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.

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 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.

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 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 even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased himto reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles. When this happened, I did not rush out to consult with any human being.

By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ.

The first time I was brought before the judge, no one came with me. Everyone abandoned me. May it not be counted against them.But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength so that I might preach the Good News in its entirety for all the Gentiles to hear. And he rescued me from certain death.

Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name.

“ I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”

I am saying all this especially for you Gentiles. God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I stress this,

And I have been chosen as a preacher and apostle to teach the Gentiles this message about faith and truth. I’m not exaggerating— just telling the truth.

This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead.

And I will rescue you from both your own people and the Gentiles. Yes, I am sending you to the Gentilesto open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me.’“ And so, King Agrippa, I obeyed that vision from heaven.I preached first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that all must repent of their sins and turn to God— and prove they have changed by the good things they do.

One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,“ Appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.”

Together they will go to war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them because he is Lord of all lords and King of all kings. And his called and chosen and faithful ones will be with him.”

“ But the Lord said to me,‘ Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles!’”

You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell the rulers and other unbelievers about me.

Even so, I have been bold enough to write about some of these points, knowing that all you need is this reminder. For by God’s grace,I am a special messenger from Christ Jesus to you Gentiles. I bring you the Good News so that I might present you as an acceptable offering to God, made holy by the Holy Spirit.So I have reason to be enthusiastic about all Christ Jesus has done through me in my service to God.Yet I dare not boast about anything except what Christ has done through me, bringing the Gentiles to God by my message and by the way I worked among them.They were convinced by the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit. In this way, I have fully presented the Good News of Christ from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum.My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else.I have been following the plan spoken of in the Scriptures, where it says,“ Those who have never been told about him will see, and those who have never heard of him will understand.”

When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into?In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction.He does this to make the riches of his glory shine even brighter on those to whom he shows mercy, who were prepared in advance for glory.And we are among those whom he selected, both from the Jews and from the Gentiles.

Instead, they saw that God had given me the responsibility of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as he had given Peter the responsibility of preaching to the Jews.For the same God who worked through Peter as the apostle to the Jews also worked through me as the apostle to the Gentiles.In fact, James, Peter, and John, who were known as pillars of the church, recognized the gift God had given me, and they accepted Barnabas and me as their co workers. They encouraged us to keep preaching to the Gentiles, while they continued their work with the Jews.

Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them.

You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.

But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me— and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace.

Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”But Moses again pleaded,“ Lord, please! Send anyone else.”Then the Lord became angry with Moses.“ All right,” he said.“ What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he speaks well. And look! He is on his way to meet you now. He will be delighted to see you.

I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to visit you, but I was prevented until now. I want to work among you and see spiritual fruit, just as I have seen among other Gentiles.For I have a great sense of obligation to people in both the civilized world and the rest of the world, to the educated and uneducated alike.So I am eager to come to you in Rome, too, to preach the Good News.

And Agrippa said to Festus,“ He could have been set free if he hadn’t appealed to Caesar.”

In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use.If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.

The Lord replied,“ Don’t say,‘ I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you.

“ I’d like to hear the man myself,” Agrippa said. And Festus replied,“ You will— tomorrow!”So the next day Agrippa and Bernice arrived at the auditorium with great pomp, accompanied by military officers and prominent men of the city. Festus ordered that Paul be brought in.Then Festus said,“ King Agrippa and all who are here, this is the man whose death is demanded by all the Jews, both here and in Jerusalem.But in my opinion he has done nothing deserving death. However, since he appealed his case to the emperor, I have decided to send him to Rome.“ But what shall I write the emperor? For there is no clear charge against him. So I have brought him before all of you, and especially you, King Agrippa, so that after we examine him, I might have something to write.For it makes no sense to send a prisoner to the emperor without specifying the charges against him!”Then Agrippa said to Paul,“ You may speak in your defense.” So Paul, gesturing with his hand, started his defense:“ I am fortunate, King Agrippa, that you are the one hearing my defense today against all these accusations made by the Jewish leaders,for I know you are an expert on all Jewish customs and controversies. Now please listen to me patiently!“ As the Jewish leaders are well aware, I was given a thorough Jewish training from my earliest childhood among my own people and in Jerusalem.If they would admit it, they know that I have been a member of the Pharisees, the strictest sect of our religion.Now I am on trial because of my hope in the fulfillment of God’s promise made to our ancestors.In fact, that is why the twelve tribes of Israel zealously worship God night and day, and they share the same hope I have. Yet, Your Majesty, they accuse me for having this hope!Why does it seem incredible to any of you that God can raise the dead?“ I used to believe that I ought to do everything I could to oppose the very name of Jesus the Nazarene.Indeed, I did just that in Jerusalem. Authorized by the leading priests, I caused many believers there to be sent to prison. And I cast my vote against them when they were condemned to death.Many times I had them punished in the synagogues to get them to curse Jesus. I was so violently opposed to them that I even chased them down in foreign cities.

After greeting them, Paul gave a detailed account of the things God had accomplished among the Gentiles through his ministry.

And God chose me to be a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of this Good News.

Three days after Paul’s arrival, he called together the local Jewish leaders. He said to them,“ Brothers, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Roman government, even though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors.The Romans tried me and wanted to release me, because they found no cause for the death sentence.But when the Jewish leaders protested the decision, I felt it necessary to appeal to Caesar, even though I had no desire to press charges against my own people.I asked you to come here today so we could get acquainted and so I could explain to you that I am bound with this chain because I believe that the hope of Israel— the Messiah— has already come.”They replied,“ We have had no letters from Judea or reports against you from anyone who has come here.But we want to hear what you believe, for the only thing we know about this movement is that it is denounced everywhere.”So a time was set, and on that day a large number of people came to Paul’s lodging. He explained and testified about the Kingdom of God and tried to persuade them about Jesus from the Scriptures. Using the law of Moses and the books of the prophets, he spoke to them from morning until evening.Some were persuaded by the things he said, but others did not believe.And after they had argued back and forth among themselves, they left with this final word from Paul:“ The Holy Spirit was right when he said to your ancestors through Isaiah the prophet,‘ Go and say to this people: When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend.For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’So I want you to know that this salvation from God has also been offered to the Gentiles, and they will accept it.”This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News.

and he said,‘ Don’t be afraid, Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar! What’s more, God in his goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you.’

Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time:“ Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you.”

God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you.This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people.For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ.That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.