Acts 13-16

New American Standard Bible 1995

First Missionary Journey

13 Now there were at ^(A)Antioch, in the ^(B)church that was there, ^(C)prophets and ^(D)teachers: ^(E)Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of ^(F)Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with ^(G)Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ² While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, ^(H)the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me ^(I)Barnabas and Saul for ^(J)the work to which I have called them.” ³ Then, when they had fasted and ^(K)prayed and ^(L)laid their hands on them, ^(M)they sent them away.

⁴ So, being ^(N)sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to ^(O)Cyprus. ⁵ When they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in ^(P)the synagogues of the Jews; and they also had ^(Q)John as their helper. ⁶ When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a ^(R)magician, a Jewish ^(S)false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus, ⁷ who was with the ^(T)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 ^(U)magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the ^(V)proconsul away from ^(W)the faith. ⁹ But Saul, who was also known as Paul, ^[a](X)filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him, ¹⁰ and said, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you ^(Y)son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked ^(Z)the straight ways of the Lord? ¹¹ Now, behold, ^(AA)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 ^(AB)proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being amazed at ^(AC)the teaching of the Lord.

¹³ Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from ^(AD)Paphos and came to ^(AE)Perga in ^(AF)Pamphylia; but ^(AG)John left them and returned to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ But going on from Perga, they arrived at ^(AH)Pisidian ^(AI)Antioch, and on ^(AJ)the Sabbath day they went into ^(AK)the synagogue and sat down. ¹⁵ After ^(AL)the reading of the Law and ^(AM)the Prophets ^(AN)the synagogue officials sent to them, saying, “Brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it.” ¹⁶ Paul stood up, and ^(AO)motioning with his hand said,

“Men of Israel, and ^(AP)you who fear God, listen: ¹⁷ The God of this people Israel ^(AQ)chose our fathers and ^[b](AR)made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm ^(AS)He led them out from it. ¹⁸ For ^(AT)a period of about forty years ^(AU)He put up with them in the wilderness. ^19 (AV)When He had destroyed ^(AW)seven nations in the land of Canaan, He ^(AX)distributed their land as an inheritance—all of which took ^(AY)about four hundred and fifty years. ²⁰ After these things He ^(AZ)gave them judges until ^(BA)Samuel the prophet. ²¹ Then they ^(BB)asked for a king, and God gave them ^(BC)Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. ²² After He had ^(BD)removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘^(BE)I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My ^[c]will.’ ^23 (BF)From the descendants of this man, ^(BG)according to promise, God has brought to Israel ^(BH)a Savior, Jesus, ²⁴ after ^(BI)John had proclaimed before ^[d]His coming a ^(BJ)baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. ²⁵ And while John ^(BK)was completing his course, ^(BL)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 “Brethren, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of ^(BM)this salvation has been sent. ²⁷ For those who live in Jerusalem, and their ^(BN)rulers, ^(BO)recognizing neither Him nor the ^[e]utterances of ^(BP)the prophets which are ^(BQ)read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him. ²⁸ And though they found no ground for putting Him to death, they ^(BR)asked Pilate that He be ^[f]executed. ²⁹ When they had ^(BS)carried out all that was written concerning Him, ^(BT)they took Him down from ^(BU)the ^[g]cross and ^(BV)laid Him in a tomb. ³⁰ But God ^(BW)raised Him from the dead; ³¹ and for many days ^(BX)He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now ^(BY)His witnesses to the people. ³² And we ^(BZ)preach to you the good news of ^(CA)the promise made to the fathers, ³³ that God has fulfilled this promise ^[h]to our children in that He ^(CB)raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘^(CC)You are My Son; today i have begotten You.’ ³⁴ As for the fact that He ^(CD)raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: ‘^(CE)I will give you the holy and ^[i]sure blessings of David.’ ³⁵ Therefore He also says in another Psalm, ‘^(CF)You will not ^[j]allow Your ^[k]Holy One to ^[l]undergo decay.’ ³⁶ For ^(CG)David, after he had ^[m]served ^(CH)the purpose of God in his own generation, ^(CI)fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and ^[n]underwent decay; ³⁷ but He whom God ^(CJ)raised did not ^[o]undergo decay. ³⁸ Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that ^(CK)through ^[p]Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, ³⁹ and ^[q]through Him ^(CL)everyone who believes is ^[r]freed ^[s]from all things, from which you could not be ^[t]freed ^[u]through the Law of Moses. ⁴⁰ Therefore take heed, so that the thing spoken of ^(CM)in the Prophets may not come upon you:

