⁶ On ^[a]the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, ^(A)bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison. ⁷ And behold, ^(B)an angel of the Lord suddenly ^(C)stood near Peter, and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And ^(D)his chains fell off his hands. ⁸ And the angel said to him, “Put on your belt and ^[b]strap on your sandals.” And he did so. And he *said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” ⁹ And he went out and continued to follow, and yet he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing ^(E)a vision. ¹⁰ Now when they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which ^(F)opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. ¹¹ When Peter ^(G)came ^[c]to himself, he said, “Now I know for sure that ^(H)the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all ^[d]that the Jewish people were expecting.” ¹² And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of ^(I)John, who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and ^(J)were praying. ¹³ When he knocked at the door of the gate, ^(K)a slave woman named Rhoda came to answer. ¹⁴ When she recognized Peter’s voice, ^(L)because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate. ¹⁵ They said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. They said, “It is ^(M)his angel.” ¹⁶ But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were amazed. ¹⁷ But ^(N)motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to ^[e](O)James and ^(P)the brothers.” Then he left and went to another place.

¹⁸ Now when day came, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers as to ^[f]what could have become of Peter. ¹⁹ When Herod had searched for him and had not found him, he examined the guards and ordered that they ^(Q)be led away to execution. Then he went down from Judea to ^(R)Caesarea and was spending time there.

Death of Herod

²⁰ Now he was very angry with the people of ^(S)Tyre and Sidon; and with one mind they came to him, and having won over Blastus the king’s chamberlain, they were asking for peace, because ^(T)their country was supported with grain from the king’s country. ²¹ On an appointed day, after putting on his royal apparel, Herod took his seat on the ^[g]rostrum and began delivering an address to them. ²² The people repeatedly cried out, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” ²³ And immediately ^(U)an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and ^[h]died.

²⁴ But ^(V)the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied.

²⁵ And ^(W)Barnabas and ^(X)Saul returned ^(Y)when they had fulfilled their ^[i]mission to Jerusalem, taking along with them ^(Z)John, who was also called Mark.

First Missionary Journey

13 Now there were ^(AA)prophets and ^(AB)teachers at ^(AC)Antioch, in the ^(AD)church that was there: ^(AE)Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of ^(AF)Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with ^(AG)Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ² While they were ^[j]serving the Lord and fasting, ^(AH)the Holy Spirit said, “Set ^(AI)Barnabas and Saul apart for Me for ^(AJ)the work to which I have called them.” ³ Then, when they had fasted, ^(AK)prayed, and ^(AL)laid their hands on them, ^(AM)they sent them away.

⁴ So, being ^(AN)sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to ^(AO)Cyprus. ⁵ When they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in ^(AP)the synagogues of the Jews; and they also had ^(AQ)John as their helper. ⁶ When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a ^(AR)magician, a Jewish ^(AS)false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus, ⁷ who was with the ^(AT)proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. ⁸ But Elymas the ^(AU)magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the ^(AV)proconsul away from ^(AW)the faith. ⁹ But Saul, who was also known as Paul, ^[k](AX)filled with the Holy Spirit, stared at him, ¹⁰ and said, “^[l]You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you ^(AY)son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not stop making crooked ^(AZ)the straight ways of the Lord? ¹¹ Now, behold, ^(BA)the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.” And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand. ¹² Then the ^(BB)proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being amazed at ^(BC)the teaching of the Lord.

¹³ Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from ^(BD)Paphos and came to ^(BE)Perga in ^(BF)Pamphylia; but ^(BG)John left them and returned to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ But going on from Perga, they arrived at ^(BH)Pisidian ^(BI)Antioch, and on ^(BJ)the Sabbath day they went into ^(BK)the synagogue and sat down. ¹⁵ After ^(BL)the reading of the Law and ^(BM)the Prophets, ^(BN)the synagogue officials sent word to them, saying, “^[m]Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it.” ¹⁶ Paul stood up, and ^(BO)motioning with his hand said,

“Men of Israel, and ^(BP)you who fear God, listen: ¹⁷ The God of this people Israel ^(BQ)chose our fathers and ^[n](BR)made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm ^(BS)He led them out from it. ¹⁸ For ^(BT)a period of about forty years ^(BU)He put up with them in the wilderness. ^19 (BV)When He had destroyed ^(BW)seven nations in the land of Canaan, He ^(BX)distributed their land as an inheritance—all of which took ^(BY)about 450 years. ²⁰ After these things He ^(BZ)gave them judges until ^(CA)Samuel the prophet. ²¹ Then they ^(CB)asked for a king, and God gave them ^(CC)Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. ²² After He had ^(CD)removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘^(CE)I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My ^[o]will.’ ^23 (CF)From the descendants of this man, ^(CG)according to promise, God has brought to Israel ^(CH)a Savior, Jesus, ²⁴ after ^(CI)John had proclaimed, before ^[p]His coming, a ^(CJ)baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. ²⁵ And while John ^(CK)was completing his course, ^(CL)he kept saying, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’

