American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
Now in these days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a murmuring of the {Greek: Hellenists.}Grecian Jews against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.
And the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not {Greek: pleasing.}fit that we should forsake the word of God, and {Or, minister to tables}serve tables.
{Some ancient authorities read But, brethren, look ye out from among you.}Look ye out therefore, brethren, from among you seven men of good report, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
But we will continue stedfastly in prayer, and in the ministry of the word.
And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus a proselyte of Antioch;
whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands upon them.
And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem exceedingly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.
And Stephen, full of grace and power, wrought great wonders and signs among the people.
But there arose certain of them that were of the synagogue called the synagogue of the {Or, Freemen}Libertines, and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and Asia, disputing with Stephen.
And they were not able to withstand the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spake.
Then they suborned men, who said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.
And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and seized him, and brought him into the council,
and set up false witnesses, who said, This man ceaseth not to speak words against this holy place, and the law:
for we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered unto us.
And all that sat in the council, fastening their eyes on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.
Brethren, be ye imitators together of me, and mark them that so walk even as ye have us for an ensample.
And after five days the high priest Ananias came down with certain elders, and with an orator, one Tertullus; and they informed the governor against Paul.
And when he was called, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying,Seeing that by thee we enjoy much peace, and that by the providence evils are corrected for this nation,
we accept it in all ways and in all places, most excellent Felix, with all thankfulness.
But, that I be not further tedious unto thee, I entreat thee to hear us of thy clemency a few words.
For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of insurrections among all the Jews throughout {Greek: the inhabited earth.}the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes:
who moreover assayed to profane the temple: on whom also we laid hold: {Some ancient authorities insert and we would have judged him according to our law. 7 But the chief captain Lysias came, and with great violence took him away out of our hands, commanding his accusers to come before thee.}
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from whom thou wilt be able, by examining him thyself, to take knowledge of all these things whereof we accuse him.
And the Jews also joined in the charge, affirming that these things were so.
And when the governor had beckoned unto him to speak, Paul answered,Forasmuch as I know that thou hast been of many years a judge unto this nation, I cheerfully make my defense:
seeing that thou canst take knowledge that it is not more than twelve days since I went up to worship at Jerusalem:
and neither in the temple did they find me disputing with any man or stirring up a crowd, nor in the synagogues, nor in the city.
Neither can they prove to thee the things whereof they now accuse me.
But this I confess unto thee, that after the Way which they call a sect, so serve I the God of our fathers, believing all things which are according to the law, and which are written in the prophets;
having hope toward God, which these also themselves {Or, accept}look for, that there shall be a resurrection both of the just and unjust.
{Or, On this account}Herein I also exercise myself to have a conscience void of offence toward God and men always.
Now after some years I came to bring alms to my nation, and offerings:
{Or, in presenting which}amidst which they found me purified in the temple, with no crowd, nor yet with tumult: but there were certain Jews from Asia —
who ought to have been here before thee, and to make accusation, if they had aught against me.
Or else let these men themselves say what wrong-doing they found when I stood before the council,
except it be for this one voice, that I cried standing among them, Touching the resurrection of the dead I am called in question before you this day.
But Felix, having more exact knowledge concerning the Way, deferred them, saying, When Lysias the {Or, military tribune Greek: chiliarch.}chief captain shall come down, I will determine your matter.
And he gave order to the centurion that he should be kept in charge, and should have indulgence; and not to forbid any of his friends to minister unto him.
But after certain days, Felix came with Drusilla, {Greek: his own wife.}his wife, who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ Jesus.
And as he reasoned of righteousness, and self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was terrified, and answered, Go thy way for this time; and when I have a convenient season, I will call thee unto me.
He hoped withal that money would be given him of Paul: wherefore also he sent for him the oftener, and communed with him.
But when two years were fulfilled, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus; and desiring to gain favor with the Jews, Felix left Paul in bonds.
but I say unto you, Resist not {Or, evil}him that is evil: but whosoever smiteth thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
And Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth his hand, and made his defence:
I think myself happy, king Agrippa, that I am to make my defence before thee this day touching all the things whereof I am accused by the Jews:
{Or, because thou art especially expert }especially because thou art expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews: wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently.
My manner of life then from my youth up, which was from the beginning among mine own nation and at Jerusalem, know all the Jews;
having knowledge of me from the first, if they be willing to testify, that after the straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.
And now I stand here to be judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers;
unto which promise our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God night and day, hope to attain. And concerning this hope I am accused by the Jews, O king!
Why is it judged incredible with you, if God doth raise the dead?