⁴² As ^[w]Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these ^[x]things might be spoken to them the next ^(CO)Sabbath. ⁴³ Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the ^(CP)God-fearing ^[y](CQ)proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in ^(CR)the grace of God.

Paul Turns to the Gentiles

⁴⁴ The next ^(CS)Sabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of ^[z]the Lord. ⁴⁵ But when ^(CT)the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were ^[aa]blaspheming. ⁴⁶ Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you ^(CU)first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, ^(CV)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 ^(CY)the word of ^[ac]the Lord; and as many as ^(CZ)had been appointed to eternal life believed. ⁴⁹ And ^(DA)the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region. ⁵⁰ But ^(DB)the Jews incited the ^[ad](DC)devout women ^(DD)of prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their ^[ae]district. ⁵¹ But ^(DE)they shook off the dust of their feet in protest against them and went to ^(DF)Iconium. ⁵² And the disciples were continually ^(DG)filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Acceptance and Opposition

14 In ^(DH)Iconium ^(DI)they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner ^(DJ)that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of ^(DK)Greeks. ² But ^(DL)the Jews who ^[af](DM)disbelieved stirred up the ^[ag]minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against ^(DN)the brethren. ³ Therefore they spent a long time there ^(DO)speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that ^[ah](DP)signs and wonders be done by their hands. ^4 (DQ)But the ^[ai]people of the city were divided; and some ^[aj]sided with ^(DR)the Jews, and some with ^(DS)the apostles. ⁵ And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and ^(DT)the Jews with their rulers, to mistreat and to ^(DU)stone them, ⁶ they became aware of it and fled to the cities of ^(DV)Lycaonia, ^(DW)Lystra and ^(DX)Derbe, and the surrounding region; ⁷ and there they continued to ^(DY)preach the gospel.

⁸ At ^(DZ)Lystra ^(EA)a man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. ⁹ This man was listening to Paul as he spoke, who, ^(EB)when he had fixed his gaze on him and had seen that he had ^(EC)faith to be ^[ak]made well, ¹⁰ said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” ^(ED)And he leaped up and began to walk. ¹¹ When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the ^(EE)Lycaonian language, “^(EF)The gods have become like men and have come down to us.” ¹² And they began calling Barnabas, ^[al]Zeus, and Paul, ^[am]Hermes, because he was ^[an]the chief speaker. ¹³ The priest of Zeus, whose temple was ^[ao]just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and ^(EG)wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. ¹⁴ But when ^(EH)the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they ^(EI)tore their ^[ap]robes and rushed out into the crowd, crying out ¹⁵ and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We are also ^(EJ)men of the same nature as you, and ^(EK)preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these ^[aq](EL)vain things to a ^(EM)living God, ^(EN)who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. ^16 [ar]In the generations gone by He ^(EO)permitted all the ^[as]nations to ^(EP)go their own ways; ¹⁷ and yet ^(EQ)He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and ^(ER)gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, ^[at]satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” ¹⁸ Even saying these things, with difficulty they restrained the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.

¹⁹ But ^(ES)Jews came from ^(ET)Antioch and ^(EU)Iconium, and having won over the crowds, they ^(EV)stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. ²⁰ But while ^(EW)the disciples stood around him, he got up and entered the city. The next day he went away with Barnabas to ^(EX)Derbe. ²¹ After they had ^(EY)preached the gospel to that city and had ^(EZ)made many disciples, they returned to ^(FA)Lystra and to ^(FB)Iconium and to ^(FC)Antioch, ²² strengthening the souls of ^(FD)the disciples, encouraging them to continue in ^(FE)the faith, and saying, “^(FF)Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” ²³ When ^(FG)they had appointed ^(FH)elders for them in every church, having ^(FI)prayed with fasting, they ^(FJ)commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

