But the Lord said to Ananias,“ Go! I have chosen this man to work for me. He will announce my name to the Gentiles and to their kings. He will also announce my name to the people of Israel.

主对亚拿尼亚说：“你只管去！他是我所拣选的器皿，要在外邦人和君王，并以色列人面前宣扬我的名。

主对他说：“你只管去。他是我所拣选的器皿，要在外邦人、君王和以色列人面前宣扬我的名。

主对他说：“你只管去。他是我所拣选的器皿，要在外邦人、君王和以色列人面前宣扬我的名。

主对亚拿尼亚说：“你放心去吧！他是我拣选的器皿，要向外族人、君王和以色列人宣扬我的名。

主对他说：“你去吧！这人是我拣选的器皿，为要把我的名传给外族人、君王和以色列人。

但是主对他说：“你去吧！因为这个人是我所拣选的器皿，不但要在外邦人和君王面前，还要在以色列子民面前宣扬我的名。

主對亞拿尼亞說：「你只管去！他是我所揀選的器皿，要在外邦人和君王，並以色列人面前宣揚我的名。

主對他說：「你只管去。他是我所揀選的器皿，要在外邦人、君王和以色列人面前宣揚我的名。

主對他說：「你只管去。他是我所揀選的器皿，要在外邦人、君王和以色列人面前宣揚我的名。

主對亞拿尼亞說：「你放心去吧！他是我揀選的器皿，要向外族人、君王和以色列人宣揚我的名。

主對他說：“你去吧！這人是我揀選的器皿，為要把我的名傳給外族人、君王和以色列人。

主卻對亞拿尼亞說：『你只管去，因為這個人是屬於我揀選的器皿，要在外國人和君王、跟以色列人面前擔負我名的。

但是主對他說：「你去吧！因為這個人是我所揀選的器皿，不但要在外邦人和君王面前，還要在以色列子民面前宣揚我的名。

主曰、往哉、彼乃我選之器、以播我名於異邦人、及諸王、並以色列民、

主曰、往哉、彼乃我選之器、將播我名於異邦人、及王者與以色列民、

主曰、爾往、彼乃我所選之器、以宣揚我名、在異邦人及君王並以色列民前、

主曰：『第往、斯人乃吾特選之器、將以吾名播諸異族與列王、以及義塞子孫。

But the Lord said to Ananias,“ Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.

But the Lord said to him,“ Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.

But the Lord said,“ Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel.

But the Lord said to him,“ Go, for this man is my chosen instrument to take my name to Gentiles, kings, and Israelites.

But the Lord said to him,“ Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;

But the Lord said to him,“ Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.

But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings, and the children of Israel:

But the Lord said to him,“ Go! For this man is My chosen instrument to take My name to Gentiles, kings, and the Israelites.

But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:

But the Lord said to him,“ Go, because this man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before Gentiles and kings and the people of Israel.

But the Lord said to him,“ Go your way, for he is my chosen vessel to bear my name before the nations and kings, and the children of Israel.

But God set me apart from before the time I was born. He showed me his grace by appointing me. He was pleasedto show his Son in my life. He wanted me to preach about Jesus among the Gentiles. When God appointed me, I decided right away not to ask anyone for advice.

I now serve the good news because God gave me his grace. His power is at work in me.I am by far the least important of all the Lord’s holy people. But he gave me the grace to preach to the Gentiles about the unlimited riches that Christ gives.

The first time I was put on trial, no one came to help me. Everyone deserted me. I hope they will be forgiven for it.The Lord stood at my side. He gave me the strength to preach the whole message. Then all the Gentiles heard it. I was saved from the lion’s mouth.

We received grace because of what Jesus did. He made us apostles to the Gentiles. We must invite all of them to obey God by trusting in Jesus. We do this to bring glory to him.

“ Before I formed you in your mother’s body I chose you. Before you were born I set you apart to serve me. I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.”

I am talking to you who are not Jews. I am the apostle to the Gentiles. So I take pride in the work I do for God and others.

I was appointed to be a messenger and an apostle to preach the good news. I am telling the truth. I’m not lying. God appointed me to be a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles.

I, Paul, am writing this letter. I am an apostle. People have not sent me. No human authority has sent me. I have been sent by Jesus Christ and by God the Father. God raised Jesus from the dead.

