Acts 13:1-27:14

Contemporary English Version

Barnabas and Saul Are Chosen and Sent

13 The church at Antioch had several prophets and teachers. They were Barnabas, Simeon, also called Niger, Lucius from Cyrene, Manaen, who was Herod's^[a] close friend, and Saul. ² While they were worshiping the Lord and going without eating,^[b] the Holy Spirit told them, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul to do the work for which I have chosen them.” ³ Everyone prayed and went without eating for a while longer. Next, they placed their hands on Barnabas and Saul to show that they had been appointed to do this work. Then everyone sent them on their way.

Barnabas and Saul in Cyprus

⁴ After Barnabas and Saul had been sent by the Holy Spirit, they went to Seleucia. From there they sailed to the island of Cyprus. ⁵ They arrived at Salamis and began to preach God's message in the synagogues. They also had John^[c] as a helper.

⁶ Barnabas and Saul went all the way to the city of Paphos on the other end of the island, where they met a Jewish man named Bar-Jesus. He practiced witchcraft and was a false prophet. ⁷ He also worked for Sergius Paulus, who was very smart and was the governor of the island. Sergius Paulus wanted to hear God's message, and he sent for Barnabas and Saul. ⁸ But Bar-Jesus, whose other name was Elymas, was against them. He even tried to keep the governor from having faith in the Lord.

⁹ Then Saul, better known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit. He looked straight at Elymas ¹⁰ and said, “You son of the devil! You are a liar, a crook, and an enemy of everything that is right. When will you stop speaking against the true ways of the Lord? ¹¹ The Lord is going to punish you by making you completely blind for a while.”

Suddenly the man's eyes were covered by a dark mist, and he went around trying to get someone to lead him by the hand. ¹² When the governor saw what had happened, he was amazed at this teaching about the Lord. So he put his faith in the Lord.

Paul and Barnabas in Antioch of Pisidia

¹³ Paul and the others left Paphos and sailed to Perga in Pamphylia. But John^[d] left them and went back to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ The rest of them went on from Perga to Antioch in Pisidia. Then on the Sabbath they went to the synagogue and sat down.

¹⁵ After the reading of the Law and the Prophets,^[e] the leaders sent someone over to tell Paul and Barnabas, “Friends, if you have anything to say that will help the people, please say it.”

¹⁶ Paul got up. He motioned with his hand and said:

People of Israel, and everyone else who worships God, listen! ^17 (A) The God of Israel chose our ancestors, and he let our people prosper while they were living in Egypt. Then with his mighty power he led them out, ^18 (B) and for about 40 years he took care of^[f] them in the desert. ^19 (C) He destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan and gave their land to our people. ^20 (D) All this happened in about 450 years.

Then God gave our people judges until the time of the prophet Samuel, ^21 (E) but the people demanded a king. So for 40 years God gave them King Saul, the son of Kish from the tribe of Benjamin. ^22 (F) Later, God removed Saul and let David rule in his place. God said about him, “David the son of Jesse is the kind of person who pleases me most! He does everything I want him to do.”

²³ God promised that someone from David's family would come to save the people of Israel, and this one is Jesus. ^24 (G) But before Jesus came, John was telling everyone in Israel to turn back to God and be baptized. ^25 (H) Then, when John's work was almost done, he said, “Who do you people think I am? Do you think I am the Promised One? He will come later, and I am not good enough to untie his sandals.”

²⁶ Now listen, you descendants of Abraham! Pay attention, all of you Gentiles who are here to worship God! Listen to this message about how to be saved, because it is for everyone. ²⁷ The people of Jerusalem and their leaders didn't realize who Jesus was. And they didn't understand the words of the prophets they read each Sabbath. So they condemned Jesus just as the prophets had said.

^28-29 (I) They did exactly what the Scriptures said they would. Even though they couldn't find any reason to put Jesus to death, they still asked Pilate to have him killed.

After Jesus had been put to death, he was taken down from the cross^[g] and placed in a tomb. ³⁰ But God raised him from death! ^31 (J) Then for many days Jesus appeared to his followers who had gone with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. Now they are telling our people about him.

³² God made a promise to our ancestors. And we are here to tell you the good news ^33 (K) that he has kept this promise to us. It is just as the second Psalm says about Jesus,

^34 (L) God raised Jesus from death and will never let his body decay. It is just as God said,

^35 (M) And in another psalm it says, “God will never let the body of his Holy One decay.”

³⁶ When David was alive, he obeyed God. Then after he died, he was buried in the family grave, and his body decayed. ³⁷ But God raised Jesus from death, and his body did not decay.

³⁸ My friends, the message is that Jesus can forgive your sins! The Law of Moses could not set you free from all your sins. ³⁹ But everyone who has faith in Jesus is set free. ⁴⁰ Make sure what the prophets have said doesn't happen to you. They said,

⁴² As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people begged them to say more about these same things on the next Sabbath. ⁴³ After the service, many Jews and a lot of Gentiles who worshiped God went with them. Paul and Barnabas begged them all to remain faithful to God, who had treated them with undeserved grace.

⁴⁴ The next Sabbath almost everyone in town came to hear the message about the Lord.^{[h] 45} When the Jewish people saw the crowds, they were very jealous. They insulted Paul and spoke against everything he said.

⁴⁶ But Paul and Barnabas bravely said:

We had to tell God's message to you before we told it to anyone else. But you rejected the message! This proves that you don't deserve eternal life. Now we are going to the Gentiles. ^47 (O) The Lord has given us this command,

⁴⁸ This message made the Gentiles glad, and they praised what they had heard about the Lord.^[i] Everyone who had been chosen for eternal life then put their faith in the Lord.

⁴⁹ The message about the Lord spread all over this region. ⁵⁰ But the Jewish leaders went to some of the important men in the town and to some respected women who were religious. They turned them against Paul and Barnabas and started making trouble for them. They even chased them out of this part of the country.

^51 (P) Paul and Barnabas shook the dust from that place off their feet^[j] and went on to the city of Iconium.

⁵² But the Lord's followers in Antioch were very happy and were filled with the Holy Spirit.

Paul and Barnabas in Iconium

14 Paul and Barnabas spoke in the synagogue in Iconium, just as they had done at Antioch, and many Jews and Gentiles^[k] put their faith in the Lord. ² But the Jews who did not have faith in him made the other Gentiles angry and turned them against the Lord's followers.

³ Paul and Barnabas stayed there for a while, having faith in the Lord and bravely speaking his message. The Lord gave them the power to work miracles and wonders, and he showed that their message about his gift of undeserved grace was true.

⁴ The people of Iconium did not know what to think. Some of them believed the Jewish group, and others believed the apostles. ⁵ Finally, some Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, decided to make trouble for Paul and Barnabas and to stone them to death.

^6-7 But when the two apostles found out what was happening, they escaped to the region of Lycaonia. They preached the good news there in the towns of Lystra and Derbe and in the nearby countryside.

Paul and Barnabas in Lystra

⁸ In Lystra there was a man who had been born with paralyzed feet and had never been able to walk. ⁹ The man was listening to Paul speak, when Paul saw that he had faith in Jesus and could be healed. So he looked straight at the man ¹⁰ and shouted, “Stand up!” The man jumped up and started walking around.

¹¹ When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they yelled out in the language of Lycaonia, “The gods have turned into humans and have come down to us!” ¹² The people then gave Barnabas the name Zeus, and they gave Paul the name Hermes,^[l] because he did the talking.

