“ Then the master told his servant,‘ Go out to the roads. Go out to the country lanes. Make the people come in. I want my house to be full.

主人对仆人说：‘你出去到路上和篱笆那里，勉强人进来，坐满我的屋子。

主人对仆人说：‘你出去，到大街小巷强拉人进来，坐满我的屋子。

主人对仆人说：‘你出去，到大街小巷强拉人进来，坐满我的屋子。

主人又说，‘出去到大路上、篱笆旁硬把人拉来，让我家里座无虚席。

主人就对仆人说：‘你出去到路边篱畔，勉强人进来，好把我的屋子坐满。

“主人就对奴仆说：‘出去，到大街和小巷上去，强求人进来，好坐满我的房子。

主人對僕人說：『你出去到路上和籬笆那裏，勉強人進來，坐滿我的屋子。

主人對僕人說：『你出去，到大街小巷強拉人進來，坐滿我的屋子。

主人對僕人說：『你出去，到大街小巷強拉人進來，坐滿我的屋子。

主人又說，『出去到大路上、籬笆旁硬把人拉來，讓我家裡座無虛席。

主人就對僕人說：‘你出去到路邊籬畔，勉強人進來，好把我的屋子坐滿。

主人就對那僕人說：「你出去到大路上和籬笆那裏，勉強人進來，使我的屋子都滿了人。

「主人就對奴僕說：『出去，到大街和小巷上去，強求人進來，好坐滿我的房子。

主曰、出往道路藩籬間、而強人入、俾滿我室、

曰出道路藩籬、有人強之入、俾滿我坐、

主人語僕曰、出往道途及藩籬間、遇人則強之入、俾滿我室、

主曰：「出至大路、及藩籬之間、強人來進、務使濟濟一堂。

“ Then the master told his servant,‘ Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.

And the master said to the servant,‘ Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.

So his master said,‘ Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full.

“ Then the master told the servant,‘ Go out into the highways and hedges and make them come in, so that my house may be filled.

And the master said to the slave,‘ Go out into the roads and the hedges and press upon them to come in, so that my house will be filled.

Then the master said to the servant,‘ Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and constrain them to come in, that my house may be filled.

“ Then the master told the slave,‘ Go out into the highways and lanes and make them come in, so that my house may be filled.

And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel[ them] to come in, that my house may be filled.

So the master said to his slave,‘ Go out to the highways and country roads and urge people to come in, so that my house will be filled.

“ The lord said to the servant,‘ Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

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.

So go to the street corners. Invite to the dinner anyone you can find.’So the slaves went out into the streets. They gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good. Soon the wedding hall was filled with guests.

So we are Christ’s official messengers. It is as if God were making his appeal through us. Here is what Christ wants us to beg you to do. Come back to God!

We know what it means to have respect for the Lord. So we try to help other people to understand it. What we are is plain to God. I hope it is also plain to your way of thinking.

Preach the word. Be ready to serve God in good times and bad. Correct people’s mistakes. Warn them. Encourage them with words of hope. Be very patient as you do these things. Teach them carefully.

This is what the Lord has commanded us to do. He said,“‘ I have made you a light for the Gentiles. You will bring salvation to the whole earth.’ ”( Isaiah 49:6)When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad. They honored the word of the Lord. All who were appointed for eternal life believed.

So you must go and make disciples of all nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And you can be sure that I am always with you, to the very end.”

At that time a loud trumpet will be blown. Those who were dying in Assyria will come and worship the Lord. So will those who were taken away to Egypt. All of them will worship the Lord on his holy mountain in Jerusalem.

You who are not Jews by birth, here is what I want you to remember. You are called“ uncircumcised” by those who call themselves“ circumcised.” But they have only been circumcised in their bodies by human hands.Before you believed in Christ, you were separated from him. You were not considered to be citizens of Israel. You were not included in what the covenants promised. You were without hope and without God in the world.At one time you were far away from God. But now you belong to Christ Jesus. He spilled his blood for you. This has brought you near to God.Christ himself is our peace. He has made Jews and Gentiles into one group of people. He has destroyed the hatred that was like a wall between us.Through his body on the cross, Christ set aside the law with all its commands and rules. He planned to create one new people out of Jews and Gentiles. He wanted to make peace between them.He planned to bring both Jews and Gentiles back to God as one body. He planned to do this through the cross. On that cross, Christ put to death their hatred toward one another.He came and preached peace to you who were far away. He also preached peace to those who were near.Through Christ we both come to the Father by the power of one Holy Spirit.So you are no longer outsiders and strangers. You are citizens together with God’s people. You are also members of God’s family.You are a building that is built on the apostles and prophets. They are the foundation. Christ Jesus himself is the most important stone in the building.The whole building is held together by him. It rises to become a holy temple because it belongs to the Lord.And because you belong to him, you too are being built together. You are being made into a house where God lives through his Spirit.

“ Here is what I want you to know. God has sent his salvation to the Gentiles. And they will listen!”

The Lord formed me in my mother’s body to be his servant. He wanted me to bring the family of Jacob back to him. He wanted me to gather the people of Israel to himself. The Lord will honor me. My God will give me strength.Here is what the Lord says to me.“ It is not enough for you as my servant to bring the tribes of Jacob back to their land. It is not enough for you to bring back the people of Israel I have kept alive. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles. Then you will make it possible for the whole world to be saved.”