I verily thought with myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
And this I also did in Jerusalem: and I both shut up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, and when they were put to death I gave my vote against them.
And punishing them oftentimes in all the synagogues, I strove to make them blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto foreign cities.
{Or, On which errand}Whereupon as I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests,
at midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them that journeyed with me.
And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice saying unto me in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against {Greek: goads.}the goad.
And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
But arise, and stand upon thy feet: for to this end have I appeared unto thee, to appoint thee a minister and a witness both of the things {Many ancient authorities read which thou hast seen.}wherein thou hast seen me, and of the things wherein I will appear unto thee;
delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom I send thee,
to open their eyes, {Or, to turn them}that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in me.
Wherefore, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:
but declared both to them of Damascus first and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the country of Judæa, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of {Or, their repentance}repentance.
For this cause the Jews seized me in the temple, and assayed to kill me.
Having therefore obtained the help that is from God, I stand unto this day testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses did say should come;
{Or, if Or, whether}how that the Christ {Or, is subject to suffering}must suffer, and {Or, if Or, whether}how that he first by the resurrection of the dead should proclaim light both to the people and to the Gentiles.
And as he thus made his defence, Festus saith with a loud voice, Paul, thou art mad; thy much learning {Greek: turneth thee to madness.}is turning thee mad.
But Paul saith, I am not mad, most excellent Festus; but speak forth words of truth and soberness.
For the king knoweth of these things, unto whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things is hidden from him; for this hath not been done in a corner.
King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest.
And Agrippa said unto Paul, {Or, In a little time thou &c.}With but little persuasion thou wouldest fain make me a Christian.
And Paul said, I would to God, that whether with little or with much, not thou only, but also all that hear me this day, might become such as I am, except these bonds.
And the king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and they that sat with them:
and when they had withdrawn, they spake one to another, saying, This man doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds.
And Agrippa said unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Cæsar.
But when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
And he came also to Derbe and to Lystra: and behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewess that believed; but his father was a Greek.
The same was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium.
Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and he took and circumcised him because of the Jews that were in those parts: for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
And as they went on their way through the cities, they delivered them the decrees to keep which had been ordained of the apostles and elders that were at Jerusalem.
So the churches were strengthened {Or, in faith}in the faith, and increased in number daily.
And they went through {Or, Phrygia and the region of Galatia}the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden of the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia;
and when they were come over against Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia; and the Spirit of Jesus suffered them not;
and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.
And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: There was a man of Macedonia standing, beseeching him, and saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.
And when he had seen the vision, straightway we sought to go forth into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to {Greek: bring good tidings. See chapter 5:42.}preach the gospel to them.
Setting sail therefore from Troas, we made a straight course to Samothrace, and the day following to Neapolis;
and from thence to Philippi, which is a city of Macedonia, the first of the district, a Roman colony: and we were in this city tarrying certain days.
And on the sabbath day we went forth without the gate by a river side, {Many ancient authorities read where was wont to be & c.}where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down, and spake unto the women that were come together.
And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple of the city of Thyatira, one that worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened to give heed unto the things which were spoken by Paul.
And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.
And it came to pass, as we were going to the place of prayer, that a certain maid having a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much gain by soothsaying.
The same following after Paul and us cried out, saying, These men are {Greek: bondservants.}servants of the Most High God, who proclaim unto you {Or, a way}the way of salvation.
And this she did for many days. But Paul, being sore troubled, turned and said to the spirit, I charge thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And it came out that very hour.
But when her masters saw that the hope of their gain was {Greek: come out.}gone, they laid hold on Paul and Silas, and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers,
and when they had brought them unto the {Greek: praetors: compare verses 22, 35, 36, 38.}magistrates, they said, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city,
and set forth customs which it is not lawful for us to receive, or to observe, being Romans.
And the multitude rose up together against them: and the {Greek: praetors: compare verses 22, 35, 36, 38.}magistrates rent their garments off them, and commanded to beat them with rods.
And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:
who, having received such a charge, cast them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.
But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns unto God, and the prisoners were listening to them;
and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison-house were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened: and every one's bands were loosed.
And the jailor, being roused out of sleep and seeing the prison doors open, drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.
But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
And he called for lights and sprang in, and, trembling for fear, fell down before Paul and Silas,
and brought them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house.
And they spake the word of {Some ancient authorities read God.}the Lord unto him, with all that were in his house.
And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, immediately.
And he brought them up into his house, and set {Greek: a table.}food before them, and rejoiced greatly, with all his house, {Greek: having believed God.}having believed in God.