¹³ The temple of Zeus was near the entrance to the city. Its priest and the crowds wanted to offer a sacrifice to Barnabas and Paul. So the priest brought some bulls and flowers to the city gates. ¹⁴ When the two apostles found out about this, they tore their clothes in horror and ran to the crowd, shouting:

^15 (Q) Why are you doing this? We are humans just like you. Please give up all this foolishness. Turn to the living God, who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. ¹⁶ In times past, God let each nation go its own way. ¹⁷ But he showed he was there by the good things he did. God sends rain from heaven and makes your crops grow. He gives food to you and makes your hearts glad.

¹⁸ Even after Paul and Barnabas had said all this, they could hardly keep the people from offering a sacrifice to them.

¹⁹ Some Jewish leaders from Antioch and Iconium came and turned the crowds against Paul. They hit him with stones and dragged him out of the city, thinking he was dead. ²⁰ But when the Lord's followers gathered around Paul, he stood up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas went to Derbe.

Paul and Barnabas Return to Antioch in Syria

²¹ Paul and Barnabas preached the good news in Derbe and won some people to the Lord. Then they went back to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch in Pisidia. ²² They encouraged the followers and begged them to remain faithful. They told them, “We have to suffer a lot before we can get into God's kingdom.” ²³ Paul and Barnabas chose some leaders for each of the churches. Then they went without eating^[m] and prayed that the Lord would take good care of these leaders who had trusted in the Lord.

²⁴ Paul and Barnabas went on through Pisidia to Pamphylia, ²⁵ where they preached in the town of Perga. Then they went down to Attalia ²⁶ and sailed to Antioch in Syria. It was there that they had been placed in God's care for the work they had now completed.^[n]

²⁷ After arriving in Antioch, they called the church together. They told the people what God had helped them do and how he had made it possible for the Gentiles to believe. ²⁸ Then they stayed there with the followers for a long time.

15 ^(R) Some people came from Judea and started teaching the Lord's followers that they could not be saved, unless they were circumcised as Moses had taught. ² This caused trouble, and Paul and Barnabas argued with them about this teaching. So it was decided to send Paul and Barnabas and a few others to Jerusalem to discuss this problem with the apostles and the church leaders.

The Church Leaders Meet in Jerusalem

³ The men who were sent by the church went through Phoenicia and Samaria, telling how the Gentiles had turned to God. This news made the Lord's followers very happy. ⁴ When the men arrived in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, including the apostles and the leaders. They told them everything God had helped them do. ⁵ But some Pharisees had become followers of the Lord. They stood up and said, “Gentiles who have faith in the Lord must be circumcised and told to obey the Law of Moses.”

⁶ The apostles and church leaders met to discuss this problem about Gentiles. ^7 (S) They had talked it over for a long time, when Peter got up and said:

My friends, you know that God decided long ago to let me be the one from your group to preach the good news to the Gentiles. God did this so they would hear and obey him. ^8 (T) He knows what is in everyone's heart. And he showed he had chosen the Gentiles, when he gave them the Holy Spirit, just as he had given his Spirit to us. ⁹ God treated them in the same way that he treated us. They put their faith in him, and he made their hearts pure.

¹⁰ Now why are you trying to make God angry by placing a heavy burden on these followers? This burden was too heavy for us or our ancestors. ¹¹ But we believe that we will be saved by the gift of undeserved grace from our Lord Jesus Christ, just as the Gentiles are.

¹² Everyone kept quiet and listened as Barnabas and Paul told how God had given them the power to work a lot of miracles and wonders for the Gentiles.

¹³ After they had finished speaking, James^[o] said:

My friends, listen to me! ¹⁴ Simon Peter^[p] has told how God first came to the Gentiles and made some of them his own people. ¹⁵ This agrees with what the prophets wrote,

¹⁹ And so, my friends, I don't think we should place burdens on the Gentiles who are turning to God. ^20 (V) We should simply write and tell them not to eat anything that has been offered to idols. They should be told not to eat the meat of any animal that has been strangled or that still has blood in it. They must also not commit any terrible sexual sins.^[q]

²¹ We must remember that the Law of Moses has been preached in city after city for many years, and every Sabbath it is read in our synagogues.

A Letter to Gentiles Who Had Faith in the Lord

²² The apostles, the leaders, and all the church members decided to send some men to Antioch along with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Silas and Judas Barsabbas,^[r] who were two leaders of the Lord's followers. ²³ They wrote a letter that said:

We apostles and leaders send friendly greetings to all of you Gentiles who are followers of the Lord in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia.

²⁴ We have heard that some people from here have terribly upset you by what they said. But we did not send them! ²⁵ So we met together and decided to choose some men and to send them to you along with our good friends Barnabas and Paul. ²⁶ These men have risked their lives for our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁷ We are also sending Judas and Silas, who will tell you in person the same things that we are writing.

²⁸ The Holy Spirit has shown us that we should not place any extra burden on you. ^29 (W) But you should not eat anything offered to idols. You should not eat any meat that still has the blood in it or any meat of any animal that has been strangled. You must also not commit any terrible sexual sins. If you follow these instructions, you will do well.

We send our best wishes.

³⁰ The four men left Jerusalem and went to Antioch. Then they called the church members together and gave them the letter. ³¹ When the letter was read, everyone was pleased and greatly encouraged. ³² Judas and Silas were prophets, and they spoke a long time, encouraging and helping the Lord's followers.

³³ The men from Jerusalem stayed on in Antioch for a while. And when they left to return to the ones who had sent them, the followers wished them well. ^34-35 But Paul and Barnabas stayed on in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached about the Lord.^[s]

Paul and Barnabas Go Their Separate Ways

³⁶ Sometime later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let's go back and visit the Lord's followers in the cities where we preached his message. Then we will know how they are doing.” ³⁷ Barnabas wanted to take along John, whose other name was Mark. ^38 (X) But Paul did not want to, because Mark had left them in Pamphylia and had stopped working with them.

³⁹ Paul and Barnabas argued, then each of them went his own way. Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus, ⁴⁰ but Paul took Silas and left after the followers had placed them in God's care. ⁴¹ They traveled through Syria and Cilicia, encouraging the churches.

Timothy Works with Paul and Silas

16 Paul and Silas went back to Derbe and Lystra, where there was a follower named Timothy. His mother was also a follower. She was Jewish, and his father was Greek. ² The Lord's followers in Lystra and Iconium said good things about Timothy, ³ and Paul wanted him to go with them. But Paul first had him circumcised, because all the Jewish people around there knew that Timothy's father was Greek.^[t]

⁴ As Paul and the others went from city to city, they told the followers what the apostles and leaders in Jerusalem had decided, and they urged them to follow these instructions. ⁵ The churches became stronger in their faith, and each day more people put their faith in the Lord.

Paul's Vision in Troas

⁶ Paul and his friends went through Phrygia and Galatia, but the Holy Spirit would not let them preach in Asia. ⁷ After they arrived in Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not let them. ⁸ So they went on through^[u] Mysia until they came to Troas.

⁹ During the night, Paul had a vision of someone from Macedonia who was standing there and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” ¹⁰ After Paul had seen the vision, we began looking for a way to go to Macedonia. We were sure that God had called us to preach the good news there.

