Absalom's Conspiracy

15 After this Absalom ^(A)got himself a chariot and horses, and fifty men to run before him. ² And Absalom used to rise early and stand beside ^(B)the way of the gate. And when any man had a dispute to come before the king for judgment, Absalom would call to him and say, “From what city are you?” And when he said, “Your servant is of such and such a tribe in Israel,” ³ Absalom would say to him, “See, your claims are good and right, but there is no man designated by the king to hear you.” ⁴ Then Absalom would say, ^(C)“Oh that I were judge in the land! Then every man with a dispute or cause might come to me, and I would give him justice.” ⁵ And whenever a man came near to pay homage to him, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him. ⁶ Thus Absalom did to all of Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

⁷ And at the end of four^[a] years Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed to the Lord, in Hebron. ⁸ For your servant ^(D)vowed a vow ^(E)while I lived at Geshur in Aram, saying, ‘If the Lord will indeed bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will offer worship to^[b] the Lord.’” ⁹ The king said to him, ^(F)“Go in peace.” So he arose and went to Hebron. ¹⁰ But Absalom sent secret messengers throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then say, ‘Absalom is king at Hebron!’” ¹¹ With Absalom went two hundred men from Jerusalem ^(G)who were invited guests, and they went in their innocence and knew nothing. ¹² And while Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for^{[c] (H)}Ahithophel the Gilonite, ^(I)David's counselor, from his city ^(J)Giloh. And the conspiracy grew strong, and the people with Absalom ^(K)kept increasing.

David Flees Jerusalem

¹³ And a messenger came to David, saying, ^(L)“The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom.” ¹⁴ Then David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “Arise, and let us ^(M)flee, or else there will be no escape for us from Absalom. Go quickly, lest he overtake us quickly and bring down ruin on us and strike the city with the edge of the sword.” ¹⁵ And the king's servants said to the king, “Behold, your servants are ready to do whatever my lord the king decides.” ¹⁶ So the king went out, and all his household after him. And the king left ^(N)ten concubines to keep the house. ¹⁷ And the king went out, and all the people after him. And they halted at the last house.

¹⁸ And ^(O)all his servants passed by him, and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the six hundred Gittites who had followed him from ^(P)Gath, passed on before the king. ¹⁹ Then the king said to ^(Q)Ittai the Gittite, “Why do you also go with us? Go back and stay with the king, for you are a foreigner and also an exile from your home. ²⁰ You came only yesterday, and shall I today make you wander about with us, since I go ^(R)I know not where? Go back and take your brothers with you, and may the Lord show^[d] steadfast love and faithfulness to you.” ²¹ But Ittai answered the king, ^(S)“As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, ^(T)wherever my lord the king shall be, whether for death or for life, there also will your servant be.” ²² And David said to Ittai, “Go then, pass on.” So Ittai the Gittite passed on with all his men and all the little ones who were with him. ²³ And all the land wept aloud as all the people passed by, and the king crossed ^(U)the brook ^(V)Kidron, and all the people passed on toward ^(W)the wilderness.

²⁴ And ^(X)Abiathar came up, and behold, ^(Y)Zadok came also with all the Levites, ^(Z)bearing the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God until the people had all passed out of the city. ²⁵ Then the king said to Zadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will ^(AA)bring me back and let me see both it and his ^(AB)dwelling place. ²⁶ But if he says, ‘I have no ^(AC)pleasure in you,’ behold, here I am, ^(AD)let him do to me what seems good to him.” ²⁷ The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not a ^(AE)seer? Go back^[e] to the city in peace, with ^(AF)your two sons, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. ²⁸ See, I will wait at ^(AG)the fords of ^(AH)the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” ²⁹ So Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of God back to Jerusalem, and they remained there.

³⁰ But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, ^(AI)barefoot and ^(AJ)with his head covered. And all the people who were with him covered their heads, and they went up, ^(AK)weeping as they went. ³¹ And it was told David, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O Lord, please ^(AL)turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.”

³² While David was coming to the summit, where God was worshiped, behold, Hushai ^(AM)the Archite came to meet him ^(AN)with his coat torn and ^(AO)dirt on his head. ³³ David said to him, “If you go on with me, you will be ^(AP)a burden to me. ³⁴ But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, ^(AQ)‘I will be your servant, O king; as I have been your father's servant in time past, so now I will be your servant,’ then you will defeat for me the counsel of Ahithophel. ³⁵ Are not Zadok and Abiathar the priests with you there? So whatever you hear from the king's house, ^(AR)tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. ³⁶ Behold, ^(AS)their two sons are with them there, Ahimaaz, Zadok's son, and Jonathan, Abiathar's son, ^(AT)and by them you shall send to me everything you hear.” ³⁷ So Hushai, ^(AU)David's friend, came into the city, ^(AV)just as Absalom was entering Jerusalem.

