The first account I ¹composed, ^aTheophilus, about all that Jesus ^bbegan to do and teach, 2 until the day when He ^awas taken up to heaven, after He ^bhad given orders ¹by the Holy Spirit to ^cthe apostles whom He had ^dchosen. 3 To ¹these ^aHe also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of ^bthings regarding the kingdom of God. 4 ¹Gathering them together, He commanded them ^anot to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for ^2bwhat the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; 5 for ^aJohn baptized ¹with water, but you will be baptized ²with the Holy Spirit ^3bnot many days from now.”

6 So, when they had come together, they began asking Him, saying, “Lord, ^ais it at this time that You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” 7 But He said to them, “It is not for you to know periods of time or appointed times which ^athe Father has set by His own authority; 8 but you will receive power ^awhen the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be ^bMy witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and ^cSamaria, and as far as ^dthe remotest part of the earth.”

9 And after He had said these things, ^aHe was lifted up while they were watching, and a cloud took Him up, out of their sight. 10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, then behold, ^atwo men in white clothing stood beside them, 11 and they said, “^aMen of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who ^bhas been taken up from you into heaven, will ^ccome in the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

12 Then they ^areturned to Jerusalem from the ^1bmountain called ²Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a ³Sabbath day’s journey away. 13 When they had entered the city, they went up to ^athe upstairs room where they were staying, that is, ^bPeter, John, ¹James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, ²James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and ^cJudas the ³son of ⁴James. 14 All these ^awere continually devoting themselves with one ¹mind to prayer, along with ^bthe women, and Mary the ^cmother of Jesus, and with His ^dbrothers.

15 ¹At this time Peter stood up among ^athe brothers and sisters (a group of about 120 ²people was there together), and said, 16 “¹Brothers, ^athe Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, ^bwho became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. 17 For he was ^acounted among us and received his share in ^bthis ministry.” 18 (Now this man ^aacquired a field with ^bthe price of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out. 19 And it became known to all the residents of Jerusalem; as a result that field was called Hakeldama in ^atheir own language, that is, Field of Blood.) 20 “For it is written in the book of Psalms:‘^aMAY HIS RESIDENCE BE MADE DESOLATE,AND MAY THERE BE NONE LIVING IN IT’;and,‘^bMAY ANOTHER TAKE HIS ¹OFFICE.’ 21 Therefore it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that ^athe Lord Jesus went in and out ¹among us— 22 ^abeginning ¹with the baptism of John until the day that He ^bwas taken up from us—one of these must become a ^cwitness with us of His resurrection.” 23 So they put forward two men, Joseph called Barsabbas (who was also called Justus), and ^aMatthias. 24 And they ^aprayed and said, “You, Lord, who ^bknow the hearts of all people, show which one of these two You have chosen 25 to ¹occupy ^athis ministry and ^bapostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 26 And they ^1adrew lots for them, and the lot fell ²to ^bMatthias; and he was added to ^cthe eleven apostles.

The first ¹account I made, ^aTheophilus, was a continuous report about all the things that Jesus ^bbegan to do and to ²teach Luke 1:1-4 2 until the day when He ^aascended to heaven, after He ^bhad by the Holy Spirit given instruction to ^cthe apostles (special messengers) whom He had ^dchosen. 3 To these men ^aHe also showed Himself alive after His suffering in Gethsemane and on the cross, by a series of many infallible proofs and unquestionable demonstrations, appearing to them over a period of forty days and talking to them about ^bthe things concerning the kingdom of God. 4 While being together and eating with them, He commanded them ^anot to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for ^bwhat the Father had promised, “Of which,” He said, “you have heard Me speak. John 14:16, 26; 15:26 5 For ^aJohn baptized with water, but you will be baptized and empowered and united with the Holy Spirit, ^bnot long from now.”

6 So when they had come together, they asked Him repeatedly, “Lord, are You ^aat this time reestablishing the kingdom and restoring it to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or epochs which ^athe Father has fixed by His own authority. 8 But you will receive power and ability ^awhen the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be ^bMy witnesses to tell people about Me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and ^cSamaria, and even to ^dthe ends of the earth.”

9 And after He said these things, ^aHe was caught up as they looked on, and a cloud took Him up out of their sight. 10 While they were looking intently into the sky as He was going, ^atwo men in white clothing suddenly stood beside them, 11 who said, “^aMen of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who ^bhas been taken up from you into heaven, will ^creturn in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

12 Then the disciples ^areturned to Jerusalem from the ^bmount called Olivet (Olive Grove) , which is near Jerusalem, only a Sabbath day’s journey (less than one mile) away. 13 When they had entered the city, they went upstairs to ^athe upper room where they were staying indefinitely; ^bthat is, Peter, and John and his brother James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew (Nathanael) and Matthew, ¹James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and ^cJudas (Thaddaeus) the son of James. 14 All these with one mind and one purpose were ^acontinually devoting themselves to prayer, waiting together along with ^bthe women, and Mary the ^cmother of Jesus, and with His ^dbrothers.