Lydia Becomes a Follower of the Lord

¹¹ We sailed straight from Troas to Samothrace, and the next day we arrived in Neapolis. ¹² From there we went to Philippi, which is a Roman colony in the first district of Macedonia.^[v]

We spent several days in Philippi. ¹³ Then on the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to a place by the river, where we thought there would be a Jewish meeting place for prayer. We sat down and talked with the women who came. ¹⁴ One of them was Lydia, who was from the city of Thyatira and sold expensive purple cloth. She was a worshiper of the Lord God, and he made her willing to accept what Paul was saying. ¹⁵ Then after she and her family were baptized, she kept on begging us, “If you think I really do have faith in the Lord, come stay in my home.” Finally, we accepted her invitation.

Paul and Silas Are Put in Jail

¹⁶ One day on our way to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl. She had a spirit in her that gave her the power to tell the future. By doing this she made a lot of money for her owners. ¹⁷ The girl followed Paul and the rest of us, and she kept yelling, “These men are servants of the Most High God! They are telling you how to be saved.”

¹⁸ This went on for several days. Finally, Paul got so upset that he turned and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ, I order you to leave this girl alone!” At once the evil spirit left her.

¹⁹ When the girl's owners realized they had lost all chances for making more money, they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them into court. ²⁰ They told the officials, “These Jews are upsetting our city! ²¹ They are telling us to do things we Romans are not allowed to do.”

²² The crowd joined in the attack on Paul and Silas. Then the officials tore the clothes off the two men and ordered them to be beaten with a whip. ²³ After they had been badly beaten, they were put in jail, and the jailer was told to guard them carefully. ²⁴ The jailer did as he was told. He put them deep inside the jail and chained their feet to heavy blocks of wood.

²⁵ About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing praises to God, while the other prisoners listened. ²⁶ Suddenly a strong earthquake shook the jail to its foundations. The doors opened, and the chains fell from all the prisoners.

²⁷ When the jailer woke up and saw that the doors were open, he thought that the prisoners had escaped. He pulled out his sword and was about to kill himself. ²⁸ But Paul shouted, “Don't harm yourself! No one has escaped.”

²⁹ The jailer asked for a torch and went into the jail. He was shaking all over as he knelt down in front of Paul and Silas. ³⁰ After he had led them out of the jail, he asked, “What must I do to be saved?”

³¹ They replied, “Have faith in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved! This is also true for everyone who lives in your home.”

³² Then Paul and Silas told him and everyone else in his house about the Lord. ³³ While it was still night, the jailer took them to a place where he could wash their cuts and bruises. Then he and everyone in his home were baptized. ³⁴ They were very glad they had put their faith in God. After this, the jailer took Paul and Silas to his home and gave them something to eat.

³⁵ The next morning the officials sent some police with orders for the jailer to let Paul and Silas go. ³⁶ The jailer told Paul, “The officials have ordered me to set you free. Now you can leave in peace.”

³⁷ But Paul told the police, “We are Roman citizens,^[w] and the Roman officials had us beaten in public without giving us a trial. They threw us into jail. Now do they think they can secretly send us away? No, they cannot! They will have to come here themselves and let us out.”

³⁸ When the police told the officials that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, the officials were afraid. ³⁹ So they came and apologized. They led them out of the jail and asked them to please leave town. ⁴⁰ But Paul and Silas went straight to the home of Lydia, where they saw the Lord's followers and encouraged them. Then they left.

Trouble in Thessalonica

17 After Paul and his friends had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they went on to Thessalonica. A synagogue was in that city. ² So as usual, Paul went there to worship, and on three Sabbaths he spoke to the people. He used the Scriptures ³ to show them that the Messiah had to suffer, but that he would rise from death. Paul also told them that Jesus is the Messiah he was preaching about. ⁴ Some of them believed what Paul had said, and they became followers with Paul and Silas. Some Gentiles^[x] and many important women also believed the message.

⁵ The Jewish leaders were jealous and got some troublemakers who hung around the marketplace to start a riot in the city. They wanted to drag Paul and Silas out to the mob, and so they went straight to Jason's home. ⁶ But when they did not find them there, they dragged out Jason and some of the Lord's followers. They took them to the city authorities and shouted, “Paul and Silas have been upsetting things everywhere. Now they have come here, ⁷ and Jason has welcomed them into his home. All of them break the laws of the Roman Emperor by claiming that someone named Jesus is king.”

⁸ The officials and the people were upset when they heard this. ⁹ So they made Jason and the other followers pay bail before letting them go.

People in Berea Welcome the Message

¹⁰ That same night the Lord's followers sent Paul and Silas on to Berea, and after they arrived, they went to the synagogue. ¹¹ The people in Berea were much nicer than those in Thessalonica, and they gladly accepted the message. Day after day they studied the Scriptures to see if these things were true. ¹² Many of them put their faith in the Lord, including some important Greek women and several men.

¹³ When the Jewish leaders in Thessalonica heard that Paul had been preaching God's message in Berea, they went there and caused trouble by turning the crowds against Paul.

¹⁴ At once the followers sent Paul down to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea. ¹⁵ Some men went with Paul as far as Athens, and then returned with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.

Paul in Athens

¹⁶ While Paul was waiting in Athens, he was upset to see all the idols in the city. ¹⁷ He went to the synagogue to speak to the Jews and to anyone who worshiped with them. Day after day he also spoke to everyone he met in the market. ¹⁸ Some of them were Epicureans^[y] and some were Stoics,^[z] and they started arguing with him.

People were asking, “What is this know-it-all trying to say?”

Some even said, “Paul must be preaching about foreign gods! That's what he means when he talks about Jesus and about people rising from death.”^[aa]

¹⁹ They brought Paul before a council called the Areopagus, and said, “Tell us what your new teaching is all about. ²⁰ We have heard you say some strange things, and we want to know what you mean.”

²¹ More than anything else the people of Athens and the foreigners living there loved to hear and to talk about anything new. ²² So Paul stood up in front of the council and said:

People of Athens, I see that you are very religious. ^23 (Y) As I was going through your city and looking at the things you worship, I found an altar with the words, “To an Unknown God.” You worship this God, but you don't really know him. So I want to tell you about him. ^24 (Z) This God made the world and everything in it. He is Lord of heaven and earth, and he doesn't live in temples built by human hands. ^25 (AA) He doesn't need help from anyone. He gives life, breath, and everything else to all people. ^26 (AB) From one person God made all nations who live on earth, and he decided when and where every nation would be.

^27 (AC) God has done all this, so that we will look for him and reach out and find him. He isn't far from any of us, ²⁸ and he gives us the power to live, to move, and to be who we are. “We are his children,” just as some of your poets have said.

²⁹ Since we are God's children, we must not think that he is like an idol made out of gold or silver or stone. He isn't like anything that humans have thought up and made. ³⁰ In the past, God forgave all this because people did not know what they were doing. But now he says that everyone everywhere must turn to him. ³¹ He has set a day when he will judge the world's people with fairness. And he has chosen the man Jesus to do the judging for him. God has given proof of this to all of us by raising Jesus from death.

³² As soon as the people heard Paul say a man had been raised from death, some of them started laughing. Others said, “We will hear you talk about this some other time.” ³³ When Paul left the council meeting, ³⁴ some of the men put their faith in the Lord and went with Paul. One of them was a council member named Dionysius. A woman named Damaris and several others also put their faith in the Lord.

