Acts 14-15 (New American Standard Bible)

Acts 14

Acceptance and Opposition

 ¹In ^(A)Iconium ^(B)they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner ^(C)that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of ^(D)Greeks.

 ²But ^(E)the Jews who ^(F)disbelieved stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against ^(G)the brethren.

 ³Therefore they spent a long time there ^(H)speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that ^(I)signs and wonders be done by their hands.

 ^4(J)But the people of the city were divided; and some sided with ^(K)the Jews, and some with ^(L)the apostles.

 ⁵And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and ^(M)the Jews with their rulers, to mistreat and to ^(N)stone them,

 ⁶they became aware of it and fled to the cities of ^(O)Lycaonia, ^(P)Lystra and ^(Q)Derbe, and the surrounding region;

 ⁷and there they continued to ^(R)preach the gospel.

 ⁸At ^(S)Lystra ^(T)a man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from his mother's womb, who had never walked.

 ⁹This man was listening to Paul as he spoke, who, ^(U)when he had fixed his gaze on him and had seen that he had ^(V)faith to be made well,

 ¹⁰said with a loud voice, "Stand upright on your feet." ^(W)And he leaped up and began to walk.

 ¹¹When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the ^(X)Lycaonian language, "^(Y)The gods have become like men and have come down to us."

 ¹²And they began calling Barnabas, Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.

 ¹³The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and ^(Z)wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds.

 ¹⁴But when ^(AA)the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they ^(AB)tore their robes and rushed out into the crowd, crying out

 ¹⁵and saying, "Men, why are you doing these things? We are also ^(AC)men of the same nature as you, and ^(AD)preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these ^[a](AE)vain things to a ^(AF)living God, ^(AG)WHO MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM.

 ¹⁶"In the generations gone by He ^(AH)permitted all the nations to ^(AI)go their own ways;

 ¹⁷and yet ^(AJ)He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and ^(AK)gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness."

 ¹⁸Even saying these things, with difficulty they restrained the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.

 ¹⁹But ^(AL)Jews came from ^(AM)Antioch and ^(AN)Iconium, and having won over the crowds, they ^(AO)stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead.

 ²⁰But while ^(AP)the disciples stood around him, he got up and entered the city The next day he went away with Barnabas to ^(AQ)Derbe.

 ²¹After they had ^(AR)preached the gospel to that city and had ^(AS)made many disciples, they returned to ^(AT)Lystra and to ^(AU)Iconium and to ^(AV)Antioch,

 ²²strengthening the souls of ^(AW)the disciples, encouraging them to continue in ^(AX)the faith, and saying, "^(AY)Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God."

 ²³When ^(AZ)they had appointed ^(BA)elders for them in every church, having ^(BB)prayed with fasting, they ^(BC)commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

 ²⁴They passed through ^(BD)Pisidia and came into ^(BE)Pamphylia.

 ²⁵When they had spoken the word in ^(BF)Perga, they went down to Attalia.

 ²⁶From there they sailed to ^(BG)Antioch, from ^(BH)which they had been ^(BI)commended to the grace of God for the work that they had accomplished.

 ²⁷When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to ^(BJ)report all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a ^(BK)door of faith to the Gentiles.

 ²⁸And they spent a long time with ^(BL)the disciples.

Acts 15

The Council at Jerusalem

 ^1(BM)Some men came down from Judea and began teaching ^(BN)the brethren, "Unless you are ^(BO)circumcised according to ^(BP)the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved."

 ²And when Paul and Barnabas had great dissension and ^(BQ)debate with them, ^(BR)the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the ^(BS)apostles and elders concerning this issue.

 ³Therefore, being ^(BT)sent on their way by the church, they were passing through both ^(BU)Phoenicia and Samaria, ^(BV)describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and were bringing great joy to all ^(BW)the brethren.

 ⁴When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and ^(BX)the apostles and the elders, and they ^(BY)reported all that God had done with them.