The Lord Will Not Forsake His People

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

16 Paul^[a] came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named ^(A)Timothy, ^(B)the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. ² He was well spoken of by ^(C)the brothers^[b] at Lystra and Iconium. ³ Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he ^(D)took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. ⁴ As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance ^(E)the decisions ^(F)that had been reached by ^(G)the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. ^5 (H)So the churches were strengthened in ^(I)the faith, and they increased in numbers ^(J)daily.

The Macedonian Call

⁶ And ^(K)they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. ⁷ And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but ^(L)the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. ⁸ So, passing by Mysia, they went down ^(M)to Troas. ⁹ And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” ¹⁰ And when Paul^[c] had seen the vision, immediately ^(N)we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

The Conversion of Lydia

¹¹ So, setting sail from Troas, we ^(O)made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, ¹² and from there to ^(P)Philippi, which is a leading city of the^[d] district of Macedonia and ^(Q)a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. ¹³ And ^(R)on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate ^(S)to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we ^(T)sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. ¹⁴ One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, ^(U)who was a worshiper of God. The Lord ^(V)opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. ¹⁵ And after she was baptized, ^(W)and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she ^(X)prevailed upon us.

Paul and Silas in Prison

¹⁶ As we were going to ^(Y)the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had ^(Z)a spirit of ^(AA)divination and ^(AB)brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. ¹⁷ She followed Paul and us, ^(AC)crying out, “These men are ^(AD)servants of ^(AE)the Most High God, who proclaim to you ^(AF)the way of salvation.” ¹⁸ And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, ^(AG)“I command you ^(AH)in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And ^(AI)it came out that very hour.

¹⁹ But ^(AJ)when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and ^(AK)dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. ²⁰ And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. ²¹ They ^(AL)advocate customs that are not lawful for us ^(AM)as Romans to accept or practice.” ²² The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders ^(AN)to beat them with rods. ²³ And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. ²⁴ Having received this order, he put them into the inner ^(AO)prison and fastened their feet in ^(AP)the stocks.

The Philippian Jailer Converted

^25 (AQ)About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, ²⁶ and suddenly ^(AR)there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately ^(AS)all the doors were opened, and ^(AT)everyone's bonds were unfastened. ²⁷ When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and ^(AU)was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸ But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” ²⁹ And the jailer^[e] called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he ^(AV)fell down before Paul and Silas. ³⁰ Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, ^(AW)what must I do to be ^(AX)saved?” ³¹ And they said, ^(AY)“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you ^(AZ)and your household.” ³² And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. ³³ And he took them ^(BA)the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he ^(BB)was baptized at once, he and all his family. ³⁴ Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he ^(BC)rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

³⁵ But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” ³⁶ And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” ³⁷ But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, ^(BD)uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.” ³⁸ The police reported these words to the magistrates, and ^(BE)they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. ³⁹ So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and ^(BF)asked them to leave the city. ⁴⁰ So they went out of the prison and visited ^(BG)Lydia. And when they had seen ^(BH)the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.

Paul and Silas in Thessalonica

17 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to ^(BI)Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. ² And Paul went in, ^(BJ)as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them ^(BK)from the Scriptures, ^3 (BL)explaining and proving that it was necessary for ^(BM)the Christ to suffer and ^(BN)to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” ⁴ And ^(BO)some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did ^(BP)a great many of the devout ^(BQ)Greeks and not a few of the leading women. ^5 (BR)But the Jews^{[f] (BS)}were jealous, and taking ^(BT)some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. ⁶ And when they could not find them, ^(BU)they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, ⁷ and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against ^(BV)the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is ^(BW)another king, Jesus.” ⁸ And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. ⁹ And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.

Paul and Silas in Berea

^10 (BX)The brothers^[g] immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they ^(BY)went into the Jewish synagogue. ¹¹ Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, ^(BZ)examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. ^12 (CA)Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek ^(CB)women of high standing as well as men. ¹³ But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, ^(CC)agitating and stirring up the crowds. ¹⁴ Then the brothers ^(CD)immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and ^(CE)Timothy remained there. ^15 (CF)Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as ^(CG)Athens, and after receiving a command ^(CH)for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.