Paul in Corinth

18 Paul left Athens and went to Corinth, ² where he met Aquila, a Jewish man from Pontus. Not long before this, Aquila had come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Emperor Claudius had ordered the Jewish people to leave Rome.^[ab] Paul went to see Aquila and Priscilla ³ and found out they were tent makers. Paul was also a tent maker, so he stayed with them, and they worked together.

⁴ Every Sabbath, Paul went to the synagogue. He spoke to Jews and Gentiles^[ac] and tried to win them over. ⁵ But after Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, he spent all his time preaching to the Jews about Jesus the Messiah. ⁶ Finally, they turned against him and insulted him. So he shook the dust from his clothes^[ad] and told them, “Whatever happens to you will be your own fault! I am not to blame. From now on I am going to preach to the Gentiles.”

⁷ Paul then moved into the house of a man named Titius Justus, who worshiped God and lived next door to the synagogue. ⁸ Crispus was the leader of the synagogue. He and everyone in his family put their faith in the Lord. Many others in Corinth also heard the message, and all the people who had faith in the Lord were baptized.

⁹ One night, Paul had a vision, and in it the Lord said, “Don't be afraid to keep on preaching. Don't stop! ¹⁰ I am with you, and you won't be harmed. Many people in this city belong to me.” ¹¹ Paul stayed on in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching God's message to the people.

¹² While Gallio was governor of Achaia, some of the Jewish leaders got together and grabbed Paul. They brought him into court ¹³ and said, “This man is trying to make our people worship God in a way that is against our Law!”

¹⁴ Even before Paul could speak, Gallio said, “If you were charging this man with a crime or some other wrong, I would have to listen to you. ¹⁵ But since this concerns only words, names, and your own law, you will have to take care of it yourselves. I refuse to judge such matters.” ¹⁶ Then he sent them out of the court. ¹⁷ The crowd grabbed Sosthenes, the Jewish leader, and beat him up in front of the court. But none of this mattered to Gallio.

Paul Returns to Antioch in Syria

^18 (AD) After Paul had stayed for a while with the Lord's followers in Corinth, he told them goodbye and sailed on to Syria with Aquila and Priscilla. But before he left, he had his head shaved^[ae] at Cenchreae because he had made a promise to God.

¹⁹ The three of them arrived in Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He then went into the synagogue to talk with the people there. ²⁰ They asked him to stay longer, but he refused. ²¹ He told them goodbye and said, “If God lets me, I will come back.”

²² Paul sailed to Caesarea, where he greeted the church. Then he went on to Antioch. ²³ After staying there for a while, he left and visited several places in Galatia and Phrygia. He helped the followers there to become stronger in their faith.

Apollos in Ephesus

²⁴ A Jewish man named Apollos came to Ephesus. Apollos had been born in the city of Alexandria. He was a very good speaker and knew a lot about the Scriptures. ²⁵ He also knew much about the Lord's Way,^[af] and he spoke about it with great excitement. What he taught about Jesus was right, but all he knew was John's message about baptism.

²⁶ Apollos started speaking bravely in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him to their home and helped him understand God's Way even better.

²⁷ Apollos decided to travel through Achaia. So the Lord's followers wrote letters, encouraging the followers there to welcome him. After Apollos arrived in Achaia, he was a great help to everyone who had put their faith in the Lord Jesus because of God's gift of undeserved grace. ²⁸ He got into fierce arguments with the Jewish people, and in public he used the Scriptures to prove that Jesus is the Messiah.

Paul in Ephesus

19 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled across the hill country to Ephesus, where he met some of the Lord's followers. ² He asked them, “When you put your faith in Jesus, were you given the Holy Spirit?”

“No!” they answered. “We have never even heard of the Holy Spirit.”

³ “Then why were you baptized?” Paul asked.

They answered, “Because of what John taught.”^[ag]

^4 (AE) Paul replied, “John baptized people so they would turn to God. But he also told them someone else was coming, and they should put their faith in him. Jesus is the one that John was talking about.” ⁵ After the people heard Paul say this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ Then Paul placed his hands on them. The Holy Spirit was given to them, and they spoke unknown languages and prophesied. ⁷ There were about twelve men in this group.

⁸ For three months Paul went to the synagogue and talked bravely with the people about God's kingdom. He tried to win them over, ⁹ but some of them were stubborn and refused to believe. In front of everyone they said terrible things about God's Way. Paul left and took the followers with him to the lecture hall of Tyrannus. He spoke there every day ¹⁰ for two years, until every Jew and Gentile^[ah] in Asia had heard the Lord's message.

The Sons of Sceva

¹¹ God gave Paul the power to work great miracles. ¹² People even took handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched Paul's body, and they carried them to everyone who was sick. All of the sick people were healed, and the evil spirits went out.

¹³ Some Jewish men started going around trying to force out evil spirits by using the name of the Lord Jesus. They said to the spirits, “Come out in the name of that same Jesus that Paul preaches about!”

¹⁴ Seven sons of a high priest named Sceva were doing this, ¹⁵ when an evil spirit said to them, “I know Jesus! And I have heard about Paul. But who are you?” ¹⁶ Then the man with the evil spirit jumped on them and beat them up. They ran out of the house, naked and bruised.

¹⁷ When the Jews and Gentiles^[ai] in Ephesus heard about this, they were so frightened that they praised the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁸ Many who were followers now started telling everyone about the evil things they had been doing. ¹⁹ Some who had been practicing witchcraft even brought their books and burned them in public. These books were worth about 50,000 silver coins. ²⁰ So the Lord's message spread and became even more powerful.

The Riot in Ephesus

²¹ After all this had happened, Paul decided^[aj] to visit Macedonia and Achaia on his way to Jerusalem. Paul had said, “From there I will go on to Rome.” ²² So he sent his two helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia. But he stayed on in Asia for a while.

²³ At that time there was serious trouble because of the Lord's Way.^{[ak] 24} A silversmith named Demetrius had a business that made silver models of the temple of the goddess Artemis. Those who worked for him earned a lot of money. ²⁵ Demetrius brought together everyone who was in the same business and said:

Friends, you know we make a good living at this. ²⁶ But you have surely seen and heard how this man Paul is upsetting a lot of people, not only in Ephesus, but almost everywhere in Asia. He claims that the gods we humans make are not really gods at all. ²⁷ Everyone will start saying terrible things about our business. They will stop respecting the temple of the goddess Artemis, who is worshiped in Asia and all over the world. Our great goddess will be forgotten!

²⁸ When the workers heard this, they got angry and started shouting, “Great is Artemis, the goddess of the Ephesians!” ²⁹ Soon the whole city was in a riot, and some men grabbed Gaius and Aristarchus, who had come from Macedonia with Paul. Then everyone in the crowd rushed to the place where the town meetings were held.

³⁰ Paul wanted to go out and speak to the people, but the Lord's followers would not let him. ³¹ A few of the local officials were friendly to Paul, and they sent someone to warn him not to go.

³² Some of the people in the meeting were shouting one thing, and others were shouting something else. Everyone was completely confused, and most of them did not even know why they were there.

³³ Several of the Jewish leaders pushed a man named Alexander to the front of the crowd and started telling him what to say. He motioned with his hand and tried to explain what was going on. ³⁴ But when the crowd saw that he was Jewish, they all shouted for two hours, “Great is Artemis, the goddess of the Ephesians!”

