Acts 15:36-18:22

Legacy Standard Bible

Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas

³⁶ Now after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in ^(A)every city in which we proclaimed ^(B)the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” ³⁷ And Barnabas wanted to take ^(C)John, called Mark, along with them also. ³⁸ But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had ^(D)deserted them ^[a]in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. ³⁹ And there was 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, being ^(H)committed by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. ⁴¹ And he was traveling through ^(I)Syria and ^(J)Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

16 Now Paul also arrived at ^(K)Derbe and at ^(L)Lystra. And behold, 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 who were in ^(P)Lystra and ^(Q)Iconium. ³ Paul wanted this man to ^[b]go 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 decrees which had been decided upon by ^(T)the apostles and ^(U)elders who were in Jerusalem, for them to keep. ⁵ So ^(V)the churches were being strengthened ^[c]in the faith, and were ^(W)abounding in number daily.

The Macedonian Vision

⁶ And they passed through the ^[d](X)Phrygian and ^(Y)Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in ^[e](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 permit them; ⁸ and passing by ^(AD)Mysia, they came down to ^(AE)Troas. ^9 (AF)And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of ^(AG)Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” ¹⁰ And when he had seen ^(AH)the vision, immediately ^(AI)we sought to ^[f]go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to ^(AJ)proclaim the gospel to them.

Lydia’s Conversion in Philippi

¹¹ So setting sail from ^(AK)Troas, we ran ^(AL)a straight course to Samothrace, and on the day following 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 staying in this city for some days. ¹³ And on ^(AP)the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were supposing that there would be a place of prayer; and sitting down, we began speaking to the women who had assembled. ¹⁴ And a woman named Lydia, from the city of ^(AQ)Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, ^(AR)a worshiper of God, was listening, whose heart the Lord ^(AS)opened to pay attention to the things spoken by Paul. ¹⁵ And 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.

Paul and Silas in Prison

¹⁶ Now it happened that as we were going to ^(AU)the place of prayer, a servant-girl having ^(AV)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 slaves of ^(AW)the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you ^[g]the way of salvation.” ¹⁸ And she continued doing this for many days. But being greatly annoyed, Paul turned and said to the spirit, “I command you ^(AX)in the name of Jesus Christ to leave her!” And it left at that very ^[h]moment.

¹⁹ But when her masters saw that their hope of ^(AY)profit had left, they seized ^(AZ)Paul and Silas and ^(BA)dragged them into the marketplace 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 ^(BB)are proclaiming customs that are not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being ^(BC)Romans.” ²² And the crowd joined together to attack them, and the chief magistrates, tearing their garments off of them, proceeded to order them to be ^(BD)beaten with rods. ²³ And when they had inflicted them with many wounds, they threw them into prison, commanding ^(BE)the jailer to guard them securely, ²⁴ who, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in ^(BF)the ^[i]stocks.

The Philippian Jailer Converted

²⁵ But about midnight ^(BG)Paul and Silas were praying and ^(BH)singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶ And suddenly ^(BI)there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the jailhouse were shaken; and immediately ^(BJ)all the doors were opened and everyone’s ^(BK)chains were unfastened. ²⁷ And when ^(BL)the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about ^(BM)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 ^(BN)Paul and Silas, ³⁰ and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, ^(BO)what must I do to be saved?” ³¹ And they said, “^(BP)Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and ^(BQ)your house.” ³² And they spoke the word of ^[j]the Lord to him together with all who were in his household. ³³ And he took them ^(BR)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 ^[k]food before them, and rejoiced ^[l]greatly with ^(BS)his whole household, because he had believed in God.

³⁵ Now when day came, the chief magistrates sent their policemen, saying, “Release those men.” ³⁶ And ^(BT)the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The chief magistrates have sent to release you. Therefore come out now and go ^(BU)in peace.” ³⁷ But Paul said to them, “Having beaten us in public without trial, ^(BV)men who are Romans, they 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 And the policemen reported these words to the chief magistrates. ^(BW)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 requesting them ^(BX)to leave the city. ⁴⁰ And they went out of the prison and entered the house of ^(BY)Lydia, and when they saw ^(BZ)the brothers, they ^[m]encouraged them and left.

Paul and Silas in Thessalonica

17 Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to ^(CA)Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. ² And ^(CB)according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three ^(CC)Sabbaths reasoned with them from ^(CD)the Scriptures, ^3 [n]explaining and setting before them that the ^[o]Christ ^(CE)had to suffer and ^(CF)rise again from the dead, and saying, “^(CG)This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is that ^[p]Christ.” ^4 (CH)And some of them were persuaded and joined ^(CI)Paul and Silas, ^[q]along with a great multitude of the ^(CJ)God-fearing ^(CK)Greeks and not a few of the ^(CL)leading women. ⁵ But ^(CM)the Jews, becoming jealous, taking along some wicked men from the marketplace, and forming a mob, set the city in an uproar. And attacking the house of ^(CN)Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the assembly. ⁶ And when they did not find them, they began ^(CO)dragging Jason and some brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset ^[r](CP)the world have come here also; ^7 [s]and Jason ^(CQ)has welcomed them, and they all act ^(CR)contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” ⁸ And they disturbed the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things. ⁹ And when they had received the bond from ^(CS)Jason and the others, they released them.