²⁴ They passed through ^(FK)Pisidia and came into ^(FL)Pamphylia. ²⁵ When they had spoken the word in ^(FM)Perga, they went down to Attalia. ²⁶ From there they sailed to ^(FN)Antioch, from ^(FO)which they had been ^(FP)commended to the grace of God for the work that they had ^[au]accomplished. ²⁷ When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to ^(FQ)report all things that God had done with them and ^[av]how He had opened a ^(FR)door of faith to the Gentiles. ²⁸ And they spent ^[aw]a long time with ^(FS)the disciples.

The Council at Jerusalem

15 ^(FT)Some men came down from Judea and began teaching ^(FU)the brethren, “Unless you are ^(FV)circumcised according to ^(FW)the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” ² And when Paul and Barnabas had ^[ax]great dissension and ^(FX)debate with them, ^(FY)the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the ^(FZ)apostles and elders concerning this issue. ³ Therefore, being ^(GA)sent on their way by the church, they were passing through both ^(GB)Phoenicia and Samaria, ^(GC)describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and were bringing great joy to all ^(GD)the brethren. ⁴ When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and ^(GE)the apostles and the elders, and they ^(GF)reported all that God had done with them. ⁵ But some of ^(GG)the sect of the ^(GH)Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to ^(GI)circumcise them and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses.”

^6 (GJ)The apostles and the elders came together to ^[ay]look into this ^[az]matter. ⁷ After there had been much ^(GK)debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brethren, you know that ^[ba]in the early days ^(GL)God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of ^(GM)the gospel and believe. ⁸ And God, ^(GN)who knows the heart, testified to them ^(GO)giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; ⁹ and ^(GP)He made no distinction between us and them, ^(GQ)cleansing their hearts by faith. ¹⁰ Now therefore why do you ^(GR)put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which ^(GS)neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? ¹¹ But we believe that we are saved through ^(GT)the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”

¹² All the people kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were ^(GU)relating what ^(GV)signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.

James’s Judgment

¹³ After they had stopped speaking, ^[bb](GW)James answered, saying, “Brethren, listen to me. ^14 (GX)Simeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name. ¹⁵ With this the words of ^(GY)the Prophets agree, just as it is written,

¹⁹ Therefore it is ^(HF)my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, ²⁰ but that we write to them that they abstain from ^[bg](HG)things contaminated by idols and from ^(HH)fornication and from ^(HI)what is strangled and from blood. ²¹ For ^(HJ)Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since ^[bh]he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

²² Then it seemed good to ^(HK)the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to ^(HL)Antioch with Paul and Barnabas—Judas called Barsabbas, and ^(HM)Silas, leading men among ^(HN)the brethren, ²³ and they ^[bi]sent this letter by them,

³⁰ So when they were sent away, ^(IH)they went down to Antioch; and having gathered the ^[bn]congregation together, they delivered the letter. ³¹ When they had read it, they rejoiced because of its ^[bo]encouragement. ^32 (II)Judas and ^(IJ)Silas, also being ^(IK)prophets themselves, ^[bp]encouraged and strengthened ^(IL)the brethren with a lengthy message. ³³ After they had spent time there, they were sent away from the brethren ^(IM)in peace to those who had ^(IN)sent them out. ³⁴ [^[bq]But it seemed good to Silas to remain there.] ³⁵ But ^(IO)Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, teaching and ^(IP)preaching with many others also, ^(IQ)the word of the Lord.

