Acts 15:36-16:15
New American Standard Bible
Second Missionary Journey
36 After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return and visit the brothers and sisters in (A)every city in which we proclaimed (B)the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take (C)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 (D)deserted them [a]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 (E)Mark with him and sailed away to (F)Cyprus. 40 But Paul chose (G)Silas, and left after being (H)entrusted by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 41 And he was traveling through (I)Syria and (J)Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
The Macedonian Vision
16 Now Paul also came to (K)Derbe and to (L)Lystra. And a disciple was there, named (M)Timothy, the son of a (N)Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, 2 and he was well spoken of by (O)the brothers and sisters who were in (P)Lystra and (Q)Iconium. 3 Paul wanted this man to leave with him; and he (R)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 (S)the ordinances for them to follow which had been determined by (T)the apostles and (U)elders in Jerusalem. 5 So (V)the churches were being strengthened [b]in the faith, and were (W)increasing in number daily.
6 They passed through the [c](X)Phrygian and (Y)Galatian region, after being forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in [d](Z)Asia; 7 and after they came to (AA)Mysia, they were trying to go into (AB)Bithynia, and the (AC)Spirit of Jesus did not allow them; 8 and passing by (AD)Mysia, they went down to (AE)Troas. 9 (AF)And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of (AG)Macedonia was standing and pleading with him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 When he had seen (AH)the vision, (AI)we immediately sought to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to (AJ)preach the gospel to them.
11 So after setting sail from (AK)Troas, we ran (AL)a straight course to Samothrace, and on the following day to Neapolis; 12 and from there to (AM)Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of (AN)Macedonia, (AO)a Roman colony; and we were spending some days in this city. 13 And on (AP)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 (AQ)Thyatira, and (AR)a worshiper of God. [e]The Lord (AS)opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. 15 Now when she and (AT)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.
Footnotes
- Acts 15:38 Lit from
- Acts 16:5 Or in faith
- Acts 16:6 Or Phrygia and the Galatian region
- Acts 16:6 I.e., west coast province of Asia Minor
- Acts 16:14 Lit Whose heart the Lord opened
Acts 15:36-16:15
New Living Translation
Paul and Barnabas Separate
36 After some time Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit each city where we previously preached the word of the Lord, to see how the new believers are doing.” 37 Barnabas agreed and wanted to take along John Mark. 38 But Paul disagreed strongly, since John Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in their work. 39 Their disagreement was so sharp that they separated. Barnabas took John Mark with him and sailed for Cyprus. 40 Paul chose Silas, and as he left, the believers entrusted him to the Lord’s gracious care. 41 Then he traveled throughout Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches there.
Paul’s Second Missionary Journey
16 Paul went first to Derbe and then to Lystra, where there was a young disciple named Timothy. His mother was a Jewish believer, but his father was a Greek. 2 Timothy was well thought of by the believers[a] in Lystra and Iconium, 3 so Paul wanted him to join them on their journey. In deference to the Jews of the area, he arranged for Timothy to be circumcised before they left, for everyone knew that his father was a Greek. 4 Then they went from town to town, instructing the believers to follow the decisions made by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. 5 So the churches were strengthened in their faith and grew larger every day.
A Call from Macedonia
6 Next Paul and Silas traveled through the area of Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time. 7 Then coming to the borders of Mysia, they headed north for the province of Bithynia,[b] but again the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there. 8 So instead, they went on through Mysia to the seaport of Troas.
9 That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” 10 So we[c] decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there.
Lydia of Philippi Believes in Jesus
11 We boarded a boat at Troas and sailed straight across to the island of Samothrace, and the next day we landed at Neapolis. 12 From there we reached Philippi, a major city of that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. And we stayed there several days.
13 On the Sabbath we went a little way outside the city to a riverbank, where we thought people would be meeting for prayer, and we sat down to speak with some women who had gathered there. 14 One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a merchant of expensive purple cloth, who worshiped God. As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying. 15 She and her household were baptized, and she asked us to be her guests. “If you agree that I am a true believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my home.” And she urged us until we agreed.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
