After there had been much debate, ¹  Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that some time ago ²  God chose ³  me to preach to the Gentiles so they would hear the message ⁴  of the gospel ⁵  and believe. ⁶ 

For I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, ¹  so that you may not be conceited: A partial hardening has happened to Israel ²  until the full number ³  of the Gentiles has come in.

I went there ¹  because of ²  a revelation and presented ³  to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did so ⁴  only in a private meeting with the influential people, ⁵  to make sure that I was not running – or had not run ⁶  – in vain.

“Here is ¹  my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I take great delight. ²  I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.

Do not give offense to Jews or Greeks or to the church of God,

who said by the Holy Spirit through ¹  your servant David our forefather, ²  ‘Why do the nations ³  rage, ⁴  and the peoples plot foolish ⁵  things?

So he was addressing ¹  the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles ²  in the synagogue, ³  and in the marketplace every day ⁴  those who happened to be there.

He came ¹  to us, took ²  Paul’s belt, ³  tied ⁴  his own hands and feet with it, ⁵  and said, “The Holy Spirit says this: ‘This is the way the Jews in Jerusalem will tie up the man whose belt this is, and will hand him over ⁶  to the Gentiles.’”

I do not want you to be unaware, ¹  brothers and sisters, ²  that I often intended to come to you (and was prevented until now), so that I may have some fruit even among you, just as I already have among the rest of the Gentiles. ³ 

What then? Are we better off? Certainly not, for we have already charged that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin,

No, I mean that what the pagans sacrifice ¹  is to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons.

I have been on journeys many times, in dangers from rivers, in dangers from robbers, ¹  in dangers from my own countrymen, in dangers from Gentiles, in dangers in the city, in dangers in the wilderness, ²  in dangers at sea, in dangers from false brothers,

and when James, Cephas, ¹  and John, who had a reputation as ²  pillars, ³  recognized ⁴  the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me ⁵  the right hand of fellowship, agreeing ⁶  that we would go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. ⁷ 

Nations come to your light, kings to your bright light.

It is actually reported that sexual immorality exists among you, the kind of immorality that is not permitted even among the Gentiles, so that someone is cohabiting with ¹  his father’s wife.

But ¹  do not measure the outer courtyard ²  of the temple; leave it out, ³  because it has been given to the Gentiles, ⁴  and they will trample on the holy city ⁵  for forty-two months.

So Paul stood up, ¹  gestured ²  with his hand and said, “Men of Israel, ³  and you Gentiles who fear God, ⁴  listen:

Brothers, ¹  descendants ²  of Abraham’s family, ³  and those Gentiles among you who fear God, ⁴  the message ⁵  of this salvation has been sent to us.

You know that when you were pagans you were often led astray by speechless idols, however you were led.

On the contrary, when they saw ¹  that I was entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised ²  just as Peter was to the circumcised ³