⁸ Yet indeed I also count all things loss ^(A)for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in Him, not having ^(B)my own righteousness, which is from the law, but ^(C)that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; ¹⁰ that I may know Him and the ^(D)power of His resurrection, and ^(E)the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, ¹¹ if, by any means, I may ^(F)attain^[a] to the resurrection from the dead.

Saul Persecutes the Church

8 Now Saul was consenting to his death.

At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and ^(A)they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. ² And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and ^(B)made great lamentation over him.

³ As for Saul, ^(C)he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.

² and asked ^(A)letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

^4 (A)I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women,

^52 (A)Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of ^(B)the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, ^53 (C)who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.”

Stephen the Martyr

^54 (D)When they heard these things they were ^[a]cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. ⁵⁵ But he, ^(E)being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the ^(F)glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, ⁵⁶ and said, “Look! ^(G)I see the heavens opened and the ^(H)Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

⁵⁷ Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; ⁵⁸ and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And ^(I)the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. ⁵⁹ And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, ^(J)receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰ Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, ^(K)“Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

²⁶ “Men and brethren, sons of the ^[a]family of Abraham, and ^(A)those among you who fear God, ^(B)to you the ^[b]word of this salvation has been sent. ²⁷ For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, ^(C)because they did not know Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him. ^28 (D)And though they found no cause for death in Him, they asked Pilate that He should be put to death. ^29 (E)Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, ^(F)they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. ^30 (G)But God raised Him from the dead.