Acts 13-27

Legacy Standard Bible

Barnabas and Saul Sent from Antioch by the Holy Spirit

13 Now there were at ^(A)Antioch, in the ^(B)church that was there, ^(C)prophets and ^(D)teachers: ^(E)Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of ^(F)Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with ^(G)Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ² And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, ^(H)the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me ^(I)Barnabas and Saul for ^(J)the work to which I have called them.” ³ Then, when they had fasted and ^(K)prayed and ^(L)laid their hands on them, ^(M)they sent them away.

On Cyprus

⁴ So, being ^(N)sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to ^(O)Cyprus. ⁵ And when they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in ^(P)the synagogues of the Jews, and they also had ^(Q)John as their helper. ⁶ And when they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a ^(R)magician, a Jewish ^(S)false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus, ⁷ who was with the ^(T)proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. ⁸ But Elymas the ^(U)magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the ^(V)proconsul away from ^(W)the faith. ⁹ But Saul, who was also known as Paul, ^[a](X)filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him, ¹⁰ and said, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you ^(Y)son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked ^(Z)the straight ways of the ^[b]Lord? ¹¹ Now, behold, ^(AA)the hand of the ^[c]Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.” And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand. ¹² Then the ^(AB)proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being astonished at ^(AC)the teaching of the Lord.

In Pisidian Antioch

¹³ Now after Paul and his companions set sail from ^(AD)Paphos, they came to ^(AE)Perga in ^(AF)Pamphylia, but ^(AG)John left them and returned to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ But going on from Perga, they arrived at ^(AH)Pisidian ^(AI)Antioch. And on ^(AJ)the Sabbath day, they went into ^(AK)the synagogue and sat down. ¹⁵ And after ^(AL)the reading of the Law and ^(AM)the Prophets ^(AN)the synagogue officials sent to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it.” ¹⁶ So Paul stood up, and ^(AO)motioning with his hand said,

“Men of Israel, and ^(AP)you who fear God, listen: ¹⁷ The God of this people Israel ^(AQ)chose our fathers and ^[d](AR)lifted up the people during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm ^(AS)He led them out from it. ¹⁸ And for ^(AT)a period of about forty years ^(AU)He put up with them in the wilderness. ^19 (AV)And when He destroyed ^(AW)seven nations in the land of Canaan, He ^(AX)distributed their land as an inheritance—all of which took ^(AY)about 450 years. ²⁰ After these things He ^(AZ)gave them judges until ^(BA)Samuel the prophet. ²¹ Then they ^(BB)asked for a king, and God gave them ^(BC)Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. ²² And after He had ^(BD)removed him, He raised up David to be their king, about whom He also said, bearing witness, ‘^(BE)I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My ^[e]will.’ ^23 (BF)From the seed of this man, ^(BG)according to promise, God has brought to Israel ^(BH)a Savior, Jesus, ²⁴ after ^(BI)John had preached before ^[f]His coming a ^(BJ)baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. ²⁵ And as John ^(BK)was fulfilling his course, ^(BL)he kept saying, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me of whom I am not worthy to untie the sandals of His feet.’

²⁶ “Brothers, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the word of ^(BM)this salvation was sent. ²⁷ For those who live in Jerusalem, and their ^(BN)rulers, ^(BO)recognizing neither Him nor the ^[g]utterances of ^(BP)the prophets which are ^(BQ)read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning Him. ²⁸ And though they found no ground for death, they ^(BR)asked Pilate that He be ^[h]executed. ²⁹ And when they had ^(BS)finished all that was written concerning Him, ^(BT)they took Him down from ^(BU)the tree and ^(BV)laid Him in a tomb. ³⁰ But God ^(BW)raised Him from the dead; ³¹ and for many days ^(BX)He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now ^(BY)His witnesses to the people. ³² And we ^(BZ)proclaim to you the good news of ^(CA)the promise made to the fathers, ³³ that God has fulfilled this promise ^[i]to our children in that He ^(CB)raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘^(CC)You are My Son; today I have begotten You.’ ³⁴ But that He ^(CD)raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to corruption, He has spoken in this way: ‘^(CE)I will give you the holy and ^[j]faithful lovingkindnesses of David.’ ³⁵ Therefore He also says in another Psalm, ‘^(CF)You will not give Your ^[k]Holy One over to see corruption.’ ³⁶ For ^(CG)David, after he had ^[l]served ^(CH)the purpose of God in his own generation, ^(CI)fell asleep and was laid among his fathers and saw corruption; ³⁷ but He whom God ^(CJ)raised did not see corruption. ³⁸ Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that ^(CK)through ^[m]Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, ³⁹ and that in Him, ^(CL)everyone who believes is justified from all things which you could not be justified from ^[n]through the Law of Moses. ⁴⁰ Therefore watch out, so that the thing spoken of ^(CM)in the Prophets may not come upon you:

