Watch out for ¹  yourselves and for all the flock of which ²  the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, ³  to shepherd the church of God ⁴  that he obtained ⁵  with the blood of his own Son. ⁶ 

And now I entrust ¹  you to God and to the message ²  of his grace. This message ³  is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

After we sighted Cyprus ¹  and left it behind on our port side, ²  we sailed on to Syria and put in ³  at Tyre, ⁴  because the ship was to unload its cargo there.

Then Paul replied, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking ¹  my heart? For I am ready not only to be tied up, ²  but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

take them and purify ¹  yourself along with them and pay their expenses, ²  so that they may have their heads shaved. ³  Then ⁴  everyone will know there is nothing in what they have been told ⁵  about you, but that you yourself live in conformity with ⁶  the law. ⁷ 

But some in the crowd shouted one thing, and others something else, ¹  and when the commanding officer ²  was unable ³  to find out the truth ⁴  because of the disturbance, ⁵  he ordered Paul ⁶  to be brought into the barracks. ⁷ 

As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, ¹  he said ²  to the commanding officer, ³  “May I say ⁴  something to you?” The officer ⁵  replied, ⁶  “Do you know Greek? ⁷ 

The crowd ¹  was listening to him until he said this. ²  Then ³  they raised their voices and shouted, ⁴  “Away with this man ⁵  from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live!” ⁶ 

When the argument became ¹  so great the commanding officer ²  feared that they would tear Paul to pieces, ³  he ordered the detachment ⁴  to go down, take him away from them by force, ⁵  and bring him into the barracks. ⁶ 

But I confess this to you, that I worship ¹  the God of our ancestors ²  according to the Way (which they call a sect), believing everything that is according to the law ³  and that is written in the prophets.

And that is what I did in Jerusalem: Not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons by the authority I received ¹  from the chief priests, but I also cast my vote ²  against them when they were sentenced to death. ³ 

When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ¹  ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? You are hurting yourself ²  by kicking against the goads.’ ³ 

but I declared to those in Damascus first, and then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, ¹  and to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, ²  performing deeds consistent with ³  repentance.

When day came, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed ¹  a bay ²  with a beach, ³  where they decided to run the ship aground if they could.

So they slipped ¹  the anchors ²  and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the linkage ³  that bound the steering oars ⁴  together. Then they hoisted ⁵  the foresail ⁶  to the wind and steered toward ⁷  the beach.

But the centurion, ¹  wanting to save Paul’s life, ²  prevented them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land, ³ 

The local inhabitants ¹  showed us extraordinary ²  kindness, for they built a fire and welcomed us all because it had started to rain ³  and was cold.

They ¹  exchanged the truth of God for a lie ²  and worshiped and served the creation ³  rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

This was ¹  also to demonstrate ²  his righteousness in the present time, so that he would be just ³  and the justifier of the one who lives because of Jesus’ faithfulness. ⁴ 

And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised, ¹  so that he would become ²  the father of all those who believe but have never been circumcised, ³  that they too could have righteousness credited to them.