Historical
In Iconium
14 Now it happened that in (A)Iconium (B)they entered the synagogue of the Jews together and spoke in such a manner (C)that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of (D)Greeks. 2 But (E)the [a](F)unbelieving Jews instigated and embittered the [b]minds of the Gentiles against (G)the brothers. 3 Therefore they spent a long time there (H)speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that [c](I)signs and wonders be done through their hands. 4 (J)But the multitude of the city was divided; and some [d]sided with (K)the Jews, and some with (L)the apostles. 5 And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and (M)the Jews with their rulers to mistreat and to (N)stone them, 6 they became aware of it and fled to the cities of (O)Lycaonia, (P)Lystra and (Q)Derbe, and the surrounding region; 7 and there they continued to (R)proclaim the gospel.
In Lystra and Derbe
8 And at (S)Lystra (T)a man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. 9 This man listened to Paul as he spoke, who, (U)when he fixed his gaze on him and saw that he had (V)faith to be [e]saved from being lame, 10 said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” (W)And he leaped up and began to walk. 11 And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the (X)Lycaonian language, “(Y)The gods have become like men and have come down to us.” 12 And they began calling Barnabas, [f]Zeus, and Paul, [g]Hermes, because he was [h]the chief speaker. 13 And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was [i]just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and (Z)was wanting to offer sacrifice with the crowds. 14 But when (AA)the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they (AB)tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out 15 and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We are also (AC)men of the same nature as you, (AD)proclaiming the gospel to you that you should turn from these [j](AE)vain things to a (AF)living God, (AG)who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. 16 [k]In the generations gone by He (AH)permitted all the [l]nations to (AI)go their own ways; 17 and yet (AJ)He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and (AK)gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.” 18 And saying these things, with difficulty they restrained the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.
19 But (AL)Jews came from (AM)Antioch and (AN)Iconium, and after winning over the crowds and (AO)stoning Paul, they were dragging him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. 20 But while (AP)the disciples stood around him, he rose up and entered the city. The next day he went away with Barnabas to (AQ)Derbe. 21 And after they had (AR)proclaimed the gospel to that city and had (AS)made many disciples, they returned to (AT)Lystra and to (AU)Iconium and to (AV)Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of (AW)the disciples, encouraging them to continue in (AX)the faith, and saying, “(AY)Through many afflictions we must enter the kingdom of God.” 23 And when (AZ)they had appointed (BA)elders for them in every church, having (BB)prayed with fasting, they (BC)commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
The Return to Antioch
24 And when they passed through (BD)Pisidia, they came into (BE)Pamphylia. 25 And when they had spoken the word in (BF)Perga, they went down to Attalia. 26 And from there they sailed to (BG)Antioch, from (BH)where they had been (BI)committed to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. 27 And when they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to (BJ)report all things that God had done with them and [m]how He had opened a (BK)door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And they spent not a little time with (BL)the disciples.
The Jerusalem Council
15 (BM)Some men came down from Judea and began teaching (BN)the brothers, “Unless you are (BO)circumcised according to (BP)the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 And when Paul and Barnabas had not a little dissension and (BQ)debate with them, (BR)the brothers determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the (BS)apostles and elders concerning this issue. 3 Therefore, being (BT)sent on their way by the church, they were passing through both (BU)Phoenicia and Samaria, (BV)recounting in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and were bringing great joy to all (BW)the brothers. 4 When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and (BX)the apostles and the elders, and they (BY)reported all that God had done with them. 5 But some of (BZ)the sect of the (CA)Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to (CB)circumcise them and to command them to keep the Law of Moses.”
6 (CC)Both the apostles and the elders came together to [n]look into this [o]matter. 7 And after there had been much (CD)debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that [p]in the early days (CE)God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of (CF)the gospel and believe. 8 And God, (CG)who knows the heart, testified to them (CH)giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; 9 and (CI)He made no distinction between us and them, (CJ)cleansing their hearts by faith. 10 Now therefore why do you (CK)put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which (CL)neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we believe that we are saved through (CM)the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”
12 And all the multitude kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were (CN)relating what (CO)signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.
James Issues a Judgment
13 Now after they had stopped speaking, (CP)James answered, saying, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 (CQ)Simeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name. 15 And with this the words of (CR)the Prophets agree, just as it is written,
16 ‘(CS)After these things (CT)I will return,
And I will rebuild the (CU)fallen [q]booth of David,
And I will rebuild its ruins,
And I will restore it,
17 (CV)So that the rest of [r]mankind may seek the Lord,
And all the Gentiles [s](CW)who are called by My name,’
18 (CX)Says the [t]Lord, who [u](CY)makes these things known from long ago.