I will save you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to themto open their eyes. I want you to turn them from darkness to light. I want you to turn them from Satan’s power to God. I want their sins to be forgiven. They will be forgiven when they believe in me. They will have their place among God’s people.’“ So then, King Agrippa, I obeyed the vision that appeared from heaven.First I preached to people in Damascus. Then I preached in Jerusalem and in all Judea. And then I preached to the Gentiles. I told them to turn away from their sins to God. The way they live must show that they have turned away from their sins.

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit spoke.“ Set apart Barnabas and Saul for me,” he said.“ I have appointed them to do special work.”

They will make war against the Lamb. But the Lamb will have victory over them. That’s because he is the most powerful Lord of all and the greatest King of all. His appointed, chosen and faithful followers will be with him.”

“ Then the Lord said to me,‘ Go. I will send you far away to people who are not Jews.’ ”

You will be brought to governors and kings because of me. You will be witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.

But I have written to you very boldly about some things. I wanted to remind you of them again. The grace of God has allowed meto serve Christ Jesus among the Gentiles. I have the duty of a priest to preach God’s good news. Then the Gentiles will become an offering that pleases God. The Holy Spirit will make the offering holy.Because I belong to Christ Jesus, I can take pride in my work for God.I will speak about what Christ has done through me. I won’t try to speak about anything else. He has been leading the Gentiles to obey God. He has been doing this by what I have said and done.He has given me power to do signs and wonders. I can do these things by the power of the Spirit of God. From Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum I have finished preaching. In those places, I preached the good news about Christ.I have always wanted to preach the good news where Christ was not known. I don’t want to build on what someone else has started.It is written,“ Those who were not told about him will understand. Those who have not heard will know what it all means.”( Isaiah 52:15)

Isn’t the potter free to make different kinds of pots out of the same lump of clay? Some are for special purposes. Others are for ordinary use.What if God chose to show his great anger? What if he chose to make his power known? But he put up with the people he was angry with. They were made to be destroyed.What if he put up with them to show the riches of his glory to other people? Those other people are the ones he shows his mercy to. He made them to receive his glory.We are those people. He has chosen us. We do not come only from the Jewish race. Many of us are not Jews.

In fact, it was just the opposite. They recognized the task I had been trusted with. It was the task of preaching the good news to the Gentiles. My task was like Peter’s task. He had been trusted with the task of preaching to the Jews.God was working in Peter as an apostle to the Jews. God was also working in me as an apostle to the Gentiles.James, Peter and John are respected as pillars in the church. They recognized the special grace given to me. So they shook my hand and the hand of Barnabas. They wanted to show they accepted us. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles. They would go to the Jews.

A soldier does not take part in things that don’t have anything to do with the army. Instead, he tries to please his commanding officer.

You did not choose me. Instead, I chose you. I appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit that will last. I also appointed you so that the Father will give you what you ask for. He will give you whatever you ask for in my name.

But because of God’s grace I am what I am. And his grace was not wasted on me. No, I have worked harder than all the other apostles. But I didn’t do the work. God’s grace was with me.

Now go. I will help you speak. I will teach you what to say.”But Moses said,“ Lord, please send someone else to do it.”Then the Lord became very angry with Moses. He said,“ What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you. He will be glad to see you.

Brothers and sisters, I want you to know that I planned many times to visit you. But until now I have been kept from coming. My work has produced results among the other Gentiles. In the same way, I want to see results among you.I have a duty both to Greeks and to non- Greeks. I have a duty both to wise people and to foolish people.So I really want to preach the good news also to you who live in Rome.

Agrippa said to Festus,“ This man could have been set free. But he has made an appeal to Caesar.”

In a large house there are things made out of gold and silver. But there are also things made out of wood and clay. Some have special purposes. Others have common purposes.Suppose someone stays away from what is common. Then the Master will be able to use them for special purposes. They will be made holy. They will be ready to do any good work.

But the Lord said to me,“ Do not say,‘ I’m too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to. You must say everything I command you to say.

