Acts 14–16

1At Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue, where they spoke so well that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.

2But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.

3So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who affirmed the message of His grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.

4The people of the city were divided. Some sided with the Jews, and others with the apostles.

5But when the Gentiles and Jews, together with their rulers, set out to mistreat and stone them,

6they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding region,

7where they continued to preach the gospel.

8In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked.

9This man was listening to the words of Paul, who looked intently at him and saw that he had faith to be healed.

10In a loud voice Paul called out, “Stand up on your feet!” And the man jumped up and began to walk.

11When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices in the Lycaonian language: “The gods have come down to us in human form!”

12Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.

13The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates, hoping to offer a sacrifice along with the crowds.

14But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul found out about this, they tore their clothes and rushed into the crowd, shouting,

15“Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.

16In past generations, He let all nations go their own way.

17Yet He has not left Himself without testimony to His goodness: He gives you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.”

18Even with these words, Paul and Barnabas could hardly stop the crowds from sacrificing to them.

19Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won over the crowds. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, presuming he was dead.

20But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. And the next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.

21They preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,

22strengthening the souls of the disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith. “We must endure many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.

23Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church, praying and fasting as they entrusted them to the Lord, in whom they had believed.

24After passing through Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia.

25And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.

26From Attalia they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had just completed.

27When they arrived, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them, and how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

28And they spent a long time there with the disciples.

1Then some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

2And after engaging these men in sharp debate, Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.

3Sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, recounting the conversion of the Gentiles and bringing great joy to all the brothers.

4On their arrival in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and apostles and elders, to whom they reported all that God had done through them.

5But some believers from the party of the Pharisees stood up and declared, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.”

6So the apostles and elders met to look into this matter.

7After much discussion, Peter got up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you that the Gentiles would hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe.

8And God, who knows the heart, showed His approval by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as He did to us.

9He made no distinction between us and them, for He cleansed their hearts by faith.

10Now then, why do you test God by placing on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?

11On the contrary, we believe it is through the grace of the Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”

12The whole assembly fell silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul describing the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.

13When they had finished speaking, James declared, “Brothers, listen to me!

14Simon has told us how God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people to be His own.

15The words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written:

16‘After this I will return and rebuild the fallen tent of David. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it,

17so that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by My name, says the Lord who does these things

18that have been known for ages.’

19It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not cause trouble for the Gentiles who are turning to God.

20Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood.

21For Moses has been proclaimed in every city from ancient times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”

22Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to select men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas called Barsabbas and Silas, two leaders among the brothers,

23and sent them with this letter: The apostles and the elders, your brothers, To the brothers among the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings.

24It has come to our attention that some went out from us without our authorization and unsettled you, troubling your minds by what they said.

25So we all agreed to choose men to send to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

26men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

27Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to tell you in person the same things we are writing.

28It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond these essential requirements:

29You must abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.

30So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they assembled the congregation and delivered the letter.

31When the people read it, they rejoiced at its encouraging message.

32Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers.

33After spending some time there, they were sent off by the brothers in peace to return to those who had sent them.

35But Paul and Barnabas remained at Antioch, along with many others, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord.

36Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the brothers in every town where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, to see how they are doing.”

37Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark.

38But Paul thought it best not to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not accompanied them in the work.

39Their disagreement was so sharp that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus,

40but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.

41And he traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

1Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where he found a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman and a Greek father.

2The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him.

3Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, so he took him and circumcised him on account of the Jews in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

4As they went from town to town, they delivered the decisions handed down by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey.

5So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.

6After the Holy Spirit had prevented them from speaking the word in the province of Asia, they traveled through the region of Phrygia and Galatia.

7And when they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not permit them.

8So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.

9During the night, Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”

10As soon as Paul had seen the vision, we got ready to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

11We sailed from Troas straight to Samothrace, and the following day on to Neapolis.

12From there we went to the Roman colony of Philippi, the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.

13On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river, where it was customary to find a place of prayer. After sitting down, we spoke to the women who had gathered there.

14Among those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.

15And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

16One day as we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl with a spirit of divination, who earned a large income for her masters by fortune-telling.

17This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation!”

18She continued this for many days. Eventually Paul grew so aggravated that he turned and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” And the spirit left her at that very moment.

19When the girl’s owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities in the marketplace.

20They brought them to the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews and are throwing our city into turmoil

21by promoting customs that are unlawful for us Romans to adopt or practice.”

22The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered that they be stripped and beaten with rods.

23And after striking them with many blows, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to guard them securely.

24On receiving this order, he placed them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

25About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

26Suddenly a strong earthquake shook the foundations of the prison. At once all the doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose.

27When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, presuming that the prisoners had escaped.

28But Paul called out in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself! We are all here!”

29Calling for lights, the jailer rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.

30Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

31They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.”

32Then Paul and Silas spoke the word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his house.

33At that hour of the night, the jailer took them and washed their wounds. And without delay, he and all his household were baptized.

34Then he brought them into his home and set a meal before them. So he and all his household rejoiced that they had come to believe in God.

35When daylight came, the magistrates sent their officers with the order: “Release those men.”

36The jailer informed Paul: “The magistrates have sent orders to release you. Now you may go on your way in peace.”

37But Paul said to the officers, “They beat us publicly without a trial and threw us into prison, even though we are Roman citizens. And now do they want to send us away secretly? Absolutely not! Let them come themselves and escort us out!”

38So the officers relayed this message to the magistrates, who were alarmed to hear that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens.

39They came to appease them and led them out, requesting that they leave the city.

40After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house to see the brothers and encourage them. Then they left the city.