Paul and Barnabas at Iconium

14 Now at Iconium ^(A)they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. ^2 (B)But the ^(C)unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against ^(D)the brothers.^{[a] 3} So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for ^(E)the Lord, who bore witness to ^(F)the word of his grace, ^(G)granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. ⁴ But the people of the city ^(H)were divided; ^(I)some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles. ⁵ When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, ^(J)to mistreat them and ^(K)to stone them, ⁶ they learned of it and ^(L)fled to ^(M)Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country, ⁷ and there they continued to preach the gospel.

Paul and Barnabas at Lystra

⁸ Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was ^(N)crippled from birth and had never walked. ⁹ He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and ^(O)seeing that he had faith to be made well,^{[b] 10} said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he ^(P)sprang up and began walking. ¹¹ And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, ^(Q)“The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” ¹² Barnabas they called ^(R)Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. ¹³ And the priest of ^(S)Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and ^(T)wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. ¹⁴ But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they ^(U)tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, ¹⁵ “Men, ^(V)why are you doing these things? We also are men, ^(W)of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that ^(X)you should turn from these ^(Y)vain things to ^(Z)a living God, ^(AA)who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. ¹⁶ In past generations he ^(AB)allowed all the nations ^(AC)to walk in their own ways. ¹⁷ Yet ^(AD)he did not leave himself without witness, for he ^(AE)did good by ^(AF)giving you rains from heaven and ^(AG)fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with ^(AH)food and ^(AI)gladness.” ¹⁸ Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.

Paul Stoned at Lystra

^19 (AJ)But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, ^(AK)they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. ²⁰ But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. ²¹ When they had preached the gospel to that city and had ^(AL)made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, ^22 (AM)strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them ^(AN)to continue in ^(AO)the faith, and saying that ^(AP)through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. ²³ And when they had ^(AQ)appointed ^(AR)elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting ^(AS)they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

Paul and Barnabas Return to Antioch in Syria

²⁴ Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. ²⁵ And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia, ²⁶ and from there they sailed to Antioch, ^(AT)where they had been ^(AU)commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. ²⁷ And when they arrived and gathered the church together, ^(AV)they declared all that God had done with them, and ^(AW)how he had ^(AX)opened ^(AY)a door of faith to the Gentiles. ²⁸ And they remained no little time with the disciples.

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

16 Paul^[a] came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named ^(A)Timothy, ^(B)the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. ² He was well spoken of by ^(C)the brothers^[b] at Lystra and Iconium. ³ Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he ^(D)took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. ⁴ As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance ^(E)the decisions ^(F)that had been reached by ^(G)the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. ^5 (H)So the churches were strengthened in ^(I)the faith, and they increased in numbers ^(J)daily.

The Macedonian Call

⁶ And ^(K)they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. ⁷ And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but ^(L)the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. ⁸ So, passing by Mysia, they went down ^(M)to Troas. ⁹ And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” ¹⁰ And when Paul^[c] had seen the vision, immediately ^(N)we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

The Conversion of Lydia

¹¹ So, setting sail from Troas, we ^(O)made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, ¹² and from there to ^(P)Philippi, which is a leading city of the^[d] district of Macedonia and ^(Q)a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. ¹³ And ^(R)on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate ^(S)to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we ^(T)sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. ¹⁴ One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, ^(U)who was a worshiper of God. The Lord ^(V)opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. ¹⁵ And after she was baptized, ^(W)and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she ^(X)prevailed upon us.

Paul and Silas in Prison

¹⁶ As we were going to ^(Y)the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had ^(Z)a spirit of ^(AA)divination and ^(AB)brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. ¹⁷ She followed Paul and us, ^(AC)crying out, “These men are ^(AD)servants of ^(AE)the Most High God, who proclaim to you ^(AF)the way of salvation.” ¹⁸ And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, ^(AG)“I command you ^(AH)in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And ^(AI)it came out that very hour.

¹⁹ But ^(AJ)when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and ^(AK)dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. ²⁰ And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. ²¹ They ^(AL)advocate customs that are not lawful for us ^(AM)as Romans to accept or practice.” ²² The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders ^(AN)to beat them with rods. ²³ And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. ²⁴ Having received this order, he put them into the inner ^(AO)prison and fastened their feet in ^(AP)the stocks.

The Philippian Jailer Converted

^25 (AQ)About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, ²⁶ and suddenly ^(AR)there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately ^(AS)all the doors were opened, and ^(AT)everyone's bonds were unfastened. ²⁷ When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and ^(AU)was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸ But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” ²⁹ And the jailer^[e] called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he ^(AV)fell down before Paul and Silas. ³⁰ Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, ^(AW)what must I do to be ^(AX)saved?” ³¹ And they said, ^(AY)“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you ^(AZ)and your household.” ³² And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. ³³ And he took them ^(BA)the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he ^(BB)was baptized at once, he and all his family. ³⁴ Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he ^(BC)rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

³⁵ But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” ³⁶ And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” ³⁷ But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, ^(BD)uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.” ³⁸ The police reported these words to the magistrates, and ^(BE)they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. ³⁹ So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and ^(BF)asked them to leave the city. ⁴⁰ So they went out of the prison and visited ^(BG)Lydia. And when they had seen ^(BH)the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.

