Then the Jewish leaders ¹  said to one another, “Where is he ²  going to go that we cannot find him? ³  He is not going to go to the Jewish people dispersed ⁴  among the Greeks and teach the Greeks, is he? ⁵ 

Then ¹  the Judeans ²  responded, ³  “Now we know you’re possessed by a demon! ⁴  Both Abraham and the prophets died, and yet ⁵  you say, ‘If anyone obeys ⁶  my teaching, ⁷  he will never experience ⁸  death.’ ⁹ 

(His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jewish religious leaders. ¹  For the Jewish leaders had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus ²  to be the Christ ³  would be put out ⁴  of the synagogue. ⁵ 

The Jewish leaders ¹  surrounded him and asked, ²  “How long will you keep us in suspense? ³  If you are the Christ, ⁴  tell us plainly.” ⁵ 

Then the people ¹  who were with Mary ²  in the house consoling her saw her ³  get up quickly and go out. They followed her, because they thought she was going to the tomb to weep ⁴  there.

Jesus replied, ¹  “I have spoken publicly to the world. I always taught in the synagogues ²  and in the temple courts, ³  where all the Jewish people ⁴  assemble together. I ⁵  have said nothing in secret.

Pilate told them, ¹  “Take him yourselves and pass judgment on him ²  according to your own law!” ³  The Jewish leaders ⁴  replied, ⁵  “We cannot legally put anyone to death.” ⁶ 

From this point on, Pilate tried ¹  to release him. But the Jewish leaders ²  shouted out, ³  “If you release this man, ⁴  you are no friend of Caesar! ⁵  Everyone who claims to be a king ⁶  opposes Caesar!”

But Peter stood up ¹  with the eleven, raised his voice, and addressed them: “You men of Judea ²  and all you who live in Jerusalem, ³  know this ⁴  and listen carefully to what I say.

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 the Jews became jealous, ¹  and gathering together some worthless men from the rabble in the marketplace, ²  they formed a mob ³  and set the city in an uproar. ⁴  They attacked Jason’s house, ⁵  trying to find Paul and Silas ⁶  to bring them out to the assembly. ⁷ 

But when the Jews from Thessalonica ¹  heard that Paul had also proclaimed the word of God ²  in Berea, ³  they came there too, inciting ⁴  and disturbing ⁵  the crowds.

But just as Paul was about to speak, ¹  Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of some crime or serious piece of villainy, ²  I would have been justified in accepting the complaint ³  of you Jews, ⁴ 

When the seven days were almost over, ¹  the Jews from the province of Asia ²  who had seen him in the temple area ³  stirred up the whole crowd ⁴  and seized ⁵  him,

He replied, ¹  “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council ²  tomorrow, as if they were going to inquire more thoroughly about him.

Then, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies should not stay on the crosses on the Sabbath ¹  (for that Sabbath was an especially important one), ²  the Jewish leaders ³  asked Pilate to have the victims’ legs ⁴  broken ⁵  and the bodies taken down. ⁶ 

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.’”