³⁵ Finally, a town official made the crowd be quiet. Then he said:

People of Ephesus, who in the world doesn't know that our city is the center for worshiping the great goddess Artemis? Who doesn't know that her image which fell from heaven is right here? ³⁶ No one can deny this, and so you should calm down and not do anything foolish. ³⁷ You have brought men in here who have not robbed temples or spoken against our goddess.

³⁸ If Demetrius and his workers have a case against these men, we have courts and judges. Let them take their complaints there. ³⁹ But if you want to do more than that, the matter will have to be brought before the city council. ⁴⁰ We could easily be accused of starting a riot today. There is no excuse for it! We cannot even give a reason for this uproar.

⁴¹ After saying this, he told the people to leave.

Paul Goes through Macedonia and Greece

20 When the riot was over, Paul sent for the followers and encouraged them. He then told them goodbye and left for Macedonia. ² As he traveled from place to place, he encouraged the followers with many messages. Finally, he went to Greece^{[al] 3} and stayed there for three months.

Paul was about to sail to Syria. But some of the Jewish leaders plotted against him, so he decided to return by way of Macedonia. ⁴ With him were Sopater, son of Pyrrhus from Berea, and Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica. Gaius from Derbe was also with him, and so were Timothy and the two Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus. ⁵ They went on ahead to Troas and waited for us there. ⁶ After the Festival of Thin Bread, we sailed from Philippi. Five days later we met them in Troas and stayed there for a week.

Paul's Last Visit to Troas

⁷ On the first day of the week^[am] we met to break bread together.^[an] Paul spoke to the people until midnight because he was leaving the next morning. ⁸ In the upstairs room where we were meeting, there were a lot of lamps. ⁹ A young man by the name of Eutychus was sitting on a window sill. While Paul was speaking, the young man got very sleepy. Finally, he went to sleep and fell three floors all the way down to the ground. When they picked him up, he was dead.

¹⁰ Paul went down and bent over Eutychus. He took him in his arms and said, “Don't worry! He's alive.” ¹¹ After Paul had gone back upstairs, he broke bread, and ate with us. He then spoke until dawn and left. ¹² Then the followers took the young man home alive and were very happy.

The Voyage from Troas to Miletus

¹³ Paul decided to travel by land to Assos. The rest of us went on ahead by ship, and we were to take him aboard there. ¹⁴ When he met us in Assos, he came aboard, and we sailed on to Mitylene. ¹⁵ The next day we came to a place near Chios, and the following day we reached Samos. The day after that we sailed to Miletus. ¹⁶ Paul had decided to sail on past Ephesus, because he did not want to spend too much time in Asia. He was in a hurry and wanted to be in Jerusalem in time for Pentecost.^[ao]

Paul Says Goodbye to the Church Leaders of Ephesus

¹⁷ From Miletus, Paul sent a message for the church leaders at Ephesus to come and meet with him. ¹⁸ When they got there, he said:

You know everything I did during the time I was with you when I first came to Asia. ¹⁹ Some of the Jews plotted against me and caused me a lot of sorrow and trouble. But I served the Lord and was humble. ²⁰ When I preached in public or taught in your homes, I didn't hold back from telling anything that would help you. ²¹ I told Jews and Gentiles to turn to God and have faith in our Lord Jesus.

²² I don't know what will happen to me in Jerusalem, but I must obey God's Spirit and go there. ²³ In every city I visit, I am told by the Holy Spirit that I will be put in jail and will be in trouble in Jerusalem. ^24 (AF) But I don't care what happens to me, as long as I finish the work the Lord Jesus gave me to do. And this work is to tell the good news about God's gift of undeserved grace.

²⁵ I have gone from place to place, preaching to you about God's kingdom, but now I know that none of you will ever see me again. ²⁶ I tell you today I am no longer responsible for any of you! ²⁷ I have told you everything God wants you to know. ²⁸ Look after yourselves and everyone the Holy Spirit has placed in your care. Be like shepherds to God's church. It is the flock he bought with the blood of his own Son.^[ap]

²⁹ I know that after I am gone, others will come like fierce wolves to attack you. ³⁰ Some of your own people will tell lies to win over the Lord's followers. ³¹ Be on your guard! Remember how day and night for three years I kept warning you with tears in my eyes.

³² I now place you in God's care. Remember the message about his gift of undeserved grace! This message can help you and give you what belongs to you as God's people. ³³ I have never wanted anyone's money or clothes. ³⁴ You know how I have worked with my own hands to make a living for myself and my friends. ³⁵ By everything I did, I showed how you should work to help everyone who is weak. Remember that our Lord Jesus said, “More blessings come from giving than from receiving.”

³⁶ After Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. ³⁷ Everyone cried and hugged and kissed him. ³⁸ They were especially sad because Paul had told them, “You will never see me again.”

Then they went with him to the ship.

Paul Goes to Jerusalem

21 After saying goodbye, we sailed straight to Cos. The next day we reached Rhodes and from there sailed on to Patara. ² We found a ship going to Phoenicia, so we got on board and sailed off.

³ We came within sight of Cyprus and then sailed south of it on to the port of Tyre in Syria, where the ship was going to unload its cargo. ⁴ We found the Lord's followers and stayed with them for a week. The Holy Spirit had told them to warn Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. ⁵ But when the week was over, we started on our way again. All the men, together with their wives and children, walked with us from the town to the seashore. We knelt on the beach and prayed. ⁶ Then after saying goodbye to each other, we got into the ship, and they went back home.

⁷ We sailed from Tyre to Ptolemais, where we greeted the followers and stayed with them for a day. ^8 (AG) The next day we went to Caesarea and stayed with Philip, the preacher. He was one of the seven men who helped the apostles, ⁹ and he had four unmarried^[aq] daughters who prophesied.

^10 (AH) We had been in Caesarea for several days, when the prophet Agabus came to us from Judea. ¹¹ He took Paul's belt, and with it he tied up his own hands and feet. Then he told us, “The Holy Spirit says that some of the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will tie up the man who owns this belt. They will also hand him over to the Gentiles.” ¹² After Agabus said this, we and the followers living there begged Paul not to go to Jerusalem.

¹³ But Paul answered, “Why are you crying and breaking my heart? I am not only willing to be put in jail for the Lord Jesus, but I am even willing to die for him in Jerusalem!”

¹⁴ Since we could not get Paul to change his mind, we gave up and prayed, “Lord, please make us willing to do what you want.”

¹⁵ Then we got ready to go to Jerusalem. ¹⁶ Some of the followers from Caesarea went with us and took us to stay in the home of Mnason. He was from Cyprus and had been a follower from the beginning.

Paul Visits James

¹⁷ When we arrived in Jerusalem, the Lord's followers gladly welcomed us. ¹⁸ Paul went with us to see James^[ar] the next day, and all the church leaders were present. ¹⁹ Paul greeted them and told how God had used him to help the Gentiles. ²⁰ Everyone who heard this praised God and said to Paul:

My friend, you can see how many tens of thousands of our people have become followers! And all of them are eager to obey the Law of Moses. ²¹ But they have been told that you are teaching those who live among the Gentiles to disobey this Law. They claim that you are telling them not to circumcise their sons or to follow our customs.

²² What should we do now that our people have heard you are here? ^23 (AI) Please do what we ask, because four of our men have made special promises to God. ²⁴ Join with them and prepare yourself for the ceremony that goes with the promises. Pay the cost for their heads to be shaved. Then everyone will learn that the reports about you are not true. They will know you do obey the Law of Moses.

