Acts 1

1 In my first [initial] book, O [oh, a term of address] Theophilus [friend of God], I wrote about [concerning, regarding] all that Jesus [Joshua, God is salvation] began [to initiate, to start] to do [to act, to perform] and [both, also] to teach [to instruct, to guide], word study 2 until the day [of ascension] He was taken up [lifted to heaven] to heaven, after giving instructions [commandments, orders] through the Holy [set apart, dedicated] Spirit [breath, divine nature] to the apostles [messengers, delegates] He had chosen [selected, picked out]. word study 3 After His [intense, passionate] suffering [pain, hardship], He presented [stood by, appeared to] Himself to them with many [infallible] convincing proofs [clear signs, evidence] that He was alive [living, having life]. He appeared [was seen, became visible] to them over a span [period, space] of forty [a period of testing, trial] days and spoke [talked, shared teachings] about the [divine, heavenly] kingdom [royal power, dominion] of God [the one true deity]. word study 4 And while they were gathered together [assembled, in one place], He commanded [ordered, instructed] them: “Do not leave [separate from, depart] Jerusalem [the capital of Palestine], but wait [await, stay] for the gift [promise, assurance] the Father [paternal, divine] promised [assured, committed], which you have heard [listened to, understood] Me discuss [speak about, explain]. word study 5 For John [indeed, truly] baptized with water, but in a few [not many] days you will be baptized [fully immersed] with the Holy [set apart, sacred] Spirit [the divine breath, God’s presence].” word study 6 So when they came together [assembled, gathered], they asked Him, “Lord [Master, God], will You at this time [now, in this moment] restore [re-establish, bring back] the kingdom [God’s royal power, dominion] to Israel [the chosen people, descendants of Jacob]?” word study 7 Jesus replied, “It is not for you [as disciples, or followers] to know [to understand, or perceive] times [seasons, or periods] or seasons [opportune moments, or special occasions] that the Father [the heavenly Parent, or God] has fixed [set, or determined] by His own [personal, or private] authority [power, or right]. word study 8 But you will receive [be given, take] power [ability to perform miracles, strength] when the Holy [set apart, dedicated to God] Spirit [the vital principle, breath of God] comes [arrives, invades] upon you, and you will be My witnesses [those who testify, give evidence] in Jerusalem [the capital of Palestine], and in all [every, entire] Judea [a region in southern Palestine] and Samaria [a city and region in Palestine], and to the ends [farthest, utmost] of the earth [the globe, soil].” word study 9 After He had said [spoken these things, to say] this, they watched [beheld, looking] as He was taken up [lifted, received], and a cloud [a visible mass of water vapor] hid Him from their sight [out of their vision, from their eyes]. word study 10 They were looking intently [gazing steadfastly, with focused attention] into the sky [toward heaven, the realm of God’s presence] as He was going [traveling, ascending], when suddenly [behold, lo] two men [adult males, messengers] dressed in white [wearing clean, bright clothing] stood beside them [stood by, were present with]. word study 11 “Men [adult males, Galilean disciples] of Galilee [from the region of Galilee],” they said, “why do you stand [remain, wait] here looking [gazing, staring] into the sky [heaven, the atmosphere]? This same Jesus [the Messiah, God’s salvation], who has been taken [received up, lifted] from you into heaven [the spiritual realm, God’s dwelling place], will come back [return, appear again] in the same way [manner, fashion] you have seen Him go [depart, ascend] into heaven [the celestial realm].” word study 12 Then [at that specific point in time] they returned [to turn back, to go back] to Jerusalem [the capital of Palestine, a city of great spiritual significance] from the Mount of Olives [Olivet, a mountain near Jerusalem], which is [exists as] near [close to, in proximity to] the city, a Sabbath day’s [a day of rest, a day of worship] journey [road, path] away [at a distance, separated from]. word study 13 When they arrived, they went to the upper [upper chamber, a private space] room where they were staying: Peter [the rock, a leader] and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James [son of Alphaeus, a lesser-known apostle] son of Alphaeus, Simon [the Zealot, a passionate enthusiast] the Zealot, and Judas [son of James, a brother of Jesus] son of James. word study 14 With one accord [united, in harmony] they all [every single one of them] continued [persevered, remained steadfast] in prayer [petition, supplication