But the Lord said to him, “Go, because this man is my chosen instrument ¹  to carry my name before Gentiles and kings and the people of Israel. ² 

Now some men came down from Judea ¹  and began to teach the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised ²  according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

He also came to Derbe ¹  and to Lystra. ²  A disciple ³  named Timothy was there, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, ⁴  but whose father was a Greek. ⁵ 

Paul went to the Jews in the synagogue, ¹  as he customarily did, and on three Sabbath days he addressed ²  them from the scriptures,

Some of them were persuaded ¹  and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large group ²  of God-fearing Greeks ³  and quite a few ⁴  prominent women.

Then Paul ¹  left ²  the synagogue ³  and went to the house of a person named Titius Justus, a Gentile who worshiped God, ⁴  whose house was next door to the synagogue.

Crispus, the president of the synagogue, ¹  believed in the Lord together with his entire household, and many of the Corinthians who heard about it ²  believed and were baptized.

He ¹  immediately took ²  soldiers and centurions ³  and ran down to the crowd. ⁴  When they saw ⁵  the commanding officer ⁶  and the soldiers, they stopped beating ⁷  Paul.

and saw the Lord ¹  saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’

Paul looked directly ¹  at the council ²  and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life with a clear conscience ³  before God to this day.”

Some days later, when Felix ¹  arrived with his wife Drusilla, ²  who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him speak ³  about faith in Christ Jesus. ⁴ 

Then, after conferring with his council, ¹  Festus ²  replied, “You have appealed to Caesar; ³  to Caesar ⁴  you will go!” ⁵ 

They know, ¹  because they have known ²  me from time past, ³  if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party ⁴  of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee. ⁵ 

that ¹  the Christ ²  was to suffer and be the first to rise from the dead, to proclaim light both to our people ³  and to the Gentiles.” ⁴ 

For all who have sinned apart from the law ¹  will also perish apart from the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.

For circumcision ¹  has its value if you practice the law, but ²  if you break the law, ³  your circumcision has become uncircumcision.

And will not the physically uncircumcised man ¹  who keeps the law judge you who, despite ²  the written code ³  and circumcision, transgress the law?

Since God is one, ¹  he will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.

Is this blessedness ¹  then for ²  the circumcision ³  or also for ⁴  the uncircumcision? For we say, “faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” ⁵ 

To them belong the patriarchs, ¹  and from them, ²  by human descent, ³  came the Christ, ⁴  who is God over all, blessed forever! ⁵  Amen.