Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. {harmless: or, simple}

Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe {which is} instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man {that is} an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure {things} new and old.

Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:

Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. {which...: or, Herod's foster brother}

Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and {some} of them they shall slay and persecute:

But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. {have...: or, end, or, finish}

Then said Jesus to them again, Peace {be} unto you: as {my} Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.

And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: {by: Heb. by the hand of} {betimes: that is, continually and carefully}

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. {power...: or, the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you}

Of the Jews five times received I forty {stripes} save one.

And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

The fruit of the righteous {is} a tree of life; and he that winneth souls {is} wise. {winneth: Heb. taketh}

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: {teach...: or, make disciples, or, Christians of all nations}

Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:

And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers {did}, so {do} ye.

Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. {captivity...: or, a multitude of captives}

And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;

And cast {him} out of the city, and stoned {him}: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.

And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed {them}.

And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee:

And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.

And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten {them}, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and {that} no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. {accursed: or, anathema}

And there came thither {certain} Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew {him} out of the city, supposing he had been dead.

And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,

Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.

Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God {am} a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth {generation} of them that hate me;

Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;

And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and {unto} magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say:

And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I {be} a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.

Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me. {lothed...: Heb. was straightened for them}

Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe {which is} instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man {that is} an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure {things} new and old.

All {things} have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just {man} that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked {man} that prolongeth {his life} in his wickedness.

Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?

But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him {that was born} after the Spirit, even so {it is} now.

As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.

And others had trial of {cruel} mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:

And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.

Ye have condemned {and} killed the just; {and} he doth not resist you.

Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations.

Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged {him}.

When they heard {that}, they were cut {to the heart}, and took counsel to slay them.

Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, {let us prophesy} according to the proportion of faith;

What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others.

But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.

And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.

Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and {some} of them they shall slay and persecute:

But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay {them} before me.

But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute {you}, delivering {you} up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake.

And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten {them}, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called {the synagogue} of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.

Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.

And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed {them}.

Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;

Therefore thus saith the LORD of the men of Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying, Prophesy not in the name of the LORD, that thou die not by our hand:

And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, {I} the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, {and} will speak unto him in a dream.

That the cruelty {done} to the threescore and ten sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, which slew them; and upon the men of Shechem, which aided him in the killing of his brethren. {aided...: Heb. strengthened his hands to kill}

And the LORD spake by his servants the prophets, saying,

And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the LORD.

And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that {was} before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel.

A righteous man falling down before the wicked {is as} a troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring.

The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in.

In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.

Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents;

Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that {were} in the high gate of Benjamin, which {was} by the house of the LORD.

And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people. {common...: Heb. sons of the people}

But the king commanded Jerahmeel the son of Hammelech, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet: but the LORD hid them. {of Hammelech: or, of the king}

Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the prison.

Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth. {wrong: or, wrested}

And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.

But when the king heard {thereof}, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.

And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.

And they caught {him}, and beat him, and sent {him} away empty.

Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.

And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.

But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. {have...: or, end, or, finish}

But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.

And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they {were}, should be fulfilled.