²⁶ “^[q]Brothers, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of ^(CM)this salvation has been sent. ²⁷ For those who live in Jerusalem, and their ^(CN)rulers, ^(CO)recognizing neither Him nor the ^[r]declarations of ^(CP)the prophets which are ^(CQ)read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him. ²⁸ And though they found no grounds for putting Him to death, they ^(CR)asked Pilate that He be executed. ²⁹ When they had ^(CS)carried out everything that was written concerning Him, ^(CT)they took Him down from the ^[s](CU)cross and ^(CV)laid Him in a tomb. ³⁰ But God ^(CW)raised Him from the dead; ³¹ and for many days ^(CX)He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now ^(CY)His witnesses to the people. ³² And we ^(CZ)preach to you the good news of ^(DA)the promise made to the fathers, ³³ that God has fulfilled this promise to those of us who are the descendants by ^(DB)raising Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm: ‘^(DC)You are My Son; today I have fathered You.’ ³⁴ As for the fact that He ^(DD)raised Him from the dead, never again to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: ‘^(DE)I will give you the holy and faithful mercies of David.’ ³⁵ Therefore, He also says in another Psalm: ‘^(DF)You will not ^[t]allow Your ^[u]Holy One to ^[v]undergo decay.’ ³⁶ For ^(DG)David, after he had ^[w]served God’s ^(DH)purpose in his own generation, ^(DI)fell asleep, and was ^[x]buried among his fathers and ^[y]underwent decay; ³⁷ but He whom God ^(DJ)raised did not ^[z]undergo decay. ³⁸ Therefore let it be known to you, ^[aa]brothers, that ^(DK)through ^[ab]Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, ³⁹ and ^[ac]through Him ^(DL)everyone who believes is ^[ad]freed ^[ae]from all things, from which you could not be ^[af]freed ^[ag]through the Law of Moses. ⁴⁰ Therefore, see that the thing spoken of ^(DM)in the Prophets does not come upon you:

⁴² As ^[ai]Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people repeatedly begged to have these ^[aj]things spoken to them the next ^(DO)Sabbath. ⁴³ Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and the ^(DP)God-fearing ^[ak](DQ)proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who were speaking to them and urging them to continue in ^(DR)the grace of God.

Paul Turns to the Gentiles

⁴⁴ The next ^(DS)Sabbath nearly all the city assembled to hear the word of ^[al]the Lord. ⁴⁵ But when ^(DT)the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were ^[am]blaspheming. ⁴⁶ Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you ^(DU)first. Since you repudiate it and consider yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, ^(DV)we are turning to the Gentiles. ⁴⁷ For so the Lord has commanded us,

⁴⁸ When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying ^(DY)the word of ^[ap]the Lord; and all who ^(DZ)had been appointed to eternal life believed. ⁴⁹ And ^(EA)the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region. ⁵⁰ But ^(EB)the Jews incited the ^[aq](EC)devout women ^(ED)of prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their ^[ar]region. ⁵¹ But ^(EE)they shook off the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to ^(EF)Iconium. ⁵² And the disciples were continually ^(EG)filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Acceptance and Opposition

14 In ^(EH)Iconium ^(EI)they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a way ^(EJ)that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of ^(EK)Greeks. ² But ^(EL)the ^[as](EM)unbelieving Jews stirred up the ^[at]minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against ^(EN)the brothers. ³ Therefore they spent a long time there ^(EO)speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that ^[au](EP)signs and wonders be performed by their hands. ^4 (EQ)But the ^[av]people of the city were divided; and some ^[aw]sided with ^(ER)the Jews, while others, with ^(ES)the apostles. ⁵ And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and ^(ET)the Jews with their rulers, to treat them abusively and to ^(EU)stone them, ⁶ they became aware of it and fled to the cities of ^(EV)Lycaonia, ^(EW)Lystra and ^(EX)Derbe, and the surrounding region; ⁷ and there they continued to ^(EY)preach the gospel.

⁸ In ^(EZ)Lystra ^(FA)a man was sitting whose feet were incapacitated. He had been disabled from his mother’s womb, and had never walked. ⁹ This man was listening to Paul as he spoke. Paul ^(FB)looked at him intently and saw that he had ^(FC)faith to be ^[ax]made well, ¹⁰ and he said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet!” ^(FD)And the man leaped up and began to walk. ¹¹ When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the ^(FE)Lycaonian language, “^(FF)The gods have become like men and have come down to us!” ¹² And they began calling Barnabas, ^[ay]Zeus, and Paul, ^[az]Hermes, since he was ^[ba]the chief speaker. ¹³ Moreover, the priest of Zeus, whose temple was ^[bb]just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and ^(FG)wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. ¹⁴ But when ^(FH)the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard about it, they ^(FI)tore their ^[bc]robes and rushed out into the crowd, crying out ¹⁵ and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We are also ^(FJ)men, of the same nature as you, ^(FK)preaching the gospel to you, to turn from these ^[bd](FL)useless things to a ^(FM)living God, who ^(FN)made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything that is in them. ^16 [be]In past generations He ^(FO)permitted all the ^[bf]nations to ^(FP)go their own ways; ¹⁷ yet ^(FQ)He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and ^(FR)gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, ^[bg]satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” ¹⁸ And even by saying these things, only with difficulty did they restrain the crowds from offering sacrifices to them.

¹⁹ But ^(FS)Jews came from ^(FT)Antioch and ^(FU)Iconium, and having won over the crowds, they ^(FV)stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, thinking that he was dead. ²⁰ But while ^(FW)the disciples stood around him, he got up and entered the city. The next day he left with Barnabas for ^(FX)Derbe.