Acts

WPNT^{(i) 1} The first account I prepared, Theophilus [God-lover], concerned all that Jesus began to do and to teach ² until the day in which He was taken back, after He had given commandment, by Holy Spirit, to the apostles whom He had chosen; ³ to whom He also showed Himself alive, after His suffering, by many convincing evidences, appearing to them during forty days and speaking of things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. ⁴ And being together He directed them not to go away from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, “which you heard from me; ⁵ John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with Holy Spirit not many days from now”. ⁶ Well then, being together they asked Him saying, “Lord, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel at this time?” ⁷ So He said to them: “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has placed within His own authority. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be witnesses to me —both in Jerusalem, and all Judea and Samaria, and even to the last part of the earth.” ⁹ Upon saying these things, as they watched, He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him out of their sight. ¹⁰ And as they were staring into the sky, while He was going, suddenly two men in white clothing stood beside them; ¹¹ and they said: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into the sky? This very Jesus who is being taken up from you into the sky, He will come again in the precise manner that you observed Him going into the sky.” ¹² They then returned to Jerusalem from the mount called ‘of Olives’, which is near Jerusalem (a Sabbath day’s journey). ¹³ When they had entered [the city] they went up into the upper room where they were staying; namely Peter and James, John and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas of James. ¹⁴ All these were continuing with one purpose in prayer and petition, along with the women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers. ¹⁵ Well in those days Peter stood up in the middle of the disciples (the number of people assembled there was about 120) and said: ¹⁶ “Men, brothers: It was necessary that this Scripture be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by David’s mouth concerning Judas, who was guide to those who arrested Jesus; ¹⁷ in that he was numbered with us and obtained his share in this ministry.” ¹⁸ (In fact this man acquired a field with the wages of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle, and all his innards were spilled out. ¹⁹ And it became known to all who lived in Jerusalem, so that in their own language that field came to be called ‘Akeldama’, that is, ‘Field of Blood’.) ²⁰ “Because it stands written in Book of Psalms: ‘Let his residence become desolate, and may no one live in it’ and, ‘Let another take his office’. ²¹ So then, of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, ²² beginning from the baptism of John until the day when He was taken up from us, of these one must become a witness with us of His resurrection.” ²³ So they nominated two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. ²⁴ And praying they said: “You, Lord, Knower of all hearts, show which one of these two You have chosen ²⁵ to receive the portion of this ministry and apostleship, out of which Judas turned aside to go into his own place.” ²⁶ And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven Apostles.