⁴² And as ^[p]Paul and Barnabas were leaving, the people kept pleading that these words might be spoken to them the next ^(CO)Sabbath. ⁴³ Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the ^(CP)God-fearing ^[q](CQ)proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in ^(CR)the grace of God.

Many Gentiles Believe

⁴⁴ And the next ^(CS)Sabbath, nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of ^[r]the ^[s]Lord. ⁴⁵ But when ^(CT)the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, ^[t]blaspheming. ⁴⁶ Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you ^(CU)first. Since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, ^(CV)we are turning to the Gentiles. ⁴⁷ For so the ^[u]Lord has commanded us,

⁴⁸ And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying ^(CY)the word of ^[w]the ^[x]Lord, and as many as ^(CZ)had been appointed to eternal life believed. ⁴⁹ And ^(DA)the word of the ^[y]Lord was being spread through the whole region. ⁵⁰ But ^(DB)the Jews incited the ^[z](DC)God-fearing women ^(DD)of prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their ^[aa]district. ⁵¹ But ^(DE)having shaken off the dust of their feet against them, they went to ^(DF)Iconium. ⁵² And the disciples were continually ^(DG)filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

In Iconium

14 Now it happened that in ^(DH)Iconium ^(DI)they entered the synagogue of the Jews together and spoke in such a manner ^(DJ)that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of ^(DK)Greeks. ² But ^(DL)the ^[ab](DM)unbelieving Jews instigated and embittered the ^[ac]minds of the Gentiles against ^(DN)the brothers. ³ Therefore they spent a long time there ^(DO)speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that ^[ad](DP)signs and wonders be done through their hands. ^4 (DQ)But the multitude of the city was divided; and some ^[ae]sided with ^(DR)the Jews, and some with ^(DS)the apostles. ⁵ And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and ^(DT)the Jews with their rulers to mistreat and to ^(DU)stone them, ⁶ they became aware of it and fled to the cities of ^(DV)Lycaonia, ^(DW)Lystra and ^(DX)Derbe, and the surrounding region; ⁷ and there they continued to ^(DY)proclaim the gospel.

In Lystra and Derbe

⁸ And at ^(DZ)Lystra ^(EA)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, ^(EB)when he fixed his gaze on him and saw that he had ^(EC)faith to be ^[af]saved from being lame, ¹⁰ said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” ^(ED)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 ^(EE)Lycaonian language, “^(EF)The gods have become like men and have come down to us.” ¹² And they began calling Barnabas, ^[ag]Zeus, and Paul, ^[ah]Hermes, because he was ^[ai]the chief speaker. ¹³ And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was ^[aj]just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and ^(EG)was wanting to offer sacrifice with the crowds. ¹⁴ But when ^(EH)the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they ^(EI)tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out ¹⁵ and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We are also ^(EJ)men of the same nature as you, ^(EK)proclaiming the gospel to you that you should turn from these ^[ak](EL)vain things to a ^(EM)living God, ^(EN)who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. ^16 [al]In the generations gone by He ^(EO)permitted all the ^[am]nations to ^(EP)go their own ways; ¹⁷ and yet ^(EQ)He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and ^(ER)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 ^(ES)Jews came from ^(ET)Antioch and ^(EU)Iconium, and after winning over the crowds and ^(EV)stoning Paul, they were dragging him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. ²⁰ But while ^(EW)the disciples stood around him, he rose up and entered the city. The next day he went away with Barnabas to ^(EX)Derbe. ²¹ And after they had ^(EY)proclaimed the gospel to that city and had ^(EZ)made many disciples, they returned to ^(FA)Lystra and to ^(FB)Iconium and to ^(FC)Antioch, ²² strengthening the souls of ^(FD)the disciples, encouraging them to continue in ^(FE)the faith, and saying, “^(FF)Through many afflictions we must enter the kingdom of God.” ²³ And when ^(FG)they had appointed ^(FH)elders for them in every church, having ^(FI)prayed with fasting, they ^(FJ)commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

