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Acts 15:22-17:15
New American Standard Bible

22 Then it seemed good to (A)the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to (B)Antioch with Paul and Barnabas: Judas who was called Barsabbas, and (C)Silas, leading men among (D)the brothers, 23 and they [a]sent this letter with them:

“(E)The apostles and the brothers who are elders, to (F)the brothers and sisters in (G)Antioch, (H)Syria, and (I)Cilicia who are from the Gentiles: (J)Greetings.

24 Since we have heard that (K)some [b]of our number to whom we gave no instruction have (L)confused you by their [c]teaching, upsetting your souls, 25 (M)it seemed good to us, having [d]become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 men who have [e](N)risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Therefore, we have sent (O)Judas and (P)Silas, who themselves will also report the same things by word of mouth. 28 For (Q)it seemed good to (R)the Holy Spirit and to (S)us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: 29 that you abstain from (T)things sacrificed to idols, from (U)blood, from (V)things strangled, and from (W)acts of sexual immorality; [f]if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell.”

30 So when they were sent away, (X)they went down to Antioch; and after gathering the [g]congregation together, they delivered the letter. 31 When they had read it, they rejoiced because of its [h]encouragement. 32 (Y)Judas and (Z)Silas, also being (AA)prophets themselves, [i]encouraged and strengthened (AB)the brothers and sisters with a lengthy message. 33 After they had spent time there, they were sent away from the brothers and sisters (AC)in peace to those who had (AD)sent them out.[j] 35 But (AE)Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, teaching and (AF)preaching (AG)the word of the Lord, with many others also.

Second Missionary Journey

36 After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return and visit the brothers and sisters in (AH)every city in which we proclaimed (AI)the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take (AJ)John, called Mark, along with them also. 38 But Paul was of the opinion that they should not take along with them this man who had (AK)deserted them [k]in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. 39 Now it turned into such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took (AL)Mark with him and sailed away to (AM)Cyprus. 40 But Paul chose (AN)Silas, and left after being (AO)entrusted by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 41 And he was traveling through (AP)Syria and (AQ)Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

The Macedonian Vision

16 Now Paul also came to (AR)Derbe and to (AS)Lystra. And a disciple was there, named (AT)Timothy, the son of a (AU)Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, 2 and he was well spoken of by (AV)the brothers and sisters who were in (AW)Lystra and (AX)Iconium. 3 Paul wanted this man to leave with him; and he (AY)took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering (AZ)the ordinances for them to follow which had been determined by (BA)the apostles and (BB)elders in Jerusalem. 5 So (BC)the churches were being strengthened [l]in the faith, and were (BD)increasing in number daily.

6 They passed through the [m](BE)Phrygian and (BF)Galatian region, after being forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in [n](BG)Asia; 7 and after they came to (BH)Mysia, they were trying to go into (BI)Bithynia, and the (BJ)Spirit of Jesus did not allow them; 8 and passing by (BK)Mysia, they went down to (BL)Troas. 9 (BM)And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of (BN)Macedonia was standing and pleading with him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 When he had seen (BO)the vision, (BP)we immediately sought to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to (BQ)preach the gospel to them.

11 So after setting sail from (BR)Troas, we ran (BS)a straight course to Samothrace, and on the following day to Neapolis; 12 and from there to (BT)Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of (BU)Macedonia, (BV)a Roman colony; and we were spending some days in this city. 13 And on (BW)the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were thinking that there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled.

First Convert in Europe

14 A woman named Lydia was listening; she was a seller of purple fabrics from the city of (BX)Thyatira, and (BY)a worshiper of God. [o]The Lord (BZ)opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. 15 Now when she and (CA)her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.

16 It happened that as we were going to (CB)the place of prayer, a slave woman who had (CC)a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing great profit to her masters by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and us and cried out repeatedly, saying, “These men are bond-servants of (CD)the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you a way of salvation.” 18 Now she continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and he turned and said to the spirit, “I command you (CE)in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very [p]moment.

19 But when her masters saw that their hope of (CF)profit was suddenly gone, they seized (CG)Paul and Silas and (CH)dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities, 20 and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men, Jews as they are, are causing our city trouble, 21 and they (CI)are proclaiming customs that are not lawful for us to accept or to practice, since we are (CJ)Romans.”

Paul and Silas Imprisoned

22 The crowd joined in an attack against them, and the chief magistrates tore their [q]robes off them and proceeded to order [r]them to be (CK)beaten with rods. 23 When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding (CL)the jailer to guard them securely; 24 [s]and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in (CM)the [t]stocks.

