Historical
Paul and Barnabas at Iconium
14 The same thing happened in Iconium[a] when Paul and Barnabas[b] went into the Jewish synagogue[c] and spoke in such a way that a large group[d] of both Jews and Greeks believed. 2 But the Jews who refused to believe[e] stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds[f] against the brothers. 3 So they stayed there[g] for a considerable time, speaking out courageously for the Lord, who testified[h] to the message[i] of his grace, granting miraculous signs[j] and wonders to be performed through their hands. 4 But the population[k] of the city was divided; some[l] sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles. 5 When both the Gentiles and the Jews (together with their rulers) made[m] an attempt to mistreat[n] them and stone them,[o] 6 Paul and Barnabas[p] learned about it[q] and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra[r] and Derbe[s] and the surrounding region. 7 There[t] they continued to proclaim[u] the good news.
Paul and Barnabas at Lystra
8 In[v] Lystra[w] sat a man who could not use his feet,[x] lame from birth,[y] who had never walked. 9 This man was listening to Paul as he was speaking. When Paul[z] stared[aa] intently at him and saw he had faith to be healed, 10 he said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.”[ab] And the man[ac] leaped up and began walking.[ad] 11 So when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted[ae] in the Lycaonian language,[af] “The gods have come down to us in human form!”[ag] 12 They began to call[ah] Barnabas Zeus[ai] and Paul Hermes,[aj] because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of the temple[ak] of Zeus,[al] located just outside the city, brought bulls[am] and garlands[an] to the city gates; he and the crowds wanted to offer sacrifices to them.[ao] 14 But when the apostles[ap] Barnabas and Paul heard about[aq] it, they tore[ar] their clothes and rushed out[as] into the crowd, shouting,[at] 15 “Men, why are you doing these things? We too are men, with human natures[au] just like you! We are proclaiming the good news to you, so that you should turn[av] from these worthless[aw] things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth,[ax] the sea, and everything that is in them. 16 In[ay] past[az] generations he allowed all the nations[ba] to go their own ways, 17 yet he did not leave himself without a witness by doing good,[bb] by giving you rain from heaven[bc] and fruitful seasons, satisfying you[bd] with food and your hearts with joy.”[be] 18 Even by saying[bf] these things, they scarcely persuaded[bg] the crowds not to offer sacrifice to them.
19 But Jews came from Antioch[bh] and Iconium,[bi] and after winning[bj] the crowds over, they stoned[bk] Paul and dragged him out of the city, presuming him to be dead. 20 But after the disciples had surrounded him, he got up and went back[bl] into the city. On[bm] the next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.[bn]
Paul and Barnabas Return to Antioch in Syria
21 After they had proclaimed the good news in that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra,[bo] to Iconium,[bp] and to Antioch.[bq] 22 They strengthened[br] the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue[bs] in the faith, saying, “We must enter the kingdom of God[bt] through many persecutions.”[bu] 23 When they had appointed elders[bv] for them in the various churches,[bw] with prayer and fasting[bx] they entrusted them to the protection[by] of the Lord in whom they had believed. 24 Then they passed through[bz] Pisidia and came into Pamphylia,[ca] 25 and when they had spoken the word[cb] in Perga,[cc] they went down to Attalia.[cd] 26 From there they sailed back to Antioch,[ce] where they had been commended[cf] to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.[cg] 27 When they arrived and gathered the church together, they reported[ch] all the things God[ci] had done with them, and that he had opened a door[cj] of faith for the Gentiles. 28 So they spent[ck] considerable[cl] time with the disciples.
The Jerusalem Council
15 Now some men came down from Judea[cm] and began to teach the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised[cn] according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 When Paul and Barnabas had a major argument and debate[co] with them, the church[cp] appointed Paul and Barnabas and some others from among them to go up to meet with[cq] the apostles and elders in Jerusalem about this point of disagreement.[cr] 3 So they were sent on their way by the church, and as they passed through both Phoenicia[cs] and Samaria, they were relating at length[ct] the conversion of the Gentiles and bringing great joy[cu] to all the brothers. 4 When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were received[cv] by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported[cw] all the things God had done with them.[cx] 5 But some from the religious party of the Pharisees[cy] who had believed stood up and said, “It is necessary[cz] to circumcise the Gentiles[da] and to order them to observe[db] the law of Moses.”