to God], along with [together, in companionship with] the women [female followers, sisters in faith] and Mary [a devoted follower] the mother [parent, nurturer] of Jesus, and with [in close association, fellowship with] His brothers [male siblings, fellow believers]. word study 15 In those days [during this period, at that time] Peter [the rock, a disciple of Jesus] stood up [arose, got up] among the brothers [fellow believers, disciples] (a gathering [crowd, multitude] of about a hundred [one hundred] and twenty) and said [spoke, declared], word study 16 “Brothers [men and brethren, fellow believers], the Scripture [holy writings, God’s word] had to be fulfilled [completed, brought to pass] which the Holy Spirit [the divine Spirit, breath of God] foretold [spoke beforehand, predicted] through the mouth [voice, speech] of David [the king, a man after God’s heart] concerning Judas [the betrayer, son of Simon Iscariot], who became a guide [leader, one showing the way] for those who arrested [seized, took captive] Jesus [the Savior, God’s Son]. word study 17 He was [counted among, numbered with] one of our number [us, the apostles] and shared [received his portion, had obtained part] in this [specific, divine] ministry [service, work of helping others].” word study 18 (Now with the reward [payment for his wickedness, wage of unrighteousness] for his wickedness [unrighteousness, evil-doing] Judas [this man, he] bought [obtained, possessed] a field [place, plot of land]; there he fell [thrown down, came to a sudden end] headlong [prone, forward] and burst [cracked open, split apart] open in the middle [midst, central position], and all [every, everything] his intestines [bowels, inward parts] spilled [poured, gushed] out. word study 19 This became known [was made clear, became apparent] to all [every single one, the entire population] who lived [dwelled, resided] in Jerusalem [the holy city, the capital of Palestine], so they called [named, referred to] that field [place, plot of land] in their own language [native tongue, dialect] Akeldama [the field of blood, a place of death], that is [meaning, signifying], Field of Blood [a location of sacrifice, a site of atonement].) word study 20 “For [as a reason, because of this] it is written [recorded, inscribed] in the book [scroll, sacred writing] of Psalms [sacred songs, hymns]: ‘May his place [residence, dwelling] be deserted [empty, uninhabited]; let there be no one [not a single person] to dwell [live, reside] in it,’ and, ‘May another [a different person, someone else] take [receive, assume] his position [office, responsibility, oversight].’ word study 21 Therefore [for this reason] it is necessary [must be done, a requirement] to choose one of the men [adult males, companions] who have accompanied [gone with, followed] us the whole [entire, all] time [period, interval] the Lord [Master, God] Jesus [God is salvation] went in [entered, came into] and out [departed, went out] among [with, in the midst of] us, word study 22 beginning [from the start, commencement] from John’s [the Baptist, who baptized Jesus] baptism [ceremonial act of washing, immersion] until [to the point in time, when] the day [a 24-hour period, a specific time] Jesus [the Messiah, Christ] was taken up [lifted, received] from us [the apostles, disciples]. For one [a single, unified] of these [the group, the community] must become [be chosen, appointed] a witness [one who sees, testifies] with us [together, in unity] of His [belonging to Jesus, the Messiah] resurrection [standing up again from death, revival].” word study 23 So they proposed [put forward, appointed] two men: Joseph [also known as, surnamed] called Barsabbas [son of Sabba, Barsabas] (also known as [having the additional name] Justus [a righteous man]) and Matthias [a gift of God, a disciple of Jesus]. word study 24 And they prayed [to worship and ask], “Lord [God, the supreme authority], You know [are intimately aware of] everyone’s heart [the innermost thoughts and intentions]. Show us [reveal to us, make known] which [the specific one] of these two [the pair] You have chosen [selected, appointed, set apart] word study 25 to take up [receive, accept] this ministry [service, work of helping others] and apostleship [office of an apostle, messenger of Jesus Christ], which Judas [the betrayer, one who transgressed] abandoned [fell away, gave up] to go to his rightful [own, private] place [location, destination].” word study 26 Then they cast lots [gave forth their lots, put it to the decision of chance], and the lot [portion or share, determined by chance] fell to Matthias [upon Matthias, was chosen]; so he was added [numbered with, counted as] to the eleven [a specific number, a group of] apostles [messengers, delegates of Jesus Christ]. word study