Acts 1

¹The former account I composed concerning all things, O Theophilus, which Jesus began both to do and to teach,

²until the day on which, having given orders to the apostles through the Holy Spirit whom he had chosen, he was taken up.

³To these he also presented himself alive after his suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

⁴And while staying with them, he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to await the promise of the Father, which you heard from me.

⁵For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.

⁶So when they had come together, they began to ask him, saying, Lord, are you at this time restoring the kingdom to Israel?

⁷He said to them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority.

⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.

⁹And when he had said these things, while they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.

¹⁰And while they were gazing intently into the heaven as he was going, behold, two men stood by them in white garments,

¹¹who also said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him going into heaven.

¹²Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away.

¹³And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room where they were staying, both Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James.

¹⁴All these were steadfastly continuing with one accord in prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus and with his brothers.

¹⁵In those days Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers and said -- there was a crowd of persons gathered together, about a hundred and twenty --

¹⁶Brothers, it was necessary for the Scripture to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.

¹⁷For he was numbered among us and received his share in this ministry.

¹⁸Now this man obtained a field with the reward of his iniquity, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out.

¹⁹And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that that field was called in their own language Akeldamach, that is, Field of Blood.

²⁰For it is written in the Book of Psalms, Let his homestead become desolate and let there be no one dwelling in it, and, Let another take his office.

²¹Therefore it is necessary that one of the men who have accompanied us throughout all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us

²²beginning from the baptism of John until the day he was taken up from us -- one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.

²³And they put forward two: Joseph called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.

²⁴And having prayed, they said, You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen

²⁵to take the place of this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.

²⁶And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.