Bible Reading July 4 (World English Bible)
1 Kings 19-22
1Ki 19:1 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.
1Ki 19:2 Then Jezebel send a messenger to Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I don't make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.
1Ki 19:3 When he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
1Ki 19:4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, It is enough; now, O Yahweh, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.
1Ki 19:5 He lay down and slept under a juniper tree; and behold, an angel touched him, and said to him, Arise and eat.
1Ki 19:6 He looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on the coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and laid down again.
1Ki 19:7 The angel of Yahweh came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.
1Ki 19:8 He arose, and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the Mount of God.
1Ki 19:9 He came there to a cave, and lodged there; and behold, the word of Yahweh came to him, and he said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah?
1Ki 19:10 He said, I have been very jealous for Yahweh, the God of Armies; for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and slain your prophets with the sword: and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
1Ki 19:11 He said, Go forth, and stand on the mountain before Yahweh. Behold, Yahweh passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before Yahweh; but Yahweh was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but Yahweh was not in the earthquake:
1Ki 19:12 and after the earthquake a fire; but Yahweh was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
1Ki 19:13 It was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entrance of the cave. Behold, there came a voice to him, and said, What are you doing here, Elijah?
1Ki 19:14 He said, I have been very jealous for Yahweh, the God of Armies; for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and slain your prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
1Ki 19:15 Yahweh said to him, Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when you come, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria;
1Ki 19:16 and you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi to be king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah to be prophet in your place.
1Ki 19:17 It shall happen, that he who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu kill; and he who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha kill.
1Ki 19:18 Yet will I leave me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth which has not kissed him.
1Ki 19:19 So he departed there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing, with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed over to him, and cast his mantle on him.
1Ki 19:20 He left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me please kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you. He said to him, Go back again; for what have I done to you?
1Ki 19:21 He returned from following him, and took the yoke of oxen, and killed them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave to the people, and they ate. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered to him.
1Ki 20:1 Ben Hadad the king of Syria gathered all his army together; and there were thirty-two kings with him, and horses and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it.
1Ki 20:2 He sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel, into the city, and said to him, Thus says Ben Hadad,
1Ki 20:3 Your silver and your gold is mine; your wives also and your children, even the best, are mine.
1Ki 20:4 The king of Israel answered, It is according to your saying, my lord, O king; I am yours, and all that I have.
1Ki 20:5 The messengers came again, and said, Thus speaks Ben Hadad, saying, I sent indeed to you, saying, You shall deliver me your silver, and your gold, and your wives, and your children;
1Ki 20:6 but I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, and they shall search your house, and the houses of your servants; and it shall be, that whatever is pleasant in your eyes, they shall put it in their hand, and take it away.
1Ki 20:7 Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Please notice how this man seeks mischief: for he sent to me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold; and I didn't deny him.
1Ki 20:8 All the elders and all the people said to him, Don't listen, neither consent.
1Ki 20:9 Therefore he said to the messengers of Ben Hadad, Tell my lord the king, All that you did send for to your servant at the first I will do; but this thing I may not do. The messengers departed, and brought him word again.
1Ki 20:10 Ben Hadad sent to him, and said, The gods do so to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people who follow me.
1Ki 20:11 The king of Israel answered, Tell him, Don't let him who girds on his armor boast himself as he who puts it off.
1Ki 20:12 It happened, when Ben Hadad heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings, in the pavilions, that he said to his servants, "Prepare to attack!" They prepared to attack the city.
1Ki 20:13 Behold, a prophet came near to Ahab king of Israel, and said, Thus says Yahweh, Have you seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into your hand this day; and you shall know that I am Yahweh.
1Ki 20:14 Ahab said, By whom? He said, Thus says Yahweh, By the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall begin the battle? He answered, You.
1Ki 20:15 Then he mustered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty-two: and after them he mustered all the people, even all the children of Israel, being seven thousand.
1Ki 20:16 They went out at noon. But Ben Hadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty-two kings who helped him.
1Ki 20:17 The young men of the princes of the provinces went out first; and Ben Hadad sent out, and they told him, saying, There are men come out from Samaria.
1Ki 20:18 He said, Whether they are come out for peace, take them alive, or whether they are come out for war, taken them alive.
1Ki 20:19 So these went out of the city, the young men of the princes of the provinces, and the army which followed them.
1Ki 20:20 They killed everyone his man; and the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them: and Ben Hadad the king of Syria escaped on a horse with horsemen.