In Berea

^10 (CT)And the brothers immediately sent ^(CU)Paul and Silas away by night to ^(CV)Berea, ^[t]and when they arrived, they went into ^(CW)the synagogue of the Jews. ¹¹ Now these were more noble-minded than those in ^(CX)Thessalonica, ^[u]for they received the word with ^[v]great eagerness, ^[w]examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. ¹² Therefore ^(CY)many of them believed, along with not a few ^(CZ)prominent Greek ^(DA)women and men. ¹³ But when the Jews of ^(DB)Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in ^(DC)Berea also, they came there as well, shaking up and disturbing the crowds. ¹⁴ Then immediately ^(DD)the brothers sent Paul out to go as far as the sea; and ^(DE)Silas and ^(DF)Timothy remained there. ¹⁵ Now ^(DG)those who escorted Paul brought him as far as ^(DH)Athens; and after receiving a command for ^(DI)Silas and Timothy to ^(DJ)come to him as soon as possible, they left.

In Athens

¹⁶ Now while Paul was waiting for them at ^(DK)Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols. ¹⁷ So he was reasoning ^(DL)in the synagogue with the Jews and ^(DM)the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be present. ¹⁸ And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were ^[x]conversing with him. Some were saying, “What would ^(DN)this ^[y]idle babbler wish to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was proclaiming the good news of ^(DO)Jesus and the resurrection. ¹⁹ And they ^(DP)took him and brought him ^[z]to the ^[aa](DQ)Areopagus, saying, “May we know what ^(DR)this new teaching is ^[ab]which you are speaking? ²⁰ For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. So we want to know what these things mean.” ²¹ (Now all the Athenians and the strangers ^(DS)visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something newer.)

²² So Paul stood in the midst of the ^[ac]Areopagus and said, “Men of ^(DT)Athens, I observe that you are very ^(DU)religious in all respects. ²³ For while I was passing through and examining the ^(DV)objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what ^(DW)you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. ^24 (DX)The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is ^(DY)Lord of heaven and earth, does not ^(DZ)dwell in temples made with hands; ²⁵ nor is He served by human hands, ^(EA)as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; ²⁶ and ^(EB)He made from one man every nation of mankind to inhabit all the face of the earth, having ^(EC)determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, ²⁷ that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, ^(ED)though He is not far from each one of us; ²⁸ for ^(EE)in Him we live and move and ^[ad]exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His offspring.’ ²⁹ Being then the offspring of God, we ^(EF)ought not to suppose that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the craft and thought of man. ³⁰ Therefore having ^(EG)overlooked ^(EH)the times of ignorance, God is ^(EI)now commanding men that everyone everywhere should repent, ³¹ because He has fixed ^(EJ)a day in which ^(EK)He will judge ^[ae](EL)the world in righteousness ^[af]through a Man whom He ^(EM)determined, having furnished proof to all ^[ag]by ^(EN)raising Him from the dead.”

³² Now when they heard about ^(EO)the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, “We shall hear you ^[ah]again concerning this.” ³³ In this way, Paul went out of their midst. ³⁴ But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the ^(EP)Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

In Corinth

18 After these things he departed ^(EQ)Athens and went to ^(ER)Corinth. ² And he found a Jew named ^(ES)Aquila, a native of ^(ET)Pontus, and his wife ^(EU)Priscilla, who recently came from ^(EV)Italy because ^(EW)Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome. He came to them, ³ and because he was of the same trade, he was staying with them and ^(EX)they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers. ⁴ And he was reasoning ^(EY)in the synagogue every ^(EZ)Sabbath and trying to persuade both ^(FA)Jews and Greeks.

⁵ But when ^(FB)Silas and Timothy ^(FC)came down from ^(FD)Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly ^(FE)bearing witness to the Jews that ^(FF)Jesus is the ^[ai]Christ. ⁶ But when they resisted and blasphemed, he ^(FG)shook out his garments and said to them, “Your ^(FH)blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go ^(FI)to the Gentiles.” ⁷ Then he left there and went to the house of a man named ^[aj]Titius Justus, a ^(FJ)God-fearer, whose house was next to the synagogue. ^8 (FK)And Crispus, ^(FL)the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord ^(FM)with all his household, and many of the ^(FN)Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized. ⁹ And the Lord said to Paul in the night by ^(FO)a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent; ¹⁰ for I am with you, and no man will lay a hand on you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.” ¹¹ And he stayed there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

¹² But while Gallio was ^(FP)proconsul of ^(FQ)Achaia, ^(FR)the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before ^(FS)the judgment seat, ¹³ saying, “This man persuades men to worship God contrary to ^(FT)the law.” ¹⁴ But when Paul was about to ^(FU)open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, it would be reasonable for me to put up with you; ¹⁵ but if there are ^(FV)questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves; I am not willing to be a judge of these matters.” ¹⁶ And he drove them away from ^(FW)the judgment seat. ¹⁷ And they all took hold of ^(FX)Sosthenes, ^(FY)the leader of the synagogue, and began beating him in front of ^(FZ)the judgment seat. But Gallio was not concerned about any of these things.

Priscilla, Aquila, and Apollos

¹⁸ And Paul, having remained many days longer, ^(GA)took leave of ^(GB)the brothers and put out to sea for ^(GC)Syria, and with him were ^(GD)Priscilla and ^(GE)Aquila. In ^(GF)Cenchreae ^[ak]he ^(GG)had his hair cut, for he was keeping a vow. ¹⁹ And they arrived at ^(GH)Ephesus, and he left them there. Now he himself entered ^(GI)the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. ²⁰ When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he did not consent, ²¹ but ^(GJ)taking leave of them and saying, “I will return to you again ^(GK)if God wills,” he set sail from ^(GL)Ephesus.

²² And when he had landed at ^(GM)Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and went down to ^(GN)Antioch.