Simon reads the Bible

Romans 2 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things.  2  And we know that God, in his justice, will punish anyone who does such things.  3  Since you judge others for doing these...

Romans 1 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  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.  2  God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures.  3  The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line,  4  and he was shown to be the Son of God when...

Acts 28 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  Once we were safe on shore, we learned that we were on the island of Malta.  2  The people of the island were very kind to us. It was cold and rainy, so they built a fire on the shore to welcome us. 3  As Paul gathered an armful of sticks and was laying them on the fire, a poisonous snake, driven out by the heat, bit him on the hand.  4  The people of...

Acts 27 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  When the time came, we set sail for Italy. Paul and several other prisoners were placed in the custody of a Roman officer named Julius, a captain of the Imperial Regiment.  2  Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was also with us. We left on a ship whose home port was Adramyttium on the northwest coast of the province of Asia; it was scheduled...

Acts 26 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You may speak in your defense.” So Paul, gesturing with his hand, started his defense:  2  “I am fortunate, King Agrippa, that you are the one hearing my defense today against all these accusations made by the Jewish leaders,  3  for I know you are an expert on all Jewish customs and controversies. Now please listen to me p...

Acts 25 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  Three days after Festus arrived in Caesarea to take over his new responsibilities, he left for Jerusalem,  2  where the leading priests and other Jewish leaders met with him and made their accusations against Paul.  3  They asked Festus as a favor to transfer Paul to Jerusalem (planning to ambush and kill him on the way).  4  But Festus replied that P...

Acts 24 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  Five days later Ananias, the high priest, arrived with some of the Jewish elders and the lawyer Tertullus, to present their case against Paul to the governor.  2  When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented the charges against Paul in the following address to the governor: “You have provided a long period of peace for us Jews and with foresight have...

Acts 23 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  Gazing intently at the high council, Paul began: “Brothers, I have always lived before God with a clear conscience!” 2  Instantly Ananias the high priest commanded those close to Paul to slap him on the mouth.  3  But Paul said to him, “God will slap you, you corrupt hypocrite! What kind of judge are you to break the law yourself by ordering me struck...

Acts 22 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  “Brothers and esteemed fathers,” Paul said, “listen to me as I offer my defense.”  2  When they heard him speaking in their own language, the silence was even greater. 3  Then Paul said, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, and I was brought up and educated here in Jerusalem under Gamaliel. As his student, I was carefully trained in our Jew...

Acts 21 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  After saying farewell to the Ephesian elders, we sailed straight to the island of Cos. The next day we reached Rhodes and then went to Patara.  2  There we boarded a ship sailing for Phoenicia.  3  We sighted the island of Cyprus, passed it on our left, and landed at the harbor of Tyre, in Syria, where the ship was to unload its cargo. 4  We went asho...

Acts 20 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  When the uproar was over, Paul sent for the believers and encouraged them. Then he said good-bye and left for Macedonia.  2  While there, he encouraged the believers in all the towns he passed through. Then he traveled down to Greece,  3  where he stayed for three months. He was preparing to sail back to Syria when he discovered a plot by some Jews ag...

Acts 19 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus, on the coast, where he found several believers.  2  “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” he asked them. “No,” they replied, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3  “Then what baptism did you experience?” he asked. And they...

Acts 18 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  Then Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.  2  There he became acquainted with a Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently arrived from Italy with his wife, Priscilla. They had left Italy when Claudius Caesar deported all Jews from Rome.  3  Paul lived and worked with them, for they were tentmakers just as he was. 4  Each Sabbath found Paul a...

Acts 17 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  Paul and Silas then traveled through the towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.  2  As was Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with the people.  3  He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer an...

Acts 16 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  Paul went first to Derbe and then to Lystra, where there was a young disciple named Timothy. His mother was a Jewish believer, but his father was a Greek.  2  Timothy was well thought of by the believers in Lystra and Iconium,  3  so Paul wanted him to join them on their journey. In deference to the Jews of the area, he arranged for Timothy to be circ...

Acts 15 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  While Paul and Barnabas were at Antioch of Syria, some men from Judea arrived and began to teach the believers: “Unless you are circumcised as required by the law of Moses, you cannot be saved.”  2  Paul and Barnabas disagreed with them, arguing vehemently. Finally, the church decided to send Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem, accompanied by some local b...

Acts 14 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  The same thing happened in Iconium. Paul and Barnabas went to the Jewish synagogue and preached with such power that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers.  2  Some of the Jews, however, spurned God’s message and poisoned the minds of the Gentiles against Paul and Barnabas.  3  But the apostles stayed there a long time, preaching bol...

Acts 13 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called “the black man”), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas), and Saul.  2  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 ca...

Acts 12 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  About that time King Herod Agrippa began to persecute some believers in the church.  2  He had the apostle James (John’s brother) killed with a sword.  3  When Herod saw how much this pleased the Jewish people, he also arrested Peter. (This took place during the Passover celebration.)  4  Then he imprisoned him, placing him under the guard of four squ...

Acts 11 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  Soon the news reached the apostles and other believers in Judea that the Gentiles had received the word of God.  2  But when Peter arrived back in Jerusalem, the Jewish believers criticized him.  3  “You entered the home of Gentiles and even ate with them!” they said. 4  Then Peter told them exactly what had happened.  5  “I was in the town of Joppa,”...

Acts 10 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment.  2  He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God.  3  One afternoon about three o’clock, he had a vision in which he saw an angel of God coming toward him. “Cornelius...

Acts 9 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers. So he went to the high priest.  2  He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them—both men and women—back to Jerusalem in chains....

Acts 8 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  Saul was one of the witnesses, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen. A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria.  2  (Some devout men came and buried Stephen with great mourning.)  3  But Saul was goi...

Acts 7 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these accusations true?” 2  This was Stephen’s reply: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham in Mesopotamia before he settled in Haran.  3  God told him, ‘Leave your native land and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.’  4  So Abraham left t...

Acts 6 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food. 2  So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teach...