The Return to Antioch

²⁴ And when they passed through ^(FK)Pisidia, they came into ^(FL)Pamphylia. ²⁵ And when they had spoken the word in ^(FM)Perga, they went down to Attalia. ²⁶ And from there they sailed to ^(FN)Antioch, from ^(FO)where they had been ^(FP)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 ^(FQ)report all things that God had done with them and ^[an]how He had opened a ^(FR)door of faith to the Gentiles. ²⁸ And they spent not a little time with ^(FS)the disciples.

The Jerusalem Council

15 ^(FT)Some men came down from Judea and began teaching ^(FU)the brothers, “Unless you are ^(FV)circumcised according to ^(FW)the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” ² And when Paul and Barnabas had not a little dissension and ^(FX)debate with them, ^(FY)the brothers determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the ^(FZ)apostles and elders concerning this issue. ³ Therefore, being ^(GA)sent on their way by the church, they were passing through both ^(GB)Phoenicia and Samaria, ^(GC)recounting in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and were bringing great joy to all ^(GD)the brothers. ⁴ When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and ^(GE)the apostles and the elders, and they ^(GF)reported all that God had done with them. ⁵ But some of ^(GG)the sect of the ^(GH)Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to ^(GI)circumcise them and to command them to keep the Law of Moses.”

^6 (GJ)Both the apostles and the elders came together to ^[ao]look into this ^[ap]matter. ⁷ And after there had been much ^(GK)debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that ^[aq]in the early days ^(GL)God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of ^(GM)the gospel and believe. ⁸ And God, ^(GN)who knows the heart, testified to them ^(GO)giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; ⁹ and ^(GP)He made no distinction between us and them, ^(GQ)cleansing their hearts by faith. ¹⁰ Now therefore why do you ^(GR)put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which ^(GS)neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? ¹¹ But we believe that we are saved through ^(GT)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 ^(GU)relating what ^(GV)signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.

James Issues a Judgment

¹³ Now after they had stopped speaking, ^(GW)James answered, saying, “Brothers, listen to me. ^14 (GX)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 ^(GY)the Prophets agree, just as it is written,

¹⁹ Therefore ^(HG)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 ^(HH)things contaminated by idols and from ^(HI)sexual immorality and from ^(HJ)what is strangled and from blood. ²¹ For from ancient generations, ^(HK)Moses has those who preach him in every city, since ^[aw]he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

²² Then it seemed good to ^(HL)the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them—Judas called Barsabbas, and ^(HM)Silas, leading men among ^(HN)the brothers—to send to ^(HO)Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, ²³ and they ^[ax]sent this letter by them,

³⁰ So when they were sent away, ^(II)they went down to Antioch; and having gathered the ^[ba]congregation together, they delivered the letter. ³¹ And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its ^[bb]encouragement. ^32 (IJ)And both Judas and ^(IK)Silas, also being ^(IL)prophets themselves, ^[bc]encouraged and strengthened ^(IM)the brothers with a lengthy message. ³³ And after they had spent time there, they were sent away from the brothers ^(IN)in peace to those who had ^(IO)sent them. ^34 [bd][But it seemed good to Silas to remain there.] ³⁵ But ^(IP)Paul and Barnabas spent a long time in Antioch, teaching and ^[be](IQ)preaching with many others also, ^(IR)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 ^(IS)every city in which we proclaimed ^(IT)the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” ³⁷ And Barnabas wanted to take ^(IU)John, called Mark, along with them also. ³⁸ But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had ^(IV)deserted them ^[bf]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 ^(IW)Mark with him and sailed away to ^(IX)Cyprus. ⁴⁰ But Paul chose ^(IY)Silas and left, being ^(IZ)committed by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. ⁴¹ And he was traveling through ^(JA)Syria and ^(JB)Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

16 Now Paul also arrived at ^(JC)Derbe and at ^(JD)Lystra. And behold, a disciple was there, named ^(JE)Timothy, the son of a ^(JF)Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, ² and he was well spoken of by ^(JG)the brothers who were in ^(JH)Lystra and ^(JI)Iconium. ³ Paul wanted this man to ^[bg]go with him, and he ^(JJ)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 ^(JK)the decrees which had been decided upon by ^(JL)the apostles and ^(JM)elders who were in Jerusalem, for them to keep. ⁵ So ^(JN)the churches were being strengthened ^[bh]in the faith, and were ^(JO)abounding in number daily.

