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Now at Lystra a man sat who was unable to use his feet, for he was crippled from birth and had never walked. This man was listening to Paul as he spoke, and Paul looked intently at him and saw that he had faith to be healed, 10 and said with a loud voice, “Stand up on your feet.” And he jumped up and began to walk. 11 And the crowds, when they saw what Paul had done, raised their voices, shouting in the [a]Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us [b]in human form!” 12 They began calling Barnabas, Zeus [chief of the Greek gods], and Paul, Hermes [messenger of the Greek gods], since he took the lead in speaking. 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance of the city, brought bulls and garlands to the city gates, and wanted to offer sacrifices with the crowds. 14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard about it, they [c]tore their robes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting, 15 “Men, why are you doing these things? We too are only men of the same nature as you, bringing the good news to you, so that you turn from these useless and meaningless things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything that is in them.(A) 16 In generations past He permitted all the nations to go their own ways; 17 yet He did not leave Himself without some witness [as evidence of Himself], in that He kept constantly doing good things and showing you kindness, and giving you rains from heaven and productive seasons, filling your hearts with food and happiness.” 18 Even saying these words, with difficulty they prevented the people from offering sacrifices to them.

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 14:11 An ancient dialect no longer known.
  2. Acts 14:11 Lit having become like humans.
  3. Acts 14:14 This was the customary Jewish response to blasphemy, which in this case was appropriate because the apostles were wrongly being identified as gods.

In Lystra and Derbe

In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth(A) and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed(B) 10 and called out, “Stand up on your feet!”(C) At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.(D)

11 When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!”(E) 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker.(F) 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.

14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes(G) and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15 “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human,(H) like you. We are bringing you good news,(I) telling you to turn from these worthless things(J) to the living God,(K) who made the heavens and the earth(L) and the sea and everything in them.(M) 16 In the past, he let(N) all nations go their own way.(O) 17 Yet he has not left himself without testimony:(P) He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons;(Q) he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”(R) 18 Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.

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