Acts 12-15

New King James Version

Herod’s Violence to the Church

12 Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. ² Then he killed James ^(A)the brother of John with the sword. ³ And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during ^(B)the Days of Unleavened Bread. ⁴ So ^(C)when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four ^[a]squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover.

Peter Freed from Prison

⁵ Peter was therefore kept in prison, but ^[b]constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. ⁶ And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were ^[c]keeping the prison. ⁷ Now behold, ^(D)an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands. ⁸ Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.” ⁹ So he went out and followed him, and ^(E)did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought ^(F)he was seeing a vision. ¹⁰ When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, ^(G)which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.

¹¹ And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that ^(H)the Lord has sent His angel, and ^(I)has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.”

¹² So, when he had considered this, ^(J)he came to the house of Mary, the mother of ^(K)John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together ^(L)praying. ¹³ And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda came to answer. ¹⁴ When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her gladness she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate. ¹⁵ But they said to her, “You are beside yourself!” Yet she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, ^(M)“It is his angel.”

¹⁶ Now Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. ¹⁷ But ^(N)motioning to them with his hand to keep silent, he declared to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Go, tell these things to James and to the brethren.” And he departed and went to another place.

¹⁸ Then, as soon as it was day, there was no small ^[d]stir among the soldiers about what had become of Peter. ¹⁹ But when Herod had searched for him and not found him, he examined the guards and commanded that they should be put to death.

And he went down from Judea to Caesarea, and stayed there.

Herod’s Violent Death

²⁰ Now Herod had been very angry with the people of ^(O)Tyre and Sidon; but they came to him with one accord, and having made Blastus ^[e]the king’s personal aide their friend, they asked for peace, because ^(P)their country was ^[f]supplied with food by the king’s country.

²¹ So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. ²² And the people kept shouting, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” ²³ Then immediately an angel of the Lord ^(Q)struck him, because ^(R)he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and ^[g]died.

²⁴ But ^(S)the word of God grew and multiplied.

Barnabas and Saul Appointed

²⁵ And ^(T)Barnabas and Saul returned ^[h]from Jerusalem when they had ^(U)fulfilled their ministry, and they also ^(V)took with them ^(W)John whose surname was Mark.

Paul and Barnabas Are Sent to the Gentiles

13 Now ^(X)in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: ^(Y)Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, ^(Z)Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ² As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, ^(AA)“Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work ^(AB)to which I have called them.” ³ Then, ^(AC)having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.

Preaching in Cyprus

⁴ So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to ^(AD)Cyprus. ⁵ And when they arrived in Salamis, ^(AE)they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had ^(AF)John as their assistant.

⁶ Now when they had gone through ^[i]the island to Paphos, they found ^(AG)a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, ⁷ who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. ⁸ But ^(AH)Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) ^[j]withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. ⁹ Then Saul, who also is called Paul, ^(AI)filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him ¹⁰ and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, ^(AJ)you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? ¹¹ And now, indeed, ^(AK)the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.”

And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. ¹² Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

At Antioch in Pisidia

¹³ Now when Paul and his party set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia; and ^(AL)John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and ^(AM)went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down. ¹⁵ And ^(AN)after the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, “Men and brethren, if you have ^(AO)any word of ^[k]exhortation for the people, say on.”

¹⁶ Then Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, “Men of Israel, and ^(AP)you who fear God, listen: ¹⁷ The God of this people ^[l]Israel ^(AQ)chose our fathers, and exalted the people ^(AR)when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with ^[m]an uplifted arm He ^(AS)brought them out of it. ¹⁸ Now ^(AT)for a time of about forty years He put up with their ways in the wilderness. ¹⁹ And when He had destroyed ^(AU)seven nations in the land of Canaan, ^(AV)He distributed their land to them by allotment.

²⁰ “After that ^(AW)He gave them judges for about four hundred and fifty years, ^(AX)until Samuel the prophet. ^21 (AY)And afterward they asked for a king; so God gave them ^(AZ)Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. ²² And ^(BA)when He had removed him, ^(BB)He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ^(BC)‘I have found David the son of Jesse, ^(BD)a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’ ^23 (BE)From this man’s seed, according ^(BF)to the promise, God raised up for Israel ^(BG)a^[n] Savior—Jesus— ^24 (BH)after John had first preached, before His coming, the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. ²⁵ And as John was finishing his course, he said, ^(BI)‘Who do you think I am? I am not He. But behold, ^(BJ)there comes One after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to loose.’

²⁶ “Men and brethren, sons of the ^[o]family of Abraham, and ^(BK)those among you who fear God, ^(BL)to you the ^[p]word of this salvation has been sent. ²⁷ For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, ^(BM)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 (BN)And though they found no cause for death in Him, they asked Pilate that He should be put to death. ^29 (BO)Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, ^(BP)they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. ^30 (BQ)But God raised Him from the dead. ^31 (BR)He was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people. ³² And we declare to you glad tidings—^(BS)that promise which was made to the fathers. ³³ God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm:

³⁴ And that He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to ^[q]corruption, He has spoken thus:

³⁵ Therefore He also says in another Psalm:

³⁶ “For David, after he had served ^[s]his own generation by the will of God, ^(BW)fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and ^[t]saw corruption; ³⁷ but He whom God raised up ^[u]saw no corruption. ³⁸ Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that ^(BX)through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; ³⁹ and ^(BY)by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. ⁴⁰ Beware therefore, lest what has been spoken in the prophets come upon you:

Blessing and Conflict at Antioch

^42 [v]So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. ⁴³ Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, ^(CA)persuaded them to continue in ^(CB)the grace of God.