But when it was day, the {Greek: praetors. See verse 20.}magistrates sent the {Greek: lictors.}serjeants, saying, Let those men go.
And the jailor reported the words to Paul, saying, The {Greek: praetors. See verse 20.}magistrates have sent to let you go: now therefore come forth, and go in peace.
But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men that are Romans, and have cast us into prison; and do they now cast us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and bring us out.
And the {Greek: lictors.}serjeants reported these words unto the {Greek: praetors. See verse 20.}magistrates: and they feared when they heard that they were Romans;
and they came and besought them; and when they had brought them out, they asked them to go away from the city.
And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they {Or, exhorted}comforted them, and departed.
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus in behalf of you Gentiles,—
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
And when it was determined that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners to a centurion named Julius, of the Augustan {Or, cohort}band.
And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail unto the places on the coast of Asia, we put to sea, Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us.
And the next day we touched at Sidon: and Julius treated Paul kindly, and gave him leave to go unto his friends and {Greek: receive attention.}refresh himself.
And putting to sea from thence, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were contrary.
And when we had sailed across the sea which is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia.
And there the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy; and he put us therein.
And when we had sailed slowly many days, and were come with difficulty over against Cnidus, the wind not {Or, suffering us to get there}further suffering us, we sailed under the lee of Crete, over against Salmone;
and with difficulty coasting along it we came unto a certain place called Fair Havens; nigh whereunto was the city of Lasea.
And when much time was spent, and the voyage was now dangerous, because the Fast was now already gone by, Paul admonished them,
and said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the lading and the ship, but also of our lives.
But the centurion gave more heed to the master and to the owner of the ship, than to those things which were spoken by Paul.
And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised to put to sea from thence, if by any means they could reach Phoenix, and winter there; which is a haven of Crete, looking {Or, down the south-west wind and down the north-west wind.}north-east and south-east.
And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close in shore.
But after no long time there beat down from it a tempestuous wind, which is called Euraquilo:
and when the ship was caught, and could not face the wind, we gave way to it, and were driven.
And running under the lee of a small island called {Many ancient authorities read Clauda.}Cauda, we were able, with difficulty, to secure the boat:
and when they had hoisted it up, they used helps, under-girding the ship; and, fearing lest they should be cast upon the Syrtis, they lowered the gear, and so were driven.
And as we labored exceedingly with the storm, the next day they began to throw the freight overboard;
and the third day they cast out with their own hands the {Or, furniture}tackling of the ship.
And when neither sun nor stars shone upon us for many days, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was now taken away.
And when they had been long without food, then Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have set sail from Crete, and have gotten this injury and loss.
And now I exhort you to be of good cheer; for there shall be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.
For there stood by me this night an angel of the God whose I am, whom also I serve,
saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must stand before Cæsar: and lo, God hath granted thee all them that sail with thee.
Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even so as it hath been spoken unto me.
But we must be cast upon a certain island.
But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven to and fro in the sea of Adria, about midnight the sailors surmised that they were drawing near to some country:
and they sounded, and found twenty fathoms; and after a little space, they sounded again, and found fifteen fathoms.
And fearing lest haply we should be cast ashore on rocky ground, they let go four anchors from the stern, and {Or, prayed}wished for the day.
And as the sailors were seeking to flee out of the ship, and had lowered the boat into the sea, under color as though they would lay out anchors from the foreship,
Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.
Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off.
And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take some food, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye wait and continue fasting, having taken nothing.
Wherefore I beseech you to take some food: for this is for your safety: for there shall not a hair perish from the head of any of you.
And when he had said this, and had taken bread, he gave thanks to God in the presence of all; and he brake it, and began to eat.
Then were they all of good cheer, and themselves also took food.
And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls.
And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea.
And when it was day, they knew not the land: but they perceived a certain bay with a beach, and they took counsel whether they could {Some ancient authorities read bring the ship safe to shore.}drive the ship upon it.
And casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea, at the same time loosing the bands of the rudders; and hoisting up the foresail to the wind, they made for the beach.
But lighting upon a place where two seas met, they ran the vessel aground; and the foreship struck and remained unmoveable, but the stern began to break up by the violence of the waves.
And the soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape.
But the centurion, desiring to save Paul, stayed them from their purpose; and commanded that they who could swim should cast themselves overboard, and get first to the land;
and the rest, some on planks, and some on other things from the ship. And so it came to pass, that they all escaped safe to the land.
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
But thou didst follow my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, {Or, stedfastness}patience,
persecutions, sufferings; what things befell me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: and out of them all the Lord delivered me.
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
Be ye imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ.