Acts 13:17-34

¹⁷The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors, and during their stay in Egypt increased the prosperity of the people, and then with uplifted arm brought them out from that land.

¹⁸For about forty years he bore with them in the desert;

¹⁹then, after destroying seven heathen nations in Canaan, he allotted their land to this people —

²⁰For about four hundred and fifty years. In later times he gave them Judges, of whom the prophet Samuel was the last.

²¹And, when they demanded a king, God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for forty years.

²²After removing him, he raised David to the throne, and bore this testimony to him — ‘In David, the son of Jesse, I have found a man after my own heart, who will carry out all my purposes.’

²³It was from this man's descendants that God, in accordance with his promise, gave Israel a Saviour — Jesus;

²⁴John having first proclaimed, before the appearance of Jesus, a baptism on repentance for all the people of Israel.

²⁵As John was drawing towards the end of his career, he said ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not the Christ. But there is “one coming” after me, whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.’

²⁶Brothers and sisters, descendants of Abraham, and all those amongst you who worship God, it was to us that the message of this salvation was sent.

²⁷The people of Jerusalem and their leaders, failing to recognise Jesus, and not understanding the utterances of the prophets that are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him.

²⁸They found no ground at all for putting him to death, and yet demanded his execution from Pilate;

²⁹and, after carrying out everything written about him, they took Jesus down from the cross, and laid him in a tomb.

³⁰But God raised him from the dead;

³¹and he appeared for many days to those who had gone up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, and who are now witnesses for him to the people.

³²We also have good news to tell you, about the promise made to our ancestors —

³³That our children have had this promise completely fulfilled to them by God, by his raising Jesus. That is just what is said in the second Psalm — ‘You are my Son; this day I have become your Father.’

³⁴As to his raising Jesus from the dead, never again to return to corruption, this is what is said — ‘I will give to you the sacred promises made to David;’