^25 (AJ) Some while ago we told the Gentile followers what we think they should do. We instructed them not to eat anything offered to idols. They were told not to eat any meat with blood still in it or the meat of an animal that has been strangled. They were also told not to commit any terrible sexual sins.^[as]

²⁶ The next day Paul took the four men with him and got himself ready at the same time they did. Then he went into the temple and told when the final ceremony would take place and when an offering would be made for each of them.

Paul Is Arrested

²⁷ When the period of seven days for the ceremony was almost over, some of the Jewish people from Asia saw Paul in the temple. They got a large crowd together and started attacking him. ²⁸ They were shouting, “Friends, help us! This man goes around everywhere, saying bad things about our nation and about the Law of Moses and about this temple. He has even brought shame to this holy temple by bringing in Gentiles.” ^29 (AK) Some of them thought that Paul had brought Trophimus from Ephesus into the temple, because they had seen them together in the city.

³⁰ The whole city was in an uproar, and the people turned into a mob. They grabbed Paul and dragged him out of the temple. Then suddenly the doors were shut. ³¹ The people were about to kill Paul when the Roman army commander heard that all Jerusalem was starting to riot. ³² So he quickly took some soldiers and officers and ran to where the crowd had gathered.

As soon as the mob saw the commander and soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. ³³ The army commander went over and arrested him and had him bound with two chains. Then he tried to find out who Paul was and what he had done. ³⁴ Part of the crowd shouted one thing, and part of them shouted something else. But they were making so much noise that the commander could not find out a thing. Then he ordered Paul to be taken into the fortress. ³⁵ As they reached the steps, the crowd became so wild that the soldiers had to lift Paul up and carry him. ³⁶ The crowd followed and kept shouting, “Kill him! Kill him!”

Paul Speaks to the Crowd

³⁷ When Paul was about to be taken into the fortress, he asked the commander, “Can I say something to you?”

“How do you know Greek?” the commander asked. ³⁸ “Aren't you that Egyptian who started a riot not long ago and led 4,000 terrorists into the desert?”

³⁹ “No!” Paul replied. “I am a Jew from Tarsus, an important city in Cilicia. Please let me speak to the crowd.”

⁴⁰ The commander told him he could speak, so Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the people. When they were quiet, he spoke to them in Aramaic:^[at]

22 “My friends and leaders of our nation, listen as I explain what happened!” ² When the crowd heard Paul speak to them in Aramaic, they became even quieter. Then Paul said:

^3 (AL) I am a Jew, born in the city of Tarsus in Cilicia. But I grew up here in Jerusalem where I was a student of Gamaliel and was taught to follow every single law of our ancestors. In fact, I was just as eager to obey God as any of you are today.

^4 (AM) I made trouble for everyone who followed the Lord's Way,^[au] and I even had some of them killed. I had others arrested and put in jail. I didn't care if they were men or women. ⁵ The high priest and all the council members can tell you this is true. They even gave me letters to the Jewish leaders in Damascus, so that I could arrest people there and bring them to Jerusalem to be punished.

^6 (AN) One day about noon I was getting close to Damascus, when a bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. ⁷ I fell to the ground and heard a voice asking, “Saul, Saul, why are you so cruel to me?”

⁸ “Who are you?” I answered.

The Lord replied, “I am Jesus from Nazareth! I am the one you are so cruel to.” ⁹ Those who were traveling with me saw the light, but did not hear the voice.

¹⁰ I asked, “Lord, what do you want me to do?”

Then he told me, “Get up and go to Damascus. When you get there, you will be told what to do.” ¹¹ The light had been so bright that I couldn't see. And the others had to lead me by the hand to Damascus.

¹² In that city there was a man named Ananias, who faithfully obeyed the Law of Moses and was well liked by all the Jewish people living there. ¹³ He came to me and said, “Saul, my friend, you can now see again!”

At once I could see. ¹⁴ Then Ananias told me, “The God that our ancestors worshiped has chosen you to know what he wants done. He has chosen you to see the One Who Obeys God^[av] and to hear his voice. ¹⁵ You must tell everyone what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ What are you waiting for? Get up! Be baptized, and wash away your sins by praying to the Lord.”

¹⁷ After this I returned to Jerusalem and went to the temple to pray. There I had a vision ¹⁸ of the Lord who said to me, “Hurry and leave Jerusalem! The people won't listen to what you say about me.”

¹⁹ I replied, “Lord, they know that in many of our synagogues I arrested and beat people who had faith in you. ^20 (AO) Stephen was killed because he spoke for you, and I stood there and cheered them on. I even guarded the clothes of the men who murdered him.”

²¹ But the Lord told me to go, and he promised to send me far away to the Gentiles.

²² The crowd listened until Paul said this. Then they started shouting, “Get rid of this man! He doesn't deserve to live.” ²³ They kept shouting. They waved their clothes around and threw dust into the air.

Paul and the Roman Army Commander

²⁴ The Roman commander ordered Paul to be taken into the fortress and beaten with a whip. He did this to find out why the people were screaming at Paul.

²⁵ While the soldiers were tying Paul up to be beaten, he asked the officer standing there, “Is it legal to beat a Roman citizen before he has been tried in court?”

²⁶ When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and said, “What are you doing? This man is a Roman citizen!”

²⁷ The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”

“Yes,” Paul answered.

²⁸ The commander then said, “I paid a lot of money to become a Roman citizen.”^[aw]

But Paul replied, “I was born a Roman citizen.”

²⁹ The men who were about to beat and question Paul quickly backed off. And the commander himself was frightened when he realized that he had put a Roman citizen in chains.

Paul Is Tried by the Council

³⁰ The next day the commander wanted to know the real reason why the Jewish leaders had brought charges against Paul. So he had Paul's chains removed, and he ordered the chief priests and the whole council to meet. Then he had Paul led in and made him stand in front of them.

23 Paul looked straight at the council members and said, “My friends, to this day I have served God with a clear conscience!”

² Then Ananias the high priest ordered the men standing beside Paul to hit him on the mouth. ^3 (AP) Paul turned to the high priest and said, “You whitewashed wall!^[ax] God will hit you. You sit there to judge me by the Law of Moses. But at the same time you order men to break the Law by hitting me.”

⁴ The men standing beside Paul asked, “Don't you know you are insulting God's high priest?”

^5 (AQ) Paul replied, “Oh! I didn't know he was the high priest. The Scriptures do tell us not to speak evil about a leader of our people.”

^6 (AR) When Paul saw that some of the council members were Sadducees and others were Pharisees, he shouted, “My friends, I am a Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee. I am on trial simply because I believe that the dead will be raised to life.”

⁷ As soon as Paul said this, the Pharisees and the Sadducees got into a big argument, and the council members started taking sides. ^8 (AS) The Sadducees do not believe in angels or spirits or that the dead will rise to life. But the Pharisees believe in all of these, ⁹ and so there was a lot of shouting. Some of the teachers of the Law of Moses were Pharisees. Finally, they became angry and said, “We don't find anything wrong with this man. Maybe a spirit or an angel really did speak to him.”

¹⁰ The argument became fierce, and the commander was afraid that Paul would be pulled apart. So he ordered the soldiers to go in and rescue Paul. Then they took him back into the fortress.

