Firstfruits and Tithes

26 When you have entered the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, ² take some of the firstfruits^(A) of all that you produce from the soil of the land the Lord your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name^{(B) 3} and say to the priest in office at the time, “I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the land the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.” ⁴ The priest shall take the basket from your hands and set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. ⁵ Then you shall declare before the Lord your God: “My father was a wandering^(C) Aramean,^(D) and he went down into Egypt with a few people^(E) and lived there and became a great nation,^(F) powerful and numerous. ⁶ But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer,^(G) subjecting us to harsh labor.^{(H) 7} Then we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and the Lord heard our voice^(I) and saw^(J) our misery,^(K) toil and oppression.^{(L) 8} So the Lord brought us out of Egypt^(M) with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,^(N) with great terror and with signs and wonders.^{(O) 9} He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey;^{(P) 10} and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, Lord, have given me.^(Q)” Place the basket before the Lord your God and bow down before him. ¹¹ Then you and the Levites^(R) and the foreigners residing among you shall rejoice^(S) in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household.

¹² When you have finished setting aside a tenth^(T) of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe,^(U) you shall give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. ¹³ Then say to the Lord your God: “I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, according to all you commanded. I have not turned aside from your commands nor have I forgotten any of them.^{(V) 14} I have not eaten any of the sacred portion while I was in mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean,^(W) nor have I offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the Lord my God; I have done everything you commanded me. ¹⁵ Look down from heaven,^(X) your holy dwelling place, and bless^(Y) your people Israel and the land you have given us as you promised on oath to our ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Follow the Lord’s Commands

¹⁶ The Lord your God commands you this day to follow these decrees and laws; carefully observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.^{(Z) 17} You have declared this day that the Lord is your God and that you will walk in obedience to him, that you will keep his decrees, commands and laws—that you will listen to him.^{(AA) 18} And the Lord has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession^(AB) as he promised, and that you are to keep all his commands. ¹⁹ He has declared that he will set you in praise,^(AC) fame and honor high above all the nations^(AD) he has made and that you will be a people holy^(AE) to the Lord your God, as he promised.

Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas

³⁶ Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns^(A) where we preached the word of the Lord^(B) and see how they are doing.” ³⁷ Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark,^(C) with them, ³⁸ but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them^(D) in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. ³⁹ They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, ⁴⁰ but Paul chose Silas^(E) and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord.^{(F) 41} He went through Syria^(G) and Cilicia,^(H) strengthening the churches.^(I)

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

16 Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra,^(J) where a disciple named Timothy^(K) lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer^(L) but whose father was a Greek. ² The believers^(M) at Lystra and Iconium^(N) spoke well of him. ³ Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.^{(O) 4} As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders^(P) in Jerusalem^(Q) for the people to obey.^{(R) 5} So the churches were strengthened^(S) in the faith and grew daily in numbers.^(T)

⁵⁸ If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law,^(A) which are written in this book, and do not revere^(B) this glorious and awesome name^(C)—the Lord your God— ⁵⁹ the Lord will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses. ⁶⁰ He will bring on you all the diseases of Egypt^(D) that you dreaded, and they will cling to you. ⁶¹ The Lord will also bring on you every kind of sickness and disaster not recorded in this Book of the Law,^(E) until you are destroyed.^{(F) 62} You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky^(G) will be left but few^(H) in number, because you did not obey the Lord your God. ⁶³ Just as it pleased^(I) the Lord to make you prosper and increase in number, so it will please^(J) him to ruin and destroy you.^(K) You will be uprooted^(L) from the land you are entering to possess.

⁶⁴ Then the Lord will scatter^(M) you among all nations,^(N) from one end of the earth to the other.^(O) There you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your ancestors have known.^{(P) 65} Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place^(Q) for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you an anxious mind, eyes^(R) weary with longing, and a despairing heart.^{(S) 66} You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life. ⁶⁷ In the morning you will say, “If only it were evening!” and in the evening, “If only it were morning!”—because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the sights that your eyes will see.^{(T) 68} The Lord will send you back in ships to Egypt on a journey I said you should never make again.^(U) There you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.

Paul’s Vision of the Man of Macedonia

⁶ Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia^(A) and Galatia,^(B) having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.^{(C) 7} When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus^(D) would not allow them to. ⁸ So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.^{(E) 9} During the night Paul had a vision^(F) of a man of Macedonia^(G) standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” ¹⁰ After Paul had seen the vision, we^(H) got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel^(I) to them.

Lydia’s Conversion in Philippi

¹¹ From Troas^(J) we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. ¹² From there we traveled to Philippi,^(K) a Roman colony and the leading city of that district^[a] of Macedonia.^(L) And we stayed there several days.

¹³ On the Sabbath^(M) we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. ¹⁴ One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira^(N) named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart^(O) to respond to Paul’s message. ¹⁵ When she and the members of her household^(P) were baptized,^(Q) she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

Paul and Silas in Prison

¹⁶ Once when we were going to the place of prayer,^(R) we were met by a female slave who had a spirit^(S) by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. ¹⁷ She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God,^(T) who are telling you the way to be saved.” ¹⁸ She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.^(U)

¹⁹ When her owners realized that their hope of making money^(V) was gone, they seized Paul and Silas^(W) and dragged^(X) them into the marketplace to face the authorities. ²⁰ They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar^{(Y) 21} by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans^(Z) to accept or practice.”^(AA)

²² The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods.^{(AB) 23} After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer^(AC) was commanded to guard them carefully. ²⁴ When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.^(AD)

²⁵ About midnight^(AE) Paul and Silas^(AF) were praying and singing hymns^(AG) to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶ Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken.^(AH) At once all the prison doors flew open,^(AI) and everyone’s chains came loose.^{(AJ) 27} The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped.^{(AK) 28} But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

²⁹ The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.^{(AL) 30} He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”^(AM)

³¹ They replied, “Believe^(AN) in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved^(AO)—you and your household.”^{(AP) 32} Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. ³³ At that hour of the night^(AQ) the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized.^{(AR) 34} The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he^(AS) was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.

³⁵ When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.” ³⁶ The jailer^(AT) told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.”^(AU)

³⁷ But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens,^(AV) and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”

³⁸ The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed.^{(AW) 39} They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city.^{(AX) 40} After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house,^(AY) where they met with the brothers and sisters^(AZ) and encouraged them. Then they left.