1Ki 20:21 The king of Israel went out, and struck the horses and chariots, and killed the Syrians with a great slaughter.
1Ki 20:22 The prophet came near to the king of Israel, and said to him, Go, strengthen yourself, and mark, and see what you do; for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against you.
1Ki 20:23 The servants of the king of Syria said to him, Their god is a god of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we: but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.
1Ki 20:24 Do this thing: take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their room;
1Ki 20:25 and muster an army, like the army that you have lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot; and we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. He listened to their voice, and did so.
1Ki 20:26 It happened at the return of the year, that Ben Hadad mustered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel.
1Ki 20:27 The children of Israel were mustered, and were provisioned, and went against them: and the children of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country.
1Ki 20:28 A man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, Thus says Yahweh, Because the Syrians have said, Yahweh is a god of the hills, but he is not a god of the valleys; therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am Yahweh.
1Ki 20:29 They encamped one over against the other seven days. So it was, that in the seventh day the battle was joined; and the children of Israel killed of the Syrians one hundred thousand footmen in one day.
1Ki 20:30 But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men who were left. Ben Hadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber.
1Ki 20:31 His servants said to him, See now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: please let us put sackcloth on our bodies, and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel. Maybe he will save your life.
1Ki 20:32 So they put sackcloth on their bodies and ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Your servant Ben Hadad says, please let me live. He said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother.
1Ki 20:33 Now the men observed diligently, and hurried to catch whether it were his mind; and they said, Your brother Ben Hadad. Then he said, Go, bring him. Then Ben Hadad came out to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot.
1Ki 20:34 Ben Hadad said to him, The cities which my father took from your father I will restore; and you shall make streets for you in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. I, said Ahab, will let you go with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and let him go.
1Ki 20:35 A certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his fellow by the word of Yahweh, Please strike me. The man refused to strike him.
1Ki 20:36 Then said he to him, Because you have not obeyed the voice of Yahweh, behold, as soon as you are departed from me, a lion shall kill you. As soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and killed him.
1Ki 20:37 Then he found another man, and said, Please strike me. The man struck him, smiting and wounding him.
1Ki 20:38 So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with his headband over his eyes.
1Ki 20:39 As the king passed by, he cried to the king; and he said, Your servant went out into the midst of the battle; and behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man to me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.
1Ki 20:40 As your servant was busy here and there, he was gone. The king of Israel said to him, So your judgment shall be; yourself have decided it.
1Ki 20:41 He hurried, and took the headband away from his eyes; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets.
1Ki 20:42 He said to him, Thus says Yahweh, Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life shall go for his life, and your people for his people.
1Ki 20:43 The king of Israel went to his house sullen and angry, and came to Samaria.
1Ki 21:1 It happened after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.
1Ki 21:2 Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near to my house; and I will give you for it a better vineyard than it: or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its worth in money.
1Ki 21:3 Naboth said to Ahab, Yahweh forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you.
1Ki 21:4 Ahab came into his house sullen and angry because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers. He laid him down on his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.
1Ki 21:5 But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, Why is your spirit so sad, that you eat no bread?
1Ki 21:6 He said to her, Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite, and said to him, Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you another vineyard for it: and he answered, I will not give you my vineyard.
1Ki 21:7 Jezebel his wife said to him, Do you now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let your heart be merry: I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.
1Ki 21:8 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles who were in his city, and who lived with Naboth.
1Ki 21:9 She wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people:
1Ki 21:10 and set two men, base fellows, before him, and let them testify against him, saying, You cursed God and the king. Then carry him out, and stone him to death.
1Ki 21:11 The men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, according as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them.
1Ki 21:12 They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.
1Ki 21:13 The two men, the base fellows, came in and sat before him: and the base fellows bore witness against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did curse God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him to death with stones.
1Ki 21:14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead.
1Ki 21:15 It happened, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.
1Ki 21:16 It happened, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.
1Ki 21:17 The word of Yahweh came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
1Ki 21:18 Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who dwells in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he is gone down to take possession of it.
1Ki 21:19 You shall speak to him, saying, Thus says Yahweh, Have you killed and also taken possession? You shall speak to him, saying, Thus says Yahweh, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick your blood, even yours.
1Ki 21:20 Ahab said to Elijah, Have you found me, my enemy? He answered, I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do that which is evil in the sight of Yahweh.
