Act 3-4 | ESV | STEP | Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer , the ninth hour.

1 Now Peter and John were ^agoing up to the temple at ^bthe hour of prayer, ^cthe ninth hour. ^{▼▼That is, 3 p.m.} 2 And a man ^elame from birth was being carried, ^fwhom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate ^gto ask alms of those entering the temple. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, ^h“I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. ⁱIn the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 And ^jleaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And ^kall the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Peter Speaks in Solomon’s Portico

11 ^lWhile he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in ^mthe portico called Solomon’s. 12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? 13 ⁿThe God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, ^othe God of our fathers, ^pglorified his servant ^{▼▼Or child; also verse 26} Jesus, whom ^ryou delivered over and ^sdenied in the presence of Pilate, ^twhen he had decided to release him. 14 But you denied ^uthe Holy and ^vRighteous One, and ^wasked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed ^xthe Author of life, ^ywhom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 16 And ^zhis name—by ^aafaith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is ^abthrough Jesus ^{▼▼Greek him} has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

17 “And now, brothers, I know that ^adyou acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But what God ^aeforetold ^afby the mouth of all the prophets, that ^aghis Christ would ^ahsuffer, he thus fulfilled. 19 ^aiRepent therefore, and ^ajturn back, that ^akyour sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ ^alappointed for you, Jesus, 21 ^amwhom heaven must receive until the time for ^anrestoring all the things about which ^aoGod spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you ^apa prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen ^aqto him in whatever he tells you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet ^arshall be destroyed from the people.’ 24 And ^asall the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. 25 ^atYou are the sons of the prophets and of ^authe covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ^av‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ 26 ^awGod, ^axhaving raised up his servant, sent him to you first, ^ayto bless you ^azby turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

Acts 4

Peter and John Before the Council

1 And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and ^bathe captain of the temple and ^bbthe Sadducees came upon them, 2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming ^bcin Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they arrested them and ^bdput them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and ^bethe number of the men came to about five thousand.

5 On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with ^bfAnnas the high priest and ^bgCaiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, ^bh“By what power or ^biby what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, ^bjfilled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today ^bkconcerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that ^blby the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, ^bmwhom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 ^bnThis Jesus ^{▼▼Greek This one} is the stone that was ^bprejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. ^{▼▼Greek the head of the corner} 12 And there is ^brsalvation ^bsin no one else, for ^btthere is no other ^buname under heaven given among men ^{▼▼The Greek word anthropoi refers here to both men and women} by which we must be saved.”

13 ^bwNow when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. 14 But seeing the man who was healed ^bxstanding beside them, ^bythey had nothing to say in opposition. 15 But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 16 saying, ^bz“What shall we do with these men? For that ^caa notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them ^cbto speak no more to anyone in this name.” 18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, ^cc“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for ^cdwe cannot but speak of what ^cewe have seen and heard.” 21 And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, ^cfbecause of the people, for all were praising God ^cgfor what had happened. 22 For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.

The Believers Pray for Boldness

23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices ^chtogether to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, ^ciwho made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, ^{▼▼Or child; also verses 27, 30} said by the Holy Spirit,

^ck“‘Why did the Gentiles rage,
and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and ^clthe rulers were gathered together,
against the Lord and against his ^cmAnointed’ ^{▼▼Or Christ}—
27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your ^coholy servant Jesus, ^cpwhom you anointed, both ^cqHerod and ^crPontius Pilate, along ^cswith the Gentiles and ^ctthe peoples of Israel, 28 ^cuto do whatever your hand and ^cvyour plan had predestined to take place. 29 And now, Lord, ^cwlook upon their threats and grant to your servants ^{▼▼Greek bondservants} to continue to speak your word with all ^cyboldness, 30 while ^czyou stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed ^dathrough the name of your ^dbholy servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, ^dcthe place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and ^ddthey were all filled with the Holy Spirit and ^decontinued to speak the word of God with boldness.

They Had Everything in Common

32 Now the full number of those who believed were of ^dfone heart and ^dgsoul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but ^dhthey had everything in common. 33 And with great ^dipower the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and ^djgreat grace was upon them all. 34 ^dkThere was not a needy person among them, for ^dlas many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and ^dmlaid it at the apostles’ feet, and ^dnit was distributed to each as any had need. 36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means ^doson of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and ^dplaid it at the apostles’ feet.