15 Now on one of these days Peter stood up among ^athe brothers and sisters (a gathering of about a hundred and twenty believers was there) and he said, 16 “Brothers and sisters, it was necessary that ^athe Scripture be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the lips of David king of Israel about Judas Iscariot, ^bwho acted as guide to those who arrested Jesus. 17 For he (Judas) was ^acounted among us and received his share by divine allotment in ^bthis ministry.” 18 (Now Judas Iscariot ^1aacquired a piece of land indirectly with ^bthe money paid him as a reward for his treachery, and falling headlong, his body burst open in the middle and all his intestines poured out. 19 All the people in Jerusalem learned about this, so in ^atheir own dialect—Aramaic—they called the piece of land Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20 “For in the book of Psalms it is written,‘^aLET HIS PLACE OF RESIDENCE BECOME DESOLATE,AND LET THERE BE NO ONE TO LIVE IN IT’;and again,‘^bLET ANOTHER TAKE HIS POSITION AS OVERSEER.’ Ps 69:25; 109:8 21 So of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that ^athe Lord Jesus spent with us, 22 ^abeginning with the baptism by John at the outset of Jesus’ ministry until the day when He ^bwas taken up from us—one of these men must become a ^cwitness with us to testify of His resurrection.” 23 And they put forward two men, Joseph, the one called Barsabbas (who was surnamed Justus), and ^aMatthias. 24 They ^aprayed and said, “You, Lord, ^bwho know all hearts their thoughts, motives, desires, show us which one of these two You have chosen 25 to occupy ^athis ministry and ^bapostleship which Judas left to go to his own place of evil.” 26 And they ^1acast lots for them, and the lot fell to ^bMatthias; and he was added to ^cthe eleven apostles.

The first account I ¹composed, ^aTheophilus, about all that Jesus ^bbegan to do and teach, 2 until the day when He ^awas taken up to heaven, after He ^bhad ¹by the Holy Spirit given orders to ^cthe apostles whom He had ^dchosen. 3 To ¹these ^aHe also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of ^bthe things concerning the kingdom of God. 4 ¹Gathering them together, He commanded them ^anot to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for ^2bwhat the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; 5 for ^aJohn baptized with water, but you will be baptized ¹with the Holy Spirit ^2bnot many days from now.”

6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, ^ais it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which ^athe Father has fixed by His own authority; 8 but you will receive power ^awhen the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be ^bMy witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and ^cSamaria, and even to ^dthe remotest part of the earth.”

9 And after He had said these things, ^aHe was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And as they were gazing intently into ¹the sky while He was going, behold, ^atwo men in white clothing stood beside them. 11 They also said, “^aMen of Galilee, why do you stand looking into ¹the sky? This Jesus, who ^bhas been taken up from you into heaven, will ^ccome in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

12 Then they ^areturned to Jerusalem from the ^1bmount called ²Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a ³Sabbath day’s journey away. 13 When they had entered the city, they went up to ^athe upper room where they were staying; ^bthat is, Peter and John and ¹James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, ²James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and ^cJudas the ³son of ⁴James. 14 These all with one mind ^awere continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with ^bthe women, and Mary the ^cmother of Jesus, and with His ^dbrothers.

15 ¹At this time Peter stood up in the midst of ^athe brethren (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty ²persons was there together), and said, 16 “Brethren, ^athe Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, ^bwho became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. 17 For he was ^acounted among us and received his share in ^bthis ministry.” 18 (Now this man ^aacquired a field with ^bthe price of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out. 19 And it became known to all who were living in Jerusalem; so that in ^atheir own language that field was called Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20 “For it is written in the book of Psalms,‘^aLET HIS HOMESTEAD BE MADE DESOLATE,AND LET NO ONE DWELL IN IT’;and,‘^bLET ANOTHER MAN TAKE HIS ¹OFFICE.’ 21 Therefore it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that ^athe Lord Jesus went in and out ¹among us— 22 ^abeginning ¹with the baptism of John until the day that He ^bwas taken up from us—one of these must become a ^cwitness with us of His resurrection.” 23 So they put forward two men, Joseph called Barsabbas (who was also called Justus), and ^aMatthias. 24 And they ^aprayed and said, “You, Lord, ^bwho know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two You have chosen 25 to ¹occupy ^athis ministry and ^bapostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 26 And they ^1adrew lots for them, and the lot fell ²to ^bMatthias; and he was ³added to ^cthe eleven apostles.