Paul in Macedonia and Greece

20 After the uproar ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he said farewell and ^(A)departed for Macedonia. ² When he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece. ³ There he spent three months, and when ^(B)a plot was made against him by the Jews^[a] as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. ⁴ Sopater the Berean, son of Pyrrhus, accompanied him; and of the Thessalonians, ^(C)Aristarchus and Secundus; and ^(D)Gaius of Derbe, and ^(E)Timothy; and the Asians, ^(F)Tychicus and ^(G)Trophimus. ⁵ These went on ahead and were waiting for ^(H)us at ^(I)Troas, ⁶ but we sailed away from Philippi after ^(J)the days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we came to them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days.

Eutychus Raised from the Dead

^7 (K)On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together ^(L)to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight. ⁸ There were many lamps in ^(M)the upper room where we were gathered. ⁹ And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer. And being overcome by sleep, he ^(N)fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. ¹⁰ But Paul went down and ^(O)bent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, ^(P)“Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.” ¹¹ And when Paul had gone up and ^(Q)had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed. ¹² And they took the youth away alive, and were not a little comforted.

¹³ But going ahead to the ship, we set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there, for so he had arranged, intending himself to go by land. ¹⁴ And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and went to Mitylene. ¹⁵ And sailing from there we came the following day opposite Chios; the next day we touched at Samos; and^[b] the day after that we went to Miletus. ¹⁶ For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia, for he was hastening ^(R)to be at Jerusalem, if possible, ^(S)on the day of Pentecost.

Paul Speaks to the Ephesian Elders

¹⁷ Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called ^(T)the elders of the church to come to him. ¹⁸ And when they came to him, he said to them:

^(U)“You yourselves know ^(V)how I lived among you the whole time ^(W)from the first day that I set foot in Asia, ^19 (X)serving the Lord ^(Y)with all humility and with ^(Z)tears and with trials that happened to me through ^(AA)the plots of the Jews; ²⁰ how I ^(AB)did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and ^(AC)teaching you in public and from house to house, ^21 (AD)testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of ^(AE)repentance toward God and of ^(AF)faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.^{[c] 22} And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained ^(AG)by^[d] the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, ²³ except that ^(AH)the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that ^(AI)imprisonment and ^(AJ)afflictions await me. ²⁴ But ^(AK)I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only ^(AL)I may finish my course and ^(AM)the ministry ^(AN)that I received from the Lord Jesus, ^(AO)to testify to ^(AP)the gospel of ^(AQ)the grace of God. ²⁵ And now, behold, ^(AR)I know that none of you among whom I have gone about ^(AS)proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. ²⁶ Therefore ^(AT)I testify to you this day that ^(AU)I am innocent of the blood of all, ²⁷ for ^(AV)I did not shrink from declaring to you ^(AW)the whole counsel of God. ^28 (AX)Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all ^(AY)the flock, in which ^(AZ)the Holy Spirit has made you ^(BA)overseers, ^(BB)to care for ^(BC)the church of God,^[e] which he ^(BD)obtained ^(BE)with his own blood.^{[f] 29} I ^(BF)know that after my departure ^(BG)fierce wolves will come in among you, ^(BH)not sparing the flock; ³⁰ and ^(BI)from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. ³¹ Therefore ^(BJ)be alert, remembering that ^(BK)for three years I did not cease night or day ^(BL)to admonish every one ^(BM)with tears. ³² And now ^(BN)I commend you to God and to ^(BO)the word of his grace, which is able to ^(BP)build you up and to give you ^(BQ)the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. ^33 (BR)I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. ^34 (BS)You yourselves know that ^(BT)these hands ministered to my necessities and ^(BU)to those who were with me. ³⁵ In all things ^(BV)I have shown you that ^(BW)by working hard in this way we must ^(BX)help the weak and ^(BY)remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed ^(BZ)to give than to receive.’”

³⁶ And when he had said these things, ^(CA)he knelt down and prayed with them all. ³⁷ And ^(CB)there was much weeping on the part of all; ^(CC)they embraced Paul and ^(CD)kissed him, ³⁸ being sorrowful most of all because of ^(CE)the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And ^(CF)they accompanied him to the ship.

Greeting

1 Paul, a servant^[a] of God and ^(A)an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and ^(B)their knowledge of the truth, ^(C)which accords with godliness, ^2 (D)in hope of eternal life, which God, ^(E)who never lies, ^(F)promised ^(G)before the ages began^{[b] 3} and ^(H)at the proper time manifested in his word^{[c] (I)}through the preaching ^(J)with which I have been entrusted ^(K)by the command of God our Savior;

⁴ To Titus, ^(L)my true child in ^(M)a common faith:

^(N)Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Qualifications for Elders

^5 (O)This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and ^(P)appoint elders in every town as I directed you— ^6 (Q)if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife,^[d] and his children are believers^[e] and not open to the charge of ^(R)debauchery or insubordination. ⁷ For an overseer,^{[f] (S)}as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not ^(T)be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent ^(U)or greedy for gain, ⁸ but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, ^(V)and disciplined. ⁹ He must ^(W)hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in ^(X)sound^[g] doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

¹⁰ For there are many who are insubordinate, ^(Y)empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of ^(Z)the circumcision party.^{[h] 11} They must be silenced, since ^(AA)they are upsetting whole families by teaching ^(AB)for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. ^12 (AC)One of the Cretans,^[i] a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”^{[j] 13} This testimony is true. Therefore ^(AD)rebuke them ^(AE)sharply, that they ^(AF)may be sound in the faith, ^14 (AG)not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and ^(AH)the commands of people ^(AI)who turn away from the truth. ^15 (AJ)To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and ^(AK)unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both ^(AL)their minds and their consciences are defiled. ^16 (AM)They profess to know God, but they ^(AN)deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, ^(AO)unfit for any good work.