1Ki 21:21 Behold, I will bring evil on you, and will utterly sweep you away and will cut off from Ahab everyone who urinates against a wall, and him who is shut up and him who is left at large in Israel:
1Ki 21:22 and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah for the provocation with which you have provoked me to anger, and have made Israel to sin.
1Ki 21:23 Of Jezebel also spoke Yahweh, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the rampart of Jezreel.
1Ki 21:24 Him who dies of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him who dies in the field shall the birds of the sky eat.
1Ki 21:25 (But there was none like Ahab, who did sell himself to do that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.
1Ki 21:26 He did very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites did, whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Israel.)
1Ki 21:27 It happened, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.
1Ki 21:28 The word of Yahweh came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
1Ki 21:29 See how Ahab humbles himself before me? because he humbles himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days; but in his son's days will I bring the evil on his house.
1Ki 22:1 They continued three years without war between Syria and Israel.
1Ki 22:2 It happened in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel.
1Ki 22:3 The king of Israel said to his servants, "You know that Ramoth Gilead is ours, and we are still, and don't take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?"
1Ki 22:4 He said to Jehoshaphat, Will you go with me to battle to Ramoth Gilead? Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.
1Ki 22:5 Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, Please inquire first for the word of Yahweh.
1Ki 22:6 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, Shall I go against Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? They said, Go up; for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.
1Ki 22:7 But Jehoshaphat said, Isn't there here a prophet of Yahweh besides, that we may inquire of him?
1Ki 22:8 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, there is yet one man by whom we may inquire of Yahweh, Micaiah the son of Imlah: but I hate him; for he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. Jehoshaphat said, "Don't let the king say so."
1Ki 22:9 Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, Get quickly Micaiah the son of Imlah.
1Ki 22:10 Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting each on his throne, arrayed in their robes, in an open place at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them.
1Ki 22:11 Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron, and said, Thus says Yahweh, With these you shall push the Syrians, until they are consumed.
1Ki 22:12 All the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth Gilead, and prosper; for Yahweh will deliver it into the hand of the king.
1Ki 22:13 The messenger who went to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, See now, the words of the prophets declare good to the king with one mouth: please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak good.
1Ki 22:14 Micaiah said, As Yahweh lives, what Yahweh says to me, that will I speak.
1Ki 22:15 When he was come to the king, the king said to him, Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall we forbear? He answered him, Go up and prosper; and Yahweh will deliver it into the hand of the king.
1Ki 22:16 The king said to him, How many times shall I adjure you that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of Yahweh?
1Ki 22:17 He said, I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and Yahweh said, These have no master; let them return every man to his house in peace.
1Ki 22:18 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Didn't I tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?
1Ki 22:19 Micaiah said, "Therefore hear the word of Yahweh: I saw Yahweh sitting on his throne, and all the army of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.
1Ki 22:20 Yahweh said, 'Who shall entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth Gilead?' One said on this manner; and another said on that manner.
1Ki 22:21 There came forth a spirit, and stood before Yahweh, and said, 'I will entice him.'
1Ki 22:22 Yahweh said to him, 'How?' He said, 'I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' He said, 'You shall entice him, and shall prevail also: go forth, and do so.'
1Ki 22:23 Now therefore, behold, Yahweh has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; and Yahweh has spoken evil concerning you."
1Ki 22:24 Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and struck Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of Yahweh from me to speak to you?
1Ki 22:25 Micaiah said, Behold, you shall see on that day, when you shall go into an inner chamber to hide yourself.
1Ki 22:26 The king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son;
1Ki 22:27 and say, Thus says the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace.
1Ki 22:28 Micaiah said, If you return at all in peace, Yahweh has not spoken by me. He said, Hear, you peoples, all of you.
1Ki 22:29 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead.
1Ki 22:30 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and go into the battle; but you put on your robes. The king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle.
1Ki 22:31 Now the king of Syria had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel.
1Ki 22:32 It happened, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel; and they turned aside to fight against him: and Jehoshaphat cried out.
1Ki 22:33 It happened, when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him.
1Ki 22:34 A certain man drew his bow at a venture, and struck the king of Israel between the joints of the armor: therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, Turn your hand, and carry me out of the army; for I am severely wounded.
1Ki 22:35 The battle increased that day: and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at even; and the blood ran out of the wound into the bottom of the chariot.
1Ki 22:36 There went a cry throughout the army about the going down of the sun, saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his country.
1Ki 22:37 So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria.
1Ki 22:38 They washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood (now the prostitutes washed themselves there); according to the word of Yahweh which he spoke.
