The New English Bible; 51; Acts 18:24-Acts 21:26

the head so the apostles sept eighteen vast twenty four podiums the alarms now that i arrived at deficits a jew named a paulus and alexandria and by birth an eloquent man powerful in his use of the scriptures he had been instructed in the way of the lord and was cool of spiritual server and in his discusses he taught accurately the facts about jesus though he knew only john's baptism you know began to speak boldly in the synagogue where to send that adequate i had him they took him in hand and expanded the new wave to him in greater detail finding that you wish to go across to try out

the brotherhood gave him their support and wrote to the congregation there to make him welcome from the time of his arrival he was very helpful to those who had by god's grace become believe was funny was indefatigable in computing the jews demonstrating publicly from the scriptures that the messiah is jesus while up on us wasn't caught up with paul traveled through the inland regions to me came to emphasis that he found a number of contests the home he said did you receive the holy spirit when you became believers know that applied we have not even heard that that is a holy spirit he said and what a baptism where you give them jobs baptism may have said poor man said

the baptism that john gave was a baptism in token of repentance and he told the people to put the trust anyone who was to come after him that is in jesus' on hearing this they were baptized into the name of the lord jesus and when ford had lead his hands on them the holy spirit came upon them and they spoke in terms of ecstasy and prophesied all together there were about a dozen men during the next three months he attended the synagogue and using documents of persuasion spoke broadly and freely about the kingdom of god but when some proved all janet and would not believe speaking even of the new way before the whole

congregation he left them with the movies from vets have continued to court discussions do it in the lecture hall of progress this went on for two years with the result of the poorer population of the province of asia both jews and patrons had the word of them on and through polo god work miracles of an unusual kind of package have some scarves which had been in contact with his skin was carried to the sick they wear red of their diseases and the evil spirits came out of them but some sprawling jewish exorcists tried their hand at using the name of the lord jesus on those possessed by evil spirits they would say i enjoy you by jesus who pulled

proclaims there were seven sons of seaver a jewish chief priest who were using this method where the evil spirit un sit back and said jesus i acknowledge and i go about polo but who are you have the man with the evil spirit threw at them all the po the mole and handled them with such violence that they ran out of the most stripped and battered this became known to everybody and ethicists whether jew or pagan they were oral or strap and the name of the lord jesus be and in on a more overt many of those who have become believers came and openly confessed that they had been using the magical sparrows and a good many of those who formally practice magic connected the box and burn them publicly

the total value was record that and it came to fifty thousand pieces of soap but in such ways the word of the law and showed its power spreading more and more widely and effectively when things had reached this stage poor made up his mind to visit macedonia and affair and then born to jerusalem and he said asked that i have been there i must see role but also so he sent two of his assistants to mistake and asked us to macedonia while he himself state sometime longer in the province of asia know about that time the christian movement gave rise to a serious disturbance that was a man named demetrius a silver smith who made silver shrines of diana and provided a

great deal of employment for the craftsman he called a meeting of these men and the workers in allied trades and address them many said you know that our high standard of living depends on this industry and you see and hear how this fellow coal with its propaganda has been vetted crowds of people not only at ephesus but also impractical in the hall of a province of asia he's telling them what garden's be by human hands about was a toll there is danger foreigners here it is not only that our line of business will be discredited but also about the century of the great goddess diana will cease to command respect and then it will not be long before she who was worshipped by or leisure and the civilized world is brought down from her divine preeminence when they have

this they want rose difiore and show good grades is diana of the evasions the whole city was in confusion they seized posts traveling companions the macedonians guys send out a stock price and made a concerted rush with them into the theater four wanted to appear before the assembly but the other christians would not let him even some of the digging retirees of the province was friendly towards it went to venture into the theater meanwhile some was shouting one thing some another for the assembly was in confusion and most of them did not know what they had all come for but some of the crowd explain the troubled to alexander of the jews had pushed to the front and he motioning for simons attempted to make a defense before the assembly but when they recognized that he was a

jew a single cry a rose from the mall for about two hours they kept on shouting grape is diana of the associations i don't know of a quiet of the prime minister says he said all the world knows that iowa city of ephesus is tempo warden of the grave diana and that symbol of which failed from evan since these facts are beyond dispute your proper course is to keep quiet and do nothing or rash these mammal mueller brought here as culprits have committed no sacrilege and after and no blasphemy against our goddess if that for demetrius and his craftsman of a case against anyone sizes a detailed and there are such people as pro consuls let the party's bring the charges and countercharges it's on the other hand you have some fervent christians to raise it will

be dealt with in the statutory assembly we certainly have run the risk of being charged with a rat for this day's work there is no justification for it and if the issue is raised we shall be unable to give any explanation of this uproar with air he dismissed reassemble it but when a disturbance had ceased paul said for the disciples and i often encouraging them say goodbye and set out on his journey to macedonia he traveled through those parts of the country often speaking words of encouragement to the christians there and so caved in to grease when he had spent three months later and was on the point of a bucking for setting up a plot was made against him by the jews so he decided to return by wave of macedonia he was accompanied

