And in every province, and in every city, wherever the king's command and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many of the people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them.

Behold, the days come, says the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast.

Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and its width six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.

Then the satraps, the administrators, and governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

That at what time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, you fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up:

And I will sow her for myself in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them who were not my people, you are my people; and they shall say, you are my God.

For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like grain is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.

And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarries not for man, nor waits for the sons of men.

And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word.

Now they who were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.

And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.

Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John as their helper.

Who was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.

Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Spirit, set his eyes on him,

And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.

Now when Paul and his company set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.

And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, You men and brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.

The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as sojourners in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he brought them out of it.

And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he divided their land to them by lot.

And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.

Of this man's descendants has God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Savior, Jesus:

And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think you that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there comes one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose.

For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets who are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.

And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulcher.

And he was seen many days of them who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people.

God has fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he has raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, You are my Son, this day have I begotten you.

Therefore he says also in another psalm, You shall not allow your Holy One to see corruption.

But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.

And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed.

A long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, who gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.

And when there was an assault made both of the Gentiles, and also of the Jews with their rulers, to use them despitefully, and to stone them,

And there they preached the gospel.

The same heard Paul speak: who steadfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed,

And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.

Then the priest of Jupiter, being before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people.

And saying, Sirs, why do you these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that you should turn from these vanities unto the living God, who made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them:

Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.

And there came there certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.

And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch,

I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, to provoke them to jealousy.

For I speak to you Gentiles, since I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify my office:

For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?

And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you shall call them to mind among all the nations, where the LORD your God has driven you,

That then the LORD your God will return you from captivity, and have compassion upon you, and will return and gather you from all the nations, where the LORD your God has scattered you.

Yet if they shall come to themselves in the land where they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto you in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness;

And so return unto you with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto you toward their land, which you gave unto their fathers, the city which you have chosen, and the house which I have built for your name:

But if you turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though some of you were cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from there, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.

You that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still: remember the LORD afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.

And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations where they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their adulterous heart, which has departed from me, and with their eyes, which play the harlot after their idols: and they shall loathe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.

And I will bring forth a descendant out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and my elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.

They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the descendants of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them.

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

You are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.

And we declare unto you glad tidings, how the promise which was made unto the fathers,

God has fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he has raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, You are my Son, this day have I begotten you.

For if the firstfruit are holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them partake of the root and fatness of the olive tree;

For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, who are the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?