At that time, here is what the man who is called the Root of Jesse will do. He will be like a banner that brings nations together. They will come to him. And the place where he rules will be glorious.

But they opposed Paul. They treated him badly. So he shook out his clothes in protest. Then he said to them,“ God’s judgment against you will be your own fault! Don’t blame me for it! From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

He has shown his faithful love to the people of Israel. People from one end of the earth to the other have seen that our God has saved us.

We work together with God. So we are asking you not to receive God’s grace and then do nothing with it.

When they heard this, they didn’t object anymore. They praised God. They said,“ So then, God has allowed even Gentiles to turn away from their sins. He did this so that they could live.”Some believers had been scattered by the suffering that unbelievers had caused them. They were scattered after Stephen was killed. Those believers traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch. But they spread the word only among Jews.Some believers from Cyprus and Cyrene went to Antioch. There they began to speak to Greeks also. They told them the good news about the Lord Jesus.The Lord’s power was with them. Large numbers of people believed and turned to the Lord.

“ Then the Lord said to me,‘ Go. I will send you far away to people who are not Jews.’ ”The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they shouted,“ Kill him! He isn’t fit to live!”

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 hope somehow to stir up my own people to want what you have. Perhaps I can save some of them.

Jesus became a servant of the Jews. He did this so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercy. It is written,“ I will praise you among the Gentiles. I will sing the praises of your name.”( 2 Samuel 22:50; Psalm 18:49)Again it says,“ You Gentiles, be full of joy. Be joyful together with God’s people.”( Deuteronomy 32:43)And again it says,“ All you Gentiles, praise the Lord. Let all the nations sing praises to him.”( Psalm 117:1)And Isaiah says,“ The Root of Jesse will grow up quickly. He will rule over the nations. The Gentiles will put their hope in him.”( Isaiah 11:10)

But you must keep your faith steady and firm. You must not move away from the hope the good news holds out to you. This is the good news that you heard. It has been preached to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, now serve the good news.

But I ask,“ Didn’t the people of Israel hear?” Of course they did. It is written,“ Their voice has gone out into the whole earth. Their words have gone out from one end of the world to the other.”( Psalm 19:4)

to 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.

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.

I am free and don’t belong to anyone. But I have made myself a slave to everyone. I do it to win as many as I can to Christ.To the Jews I became like a Jew. That was to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one who was under the law. I did this even though I myself am not under the law. That was to win those under the law.To those who don’t have the law I became like one who doesn’t have the law. I did this even though I am not free from God’s law. I am under Christ’s law. Now I can win those who don’t have the law.To those who are weak I became weak. That was to win the weak. I have become all things to all people. I have done this so that in all possible ways I might save some.I do all this because of the good news. And I want to share in its blessings.

“ So here is what I tell you. The kingdom of God will be taken away from you. It will be given to people who will produce its fruit.

Your troops will be willing to fight for you on the day of battle. Your young men will be wrapped in holy majesty. They will come to you like the fresh dew that falls early in the morning.

While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message.Some Jewish believers had come with Peter. They were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.They heard them speaking in languages they had not known before. They also heard them praising God. Then Peter said,“ Surely no one can keep these people from being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.”So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

“ I will give them a sign. I will send to the nations some of those who are left alive. I will send some of them to the people of Tarshish, Libya and Lydia, who are famous for using bows. I will send others to Tubal and Greece. And I will send still others to islands far away. The people who live there have not heard about my fame. They have not seen my glory. But when I act, those I send will tell the nations about my glory.And they will bring back all the people of Israel from all those nations. They will bring them to my holy mountain in Jerusalem. My people will ride on horses, mules and camels. They will come in chariots and wagons,” says the Lord.“ Those messengers will bring my people as an offering to me. They will bring them to my temple, just as the Israelites bring their grain offerings in bowls that are‘ clean.’

My name will be great among the nations. They will worship me from where the sun rises in the east to where it sets in the west. In every place, incense and pure offerings will be brought to me. That’s because my name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord.

“ My lords,” he said,“ please come to my house. You can wash your feet and spend the night there. Then you can go on your way early in the morning.”“ No,” they answered.“ We’ll spend the night in the town square.”But Lot wouldn’t give up. So they went with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them. He baked bread without using yeast. And they ate.

At that time water that gives life will flow out from Jerusalem. Half of it will run east into the Dead Sea. The other half will go west to the Mediterranean Sea. The water will flow in summer and winter.The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord. His name will be the only name.

She and her family were baptized. Then she invited us to her home.“ Do you consider me a believer in the Lord?” she asked.“ If you do, come and stay at my house.” She succeeded in getting us to go home with her.

At that time Egypt, Assyria and Israel will be a blessing to the whole earth.The Lord who rules over all will bless those three nations. He will say,“ Let the Egyptians be blessed. They are my people. Let the Assyrians be blessed. My hands created them. And let the Israelites be blessed. They are my very own people.”

But they tried hard to keep him from leaving. They said,“ Stay with us. It is nearly evening. The day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.