Occult Practices

⁹ When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate^(A) the detestable ways^(B) of the nations there. ¹⁰ Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire,^(C) who practices divination^(D) or sorcery,^(E) interprets omens, engages in witchcraft,^{(F) 11} or casts spells,^(G) or who is a medium or spiritist^(H) or who consults the dead. ¹² Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you.^{(I) 13} You must be blameless^(J) before the Lord your God.^(K)

The Prophet

¹⁴ The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination.^(L) But as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so. ¹⁵ The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites.^(M) You must listen to him. ¹⁶ For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.”^(N)

¹⁷ The Lord said to me: “What they say is good. ¹⁸ I will raise up for them a prophet^(O) like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words^(P) in his mouth.^(Q) He will tell them everything I command him.^{(R) 19} I myself will call to account^(S) anyone who does not listen^(T) to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.^{(U) 20} But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods,^(V) is to be put to death.”^(W)

²¹ You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” ²² If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true,^(X) that is a message the Lord has not spoken.^(Y) That prophet has spoken presumptuously,^(Z) so do not be alarmed.

⁴⁴ On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. ⁴⁵ When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying^(A) and heaped abuse^(B) on him.

⁴⁶ Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first.^(C) Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.^{(D) 47} For this is what the Lord has commanded us:

⁴⁸ When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord;^(G) and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.

⁴⁹ The word of the Lord^(H) spread through the whole region. ⁵⁰ But the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.^{(I) 51} So they shook the dust off their feet^(J) as a warning to them and went to Iconium.^{(K) 52} And the disciples^(L) were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.^(M)

In Iconium

14 At Iconium^(N) Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue.^(O) There they spoke so effectively that a great number^(P) of Jews and Greeks believed. ² But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.^{(Q) 3} So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly^(R) for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.^{(S) 4} The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles.^{(T) 5} There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews,^(U) together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them.^{(V) 6} But they found out about it and fled^(W) to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, ⁷ where they continued to preach^(X) the gospel.^(Y)

Cities of Refuge^(A)

19 When the Lord your God has destroyed the nations whose land he is giving you, and when you have driven them out and settled in their towns and houses,^{(B) 2} then set aside for yourselves three cities in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess. ³ Determine the distances involved and divide into three parts the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that a person who kills someone may flee for refuge to one of these cities.

⁴ This is the rule concerning anyone who kills a person and flees there for safety—anyone who kills a neighbor unintentionally, without malice aforethought. ⁵ For instance, a man may go into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and as he swings his ax to fell a tree, the head may fly off and hit his neighbor and kill him. That man may flee to one of these cities and save his life. ⁶ Otherwise, the avenger of blood^(C) might pursue him in a rage, overtake him if the distance is too great, and kill him even though he is not deserving of death, since he did it to his neighbor without malice aforethought. ⁷ This is why I command you to set aside for yourselves three cities.

⁸ If the Lord your God enlarges your territory,^(D) as he promised^(E) on oath to your ancestors, and gives you the whole land he promised them, ⁹ because you carefully follow all these laws I command you today—to love the Lord your God and to walk always in obedience to him^(F)—then you are to set aside three more cities. ¹⁰ Do this so that innocent blood^(G) will not be shed in your land, which the Lord your God is giving you as your inheritance, and so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed.^(H)

¹¹ But if out of hate someone lies in wait, assaults and kills a neighbor,^(I) and then flees to one of these cities, ¹² the killer shall be sent for by the town elders, be brought back from the city, and be handed over to the avenger of blood to die. ¹³ Show no pity.^(J) You must purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood,^(K) so that it may go well with you.

¹⁴ Do not move your neighbor’s boundary stone set up by your predecessors in the inheritance you receive in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess.^(L)

Witnesses

¹⁵ One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.^(M)

¹⁶ If a malicious witness^(N) takes the stand to accuse someone of a crime, ¹⁷ the two people involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and the judges^(O) who are in office at the time. ¹⁸ The judges must make a thorough investigation,^(P) and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against a fellow Israelite, ¹⁹ then do to the false witness as that witness intended to do to the other party.^(Q) You must purge the evil from among you. ²⁰ The rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid,^(R) and never again will such an evil thing be done among you. ²¹ Show no pity:^(S) life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.^(T)

In Lystra and Derbe

⁸ In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth^(A) and had never walked. ⁹ 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.

¹⁹ Then some Jews^(S) came from Antioch and Iconium^(T) and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul^(U) and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. ²⁰ But after the disciples^(V) had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.

The Return to Antioch in Syria

²¹ They preached the gospel^(W) in that city and won a large number^(X) of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium^(Y) and Antioch, ²² strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith.^(Z) “We must go through many hardships^(AA) to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. ²³ Paul and Barnabas appointed elders^[a](AB) for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting,^(AC) committed them to the Lord,^(AD) in whom they had put their trust. ²⁴ After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia,^{(AE) 25} and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.

²⁶ From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch,^(AF) where they had been committed to the grace of God^(AG) for the work they had now completed.^{(AH) 27} On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them^(AI) and how he had opened a door^(AJ) of faith to the Gentiles. ²⁸ And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.^(AK)