The Macedonian Vision

⁶ And they passed through the ^[bi](JP)Phrygian and ^(JQ)Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in ^[bj](JR)Asia; ⁷ and after they came to ^(JS)Mysia, they were trying to go into ^(JT)Bithynia, and the ^(JU)Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; ⁸ and passing by ^(JV)Mysia, they came down to ^(JW)Troas. ^9 (JX)And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of ^(JY)Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” ¹⁰ And when he had seen ^(JZ)the vision, immediately ^(KA)we sought to ^[bk]go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to ^(KB)proclaim the gospel to them.

Lydia’s Conversion in Philippi

¹¹ So setting sail from ^(KC)Troas, we ran ^(KD)a straight course to Samothrace, and on the day following to Neapolis; ¹² and from there to ^(KE)Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of ^(KF)Macedonia, ^(KG)a Roman colony; and we were staying in this city for some days. ¹³ And on ^(KH)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 ^(KI)Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, ^(KJ)a worshiper of God, was listening, whose heart the Lord ^(KK)opened to pay attention to the things spoken by Paul. ¹⁵ And when she and ^(KL)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 ^(KM)the place of prayer, a servant-girl having ^(KN)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 ^(KO)the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you ^[bl]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 ^(KP)in the name of Jesus Christ to leave her!” And it left at that very ^[bm]moment.

¹⁹ But when her masters saw that their hope of ^(KQ)profit had left, they seized ^(KR)Paul and Silas and ^(KS)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 ^(KT)are proclaiming customs that are not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being ^(KU)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 ^(KV)beaten with rods. ²³ And when they had inflicted them with many wounds, they threw them into prison, commanding ^(KW)the jailer to guard them securely, ²⁴ who, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in ^(KX)the ^[bn]stocks.

The Philippian Jailer Converted

²⁵ But about midnight ^(KY)Paul and Silas were praying and ^(KZ)singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶ And suddenly ^(LA)there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the jailhouse were shaken; and immediately ^(LB)all the doors were opened and everyone’s ^(LC)chains were unfastened. ²⁷ And when ^(LD)the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about ^(LE)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 ^(LF)Paul and Silas, ³⁰ and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, ^(LG)what must I do to be saved?” ³¹ And they said, “^(LH)Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and ^(LI)your house.” ³² And they spoke the word of ^[bo]the Lord to him together with all who were in his household. ³³ And he took them ^(LJ)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 ^[bp]food before them, and rejoiced ^[bq]greatly with ^(LK)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 ^(LL)the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The chief magistrates have sent to release you. Therefore come out now and go ^(LM)in peace.” ³⁷ But Paul said to them, “Having beaten us in public without trial, ^(LN)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. ^(LO)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 ^(LP)to leave the city. ⁴⁰ And they went out of the prison and entered the house of ^(LQ)Lydia, and when they saw ^(LR)the brothers, they ^[br]encouraged them and left.

Paul and Silas in Thessalonica

17 Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to ^(LS)Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. ² And ^(LT)according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three ^(LU)Sabbaths reasoned with them from ^(LV)the Scriptures, ^3 [bs]explaining and setting before them that the ^[bt]Christ ^(LW)had to suffer and ^(LX)rise again from the dead, and saying, “^(LY)This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is that ^[bu]Christ.” ^4 (LZ)And some of them were persuaded and joined ^(MA)Paul and Silas, ^[bv]along with a great multitude of the ^(MB)God-fearing ^(MC)Greeks and not a few of the ^(MD)leading women. ⁵ But ^(ME)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 ^(MF)Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the assembly. ⁶ And when they did not find them, they began ^(MG)dragging Jason and some brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset ^[bw](MH)the world have come here also; ^7 [bx]and Jason ^(MI)has welcomed them, and they all act ^(MJ)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 ^(MK)Jason and the others, they released them.