by saltwater some of the products from berea the smithsonian's out as doctors and sickened as pious the davidian and timothy and the asians traffickers stand trial for months these when did and waited for the central us we are so set sail from philip i often the passover season and in five days we just throw us where we spent a week on saturday night in our assembly for the breaking of bread paul who was to leave next day and dress them and went on speaking until midnight no there were many lamps in the upper room where we were assembled and the youth name jesus who was sitting on the wooden dome age group more and more sleepy as paul went on talking and last he was completely

overcome by sleep fail from the third floor to the ground and was picked up for bid for went down threw himself apart in seizing him in his arms and said to them stopped this promotion there is still a life in and he then went downstairs broke bread and eight and after much conversation which lasted until dawn he departed and they told the boy are we alive and wet immensely comforted we went ahead to the ship and say you for a source where we were to take all aboard he had made this arrangement as he was going to travel by road twenty minutes i said a sauce we took him aboard and went on to mit to lead the next day we sailed from there and i grabbed opposite diaz

and on the second day we made samos on the following day we reached my meters for poor decided to pass by officials and so of oil and having to spend time in the province of asia he was eager to be in jerusalem and the possibly good on the day of pentecost he did however say and from my latest us bases and some of the elders of the congregation and when they joined him he spoke as follows you in ohio from the day that i first sip fruit in the province of asia for the low tide that i was with you i served them on it or humanity amid the sorrows and drabs that came upon me through the machinations of the jews you know that i can't back nothing that was for your good i deliver the message to i taught you in public and in

your homes with juice a big and so like i insisted on repentance before god and trust in our lord jesus and now as you see i'm on my way to jerusalem and of the constraint of the spit it all for obit for me there i know nothing except that in city after city the holy spirit assures me that imprisonment and hardship away today for myself i say goats door by life i only want to finish the race and complete the task which the lord jesus aside to make a bet in my testimony to the gospel of god's grace one word more i'm gonna vote among new proclaiming the kingdom but now i know that none of you will see my face again that being so i hear or know declare that no man's fate

could be laid at my door and i have to a bed nothing i have disclosed to the whole purpose of god keep watch over yourselves and over or the floor all of which the holy spirit has given your jobs as shepherds of the church of the law in which he won for himself by his own blood i know that when i said the change will come in a minute and will not spare the fall even from your own body there will be made coming forward who will distort the truth to reduce the disciples to break away and follow them so be on the imf a member of vote for three years night and be i'd never ceased to console each of you and so i went over you

and no ike a major to god and to his gracious word which was going to build you up and give you your heritage mr moore who are dedicated to him i have not wanted anyone's money or clothes for myself you know that these hands of mine errand enough for the needs of me and michael bandage i showed you that it is our duty to help the week in this way by hard work and that we should keep in mind the words of the lord jesus who himself said happiness lies more than giving and receiving as he said he's speaking he don't know with the mall and prayed and then and what a load guise of sorrow probable as they folded folded pull in their arms and kissed him what distresses the most was his saying

that they would never see his face again so they escorted him to his ship when we departed from them and set sail we made a straight run and came to course next april rhodes and fans to backtrack there we found a ship bound for funny shia so we went abroad and sealed in her we came inside of cyprus and leaving it on our port beam we continued our voyage to syria and put in a tack for their the ship was to unload the cargo we went and found the disciples and stayed there a week and the warm by the spigot old sport to abandon his visit to jerusalem but when archive the show was added we left and continued our journey and they and the waves of children or escorted us out of the city we knelt down

on the beach and prayed then that each other goodbye we went aboard and they returned home we made the passage from tyre and reached telomeres where we greeted the brotherhood and spent one day with the next day we left and came to says area we went to the home of philip the evangelist who was one of the seven and stayed with him he had four and my daughters who possessed the gift of prophecy when we had been there several days a profit named at the bus arrived from judea he came to us to paul's beirut roland his own feet and hands with it and said these of the words of the holy spirit the us was the jews in jerusalem buying the man to move

this bill belongs and hand him over to the dead that is what we had this week of the local people they didn't pull to abandon his visit to jerusalem then paul gave his answer while these tears while you try to weaken my resolution for my part i am ready not merely to be bound but even to die for the name of the lord jesus so as he would not be persuaded that we gave up on stage the lord's will be done at the end of our state we packed our baggage and to the road up to jerusalem some of the disciples from cecilia came along with us bringing a certain neeson of cyprus a christian from the early days with whom we were to launch so we read east jerusalem where the brotherhood welcomed us badly

next state poll paid a visit to james we were with him and all the others attended he greeted them and then described in detail or that god had done among the gentiles through his ministry when they have this they gave praise to god then they said to paul you see brother how many thousands of god that's we have among the jews all of them staunch opponents of the law no they have been given certain information about you it is said that you teach all the jews in the day and tara were owed to turn their backs on moses telling them to give up circumcise their children and following our way of life what is the position that they're sure to hear that you about eid you must therefore do as we tell you we have four main hear what under the

vote take them with you and go through the ritual purification with the game and expenses after which they may shave their heads then everyone will know that there is nothing in the stories they were told about you but that you had a practicing jew and keep them all yourself as for the gentile concepts we send them our decision but they must abstain from meat that has been offered delight goes from blood from anything that has been strangled and from fornication so bored to perform in and next day after going through ritual purification with them he went into the temple to give notice of the date when the period of purification would end andy offering be made for each one of them the reading has

concluded at the twenty six that's all the twenty first chapter of the acts of the apostles