothers.’ 38 This is the one ^zwho was in the congregation in the wilderness with ^athe angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. ^bHe received ^cliving ^doracles to give to us. 39 Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and ^ein their hearts they turned to Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, ^f‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 41 And ^gthey made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and ^hwere rejoicing in ⁱthe works of their hands. 42 But ^jGod turned away and ^kgave them over to worship ^lthe host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:

44 “Our fathers had ^pthe tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses ^qdirected him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. 45 Our fathers in turn ^rbrought it in with Joshua when they ^sdispossessed the nations ^tthat God drove out before our fathers. So it was ^uuntil the days of David, 46 ^vwho found favor in the sight of God and ^wasked to find a dwelling place for ^xthe God of Jacob.¹ 47 But it was ^ySolomon who built a house for him. 48 ^zYet the Most High does not dwell ^ain houses made by hands, as the prophet says,

51 ^d“You stiff-necked people, ^euncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. ^fAs your fathers did, so do you. 52 ^gWhich of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of ^hthe Righteous One, ⁱwhom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 you who received the law ^jas delivered by angels and ^kdid not keep it.”

The Stoning of Stephen

54 Now when they heard these things ^lthey were enraged, and they ^mground their teeth at him. 55 But he, ⁿfull of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw ^othe glory of God, and Jesus standing ^pat the right hand of God. 56 And he said, “Behold, I see ^qthe heavens opened, and ^rthe Son of Man standing ^pat the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together² at him. 58 Then ^sthey cast him out of the city and ^tstoned him. And ^uthe witnesses laid down their garments ^vat the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, ^whe called out, “Lord Jesus, ^xreceive my spirit.” 60 And ^yfalling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, ^z“Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, ^ahe fell asleep.

Saul Ravages the Church

1 And ^bSaul ^capproved of his execution.

And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and ^dthey were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 3 But ^eSaul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he ^fdragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

Philip Proclaims Christ in Samaria

4 Now ^gthose who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 ^hPhilip went down to the city³ of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6 ⁱAnd the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him ^jand saw the signs that he did. 7 For ^kunclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So ^lthere was much joy in that city.

Simon the Magician Believes

9 But there was a man named Simon, ^mwho had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, ⁿsaying that he himself was somebody great. 10 They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, ^o“This man is the power of God that is called ^pGreat.” 11 And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had ^qamazed them with his magic. 12 But when ^rthey believed Philip as he preached good news ^sabout the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, ^rthey were baptized, both men and women. 13 Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And ^tseeing signs and ^ugreat miracles⁴ performed, ^vhe was amazed.

14 Now when ^wthe apostles at Jerusalem heard that ^xSamaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them ^ythat they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for ^zhe had not yet ^afallen on any of them, but ^bthey had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then ^cthey laid their hands on them and ^dthey received the Holy Spirit. 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, ^e“May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God ^fwith money! 21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for ^gyour heart is not right before God. 22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, ^hif possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are in ⁱthe gall⁵ of bitterness and in ^jthe bond of iniquity.” 24 And Simon answered, ^k“Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”

25 Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, ^lpreaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.

Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

26 Now ^man angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south⁶ to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an ⁿEthiopian, a ^oeunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, ^pwho was in charge of all her treasure. ^qHe had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, ^r“How can I, unless someone ^sguides me?” And ^the invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:

34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and ^wbeginning with this Scripture ^xhe told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! ^yWhat prevents me from being baptized?”⁷ 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, ^zthe Spirit of the Lord ^acarried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

The Conversion of Saul

1 But Saul, ^bstill ^cbreathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to ^dthe high priest 2 and asked him for letters ^eto the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to ^fthe Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 ^gNow as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting ^hme?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, ^hwhom you are persecuting. 6 But ⁱrise and enter the city, and you will be told ^jwhat you are to do.” 7 ^kThe men who were traveling with him stood speechless, ^lhearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, ^mhe saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.