And so the word of God continued to spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem grew larger and larger, and a great number of priests accepted the faith.

Many of them believed his message and were baptized, and about three thousand people were added to the group that day.

praising God, and enjoying the good will of all the people. And every day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved.

But many who heard the message believed; and the number grew to about five thousand.

But more and more people were added to the group---a crowd of men and women who believed in the Lord.

"We gave you strict orders not to teach in the name of this man," he said; "but see what you have done! You have spread your teaching all over Jerusalem, and you want to make us responsible for his death!"

May there be plenty of grain in the land; may the hills be covered with crops, as fruitful as those of Lebanon. May the cities be filled with people, like fields full of grass.

On the day you fight your enemies, your people will volunteer. Like the dew of early morning your young men will come to you on the sacred hills.

In the days to come the people of Israel, the descendants of Jacob, will take root like a tree, and they will blossom and bud. The earth will be covered with the fruit they produce.

The people who live there will sing praise; they will shout for joy. By my blessing they will increase in numbers; my blessing will bring them honor.

We must not complain, as some of them did---and they were destroyed by the Angel of Death.

Keep on loving one another as Christians.

Don't think that there is no truth in the scripture that says, "The spirit that God placed in us is filled with fierce desires."

Do not complain against one another, my friends, so that God will not judge you. The Judge is near, ready to appear.

He also talked and disputed with the Greek-speaking Jews, but they tried to kill him.

But other believers, who were from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and proclaimed the message to Gentiles also, telling them the Good News about the Lord Jesus.

Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham's descendants? So am I.

I was circumcised when I was a week old. I am an Israelite by birth, of the tribe of Benjamin, a pure-blooded Hebrew. As far as keeping the Jewish Law is concerned, I was a Pharisee,

So Peter got ready and went with them. When he arrived, he was taken to the room upstairs, where all the widows crowded around him, crying and showing him all the shirts and coats that Dorcas had made while she was alive.

Peter reached over and helped her get up. Then he called all the believers, including the widows, and presented her alive to them.

"When you gather your crops and fail to bring in some of the grain that you have cut, do not go back for it; it is to be left for the foreigners, orphans, and widows, so that the LORD your God will bless you in everything you do.

When you have gathered your grapes once, do not go back over the vines a second time; the grapes that are left are for the foreigners, orphans, and widows.

"Every third year give the tithe---a tenth of your crops---to the Levites, the foreigners, the orphans, and the widows, so that in every community they will have all they need to eat. When you have done this,

People who were in deepest misery praised me, and I helped widows find security.

I have never refused to help the poor; never have I let widows live in despair

and learn to do right. See that justice is done---help those who are oppressed, give orphans their rights, and defend widows."

None of you in the city honor your parents. You cheat foreigners and take advantage of widows and orphans.

The LORD Almighty says, "I will appear among you to judge, and I will testify at once against those who practice magic, against adulterers, against those who give false testimony, those who cheat employees out of their wages, and those who take advantage of widows, orphans, and foreigners---against all who do not respect me.

OMITTED TEXT

But if a widow has children or grandchildren, they should learn first to carry out their religious duties toward their own family and in this way repay their parents and grandparents, because that is what pleases God.

A widow who is all alone, with no one to take care of her, has placed her hope in God and continues to pray and ask him for his help night and day.

Do not add any widow to the list of widows unless she is over sixty years of age. In addition, she must have been married only once

What God the Father considers to be pure and genuine religion is this: to take care of orphans and widows in their suffering and to keep oneself from being corrupted by the world.

They would sell their property and possessions, and distribute the money among all, according to what each one needed.

and turn it over to the apostles; and the money was distributed according to the needs of the people.