29 But Peter and the apostles answered, ^g“We must obey God rather than men. 30 ^hThe God of our fathers ⁱraised Jesus, ^jwhom you killed by hanging him on ^ka tree. 31 God exalted ^lhim at his right hand as ^mLeader and ⁿSavior, ^oto give ^prepentance to Israel and ^oforgiveness of sins. 32 And ^qwe are witnesses to these things, and ^rso is the Holy Spirit, ^swhom God has given to those who obey him.”

33 When they heard this, they ^twere enraged and wanted to kill them. 34 But a Pharisee in the council named ^uGamaliel, ^va teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. 35 And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. 36 For ^wbefore these days Theudas rose up, ^xclaiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. 37 After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of ^ythe census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. 38 So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for ^zif this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; 39 but ^aif it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You ^bmight even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, 40 and ^cwhen they had called in the apostles, ^dthey beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 Then they left the presence of the council, ^erejoicing that they were counted worthy ^fto suffer dishonor for ^gthe name. 42 And every day, ^hin the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and ⁱpreaching ^jthat the Christ is Jesus.

3 ^gBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! ^hAccording to his great mercy, ⁱhe has caused us to be born again to a living hope ^jthrough the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to ^kan inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and ^lunfading, ^mkept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded ⁿthrough faith for a salvation ^oready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by ^pvarious trials, 7 so that ^qthe tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes ^rthough it is tested by ^sfire—may be found to result in ^tpraise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 ^uThough you have not seen him, you love him. ^vThough you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining ^wthe outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

19 ^cOn the evening ^dof that day, the first day of the week, ^ethe doors being locked where the disciples were ^ffor fear of the Jews,¹ Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ^g“Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, ^hhe showed them his hands and his side. Then ⁱthe disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As ^jthe Father has sent me, ^keven so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he ^lbreathed on them and said to them, ^m“Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 ⁿIf you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

24 Now ^oThomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin,² was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, ^p“Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. ^qAlthough the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ^q“Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, ^r“Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, ^s“My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? ^tBlessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

30 ^uNow Jesus did many other signs ^vin the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 ^wbut these are written so that you may ^xbelieve that Jesus is the Christ, ^ythe Son of God, and that by believing ^zyou may have life ^ain his name.