Chapter 14

Jews and Gentiles at Iconium.^{[a] 1} In Iconium, they went into the Jewish synagogue and spoke so effectively that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers. ² However, the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brethren. ³ Therefore, they stayed there for a considerable period of time, speaking boldly on behalf of the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to work signs and wonders.

⁴ However, the people in the city were divided, some siding with the Jews, others with the apostles. ⁵ Eventually, a plot was hatched by both the Gentiles and the Jews, together with their leaders, to attack and stone them. ⁶ When they became aware of this, they fled to the Lycaonian cities^[b] of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding area. ⁷ There they preached the good news.

At Lystra Paul and Barnabas Are Taken for Gods.^{[c] 8} At Lystra, there was a man who was crippled. Lame from birth, he had never once been able to walk. ⁹ He listened to Paul speaking. Paul looked intently at him, and, seeing that he had the faith to be healed, ¹⁰ called out to him in a loud voice, “Stand up on your feet.” The man sprang up and began to walk.

^11 [d]When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” ¹² They called Barnabas Zeus, and since Paul was the chief speaker, they called him Hermes. ¹³ And the priest of Zeus, who was on the outskirts of the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, since he and the people intended to offer sacrifice.

¹⁴ However, when the apostles Barnabas and Paul learned about this, they tore their clothes^[e] and rushed into the crowd, shouting, ¹⁵ “Men, why are you doing this? We are only human beings, just like you. We proclaim to you the good news so that you may turn from these idols to the living God who made heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them.

¹⁶ “In the past, God allowed all the Gentiles to go their own way. ¹⁷ However, even then he did not leave you without a witness in doing good, for he sends you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons, and he provides you with food and fills your hearts with joy.” ¹⁸ Yet, even with these words, they were barely able to prevent the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.

¹⁹ End of the First Mission.^[f] Shortly thereafter, some Jews arrived on the scene from Antioch and Iconium, and they won over the crowds. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the town, believing that he was dead. ²⁰ But when the disciples gathered around him, he got up and entered the city. On the next day, he and Barnabas departed for Derbe.

²¹ After they had proclaimed the good news in that city and gained a considerable number of disciples, they returned to Lystra and then moved on to Iconium and Antioch. ²² They strengthened the disciples and encouraged them to persevere in the faith, saying, “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships in order to enter the kingdom of God.” ²³ In each Church, they appointed presbyters for them, and with prayer and fasting they commended them to the Lord in whom they had come to believe.

²⁴ Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. ²⁵ After proclaiming the word at Perga, they went down to Attalia,^{[g] 26} and from there they sailed to Antioch,^[h] where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had completed. ²⁷ When they arrived, they called the church together and related all that God had accomplished through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. ²⁸ And they stayed there with the disciples for some time.