Paul in Athens

¹⁶ Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was ^(CI)provoked within him as he saw that the city was ^(CJ)full of idols. ¹⁷ So ^(CK)he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. ¹⁸ Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, ^(CL)“What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because ^(CM)he was preaching ^(CN)Jesus and the resurrection. ¹⁹ And they took him and brought him to ^(CO)the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this ^(CP)new teaching is that you are presenting? ²⁰ For you bring some ^(CQ)strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” ²¹ Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.

Paul Addresses the Areopagus

²² So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. ²³ For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ^(CR)‘To the unknown god.’ ^(CS)What therefore you worship ^(CT)as unknown, this I proclaim to you. ^24 (CU)The God who made the world and everything in it, being ^(CV)Lord of heaven and earth, ^(CW)does not live in temples made by man,^{[h] 25} nor is he served by human hands, ^(CX)as though he needed anything, since he himself ^(CY)gives to all mankind ^(CZ)life and breath and everything. ²⁶ And ^(DA)he made from one man every nation of mankind to live ^(DB)on all the face of the earth, ^(DC)having determined allotted periods and ^(DD)the boundaries of their dwelling place, ^27 (DE)that they should seek God, ^(DF)and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. ^(DG)Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, ²⁸ for

as even some of ^(DI)your own poets have said,

^29 (DJ)Being then God's offspring, ^(DK)we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. ^30 (DL)The times of ignorance ^(DM)God overlooked, but ^(DN)now he ^(DO)commands all people everywhere to repent, ³¹ because he has fixed ^(DP)a day on which ^(DQ)he will judge the world ^(DR)in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and ^(DS)of this he has given assurance to all ^(DT)by raising him from the dead.”

³² Now when they heard of ^(DU)the resurrection of the dead, ^(DV)some mocked. But others said, ^(DW)“We will hear you again about this.” ³³ So Paul went out from their midst. ³⁴ But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius ^(DX)the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

Paul in Corinth

18 After this Paul^[k] left Athens and went to Corinth. ² And he found a Jew named ^(DY)Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife ^(DZ)Priscilla, because ^(EA)Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, ³ and ^(EB)because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. ⁴ And ^(EC)he reasoned in the synagogue ^(ED)every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.

^5 (EE)When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul ^(EF)was occupied with the word, ^(EG)testifying to the Jews that the Christ was ^(EH)Jesus. ⁶ And when they opposed and reviled him, ^(EI)he shook out his garments and said to them, ^(EJ)“Your blood be on your own heads! ^(EK)I am innocent. ^(EL)From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” ⁷ And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius ^(EM)Justus, ^(EN)a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. ^8 (EO)Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together ^(EP)with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. ⁹ And the Lord said to Paul ^(EQ)one night in ^(ER)a vision, ^(ES)“Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, ^10 (ET)for I am with you, and ^(EU)no one will attack you to harm you, for ^(EV)I have many in this city who are my people.” ¹¹ And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

¹² But when Gallio was ^(EW)proconsul of Achaia, ^(EX)the Jews^[l] made a united attack on Paul and ^(EY)brought him before the tribunal, ¹³ saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to ^(EZ)the law.” ¹⁴ But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious ^(FA)crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. ¹⁵ But ^(FB)since it is a matter of questions about words and names and ^(FC)your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things.” ¹⁶ And he drove them from the tribunal. ¹⁷ And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this.

Paul Returns to Antioch

¹⁸ After this, Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of ^(FD)the brothers^[m] and set sail for Syria, and with him ^(FE)Priscilla and Aquila. At ^(FF)Cenchreae ^(FG)he had cut his hair, for he was under a vow. ¹⁹ And they came to ^(FH)Ephesus, and he left them there, but ^(FI)he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. ²⁰ When they asked him to stay for a longer period, he declined. ²¹ But on taking leave of them he said, “I will return to you ^(FJ)if God wills,” and he set sail from Ephesus.

²² When he had landed at Caesarea, he ^(FK)went up and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch. ²³ After spending some time there, he departed and ^(FL)went from one place to the next through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, ^(FM)strengthening all the disciples.

Apollos Speaks Boldly in Ephesus

²⁴ Now a Jew named ^(FN)Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, ^(FO)competent in the Scriptures. ²⁵ He had been instructed in ^(FP)the way of the Lord. And ^(FQ)being fervent in spirit,^[n] he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only ^(FR)the baptism of John. ²⁶ He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when ^(FS)Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him ^(FT)the way of God more accurately. ²⁷ And when he wished to cross to ^(FU)Achaia, ^(FV)the brothers encouraged him and ^(FW)wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, ^(FX)he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, ²⁸ for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures ^(FY)that the Christ was Jesus.