⁸ For not only did the message about the Lord go out from you throughout Macedonia and Achaia, but the news about your faith in God has gone everywhere. There is nothing, then, that we need to say.

¹⁹ and will know that I am the one who punishes them.

“But I will spare some of them and send them to the nations and the distant lands that have not heard of my fame or seen my greatness and power: to Spain, Libya,^[a] and Lydia, with its skilled archers, and to Tubal and Greece. Among these nations they will proclaim my greatness.

^8 (A)But when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled with power, and you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

¹⁴ But how can they call to him for help if they have not believed? And how can they believe if they have not heard the message? And how can they hear if the message is not proclaimed? ^15 (A)And how can the message be proclaimed if the messengers are not sent out? As the scripture says, “How wonderful is the coming of messengers who bring good news!” ^16 (B)But not all have accepted the Good News. Isaiah himself said, “Lord, who believed our message?” ¹⁷ So then, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through preaching Christ.

^18 (C)But I ask: Is it true that they did not hear the message? Of course they did—for as the scripture says:

Pray for Us

3 Finally, our friends, pray for us that the Lord's message may continue to spread rapidly and be received with honor, just as it was among you.