In Berea

^10 (ML)And the brothers immediately sent ^(MM)Paul and Silas away by night to ^(MN)Berea, ^[by]and when they arrived, they went into ^(MO)the synagogue of the Jews. ¹¹ Now these were more noble-minded than those in ^(MP)Thessalonica, ^[bz]for they received the word with ^[ca]great eagerness, ^[cb]examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. ¹² Therefore ^(MQ)many of them believed, along with not a few ^(MR)prominent Greek ^(MS)women and men. ¹³ But when the Jews of ^(MT)Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in ^(MU)Berea also, they came there as well, shaking up and disturbing the crowds. ¹⁴ Then immediately ^(MV)the brothers sent Paul out to go as far as the sea; and ^(MW)Silas and ^(MX)Timothy remained there. ¹⁵ Now ^(MY)those who escorted Paul brought him as far as ^(MZ)Athens; and after receiving a command for ^(NA)Silas and Timothy to ^(NB)come to him as soon as possible, they left.

In Athens

¹⁶ Now while Paul was waiting for them at ^(NC)Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols. ¹⁷ So he was reasoning ^(ND)in the synagogue with the Jews and ^(NE)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 ^[cc]conversing with him. Some were saying, “What would ^(NF)this ^[cd]idle babbler wish to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was proclaiming the good news of ^(NG)Jesus and the resurrection. ¹⁹ And they ^(NH)took him and brought him ^[ce]to the ^[cf](NI)Areopagus, saying, “May we know what ^(NJ)this new teaching is ^[cg]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 ^(NK)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 ^[ch]Areopagus and said, “Men of ^(NL)Athens, I observe that you are very ^(NM)religious in all respects. ²³ For while I was passing through and examining the ^(NN)objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what ^(NO)you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. ^24 (NP)The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is ^(NQ)Lord of heaven and earth, does not ^(NR)dwell in temples made with hands; ²⁵ nor is He served by human hands, ^(NS)as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; ²⁶ and ^(NT)He made from one man every nation of mankind to inhabit all the face of the earth, having ^(NU)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, ^(NV)though He is not far from each one of us; ²⁸ for ^(NW)in Him we live and move and ^[ci]exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His offspring.’ ²⁹ Being then the offspring of God, we ^(NX)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 ^(NY)overlooked ^(NZ)the times of ignorance, God is ^(OA)now commanding men that everyone everywhere should repent, ³¹ because He has fixed ^(OB)a day in which ^(OC)He will judge ^[cj](OD)the world in righteousness ^[ck]through a Man whom He ^(OE)determined, having furnished proof to all ^[cl]by ^(OF)raising Him from the dead.”

³² Now when they heard about ^(OG)the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, “We shall hear you ^[cm]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 ^(OH)Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

In Corinth

18 After these things he departed ^(OI)Athens and went to ^(OJ)Corinth. ² And he found a Jew named ^(OK)Aquila, a native of ^(OL)Pontus, and his wife ^(OM)Priscilla, who recently came from ^(ON)Italy because ^(OO)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 ^(OP)they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers. ⁴ And he was reasoning ^(OQ)in the synagogue every ^(OR)Sabbath and trying to persuade both ^(OS)Jews and Greeks.

⁵ But when ^(OT)Silas and Timothy ^(OU)came down from ^(OV)Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly ^(OW)bearing witness to the Jews that ^(OX)Jesus is the ^[cn]Christ. ⁶ But when they resisted and blasphemed, he ^(OY)shook out his garments and said to them, “Your ^(OZ)blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go ^(PA)to the Gentiles.” ⁷ Then he left there and went to the house of a man named ^[co]Titius Justus, a ^(PB)God-fearer, whose house was next to the synagogue. ^8 (PC)And Crispus, ^(PD)the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord ^(PE)with all his household, and many of the ^(PF)Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized. ⁹ And the Lord said to Paul in the night by ^(PG)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 ^(PH)proconsul of ^(PI)Achaia, ^(PJ)the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before ^(PK)the judgment seat, ¹³ saying, “This man persuades men to worship God contrary to ^(PL)the law.” ¹⁴ But when Paul was about to ^(PM)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 ^(PN)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 ^(PO)the judgment seat. ¹⁷ And they all took hold of ^(PP)Sosthenes, ^(PQ)the leader of the synagogue, and began beating him in front of ^(PR)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, ^(PS)took leave of ^(PT)the brothers and put out to sea for ^(PU)Syria, and with him were ^(PV)Priscilla and ^(PW)Aquila. In ^(PX)Cenchreae ^[cp]he ^(PY)had his hair cut, for he was keeping a vow. ¹⁹ And they arrived at ^(PZ)Ephesus, and he left them there. Now he himself entered ^(QA)the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. ²⁰ When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he did not consent, ²¹ but ^(QB)taking leave of them and saying, “I will return to you again ^(QC)if God wills,” he set sail from ^(QD)Ephesus.