⁴⁴ On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. ⁴⁵ But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they ^(CC)opposed the things spoken by Paul. ⁴⁶ Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, ^(CD)“It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but ^(CE)since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, ^(CF)we turn to the Gentiles. ⁴⁷ For so the Lord has commanded us:

⁴⁸ Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. ^(CH)And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.

⁴⁹ And the word of the Lord was being spread throughout all the region. ⁵⁰ But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, ^(CI)raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. ^51 (CJ)But they shook off the dust from their feet against them, and came to Iconium. ⁵² And the disciples ^(CK)were filled with joy and ^(CL)with the Holy Spirit.

At Iconium

14 Now it happened in Iconium that they went together to the synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke that a great multitude both of the Jews and of the ^(CM)Greeks believed. ² But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and ^[w]poisoned their ^[x]minds against the brethren. ³ Therefore they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, ^(CN)who was bearing witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and ^(CO)wonders to be done by their hands.

⁴ But the multitude of the city was ^(CP)divided: part sided with the Jews, and part with the ^(CQ)apostles. ⁵ And when a violent attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, ^(CR)to abuse and stone them, ⁶ they became aware of it and ^(CS)fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding region. ⁷ And they were preaching the gospel there.

Idolatry at Lystra

^8 (CT)And in Lystra a certain man without strength in his feet was sitting, a cripple from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. ⁹ This man heard Paul speaking. ^[y]Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, ¹⁰ said with a loud voice, ^(CU)“Stand up straight on your feet!” And he leaped and walked. ¹¹ Now when the people saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in the Lycaonian language, ^(CV)“The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” ¹² And Barnabas they called ^[z]Zeus, and Paul, ^[aa]Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. ¹³ Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, ^(CW)intending to sacrifice with the multitudes.

¹⁴ But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, ^(CX)they tore their clothes and ran in among the multitude, crying out ¹⁵ and saying, “Men, ^(CY)why are you doing these things? ^(CZ)We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from ^(DA)these useless things ^(DB)to the living God, ^(DC)who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them, ^16 (DD)who in bygone generations allowed all nations to walk in their own ways. ^17 (DE)Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, ^(DF)gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with ^(DG)food and gladness.” ¹⁸ And with these sayings they could scarcely restrain the multitudes from sacrificing to them.

Stoning, Escape to Derbe

^19 (DH)Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there; and having persuaded the multitudes, ^(DI)they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be ^(DJ)dead. ²⁰ However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city. And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.

Strengthening the Converts

²¹ And when they had preached the gospel to that city ^(DK)and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, ²² strengthening the souls of the disciples, ^(DL)exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, ^(DM)“We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” ²³ So when they had ^(DN)appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. ²⁴ And after they had passed through Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia. ²⁵ Now when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. ²⁶ From there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they had completed.

²⁷ Now when they had come and gathered the church together, ^(DO)they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had ^(DP)opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. ²⁸ So they stayed there a long time with the disciples.

Conflict over Circumcision

15 And ^(DQ)certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, ^(DR)“Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” ² Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that ^(DS)Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question.

³ So, ^(DT)being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, ^(DU)describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren. ⁴ And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them. ⁵ But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”

The Jerusalem Council

⁶ Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter. ⁷ And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: ^(DV)“Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. ⁸ So God, ^(DW)who knows the heart, ^[ab]acknowledged them by ^(DX)giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, ^9 (DY)and made no distinction between us and them, ^(DZ)purifying their hearts by faith. ¹⁰ Now therefore, why do you test God ^(EA)by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? ¹¹ But ^(EB)we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus ^[ac]Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.”

¹² Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had ^(EC)worked through them among the Gentiles. ¹³ And after they had ^[ad]become silent, ^(ED)James answered, saying, “Men and brethren, listen to me: ^14 (EE)Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. ¹⁵ And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:

^18 [af]“Known to God from eternity are all His works. ¹⁹ Therefore ^(EG)I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who ^(EH)are turning to God, ²⁰ but that we ^(EI)write to them to abstain ^(EJ)from things polluted by idols, ^(EK)from ^[ag]sexual immorality, ^(EL)from things strangled, and from blood. ²¹ For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, ^(EM)being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

The Jerusalem Decree

²² Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named ^(EN)Barsabas,^[ah] and Silas, leading men among the brethren.

²³ They wrote this letter by them:

Continuing Ministry in Syria

³⁰ So when they were sent off, they came to Antioch; and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the letter. ³¹ When they had read it, they rejoiced over its encouragement. ³² Now Judas and Silas, themselves being ^(EU)prophets also, ^(EV)exhorted and strengthened the brethren with many words. ³³ And after they had stayed there for a time, they were ^(EW)sent back with greetings from the brethren to ^[al]the apostles.

^34 [am]However, it seemed good to Silas to remain there. ^35 (EX)Paul and Barnabas also remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

Division over John Mark

³⁶ Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.” ³⁷ Now Barnabas ^[an]was determined to take with them ^(EY)John called Mark. ³⁸ But Paul insisted that they should not take with them ^(EZ)the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work. ³⁹ Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to ^(FA)Cyprus; ⁴⁰ but Paul chose Silas and departed, ^(FB)being ^[ao]commended by the brethren to the grace of God. ⁴¹ And he went through Syria and Cilicia, ^(FC)strengthening the churches.