25 Now about midnight (CN)Paul and Silas were praying and (CO)singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; 26 and suddenly (CP)there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately (CQ)all the doors were opened, and everyone’s (CR)chains were unfastened. 27 When (CS)the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about (CT)to kill himself, thinking that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” 29 And the jailer asked for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear, he fell down before (CU)Paul and Silas; 30 and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, (CV)what must I do to be saved?”

The Jailer Converted

31 They said, “(CW)Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and (CX)your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of God to him together with all who were in his house. 33 And he took them (CY)that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household. 34 And he brought them into his house and set [u]food before them, and was [v]overjoyed, since he had become a believer in God together with (CZ)his whole household.

35 Now when day came, the chief magistrates sent their officers, saying, “Release those men.” 36 And (DA)the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The chief magistrates have sent word that you be released. So come out now and go (DB)in peace.” 37 But Paul said to them, “After beating us in public without due process—(DC)men who are Romans—they threw us into prison; and now they are releasing us secretly? No indeed! On the contrary, let them come [w]in person and lead us out.” 38 The officers reported these words to the chief magistrates. (DD)And they became fearful when they heard that they were Romans, 39 and they came and pleaded with them, and when they had led them out, they repeatedly asked them (DE)to leave the city. 40 They left the prison and entered the house of (DF)Lydia, and when they saw (DG)the brothers and sisters, they [x]encouraged them and departed.

Paul in Thessalonica

17 Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to (DH)Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And (DI)according to Paul’s custom, he [y]visited them, and for three (DJ)Sabbaths reasoned with them from (DK)the Scriptures, 3 [z]explaining and [aa]giving evidence that the [ab]Christ (DL)had to suffer and (DM)rise from the dead, and saying, “(DN)This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the [ac]Christ.” 4 (DO)And some of them were persuaded and joined (DP)Paul and Silas, [ad]along with a large number of the (DQ)God-fearing (DR)Greeks and [ae]a significant number of the (DS)leading women. 5 But (DT)the Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the marketplace, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and they attacked the house of (DU)Jason and were seeking to bring them out to the people. 6 When they did not find them, they began (DV)dragging Jason and some brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset [af](DW)the world have come here also; 7 [ag]and Jason (DX)has welcomed them, and they all act (DY)contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” 8 They stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things. 9 And when they had received a [ah]pledge from (DZ)Jason and the others, they released them.

Paul in Berea

10 (EA)The brothers immediately sent (EB)Paul and Silas away by night to (EC)Berea, [ai]and when they arrived, they went into (ED)the synagogue of the Jews. 11 Now these people were more noble-minded than those in (EE)Thessalonica, [aj]for they received the word with [ak]great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. 12 Therefore, (EF)many of them believed, [al]along with a significant number of (EG)prominent Greek (EH)women and men. 13 But when the Jews of (EI)Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in (EJ)Berea also, they came there as well, agitating and stirring up the crowds. 14 Then immediately (EK)the brothers sent Paul out to go as far as the sea; and (EL)Silas and (EM)Timothy remained there. 15 Now (EN)those who escorted Paul brought him as far as (EO)Athens; and receiving a command for (EP)Silas and Timothy to (EQ)come to him as soon as possible, they left.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 15:23 Lit wrote by their hand
  2. Acts 15:24 Lit from us
  3. Acts 15:24 Lit words
  4. Acts 15:25 Or met together
  5. Acts 15:26 Lit given over
  6. Acts 15:29 Lit from which keeping yourselves free
  7. Acts 15:30 Or multitude
  8. Acts 15:31 Or exhortation
  9. Acts 15:32 Or exhorted
  10. Acts 15:33 Late mss add as v 34: But it seemed good to Silas to remain there.
  11. Acts 15:38 Lit from
  12. Acts 16:5 Or in faith
  13. Acts 16:6 Or Phrygia and the Galatian region
  14. Acts 16:6 I.e., west coast province of Asia Minor
  15. Acts 16:14 Lit Whose heart the Lord opened
  16. Acts 16:18 Lit hour
  17. Acts 16:22 Or outer garments
  18. Acts 16:22 Lit to beat with rods
  19. Acts 16:24 Lit who
  20. Acts 16:24 Lit wood
  21. Acts 16:34 Lit a table
  22. Acts 16:34 Or overjoyed together with his whole household, since...God
  23. Acts 16:37 Lit themselves
  24. Acts 16:40 Or exhorted
  25. Acts 17:2 Lit entered to them
  26. Acts 17:3 Lit opening
  27. Acts 17:3 Lit placing before
  28. Acts 17:3 I.e., Messiah
  29. Acts 17:3 I.e., Messiah
  30. Acts 17:4 Lit and a large
  31. Acts 17:4 Lit not a few
  32. Acts 17:6 Lit the inhabited earth
  33. Acts 17:7 Lit whom Jason has welcomed
  34. Acts 17:9 Or bond
  35. Acts 17:10 Lit who when...arrived went
  36. Acts 17:11 Lit who received
  37. Acts 17:11 Lit all
  38. Acts 17:12 Lit and not a few
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Acts 15:22-17:15
New International Version