6 Both the apostles and the elders met together to deliberate[dc] about this matter. 7 After there had been much debate,[dd] Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that some time ago[de] God chose[df] me to preach to the Gentiles so they would hear the message[dg] of the gospel[dh] and believe.[di] 8 And God, who knows the heart,[dj] has testified[dk] to them by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us,[dl] 9 and he made no distinction[dm] between them and us, cleansing[dn] their hearts by faith. 10 So now why are you putting God to the test[do] by placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke[dp] that neither our ancestors[dq] nor we have been able to bear? 11 On the contrary, we believe that we are saved through[dr] the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they are.”[ds]
12 The whole group kept quiet[dt] and listened to Barnabas and Paul while they explained all the miraculous signs[du] and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. 13 After they stopped speaking,[dv] James replied,[dw] “Brothers, listen to me. 14 Simeon[dx] has explained[dy] how God first concerned himself[dz] to select[ea] from among the Gentiles[eb] a people for his name. 15 The[ec] words of the prophets agree[ed] with this, as it is written,
16 ‘After this[ee] I[ef] will return,
and I will rebuild the fallen tent[eg] of David;
I will rebuild its ruins and restore[eh] it,
17 so that the rest of humanity[ei] may seek the Lord,
namely,[ej] all the Gentiles[ek] I have called to be my own,’[el] says the Lord,[em] who makes these things 18 known[en] from long ago.[eo]
19 “Therefore I conclude[ep] that we should not cause extra difficulty[eq] for those among the Gentiles[er] who are turning to God, 20 but that we should write them a letter[es] telling them to abstain[et] from things defiled[eu] by idols and from sexual immorality and from what has been strangled[ev] and from blood. 21 For Moses has had those who proclaim him in every town from ancient times,[ew] because he is read aloud[ex] in the synagogues[ey] every Sabbath.”
22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided[ez] to send men chosen from among them, Judas called Barsabbas and Silas,[fa] leaders among the brothers, to Antioch[fb] with Paul and Barnabas. 23 They sent this letter with them:[fc]
From the apostles[fd] and elders, your brothers,[fe] to the Gentile brothers and sisters[ff] in Antioch,[fg] Syria,[fh] and Cilicia, greetings! 24 Since we have heard that some have gone out from among us with no orders from us and have confused[fi] you, upsetting[fj] your minds[fk] by what they said,[fl] 25 we have unanimously[fm] decided[fn] to choose men to send to you along with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul, 26 who[fo] have risked their lives[fp] for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.[fq] 27 Therefore we are sending[fr] Judas and Silas[fs] who will tell you these things themselves in person.[ft] 28 For it seemed best to the Holy Spirit and to us[fu] not to place any greater burden on you than these necessary rules:[fv] 29 that you abstain from meat that has been sacrificed to idols[fw] and from blood and from what has been strangled[fx] and from sexual immorality.[fy] If you keep yourselves from doing these things,[fz] you will do well. Farewell.[ga]
30 So when they were dismissed,[gb] they went down to Antioch,[gc] and after gathering the entire group[gd] together, they delivered the letter. 31 When they read it aloud,[ge] the people[gf] rejoiced at its encouragement.[gg] 32 Both Judas and Silas, who were prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with a long speech.[gh] 33 After[gi] they had spent some time there,[gj] they were sent off in peace by the brothers to those who had sent them.[gk] 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch,[gl] teaching and proclaiming (along with many others)[gm] the word of the Lord.[gn]
Paul and Barnabas Part Company
36 After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return[go] and visit the brothers in every town where we proclaimed the word of the Lord[gp] to see how they are doing.”[gq] 37 Barnabas wanted to bring John called Mark along with them too, 38 but Paul insisted[gr] that they should not take along this one who had left them in Pamphylia[gs] and had not accompanied them in the work. 39 They had[gt] a sharp disagreement,[gu] so that they parted company. Barnabas took along[gv] Mark and sailed away to Cyprus,[gw] 40 but Paul chose Silas and set out, commended[gx] to the grace of the Lord by the brothers and sisters.[gy] 41 He passed through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening[gz] the churches.
Timothy Joins Paul and Silas
16 He also came to Derbe[ha] and to Lystra.[hb] A disciple[hc] named Timothy was there, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer,[hd] but whose father was a Greek.[he] 2 The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well[hf] of him.[hg] 3 Paul wanted Timothy[hh] to accompany him, and he took[hi] him and circumcised[hj] him because of the Jews who were in those places,[hk] for they all knew that his father was Greek.[hl] 4 As they went through the towns,[hm] they passed on[hn] the decrees that had been decided on by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the Gentile believers[ho] to obey.[hp] 5 So the churches were being strengthened in the faith and were increasing in number every day.[hq]
Paul’s Vision of the Macedonian Man
6 They went through the region of Phrygia[hr] and Galatia,[hs] having been prevented[ht] by the Holy Spirit from speaking the message[hu] in the province of Asia.[hv] 7 When they came to[hw] Mysia,[hx] they attempted to go into Bithynia,[hy] but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow[hz] them to do this,[ia] 8 so they passed through[ib] Mysia[ic] and went down to Troas.[id] 9 A[ie] vision appeared to Paul during the night: A Macedonian man was standing there[if] urging him,[ig] “Come over[ih] to Macedonia[ii] and help us!” 10 After Paul[ij] saw the vision, we[ik] attempted[il] immediately to go over to Macedonia,[im] concluding that God had called[in] us to proclaim the good news to them.