1Ki 22:39 Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he built, and all the cities that he built, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
1Ki 22:40 So Ahab slept with his fathers; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his place.
1Ki 22:41 Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel.
1Ki 22:42 Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.
1Ki 22:43 He walked in all the way of Asa his father; He didn't turn aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh: however the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.
1Ki 22:44 Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel.
1Ki 22:45 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he showed, and how he warred, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
1Ki 22:46 The remnant of the sodomites, that remained in the days of his father Asa, he put away out of the land.
1Ki 22:47 There was no king in Edom: a deputy was king.
1Ki 22:48 Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they didn't go; for the ships were broken at Ezion Geber.
1Ki 22:49 Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab to Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with your servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not.
1Ki 22:50 Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father; Jehoram his son reigned in his place.
1Ki 22:51 Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned two years over Israel.
1Ki 22:52 He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, in which he made Israel to sin.
1Ki 22:53 He served Baal, and worshiped him, and provoked to anger Yahweh, the God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.
Acts 5
Act 5:1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira, his wife, sold a possession,
Act 5:2 and kept back part of the price, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.
Act 5:3 But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
Act 5:4 While you kept it, didn't it remain your own? After it was sold, wasn't it in your power? How is it that you have conceived this thing in your heart? You haven't lied to men, but to God."
Act 5:5 Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and died. Great fear came on all who heard these things.
Act 5:6 The young men arose and wrapped him up, and they carried him out and buried him.
Act 5:7 About three hours later, his wife, not knowing what had happened, came in.
Act 5:8 Peter answered her, "Tell me whether you sold the land for so much." She said, "Yes, for so much."
Act 5:9 But Peter asked her, "How is it that you have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out."
Act 5:10 She fell down immediately at his feet, and died. The young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her by her husband.
Act 5:11 Great fear came on the whole assembly, and on all who heard these things.
Act 5:12 By the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. They were all with one accord in Solomon's porch.
Act 5:13 None of the rest dared to join them, however the people honored them.
Act 5:14 More believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women.
Act 5:15 They even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on cots and mattresses, so that as Peter came by, at the least his shadow might overshadow some of them.
Act 5:16 Multitudes also came together from the cities around Jerusalem, bringing sick people, and those who were tormented by unclean spirits: and they were all healed.
Act 5:17 But the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy,
Act 5:18 and laid hands on the apostles, and put them in public custody.
Act 5:19 But an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors by night, and brought them out, and said,
Act 5:20 "Go stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life."
Act 5:21 When they heard this, they entered into the temple about daybreak, and taught. But the high priest came, and those who were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.
Act 5:22 But the officers who came didn't find them in the prison. They returned and reported,
Act 5:23 "We found the prison shut and locked, and the guards standing before the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside!"
Act 5:24 Now when the high priest, the captain of the temple, and the chief priests heard these words, they were very perplexed about them and what might become of this.
Act 5:25 One came and told them, "Behold, the men whom you put in prison are in the temple, standing and teaching the people."
Act 5:26 Then the captain went with the officers, and brought them without violence, for they were afraid that the people might stone them.
Act 5:27 When they had brought them, they set them before the council. The high priest questioned them,
Act 5:28 saying, "Didn't we strictly command you not to teach in this name? Behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and intend to bring this man's blood on us."
Act 5:29 But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men.
Act 5:30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you killed, hanging him on a tree.
Act 5:31 God exalted him with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins.
Act 5:32 We are His witnesses of these things; and so also is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."
Act 5:33 But they, when they heard this, were cut to the heart, and determined to kill them.
Act 5:34 But one stood up in the council, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, honored by all the people, and commanded to put the apostles out for a little while.
Act 5:35 He said to them, "You men of Israel, be careful concerning these men, what you are about to do.
Act 5:36 For before these days Theudas rose up, making himself out to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were dispersed, and came to nothing.
Act 5:37 After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the enrollment, and drew away some people after him. He also perished, and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered abroad.
Act 5:38 Now I tell you, withdraw from these men, and leave them alone. For if this counsel or this work is of men, it will be overthrown.
Act 5:39 But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow it, and you would be found even to be fighting against God!"
Act 5:40 They agreed with him. Summoning the apostles, they beat them and commanded them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
Act 5:41 They therefore departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for Jesus' name.
Act 5:42 Every day, in the temple and at home, they never stopped teaching and preaching Jesus, the Christ.