The Council’s Letter to Gentile Believers

22 Then the apostles and elders,(A) with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch(B) with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas,(C) men who were leaders among the believers. 23 With them they sent the following letter:

The apostles and elders, your brothers,

To the Gentile believers in Antioch,(D) Syria(E) and Cilicia:(F)

Greetings.(G)

24 We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said.(H) 25 So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— 26 men who have risked their lives(I) for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas(J) to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. 28 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit(K) and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29 You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.(L) You will do well to avoid these things.

Farewell.

30 So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. 31 The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. 32 Judas and Silas,(M) who themselves were prophets,(N) said much to encourage and strengthen the believers. 33 After spending some time there, they were sent off by the believers with the blessing of peace(O) to return to those who had sent them. [34] [a] 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached(P) the word of the Lord.(Q)

Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas

36 Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns(R) where we preached the word of the Lord(S) and see how they are doing.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark,(T) with them, 38 but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them(U) in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. 39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas(V) and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord.(W) 41 He went through Syria(X) and Cilicia,(Y) strengthening the churches.(Z)

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

16 Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra,(AA) where a disciple named Timothy(AB) lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer(AC) but whose father was a Greek. 2 The believers(AD) at Lystra and Iconium(AE) spoke well of him. 3 Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.(AF) 4 As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders(AG) in Jerusalem(AH) for the people to obey.(AI) 5 So the churches were strengthened(AJ) in the faith and grew daily in numbers.(AK)

Paul’s Vision of the Man of Macedonia

6 Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia(AL) and Galatia,(AM) having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.(AN) 7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus(AO) would not allow them to. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.(AP) 9 During the night Paul had a vision(AQ) of a man of Macedonia(AR) standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we(AS) got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel(AT) to them.

Lydia’s Conversion in Philippi

11 From Troas(AU) we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. 12 From there we traveled to Philippi,(AV) a Roman colony and the leading city of that district[b] of Macedonia.(AW) And we stayed there several days.

13 On the Sabbath(AX) we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14 One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira(AY) named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart(AZ) to respond to Paul’s message. 15 When she and the members of her household(BA) were baptized,(BB) she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

Paul and Silas in Prison

16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer,(BC) we were met by a female slave who had a spirit(BD) by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God,(BE) who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.(BF)

19 When her owners realized that their hope of making money(BG) was gone, they seized Paul and Silas(BH) and dragged(BI) them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar(BJ) 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans(BK) to accept or practice.”(BL)

22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods.(BM) 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer(BN) was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.(BO)

25 About midnight(BP) Paul and Silas(BQ) were praying and singing hymns(BR) to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken.(BS) At once all the prison doors flew open,(BT) and everyone’s chains came loose.(BU) 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped.(BV) 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.(BW) 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”(BX)

31 They replied, “Believe(BY) in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved(BZ)—you and your household.”(CA) 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night(CB) the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized.(CC) 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he(CD) was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.

35 When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.” 36 The jailer(CE) told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.”(CF)

37 But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens,(CG) and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”

38 The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed.(CH) 39 They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city.(CI) 40 After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house,(CJ) where they met with the brothers and sisters(CK) and encouraged them. Then they left.

In Thessalonica

17 When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica,(CL) where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue,(CM) and on three Sabbath(CN) days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,(CO) 3 explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer(CP) and rise from the dead.(CQ) “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,”(CR) he said. 4 Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas,(CS) as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women.

5 But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city.(CT) They rushed to Jason’s(CU) house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd.[c] 6 But when they did not find them, they dragged(CV) Jason and some other believers(CW) before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world(CX) have now come here,(CY) 7 and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.”(CZ) 8 When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. 9 Then they made Jason(DA) and the others post bond and let them go.

In Berea

10 As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas(DB) away to Berea.(DC) On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.(DD) 11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica,(DE) for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures(DF) every day to see if what Paul said was true.(DG) 12 As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.(DH)

13 But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea,(DI) some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. 14 The believers(DJ) immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas(DK) and Timothy(DL) stayed at Berea. 15 Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens(DM) and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.(DN)

Footnotes

  1. Acts 15:34 Some manuscripts include here But Silas decided to remain there.
  2. Acts 16:12 The text and meaning of the Greek for the leading city of that district are uncertain.
  3. Acts 17:5 Or the assembly of the people
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