¹¹ That night the Lord stood beside Paul and said, “Don't worry! Just as you have told others about me in Jerusalem, you must also tell about me in Rome.”

A Plot To Kill Paul

^12-13 The next morning more than 40 Jewish men got together and vowed that they would not eat or drink anything until they had killed Paul. ¹⁴ Then some of them went to the chief priests and the nation's leaders and said, “We have promised God that we would not eat a thing until we have killed Paul. ¹⁵ You and everyone in the council must go to the commander and pretend that you want to find out more about the charges against Paul. Ask for him to be brought before your court. Meanwhile, we will be waiting to kill him before he gets there.”

¹⁶ When Paul's nephew heard about the plot, he went to the fortress and told Paul about it. ¹⁷ So Paul said to one of the army officers, “Take this young man to the commander. He has something to tell him.”

¹⁸ The officer took him to the commander and said, “The prisoner named Paul asked me to bring this young man to you, because he has something to tell you.”

¹⁹ The commander took the young man aside and asked him in private, “What do you want to tell me?”

²⁰ He answered, “Some men are planning to ask you to bring Paul down to the Jewish council tomorrow. They will claim they want to find out more about him. ²¹ But please don't do what they say. More than 40 men are going to attack Paul. They have made a vow not to eat or drink anything until they have killed him. Even now they are waiting to hear what you decide.”

²² The commander sent the young man away after saying to him, “Don't let anyone know you told me this.”

Paul Is Sent to Felix the Governor

²³ The commander called in two of his officers and told them, “By nine o'clock tonight have 200 soldiers ready to go to Caesarea. Take along 70 men on horseback and 200 foot soldiers with spears. ²⁴ Get a horse ready for Paul and make sure he gets safely through to Felix the governor.”

²⁵ The commander wrote a letter that said:

²⁶ Greetings from Claudius Lysias to the Honorable Governor Felix:

²⁷ Some Jews grabbed this man and were about to kill him. But when I found out that he was a Roman citizen, I took some soldiers and rescued him.

²⁸ I wanted to find out what they had against him. So I brought him before their council ²⁹ and learned that the charges concern only their religious laws. This man isn't guilty of anything for which he should die or even be put in jail.

³⁰ As soon as I learned that there was a plot against him, I sent him to you and told their leaders to bring charges against him in your court.

³¹ The soldiers obeyed the commander's orders, and that same night they took Paul to the city of Antipatris. ³² The next day the foot soldiers returned to the fortress and let the soldiers on horseback take him the rest of the way. ³³ When they came to Caesarea, they gave the letter to the governor and handed Paul over to him.

³⁴ The governor read the letter. Then he asked Paul and found out that he was from Cilicia. ³⁵ The governor said, “I will listen to your case as soon as the people come to bring their charges against you.” After saying this, he gave orders for Paul to be kept as a prisoner in Herod's palace.^[ay]

Paul Is Accused in the Court of Felix

24 Five days later Ananias the high priest, together with some of their leaders and a lawyer named Tertullus, went to the governor to present their case against Paul. ² So Paul was called in, and Tertullus stated the case against him:^[az]

Honorable Felix, you have brought our people a long period of peace, and because of your concern our nation is much better off. ³ All of us are always grateful for what you have done. ⁴ I don't want to bother you, but please be patient with us and listen to me for just a few minutes.

⁵ This man has been found to be a real pest and troublemaker for our people all over the world. He is also a leader of a group called Nazarenes. ^6-8 When he tried to disgrace the temple, we arrested him.^[ba] If you question him, you will find out for yourself that our charges are true.

⁹ The Jewish crowd spoke up and agreed with what Tertullus had said.

Paul Defends Himself

¹⁰ The governor motioned for Paul to speak, and he began:

I know that you have judged the people of our nation for many years, and I am glad to defend myself in your court.

¹¹ It was no more than twelve days ago that I went to worship in Jerusalem. You can find this out easily enough. ¹² Never once did the Jews find me arguing with anyone in the temple. I didn't cause trouble in the synagogues or in the city itself. ¹³ There is no way that they can prove these charges they are now bringing against me.

¹⁴ I admit that their leaders think the Lord's Way^[bb] which I follow is based on wrong beliefs. But I still worship the same God that my ancestors worshiped. And I believe everything written in the Law of Moses and in the Prophets.^{[bc] 15} I am just as sure as these people are that God will raise from death everyone, good or evil. ¹⁶ And because I am sure, I try my best to have a clear conscience in whatever I do for God or for people.

^17 (AT) After being away for several years, I returned here to bring gifts for the poor people of my nation and to offer sacrifices. ¹⁸ This is what I was doing when I was found going through a ceremony in the temple. I wasn't with a crowd, and there was no uproar.

¹⁹ Some Jews from Asia were there at that time, and if they have anything to say against me, they should be here now. ²⁰ Or ask the ones who are here. They can tell you that they didn't find me guilty of anything when I was tried by their own council. ^21 (AU) The only charge they can bring against me is what I shouted out in court, when I said, “I am on trial today because I believe that the dead will be raised to life!”

²² Felix knew a lot about the Lord's Way.^[bd] But he brought the trial to an end and said, “I will make my decision after Lysias the commander arrives.” ²³ He then ordered the army officer to keep Paul under guard, but not to lock him up or to stop his friends from helping him.

Paul Is Kept under Guard

²⁴ Several days later Felix and his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, went to the place where Paul was kept under guard. They sent for Paul and listened while he spoke to them about having faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁵ But Felix was frightened when Paul started talking to them about doing right, about self-control, and about the coming judgment. So he said to Paul, “That's enough for now. You may go. But when I have time I will send for you.” ²⁶ After this, Felix often sent for Paul and talked with him, because he hoped that Paul would offer him a bribe.

²⁷ Two years later Porcius Festus became governor in place of Felix. But since Felix wanted to do the Jewish leaders a favor, he kept Paul in jail.

Paul Asks To Be Tried by the Roman Emperor

25 Three days after Festus had become governor, he went from Caesarea to Jerusalem. ² There the chief priests and some Jewish leaders told him about their charges against Paul. They also asked Festus ³ if he would be willing to bring Paul to Jerusalem. They begged him to do this because they were planning to attack and kill Paul on the way. ⁴ But Festus told them, “Paul will be kept in Caesarea, and I am soon going there myself. ⁵ If he has done anything wrong, let your leaders go with me and bring charges against him there.”

⁶ Festus stayed in Jerusalem for eight or ten more days before going to Caesarea. Then the next day he took his place as judge and had Paul brought into court. ⁷ As soon as Paul came in, the leaders from Jerusalem crowded around him and said he was guilty of many serious crimes. But they could not prove anything. ⁸ Then Paul spoke in his own defense, “I have not broken the Law of my people. And I have not done anything against either the temple or the Emperor.”

⁹ Festus wanted to please the leaders. So he asked Paul, “Are you willing to go to Jerusalem and be tried by me on these charges?”

¹⁰ Paul replied, “I am on trial in the Emperor's court, and that's where I should be tried. You know very well I have not done anything to harm the Jewish nation. ¹¹ If I had done something deserving death, I would not ask to escape the death penalty. But I am not guilty of any of these crimes, and no one has the right to hand me over to these people. I now ask to be tried by the Emperor himself.”

¹² After Festus had talked this over with members of his council, he told Paul, “You have asked to be tried by the Emperor, and to the Emperor you will go!”