 ⁵But some of ^(BZ)the sect of the ^(CA)Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, "It is necessary to ^(CB)circumcise them and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses."

 ^6(CC)The apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter.

 ⁷After there had been much ^(CD)debate, Peter stood up and said to them, "Brethren, you know that in the early days ^(CE)God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of ^(CF)the gospel and believe.

 ⁸"And God, ^(CG)who knows the heart, testified to them ^(CH)giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us;

 ⁹and ^(CI)He made no distinction between us and them, ^(CJ)cleansing their hearts by faith.

 ¹⁰"Now therefore why do you ^(CK)put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which ^(CL)neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?

 ¹¹"But we believe that we are saved through ^(CM)the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are."

 ¹²All the people kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were ^(CN)relating what ^(CO)signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.

James's Judgment

 ¹³After they had stopped speaking, ^(CP)James answered, saying, "Brethren, listen to me.

 ¹⁴"^(CQ)Simeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name.

 ¹⁵"With this the words of ^(CR)the Prophets agree, just as it is written,
    ¹⁶'^(CS)AFTER THESE THINGS ^(CT)I will return,
         AND I WILL REBUILD THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID WHICH HAS FALLEN,
         AND I WILL REBUILD ITS RUINS,
         AND I WILL RESTORE IT,
    ^17(CU)SO THAT THE REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK THE LORD,
         AND ALL THE GENTILES ^(CV)WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME,'
    ^18(CW)SAYS THE LORD, WHO ^(CX)MAKES THESE THINGS KNOWN FROM LONG AGO.

 ¹⁹"Therefore it is ^(CY)my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles,

 ²⁰but that we write to them that they abstain from ^(CZ)things contaminated by idols and from ^(DA)fornication and from ^(DB)what is strangled and from blood.

 ²¹"For ^(DC)Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath."

 ²²Then it seemed good to ^(DD)the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to ^(DE)Antioch with Paul and Barnabas--Judas called Barsabbas, and ^(DF)Silas, leading men among ^(DG)the brethren,

 ²³and they sent this letter by them, "^(DH)The apostles and the brethren who are elders, to ^(DI)the brethren in ^(DJ)Antioch and ^(DK)Syria and ^(DL)Cilicia who are from the Gentiles, ^(DM)greetings.

 ²⁴"Since we have heard that ^(DN)some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have ^(DO)disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls,

 ^25(DP)it seemed good to us, having become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

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

 ²⁷"Therefore we have sent ^(DR)Judas and ^(DS)Silas, who themselves will also report the same things by word of mouth.

 ²⁸"For ^(DT)it seemed good to ^(DU)the Holy Spirit and to ^(DV)us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials:

 ²⁹that you abstain from ^(DW)things sacrificed to idols and from ^(DX)blood and from ^(DY)things strangled and from ^(DZ)fornication; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell."

 ³⁰So when they were sent away, ^(EA)they went down to Antioch; and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter.

 ³¹When they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.

 ^32(EB)Judas and ^(EC)Silas, also being ^(ED)prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened ^(EE)the brethren with a lengthy message.

 ³³After they had spent time there, they were sent away from the brethren ^(EF)in peace to those who had ^(EG)sent them out.

 ³⁴[^[b]But it seemed good to Silas to remain there.]

 ³⁵But ^(EH)Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, teaching and ^(EI)preaching with many others also, ^(EJ)the word of the Lord.

Second Missionary Journey

 ³⁶After some days Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us return and visit the brethren in ^(EK)every city in which we proclaimed ^(EL)the word of the Lord, and see how they are."

 ³⁷Barnabas wanted to take ^(EM)John, called Mark, along with them also.

 ³⁸But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had ^(EN)deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.

 ³⁹And there occurred such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took ^(EO)Mark with him and sailed away to ^(EP)Cyprus.

 ⁴⁰But Paul chose ^(EQ)Silas and left, being ^(ER)committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord.

 ⁴¹And he was traveling through ^(ES)Syria and ^(ET)Cilicia, strengthening the churches.