Acts 15:22-17:15

New International Version

The Council’s Letter to Gentile Believers

²² Then the apostles and elders,^(A) with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch^(B) with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas,^(C) men who were leaders among the believers. ²³ With them they sent the following letter:

³⁰ So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. ³¹ The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. ³² Judas and Silas,^(M) who themselves were prophets,^(N) said much to encourage and strengthen the believers. ³³ After spending some time there, they were sent off by the believers with the blessing of peace^(O) to return to those who had sent them. ^{[34] [a] 35} But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached^(P) the word of the Lord.^(Q)

Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas

³⁶ Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns^(R) where we preached the word of the Lord^(S) and see how they are doing.” ³⁷ Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark,^(T) with them, ³⁸ but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them^(U) in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. ³⁹ They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, ⁴⁰ but Paul chose Silas^(V) and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord.^{(W) 41} He went through Syria^(X) and Cilicia,^(Y) strengthening the churches.^(Z)

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

16 Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra,^(AA) where a disciple named Timothy^(AB) lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer^(AC) but whose father was a Greek. ² The believers^(AD) at Lystra and Iconium^(AE) spoke well of him. ³ Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.^{(AF) 4} As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders^(AG) in Jerusalem^(AH) for the people to obey.^{(AI) 5} So the churches were strengthened^(AJ) in the faith and grew daily in numbers.^(AK)

Paul’s Vision of the Man of Macedonia

⁶ Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia^(AL) and Galatia,^(AM) having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.^{(AN) 7} When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus^(AO) would not allow them to. ⁸ So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.^{(AP) 9} During the night Paul had a vision^(AQ) of a man of Macedonia^(AR) standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” ¹⁰ After Paul had seen the vision, we^(AS) got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel^(AT) to them.

Lydia’s Conversion in Philippi

¹¹ From Troas^(AU) we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. ¹² From there we traveled to Philippi,^(AV) a Roman colony and the leading city of that district^[b] of Macedonia.^(AW) And we stayed there several days.

¹³ On the Sabbath^(AX) we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. ¹⁴ One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira^(AY) named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart^(AZ) to respond to Paul’s message. ¹⁵ When she and the members of her household^(BA) were baptized,^(BB) she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

Paul and Silas in Prison

¹⁶ Once when we were going to the place of prayer,^(BC) we were met by a female slave who had a spirit^(BD) by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. ¹⁷ She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God,^(BE) who are telling you the way to be saved.” ¹⁸ She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.^(BF)

¹⁹ When her owners realized that their hope of making money^(BG) was gone, they seized Paul and Silas^(BH) and dragged^(BI) them into the marketplace to face the authorities. ²⁰ They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar^{(BJ) 21} by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans^(BK) to accept or practice.”^(BL)

²² The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods.^{(BM) 23} After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer^(BN) was commanded to guard them carefully. ²⁴ When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.^(BO)

²⁵ About midnight^(BP) Paul and Silas^(BQ) were praying and singing hymns^(BR) to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶ Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken.^(BS) At once all the prison doors flew open,^(BT) and everyone’s chains came loose.^{(BU) 27} The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped.^{(BV) 28} But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

²⁹ The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.^{(BW) 30} He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”^(BX)

³¹ They replied, “Believe^(BY) in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved^(BZ)—you and your household.”^{(CA) 32} Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. ³³ At that hour of the night^(CB) the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized.^{(CC) 34} The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he^(CD) was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.

³⁵ When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.” ³⁶ The jailer^(CE) told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.”^(CF)

³⁷ But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens,^(CG) and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”

³⁸ The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed.^{(CH) 39} They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city.^{(CI) 40} After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house,^(CJ) where they met with the brothers and sisters^(CK) and encouraged them. Then they left.

In Thessalonica

17 When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica,^(CL) where there was a Jewish synagogue. ² As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue,^(CM) and on three Sabbath^(CN) days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,^{(CO) 3} explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer^(CP) and rise from the dead.^(CQ) “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,”^(CR) he said. ⁴ Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas,^(CS) as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women.

⁵ But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city.^(CT) They rushed to Jason’s^(CU) house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd.^{[c] 6} But when they did not find them, they dragged^(CV) Jason and some other believers^(CW) before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world^(CX) have now come here,^{(CY) 7} and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.”^{(CZ) 8} When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. ⁹ Then they made Jason^(DA) and the others post bond and let them go.

In Berea

¹⁰ As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas^(DB) away to Berea.^(DC) On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.^{(DD) 11} Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica,^(DE) for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures^(DF) every day to see if what Paul said was true.^{(DG) 12} As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.^(DH)

¹³ But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea,^(DI) some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. ¹⁴ The believers^(DJ) immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas^(DK) and Timothy^(DL) stayed at Berea. ¹⁵ Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens^(DM) and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.^(DN)