Second Missionary Journey

³⁶ After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brethren in ^(IR)every city in which we proclaimed ^(IS)the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” ³⁷ Barnabas wanted to take ^(IT)John, called Mark, along with them also. ³⁸ But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had ^(IU)deserted them ^[br]in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. ³⁹ And there occurred such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took ^(IV)Mark with him and sailed away to ^(IW)Cyprus. ⁴⁰ But Paul chose ^(IX)Silas and left, being ^(IY)committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord. ⁴¹ And he was traveling through ^(IZ)Syria and ^(JA)Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

The Macedonian Vision

16 Paul came also to ^(JB)Derbe and to ^(JC)Lystra. And a disciple was there, named ^(JD)Timothy, the son of a ^(JE)Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, ² and he was well spoken of by ^(JF)the brethren who were in ^(JG)Lystra and ^(JH)Iconium. ³ Paul wanted this man to ^[bs]go with him; and he ^(JI)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 ^(JJ)the decrees which had been decided upon by ^(JK)the apostles and ^(JL)elders who were in Jerusalem, for them to observe. ⁵ So ^(JM)the churches were being strengthened ^[bt]in the faith, and were ^(JN)increasing in number daily.

⁶ They passed through the ^[bu](JO)Phrygian and ^(JP)Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in ^[bv](JQ)Asia; ⁷ and after they came to ^(JR)Mysia, they were trying to go into ^(JS)Bithynia, and the ^(JT)Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; ⁸ and passing by ^(JU)Mysia, they came down to ^(JV)Troas. ^9 (JW)A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of ^(JX)Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” ¹⁰ When he had seen ^(JY)the vision, immediately ^(JZ)we sought to ^[bw]go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to ^(KA)preach the gospel to them.

¹¹ So putting out to sea from ^(KB)Troas, we ran ^(KC)a straight course to Samothrace, and on the day following to Neapolis; ¹² and from there to ^(KD)Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of ^(KE)Macedonia, ^(KF)a Roman colony; and we were staying in this city for some days. ¹³ And on ^(KG)the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were supposing that there would be 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, from the city of ^(KH)Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, ^(KI)a worshiper of God, was listening; ^[bx]and the Lord ^(KJ)opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. ¹⁵ And when she and ^(KK)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 ^(KL)the place of prayer, a slave-girl having ^(KM)a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling. ¹⁷ Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, “These men are bond-servants of ^(KN)the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you ^[by]the way of salvation.” ¹⁸ She continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, “I command you ^(KO)in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very ^[bz]moment.

¹⁹ But when her masters saw that their hope of ^(KP)profit was ^[ca]gone, they seized ^(KQ)Paul and Silas and ^(KR)dragged them into the market place before the authorities, ²⁰ and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews, ²¹ and ^(KS)are proclaiming customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being ^(KT)Romans.”

Paul and Silas Imprisoned

²² The crowd rose up together against them, and the chief magistrates tore their ^[cb]robes off them and proceeded to order ^[cc]them to be ^(KU)beaten with rods. ²³ When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding ^(KV)the jailer to guard them securely; ^24 [cd]and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in ^(KW)the ^[ce]stocks.

²⁵ But about midnight ^(KX)Paul and Silas were praying and ^(KY)singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; ²⁶ and suddenly ^(KZ)there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately ^(LA)all the doors were opened and everyone’s ^(LB)chains were unfastened. ²⁷ When ^(LC)the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about ^(LD)to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸ But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” ²⁹ And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before ^(LE)Paul and Silas, ³⁰ and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, ^(LF)what must I do to be saved?”

The Jailer Converted

³¹ They said, “^(LG)Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and ^(LH)your household.” ³² And they spoke the word of ^[cf]the Lord to him together with all who were in his house. ³³ And he took them ^(LI)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 ^[cg]food before them, and rejoiced ^[ch]greatly, having believed in God with ^(LJ)his whole household.

³⁵ Now when day came, the chief magistrates sent their policemen, saying, “Release those men.” ³⁶ And ^(LK)the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The chief magistrates have sent to release you. Therefore come out now and go ^(LL)in peace.” ³⁷ But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us in public without trial, ^(LM)men who are Romans, and have thrown us into prison; and now are they sending us away secretly? No indeed! But let them come themselves and bring us out.” ³⁸ The policemen reported these words to the chief magistrates. ^(LN)They were afraid when they heard that they were Romans, ³⁹ and they came and appealed to them, and when they had brought them out, they kept begging them ^(LO)to leave the city. ⁴⁰ They went out of the prison and entered the house of ^(LP)Lydia, and when they saw ^(LQ)the brethren, they ^[ci]encouraged them and departed.