²² And when he had landed at ^(QE)Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and went down to ^(QF)Antioch. ²³ And having spent some time there, he left and passed successively through the ^(QG)Galatian region and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

²⁴ Now a Jew named ^(QH)Apollos, an ^(QI)Alexandrian by birth, ^[cq]an eloquent man, arrived at ^(QJ)Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures. ²⁵ This man had been instructed in ^(QK)the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with ^(QL)the baptism of John; ²⁶ and ^[cr]he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when ^(QM)Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him ^(QN)the way of God more accurately. ²⁷ And when he wanted to go across to ^(QO)Achaia, ^(QP)the brothers encouraged him and wrote to ^(QQ)the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly ^[cs]helped those who had believed through grace, ²⁸ for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating ^(QR)by the Scriptures that ^(QS)Jesus is the ^[ct]Christ.

Paul in Ephesus

19 Now it happened that while ^(QT)Apollos was at ^(QU)Corinth, Paul passed through the ^(QV)upper regions and came to ^(QW)Ephesus and found some disciples. ² And he said to them, “^(QX)Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No, ^(QY)we have not even heard if the Holy Spirit is being received.” ³ And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “^(QZ)Into John’s baptism.” ⁴ Then Paul said, “^(RA)John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people ^(RB)to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” ⁵ And when they heard this, they were ^(RC)baptized ^[cu]in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ And when Paul had ^(RD)laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began ^(RE)speaking with tongues and ^(RF)prophesying. ⁷ Now there were in all about twelve men.

⁸ And after he entered ^(RG)the synagogue, he continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them ^(RH)about the kingdom of God. ⁹ But when ^(RI)some were becoming hardened and were not believing, speaking evil of ^(RJ)the Way before the multitude, he left them and took away ^(RK)the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. ¹⁰ This took place for ^(RL)two years, so that all who lived in ^[cv](RM)Asia heard ^(RN)the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

Miracles in Ephesus

¹¹ And God was doing ^(RO)extraordinary ^[cw]miracles by the hands of Paul, ^12 (RP)so that cloths or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and ^(RQ)the evil spirits went out. ¹³ But also some of the Jewish ^(RR)exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to invoke over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, “I implore you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.” ¹⁴ Now seven sons of one named Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. ¹⁵ And the evil spirit answered and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” ¹⁶ And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them, subdued all of them, and utterly prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. ¹⁷ And this became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in ^(RS)Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified. ¹⁸ Also, many of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices. ¹⁹ And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and were burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand ^[cx](RT)pieces of silver. ²⁰ So ^[cy](RU)the word of the Lord ^(RV)was growing mightily and prevailing.

Riots in Ephesus

²¹ Now after these things were finished, Paul purposed in the ^[cz]Spirit to ^(RW)go to Jerusalem ^(RX)after he had passed through ^(RY)Macedonia and ^(RZ)Achaia, saying, “After I have been there, ^(SA)I must also see Rome.” ²² And having sent into ^(SB)Macedonia two of ^(SC)those who ministered to him, ^(SD)Timothy and ^(SE)Erastus, he himself stayed in ^[da](SF)Asia for a while.

²³ Now about that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning ^(SG)the Way. ²⁴ For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of ^[db]Artemis, ^(SH)was bringing no little ^[dc]business to the craftsmen; ²⁵ these he gathered together with the workers of similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity is from this business. ²⁶ And you see and hear that not only in ^(SI)Ephesus, but in almost all of ^(SJ)Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable crowd, saying that ^(SK)things made with hands are not gods. ²⁷ And not only is there danger that this trade of ours fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess ^[dd]Artemis be considered as worthless and that she, whom all of ^(SL)Asia and ^(SM)the ^[de]world worship, is even about to be brought down from her majesty.”

