David Anointed King of Israel

1 ^zThen all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Behold, ^awe are your bone and flesh. 2 In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the Lord said to you, ‘You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be ^bprince¹ over Israel.’” 3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David ^cmade a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel. 4 David was ^dthirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. 5 At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.²

6 ^eAnd the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, ^fthe inhabitants of the land, who said to David, “You will not come in here, but the blind and the lame will ward you off”—thinking, “David cannot come in here.” 7 Nevertheless, David took the ^gstronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David. 8 And David said on that day, “Whoever would strike the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack ‘the lame and the blind,’ who are hated by David’s soul.” Therefore it is said, “The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.” 9 And David lived in the stronghold and called it the city of David. And David built the city all around from the Millo inward. 10 ^hAnd David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was ⁱwith him.

11 ^jAnd ^kHiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, also carpenters and masons who built David a house. 12 And David knew that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had ^lexalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.

13 And David took ^mmore concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron, and more sons and daughters were born to David. 14 ⁿAnd these are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, 15 Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, 16 Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.

David Defeats the Philistines

17 ^oWhen the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. But David heard of it and went down to the stronghold. 18 Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim. 19 And David ^pinquired of the Lord, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand?” And the Lord said to David, “Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand.” 20 And David came to ^qBaal-perazim, and David defeated them there. And he said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies before me like a breaking flood.” Therefore the name of that place is called Baal-perazim.³ 21 And the Philistines left their idols there, and David and his men carried them away.

22 And the Philistines came up yet again and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim. 23 And when David inquired of the Lord, he said, “You shall not go up; go around to their rear, and come against them opposite the balsam trees. 24 And when you ^rhear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then rouse yourself, for then the Lord has ^sgone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.” 25 And David did as the Lord commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba to Gezer.

Stephen’s Speech

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

“Brothers and fathers, hear me. ^xThe God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, ^y‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ 4 Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. 5 Yet he gave him no ^zinheritance in it, not even a foot’s length, but ^apromised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, ^bthough he had no child. 6 And God spoke to this effect—that ^chis offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them ^dfour hundred years. 7 ‘But I will judge the nation that they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and ^eworship me in this place.’ 8 And he gave him ^fthe covenant of circumcision. And so ^gAbraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and ^hIsaac became the father of Jacob, and ⁱJacob of the twelve patriarchs.

9 “And the patriarchs, ^jjealous of Joseph, ^ksold him into Egypt; but ^lGod was ^mwith him 10 and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him ⁿfavor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. 11 ^oNow there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. 12 ^pBut when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. 13 And on the second visit ^qJoseph made himself known to his brothers, and ^rJoseph’s family became known to Pharaoh. 14 ^sAnd Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all. 15 And Jacob went down into Egypt, and ^the died, he and ^uour fathers, 16 and they were ^vcarried back to Shechem and laid in ^wthe tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver ^xfrom the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

17 “But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, ^ythe people increased and multiplied in Egypt 18 until ^zthere arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph. 19 ^aHe dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to ^bexpose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive. 20 At this time ^cMoses was born; and he was ^dbeautiful in God’s sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father’s house, 21 and ^ewhen he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. 22 And Moses was ^finstructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was ^gmighty in his words and deeds.

23 ^h“When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to 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 ⁱAnd 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, ‘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 Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he ^jbecame the father of two sons.

30 “Now when forty years had passed, ^kan angel appeared to him in 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 ‘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, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’

35 “This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and ^lredeemer by the hand of the ^mangel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 This man led them out, ⁿperforming wonders and signs in Egypt and ^oat the Red Sea and in the ^pwilderness for forty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ^q‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.’ 38 This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at ^rMount Sinai, and with our fathers. ^sHe received living ^toracles to give to us. 39 ^uOur fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, ^v‘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 ^wAnd they ^xmade a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. 42 But God turned away and ^ygave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:

44 “Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, ^aaccording to the pattern that he had seen. 45 Our fathers in turn ^bbrought it in with Joshua when they ^cdispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers. So it was until the days of ^dDavid, 46 who found favor in the sight of God and ^easked to find ^fa dwelling place for the God of Jacob.¹ 47 But it was ^gSolomon who built a house for him. 48 Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says,

51 “You stiff-necked people, ⁱuncircumcised in heart and ^jears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not ^kpersecute? And they ^lkilled those who ^mannounced beforehand the coming of the ⁿRighteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 you who received the law as delivered by ^oangels and did not keep it.”

The Stoning of Stephen

54 Now when they heard these things they were ^penraged, and they ground their teeth at him. 55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and ^qsaw the ^rglory of God, and Jesus ^sstanding at the right hand of God. 56 And he said, “Behold, I see ^tthe heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the ^uright hand of God.” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and ^vstopped their ears and rushed together² at him. 58 Then they cast him ^wout of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, ^xreceive my spirit.” 60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, ^y“Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell ^zasleep.

Saul Ravages the Church

1 And Saul approved of his execution.

And there arose on that day a great ^apersecution against the church in ^bJerusalem, and they were all ^cscattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 3 But Saul was ^dravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

Philip Proclaims Christ in Samaria

4 Now those who were scattered went about ^epreaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city³ of ^fSamaria and ^gproclaimed to them the Christ. 6 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. 7 For unclean 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 there was much joy in that city.

Simon the Magician Believes

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

14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might ^lreceive the Holy Spirit, 16 for he had not yet ^mfallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the ⁿname of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they ^olaid their hands on them and they 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, ^p“May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the ^qgift of God with money! 21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22 ^rRepent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are in the gall⁵ of bitterness and in ^sthe bond of iniquity.” 24 And Simon answered, “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, preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.

Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

26 Now an 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 ^tEthiopian, a ^ueunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the ^vSpirit 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, ^w“How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he 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 ^ybeginning with this Scripture he 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! ^zWhat 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, the Spirit of the Lord ^acarried Philip away, and the eunuch ^bsaw 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 ^cBut Saul, still ^dbreathing ^ethreats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the ^fWay, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a ^glight from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, ^h“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice ⁱbut seeing no one. 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he 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.

10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, ^j“Here I am, Lord.” 11 And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” 13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a ^kchosen instrument of mine to carry my name ^lbefore the Gentiles and ^mkings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will ⁿshow him how much he must ^osuffer for the sake of my name.” 17 So Ananias departed and entered the house. And ^playing his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; 19 and taking food, he was strengthened.