Arrival at Philippi
11 We put out to sea[io] from Troas[ip] and sailed a straight course[iq] to Samothrace,[ir] the next day to Neapolis,[is] 12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of that district[it] of Macedonia,[iu] a Roman colony.[iv] We stayed in this city for some days. 13 On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate to the side of the river, where we thought there would be a place of prayer, and we sat down[iw] and began to speak[ix] to the women[iy] who had assembled there.[iz] 14 A[ja] woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth[jb] from the city of Thyatira,[jc] a God-fearing woman, listened to us.[jd] The Lord opened her heart to respond[je] to what Paul was saying. 15 After she and her household were baptized, she urged us,[jf] “If[jg] you consider me to be a believer in the Lord,[jh] come and stay in my house.” And she persuaded[ji] us.
Paul and Silas Are Thrown Into Prison
16 Now[jj] as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave girl met us who had a spirit that enabled her to foretell the future by supernatural means.[jk] She[jl] brought her owners[jm] a great profit by fortune-telling.[jn] 17 She followed behind Paul and us and kept crying out,[jo] “These men are servants[jp] of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way[jq] of salvation.”[jr] 18 She continued to do this for many days. But Paul became greatly annoyed,[js] and turned[jt] and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ[ju] to come out of her!” And it came out of her at once.[jv] 19 But when her owners[jw] saw their hope of profit[jx] was gone, they seized[jy] Paul and Silas and dragged[jz] them into the marketplace[ka] before the authorities. 20 When[kb] they had brought them[kc] before the magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion.[kd] They are[ke] Jews 21 and are advocating[kf] customs that are not lawful for us to accept[kg] or practice,[kh] since we are[ki] Romans.”
22 The crowd joined the attack[kj] against them, and the magistrates tore the clothes[kk] off Paul and Silas[kl] and ordered them to be beaten with rods.[km] 23 After they had beaten them severely,[kn] they threw them into prison and commanded[ko] the jailer to guard them securely. 24 Receiving such orders, he threw them in the inner cell[kp] and fastened their feet in the stocks.[kq]
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying[kr] and singing hymns to God,[ks] and the rest of[kt] the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly a great earthquake occurred, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. Immediately all the doors flew open, and the bonds[ku] of all the prisoners came loose. 27 When the jailer woke up[kv] and saw the doors of the prison standing open,[kw] he drew his sword and was about to kill himself,[kx] because he assumed[ky] the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul called out loudly,[kz] “Do not harm yourself,[la] for we are all here!” 29 Calling for lights, the jailer[lb] rushed in and fell down[lc] trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them outside[ld] and asked, “Sirs, what must[le] I do to be saved?” 31 They replied,[lf] “Believe[lg] in the Lord Jesus[lh] and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 Then[li] they spoke the word of the Lord[lj] to him, along with all those who were in his house. 33 At[lk] that hour of the night he took them[ll] and washed their wounds;[lm] then[ln] he and all his family[lo] were baptized right away.[lp] 34 The jailer[lq] brought them into his house and set food[lr] before them, and he rejoiced greatly[ls] that he had come to believe[lt] in God, together with his entire household.[lu] 35 At daybreak[lv] the magistrates[lw] sent their police officers,[lx] saying, “Release those men.” 36 The jailer reported these words to Paul, saying,[ly] “The magistrates have sent orders[lz] to release you. So come out now and go in peace.”[ma] 37 But Paul said to the police officers,[mb] “They had us beaten in public[mc] without a proper trial[md]—even though we are Roman citizens[me]—and they threw us[mf] in prison. And now they want to send us away[mg] secretly? Absolutely not! They[mh] themselves must come and escort us out!”[mi] 38 The police officers reported these words to the magistrates. They were frightened when they heard Paul and Silas[mj] were Roman citizens[mk] 39 and came[ml] and apologized to them. After[mm] they brought them out, they asked them repeatedly[mn] to leave the city. 40 When they came out of the prison, they entered Lydia’s house, and when they saw the brothers, they encouraged them and then[mo] departed.
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