¹⁵ But when it was the good pleasure of God, by whom I was marked out even from my mother's body, through his grace,

⁵ Before you were formed in the body of your mother I had knowledge of you, and before your birth I made you holy; I have given you the work of being a prophet to the nations.

⁵ And now, says the Lord, who made me his servant when I was still in my mother's body, so that I might make Jacob come back to him, and so that Israel might come together to him: and I was honoured in the eyes of the Lord, and my God became my strength.

¹ Give ear, O sea-lands, to me; and take note, you peoples from far: I have been marked out by the Lord from the first; when I was still in my mother's body, he had my name in mind:

¹ Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, an Apostle by the selection of God, given authority as a preacher of the good news,

¹⁵ But the Lord said, Go without fear: for he is a special vessel for me, to give to the Gentiles and kings and to the children of Israel the knowledge of my name:

² And while they were doing the Lord's work, and going without food, the Holy Spirit said, Let Barnabas and Saul be given to me for the special work for which they have been marked out by me.

⁵ As we were designed before by him for the position of sons to himself, through Jesus Christ, in the good pleasure of his purpose,

⁹ Having made clear to us the secret of his purpose, in agreement with the design which he had in mind, to put into his hands

¹¹ Which is seen in his eternal purpose in Christ Jesus our Lord:

¹³ But it is right for us to give praise to God at all times for you, brothers, loved by the Lord, because it was the purpose of God from the first that you might have salvation, being made holy by the Spirit and by faith in what is true:

¹⁴ And in this purpose he gave you a part through the good news of which we were the preachers, even that you might have part in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹² I give praise to him who gave me power, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he took me to be true, making me his servant,

¹³ Though I had said violent words against God, and done cruel acts, causing great trouble: but I was given mercy, because I did it without knowledge, not having faith;

¹⁴ And the grace of our Lord was very great, with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

⁹ Who gave us salvation, marking us out for his purpose, not on account of our works, but in the measure of his purpose and his grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before times eternal,

¹⁰ And after you have undergone pain for a little time, the God of all grace who has given you a part in his eternal glory through Christ Jesus, will himself give you strength and support, and make you complete in every good thing;

⁶ I am surprised that you are being so quickly turned away from him whose word came to you in the grace of Christ, to good news of a different sort;

¹⁰ But by the grace of God, I am what I am: and his grace which was given to me has not been for nothing; for I did more work than all of them; though not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

²² For the Lord will not give his people up, because of the honour of his name; for it was the Lord's pleasure to make of you a people for himself.

⁴ Though the Lord, the God of Israel, took me out of all my father's family, to be king over Israel for ever, marking out Judah to be chief, and, of the people of Judah, my father's family; and among the sons of my father he was pleased to make me king over all Israel;

⁵ And of all my sons (for the Lord has given me a great number of sons) he has made selection of Solomon to take his place on the seat of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel.

²⁶ Yes, Father, for so it was pleasing in your eyes.

¹⁵ For he will be great in the eyes of the Lord; he will not take wine or strong drink; and he will be full of the Spirit of God from his birth.

¹⁶ And through him great numbers of the children of Israel will be turned to the Lord their God.

²¹ In that same hour he was full of joy in the Holy Spirit and said, I give praise to you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have kept these things secret from the wise and the men of learning, and have made them clear to little children: for so, O Father, it was pleasing in your eyes.

¹⁴ And he said, You have been marked out by the God of our fathers to have knowledge of his purpose, and to see the Upright One and to give ear to the words of his mouth.

¹⁵ For you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and of what has come to your ears.

⁵ Through whom grace has been given to us, sending us out to make disciples to the faith among all nations, for his name:

³⁰ And those who were marked out by him were named; and those who were named were given righteousness; and to those to whom he gave righteousness, in the same way he gave glory.

²⁴ Even us, who were marked out by him, not only from the Jews, but from the Gentiles?

¹ Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the purpose of God, and Sosthenes the brother,

⁹ God is true, through whom you have been given a part with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

²⁴ But to those of God's selection, Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power and the wisdom of God.

⁷ The Lord did not give you his love or take you for himself because you were more in number than any other people; for you were the smallest of the nations:

⁸ But because of his love for you, and in order to keep his oath to your fathers, the Lord took you out with the strength of his hand, making you free from the prison-house and from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.