“I ¹  tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, ²  and after that have nothing more they can do.

saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house will be a house of prayer,’ ¹  but you have turned it into a den ²  of robbers!” ³ 

Jesus ¹  was teaching daily in the temple courts. The chief priests and the experts in the law ²  and the prominent leaders among the people were seeking to assassinate ³  him,

Now one ¹  day, as Jesus ²  was teaching the people in the temple courts ³  and proclaiming ⁴  the gospel, the chief priests and the experts in the law ⁵  with the elders came up ⁶ 

Then ¹  the experts in the law ²  and the chief priests wanted to arrest ³  him that very hour, because they realized he had told this parable against them. But ⁴  they were afraid of the people.

“Beware ¹  of the experts in the law. ²  They ³  like walking around in long robes, and they love elaborate greetings ⁴  in the marketplaces and the best seats ⁵  in the synagogues ⁶  and the places of honor at banquets.

(He ¹  had not consented ²  to their plan and action.) He ³  was from the Judean town ⁴  of Arimathea, and was looking forward to ⁵  the kingdom of God. ⁶ 

The experts in the law ¹  and the Pharisees ²  brought a woman who had been caught committing adultery. They made her stand in front of them

Now the Jewish religious leaders ¹  refused to believe ²  that he had really been blind and had gained his sight until at last they summoned ³  the parents of the man who had become able to see. ⁴ 

When they were released, Peter and John ¹  went to their fellow believers ²  and reported everything the high priests and the elders had said to them.

Now the high priest rose up, and all those with him (that is, the religious party of the Sadducees ¹ ), ²  and they were filled with jealousy. ³ 

But a Pharisee ¹  whose name was Gamaliel, ²  a teacher of the law who was respected by all the people, stood up ³  in the council ⁴  and ordered the men to be put outside for a short time.

But the Jews incited ¹  the God-fearing women of high social standing and the prominent men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and threw them out ²  of their region.

But some from the religious party of the Pharisees ¹  who had believed stood up and said, “It is necessary ²  to circumcise the Gentiles ³  and to order them to observe ⁴  the law of Moses.”

They ¹  went ²  to the chief priests ³  and the elders and said, “We have bound ourselves with a solemn oath ⁴  not to partake ⁵  of anything until we have killed Paul.

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 

For there is no distinction between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, who richly blesses all who call on him.

I ¹  was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my nation, ²  and was ³  extremely zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. ⁴ 

You who are trying to be declared righteous ¹  by the law have been alienated ²  from Christ; you have fallen away from grace!