Book of Common Prayer

14 In Iconium Paul and Barnabas did as they had done before in other places. They went into the Jews' meeting place and spoke. Many of the Jews and the other people believed.

² But the Jews who did not believe said wrong things about them. They spoiled the minds of those who were not Jews so that they hated the Christians.

³ Paul and Barnabas stayed there a long time anyway. They did not fear to talk about the Lord. The Lord proved that the message about his blessing was true. He worked through Paul and Barnabas. They did signs and wonderful things.

⁴ The people of the city were divided. Some of them agreed with the Jewish leaders. Some of them agreed with the apostles.

⁵ Then some of those people who were not Jews joined together with the Jews and their leaders. They made a plan to give the apostles much trouble and to kill them with stones.

⁶ Paul and Barnabas found out about this. So they left quickly. They went to Lystra and Derbe in the district of Lycaonia and the country around.

⁷ There they told people the good news.

⁸ At Lystra a man was sitting. He was not able to walk because he had no strength in his feet. He had never walked since he was born.

⁹ This man heard Paul speak. Paul looked at the man. He saw that the man believed he would be healed.

¹⁰ Paul said, `Stand up on your feet!' The man jumped up and walked.

¹¹ When the people saw what Paul had done, they shouted in their own language, `The gods have become like men! They have come down to visit us.'

¹² They named Barnabas, Jupiter. And they named Paul, Mercury, because he was the one who talked.

¹³ There was a temple of Jupiter in front of the city. The priest of the temple brought animals and flowers to the gates to make a sacrifice. All the people were with him.

¹⁴ But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it, they tore their clothes and ran in among the people shouting.

¹⁵ They said, `Why are you people doing this? We are only men like you. You should leave these gods which cannot help you. You should turn to the living God. He made the sky, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them.

¹⁶ In the time that is past, God allowed all people to do what they wanted to do.

¹⁷ But even then he had some ways to make himself known. He did things that were good. He gave us rain from the sky and good harvests. And he gives you all the food you need and makes you very happy. Surely these things speak for him.'

¹⁸ By saying these things they stopped the people from making sacrifices to them.

³¹ Then the leaders of the Jews picked up stones again to kill him.

³² So Jesus said to them, `I have done many good things that come from my Father. For which one of those are you going to kill me?'

³³ Then the Jewish leaders answered him, `We do not kill you for doing any good thing. But you do not respect God. You are only a man, and yet you say you are God.'

³⁴ Jesus answered them, `In your own books it is written that God said, "You are gods."

³⁶ Nothing can change the words in the holy writings. It is written that God spoke to men and that he called them gods. So he called some men gods. Then why do you say I do not respect God when I say that I am the Son of God? I am the one God chose and sent into the world.

³⁷ If I am not doing my Father's work, then do not believe me.

³⁸ But if I am doing my Father's work, believe the work that I do, even though you do not believe me. Then you will know and you will believe that my Father is in me and I am in him.'

³⁹ Because of what he said, they tried to catch Jesus again. But he got away from them.

⁴⁰ He went away again to the other side of the Jordan River. He went to the place where John [the Baptizer] was when he first baptized people. Jesus stayed there for a while.

⁴¹ Many people came to him there. They said, `John himself did not do any big work. But everything that John said about this man is true.'

⁴² Many people believed on Jesus there.