19 Therefore (CZ)I judge that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, 20 but that we write to them that they abstain from (DA)things contaminated by idols and from (DB)sexual immorality and from (DC)what is strangled and from blood. 21 For from ancient generations, (DD)Moses has those who preach him in every city, since [v]he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”
22 Then it seemed good to (DE)the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them—Judas called Barsabbas, and (DF)Silas, leading men among (DG)the brothers—to send to (DH)Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, 23 and they [w]sent this letter by them,
“(DI)The apostles and the brothers who are elders, to (DJ)the brothers in (DK)Antioch and (DL)Syria and (DM)Cilicia who are from the Gentiles, (DN)greetings.
24 Since we have heard that (DO)some of us, to whom we gave no instruction, have gone out and (DP)disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls,
25 (DQ)it seemed good to us, having [x]come to one accord, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
26 men who have [y](DR)risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
27 Therefore we have sent (DS)Judas and (DT)Silas, and they themselves will report the same things by word of mouth.
28 For (DU)it seemed good to (DV)the Holy Spirit and to (DW)us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials:
29 that you abstain from (DX)things sacrificed to idols and from (DY)blood and from (DZ)things strangled and from (EA)sexual immorality, from which if you keep yourselves, you will do well. Farewell.”
30 So when they were sent away, (EB)they went down to Antioch; and having gathered the [z]congregation together, they delivered the letter. 31 And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its [aa]encouragement. 32 (EC)And both Judas and (ED)Silas, also being (EE)prophets themselves, [ab]encouraged and strengthened (EF)the brothers with a lengthy message. 33 And after they had spent time there, they were sent away from the brothers (EG)in peace to those who had (EH)sent them. 34 [ac][But it seemed good to Silas to remain there.] 35 But (EI)Paul and Barnabas spent a long time in Antioch, teaching and [ad](EJ)preaching with many others also, (EK)the word of the Lord.
Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas
36 Now after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in (EL)every city in which we proclaimed (EM)the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” 37 And Barnabas wanted to take (EN)John, called Mark, along with them also. 38 But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had (EO)deserted them [ae]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 (EP)Mark with him and sailed away to (EQ)Cyprus. 40 But Paul chose (ER)Silas and left, being (ES)committed by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 41 And he was traveling through (ET)Syria and (EU)Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
Timothy Joins Paul and Silas
16 Now Paul also arrived at (EV)Derbe and at (EW)Lystra. And behold, a disciple was there, named (EX)Timothy, the son of a (EY)Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, 2 and he was well spoken of by (EZ)the brothers who were in (FA)Lystra and (FB)Iconium. 3 Paul wanted this man to [af]go with him, and he (FC)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 (FD)the decrees which had been decided upon by (FE)the apostles and (FF)elders who were in Jerusalem, for them to keep. 5 So (FG)the churches were being strengthened [ag]in the faith, and were (FH)abounding in number daily.
The Macedonian Vision
6 And they passed through the [ah](FI)Phrygian and (FJ)Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in [ai](FK)Asia; 7 and after they came to (FL)Mysia, they were trying to go into (FM)Bithynia, and the (FN)Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; 8 and passing by (FO)Mysia, they came down to (FP)Troas. 9 (FQ)And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of (FR)Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 And when he had seen (FS)the vision, immediately (FT)we sought to [aj]go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to (FU)proclaim the gospel to them.
Lydia’s Conversion in Philippi
11 So setting sail from (FV)Troas, we ran (FW)a straight course to Samothrace, and on the day following to Neapolis; 12 and from there to (FX)Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of (FY)Macedonia, (FZ)a Roman colony; and we were staying in this city for some days. 13 And on (GA)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 (GB)Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, (GC)a worshiper of God, was listening, whose heart the Lord (GD)opened to pay attention to the things spoken by Paul. 15 And when she and (GE)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 (GF)the place of prayer, a servant-girl having (GG)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 (GH)the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you [ak]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 (GI)in the name of Jesus Christ to leave her!” And it left at that very [al]moment.
19 But when her masters saw that their hope of (GJ)profit had left, they seized (GK)Paul and Silas and (GL)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 (GM)are proclaiming customs that are not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being (GN)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 (GO)beaten with rods. 23 And when they had inflicted them with many wounds, they threw them into prison, commanding (GP)the jailer to guard them securely, 24 who, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in (GQ)the [am]stocks.
The Philippian Jailer Converted
25 But about midnight (GR)Paul and Silas were praying and (GS)singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 And suddenly (GT)there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the jailhouse were shaken; and immediately (GU)all the doors were opened and everyone’s (GV)chains were unfastened. 27 And when (GW)the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about (GX)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 (GY)Paul and Silas, 30 and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, (GZ)what must I do to be saved?” 31 And they said, “(HA)Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and (HB)your house.” 32 And they spoke the word of [an]the Lord to him together with all who were in his household. 33 And he took them (HC)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 [ao]food before them, and rejoiced [ap]greatly with (HD)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 (HE)the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The chief magistrates have sent to release you. Therefore come out now and go (HF)in peace.” 37 But Paul said to them, “Having beaten us in public without trial, (HG)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. (HH)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 (HI)to leave the city. 40 And they went out of the prison and entered the house of (HJ)Lydia, and when they saw (HK)the brothers, they [aq]encouraged them and left.
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