Then Agrippa said to Festus,“ I would like to hear this man myself.” Festus replied,“ Tomorrow you will hear him.”The next day Agrippa and Bernice arrived. They were treated like very important people. They entered the courtroom. The most important military officers and the leading men of the city came with them. When Festus gave the command, Paul was brought in.Festus said,“ King Agrippa, and everyone else here, take a good look at this man! A large number of Jews have come to me about him. They came to me in Jerusalem and also here in Caesarea. They keep shouting that he shouldn’t live any longer.I have found that he hasn’t done anything worthy of death. But he made his appeal to the Emperor. So I decided to send him to Rome.I don’t have anything certain to write about him to His Majesty. So I have brought him here today. Now all of you will be able to hear him. King Agrippa, it will also be very good for you to hear him. As a result of this hearing, I will have something to write.It doesn’t make sense to send a prisoner on to Rome without listing the charges against him.”Agrippa said to Paul,“ You may now present your case.” So Paul motioned with his hand. Then he began to present his case.“ King Agrippa,” he said,“ I am happy to be able to stand here today. I will answer all the charges brought against me by the Jews.I am very pleased that you are familiar with Jewish ways. You know the kinds of things they argue about. So I beg you to be patient as you listen to me.“ The Jewish people all know how I have lived ever since I was a child. They know all about me from the beginning of my life. They know how I lived in my own country and in Jerusalem.They have known me for a long time. So if they wanted to, they could tell you how I have lived. I have lived by the rules of the Pharisees. Those rules are harder to obey than those of any other Jewish group.Today I am on trial because of the hope I have. I believe in what God promised our people of long ago.It is the promise that our 12 tribes are hoping to see come true. Because of this hope they serve God with faithful and honest hearts day and night. King Agrippa, it is also because of this hope that these Jews are bringing charges against me.Why should any of you think it is impossible for God to raise the dead?“ I believed that I should oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. So I did everything I could to oppose his name.That’s just what I was doing in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests, I put many of the Lord’s people in prison. I agreed that they should die.I often went from one synagogue to another to have them punished. I tried to force them to speak evil things against Jesus. All I wanted to do was hurt them. I even went looking for them in the cities of other lands.

Paul greeted them. Then he reported everything God had done among the Gentiles through his work.

I was appointed to announce the good news. I was appointed to be an apostle and a teacher.

Three days later Paul called a meeting of the local Jewish leaders. When they came, Paul spoke to them. He said,“ My brothers, I have done nothing against our people. I have also done nothing against what our people of long ago practiced. But I was arrested in Jerusalem. I was handed over to the Romans.They questioned me. And they wanted to let me go. They saw I wasn’t guilty of any crime worthy of death.But the Jews objected, so I had to make an appeal to Caesar. I certainly did not mean to bring any charge against my own people.I share Israel’s hope. That is why I am held with this chain. So I have asked to see you and talk with you.”They replied,“ We have not received any letters from Judea about you. None of our people here from Judea has reported or said anything bad about you.But we want to hear what your ideas are. We know that people everywhere are talking against those who believe as you do.”They decided to meet Paul on a certain day. At that time even more people came to the place where he was staying. From morning until evening, he told them about God’s kingdom. Using the Law of Moses and the Prophets, he tried to get them to believe in Jesus.Some believed what he said, and others did not.They didn’t agree with one another. They began to leave after Paul had made a final statement. He said,“ The Holy Spirit was right when he spoke to your people long ago. Through Isaiah the prophet the Spirit said,“‘ Go to your people. Say to them,“ You will hear but never understand. You will see but never know what you are seeing.”These people’s hearts have become stubborn. They can barely hear with their ears. They have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes. They might hear with their ears. They might understand with their hearts. They might turn, and then I would heal them.’( Isaiah 6:9, 10)“ Here is what I want you to know. God has sent his salvation to the Gentiles. And they will listen!”I, Paul, am writing this letter. I serve Christ Jesus. I have been appointed to be an apostle. God set me apart to tell others his good news.

The angel said,‘ Do not be afraid, Paul. You must go on trial in front of Caesar. God has shown his grace by sparing the lives of all those sailing with you.’

A message from the Lord came to Jonah a second time. The Lord said,“ Go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce to its people the message I give you.”

I serve the church. God appointed me to bring the complete word of God to you.That word contains the mystery that has been hidden for many ages. But now it has been made known to the Lord’s people.God has chosen to make known to them the glorious riches of that mystery. He has made it known among the Gentiles. And here is what it is. Christ is in you. He is your hope of glory.Christ is the one we preach about. With all the wisdom we have, we warn and teach everyone. When we bring them to God, we want them to be like Christ. We want them to be grown up as people who belong to Christ.That’s what I’m working for. I work hard with all the strength of Christ. His strength works powerfully in me.