Paul Speaks to Agrippa and Bernice

¹³ A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to visit Festus. ¹⁴ They had been there for several days, when Festus told the king about the charges against Paul. He said:

Felix left a man here in jail, ¹⁵ and when I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and the Jewish leaders came and asked me to find him guilty. ¹⁶ I told them it isn't the Roman custom to hand a man over to people who are bringing charges against him. He must first have the chance to meet them face to face and to defend himself against their charges.

¹⁷ So when they came here with me, I wasted no time. On the very next day I took my place on the judge's bench and ordered him to be brought in. ¹⁸ But when the men stood up to make their charges against him, they did not accuse him of any of the crimes that I thought they would. ¹⁹ Instead, they argued with him about some of their beliefs and about a dead man named Jesus, who Paul said was alive.

²⁰ Since I did not know how to find out the truth about all this, I asked Paul if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem and be put on trial there. ²¹ But Paul asked to be kept in jail until the Emperor could decide his case. So I ordered him to be kept here until I could send him to the Emperor.

²² Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would also like to hear what this man has to say.”

Festus answered, “You can hear him tomorrow.”

²³ The next day Agrippa and Bernice made a big show as they came into the meeting room. High ranking army officers and leading citizens of the town were also there. Festus then ordered Paul to be brought in ²⁴ and said:

King Agrippa and other guests, look at this man! Every Jew from Jerusalem and Caesarea has come to me, demanding for him to be put to death. ²⁵ I have not found him guilty of any crime deserving death. But because he has asked to be judged by the Emperor, I have decided to send him to Rome.

²⁶ I have to write some facts about this man to the Emperor. So I have brought him before all of you, but especially before you, King Agrippa. After we have talked about his case, I will then have something to write. ²⁷ It makes no sense to send a prisoner to the Emperor without stating the charges against him.

Paul's Defense before Agrippa

26 Agrippa told Paul, “You may now speak for yourself.”

Paul stretched out his hand and said:

² King Agrippa, I am glad for this chance to defend myself before you today on all these charges my own people have brought against me. ³ You know a lot about our religious customs and the beliefs that divide us. So I ask you to listen patiently to me.

^4-5 (AV) All the Jews have known me since I was a child. They know what kind of life I have lived in my own country and in Jerusalem. And if they were willing, they could tell you I was a Pharisee, a member of a group that is stricter than any other. ⁶ Now I am on trial because I believe the promise God made to our people long ago.

⁷ Day and night our twelve tribes have earnestly served God, waiting for his promised blessings. King Agrippa, because of this hope, some of our leaders have brought charges against me. ^8 (AW) Why should any of you doubt that God raises the dead to life?

^9 (AX) I once thought that I should do everything I could to oppose Jesus from Nazareth. ¹⁰ I did this first in Jerusalem, and with the authority of the chief priests I put many of God's people in jail. I even voted for them to be killed. ¹¹ I often had them punished in our synagogues, and I tried to make them give up their faith. In fact, I was so angry with them, that I went looking for them in foreign cities.

¹² King Agrippa, one day I was on my way to Damascus with the authority and permission of the chief priests. ¹³ About noon I saw a light brighter than the sun. It flashed from heaven on me and on everyone traveling with me. ¹⁴ We all fell to the ground. Then I heard a voice say to me in Aramaic,^[be] “Saul, Saul, why are you so cruel to me? It's foolish to fight against me!”

¹⁵ “Who are you?” I asked.

Then the Lord answered, “I am Jesus! I am the one you are so cruel to. ¹⁶ Now stand up. I have appeared to you, because I have chosen you to be my servant. You are to tell others what you have learned about me and what I will show you later.”

¹⁷ The Lord also said, “I will protect you from the Jews and from the Gentiles that I am sending you to. ¹⁸ I want you to open their eyes, so they will turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then their sins will be forgiven, and by faith in me they will become part of God's holy people.”

¹⁹ King Agrippa, I obeyed this vision from heaven. ^20 (AY) First I preached to the people in Damascus, and then I went to Jerusalem and all over Judea. Finally, I went to the Gentiles and said, “Stop sinning and turn to God! Then prove what you have done by the way you live.”

²¹ That is why some men grabbed me in the temple and tried to kill me. ²² But all this time God has helped me, and I have preached both to the rich and to the poor. I have told them only what the prophets and Moses said would happen. ^23 (AZ) I told them how the Messiah would suffer and be the first to be raised from death, so he could bring light to his own people and to the Gentiles.

²⁴ Before Paul finished defending himself, Festus shouted, “Paul, you're crazy! Too much learning has driven you out of your mind.”

²⁵ But Paul replied, “Honorable Festus, I am not crazy. What I am saying is true, and it makes sense. ²⁶ None of these things happened off in a corner somewhere. I am sure that King Agrippa knows what I am talking about. That's why I can speak so plainly to him.”

²⁷ Then Paul said to Agrippa, “Do you believe what the prophets said? I know you do.”

²⁸ Agrippa asked Paul, “In such a short time do you think you can talk me into being a Christian?”

²⁹ Paul answered, “Whether it takes a short time or a long time, I wish you and everyone else who hears me today would become just like me! Except, of course, for these chains.”

³⁰ Then King Agrippa, Governor Festus, Bernice, and everyone who was with them got up. ³¹ But before they left, they said, “This man isn't guilty of anything. He doesn't deserve to die or to be put in jail.”

³² Agrippa told Festus, “Paul could have been set free, if he had not asked to be tried by the Roman Emperor.”

Paul Is Taken to Rome

27 When it was time for us to sail to Rome, Captain Julius from the Emperor's special troops was put in charge of Paul and the other prisoners. ² We went aboard a ship from Adramyttium that was about to sail to some ports along the coast of Asia. Aristarchus from Thessalonica in Macedonia sailed on the ship with us.

³ The next day we came to shore at Sidon. Captain Julius was very kind to Paul. He even let him visit his friends, so they could give him whatever he needed. ⁴ When we left Sidon, the winds were blowing against us, and we sailed close to the island of Cyprus to be safe from the wind. ⁵ Then we sailed south of Cilicia and Pamphylia until we came to the port of Myra in Lycia. ⁶ There the army captain found a ship from Alexandria that was going to Italy. So he ordered us to board that ship.

⁷ We sailed along slowly for several days and had a hard time reaching Cnidus. The wind would not let us go any farther in that direction, so we sailed past Cape Salmone, where the island of Crete would protect us from the wind. ⁸ We went slowly along the coast and finally reached a place called Fair Havens, not far from the town of Lasea.

⁹ By now we had already lost a lot of time, and sailing was no longer safe. In fact, even the Great Day of Forgiveness^[bf] was past. ¹⁰ Then Paul spoke to the crew of the ship, “Men, listen to me! If we sail now, our ship and its cargo will be badly damaged, and many lives will be lost.” ¹¹ But Julius listened to the captain of the ship and its owner, rather than to Paul.

¹² The harbor at Fair Havens wasn't a good place to spend the winter. Because of this, almost everyone agreed that we should at least try to sail along the coast of Crete as far as Phoenix. It had a harbor that opened toward the southwest and northwest,^[bg] and we could spend the winter there.

The Storm at Sea

¹³ When a gentle wind from the south started blowing, the men thought it was a good time to do what they had planned. So they pulled up the anchor, and we sailed along the coast of Crete. ¹⁴ But soon a strong wind called “The Northeaster” blew against us from the island.