²⁸ When they heard this and were filled with rage, they began crying out, saying, “Great is ^[df]Artemis of the ^(SN)Ephesians!” ²⁹ And the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed ^[dg]with one accord into the theater, dragging along ^(SO)Gaius and ^(SP)Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling ^(SQ)companions from ^(SR)Macedonia. ³⁰ And when Paul wanted to go into the ^[dh]assembly, ^(SS)the disciples would not let him. ³¹ Also some of the ^[di]Asiarchs who were friends of his sent to him and repeatedly urged him not to ^[dj]venture into the theater. ^32 (ST)So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the ^[dk]meeting was in confusion and the majority did not know ^[dl]for what reason they had come together. ³³ And some of the crowd ^[dm]concluded it was Alexander, since the Jews had put him forward; and having ^(SU)motioned with his hand, Alexander was intending to make a defense to the ^[dn]assembly. ³⁴ But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single cry arose from them all as they shouted for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” ³⁵ Now after calming the crowd, the city clerk *said, “Men of ^(SV)Ephesus, what man is there after all who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of the image which fell down from heaven? ³⁶ So, since these are undeniable facts, you ought to keep calm and to do nothing rash. ³⁷ For you have brought these men here who are neither ^(SW)robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess. ³⁸ So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are in session and ^[do](SX)proconsuls are available; let them bring charges against one another. ³⁹ But if you want anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the ^[dp]lawful meeting. ⁴⁰ For indeed we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today’s events, since there is no cause for which we can give as an account for this disorderly gathering.” ⁴¹ After saying this he dismissed the meeting.

Through Macedonia and Greece

20 Now after the uproar had ceased, Paul having summoned and exhorted ^(SY)the disciples, said farewell and left ^(SZ)to go to ^(TA)Macedonia. ² And when he had gone through those districts and had given them much exhortation, he came to Greece. ³ And there he spent three months, and when ^(TB)a plot was formed against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for ^(TC)Syria, he decided to return through ^(TD)Macedonia. ⁴ And he was accompanied by Sopater of ^(TE)Berea, the son of Pyrrhus, and by ^(TF)Aristarchus and Secundus of the ^(TG)Thessalonians, and ^(TH)Gaius of ^(TI)Derbe, and ^(TJ)Timothy, and ^(TK)Tychicus and ^(TL)Trophimus of ^[dq](TM)Asia. ⁵ But these had gone on ahead and were waiting for ^(TN)us at ^(TO)Troas. ^6 (TP)And we sailed from ^(TQ)Philippi after ^(TR)the days of Unleavened Bread, and came to them at ^(TS)Troas within five days; and there we stayed seven days.

Eutychus Raised from the Dead in Troas

⁷ And on ^(TT)the first day of the week, when ^(TU)we were gathered together to ^(TV)break bread, Paul began speaking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his ^[dr]message until midnight. ⁸ Now there were many ^(TW)lamps in the ^(TX)upper room where we were gathered together. ⁹ And there was a young man named ^[ds]Eutychus sitting on the windowsill, sinking into a deep sleep. And as Paul kept on talking, he sunk into that sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead. ¹⁰ But Paul went down and ^(TY)fell upon him, and after embracing him, he ^(TZ)said, “^[dt]Do not be troubled, for his life is in him.” ¹¹ And when he had gone back up and had ^(UA)broken the bread and ^[du]eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left. ¹² And they took away the boy alive, and were not a little comforted.

Paul’s Farewell to the Ephesian Elders

¹³ But ^(UB)we, going ahead to the ship, set sail for Assos, intending from there to take Paul on board; for so he had arranged it, intending himself to go ^[dv]by land. ¹⁴ And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mitylene. ¹⁵ And sailing from there, we arrived the following day opposite Chios; and the next day we crossed over to Samos; and the day following we came to ^(UC)Miletus. ¹⁶ For Paul had decided to sail past ^(UD)Ephesus so that he would not have to spend time in ^[dw](UE)Asia; for he was hurrying ^(UF)to be in Jerusalem, if possible, ^(UG)on the day of Pentecost.

¹⁷ Now from Miletus he sent to ^(UH)Ephesus and called to him ^(UI)the elders of the church. ¹⁸ And when they had come to him, he said to them,

“You yourselves know, ^(UJ)from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, ¹⁹ serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me ^[dx]through ^(UK)the plots of the Jews; ²⁰ how I ^(UL)did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and ^[dy]from house to house, ²¹ solemnly ^(UM)testifying to both Jews and Greeks about ^(UN)repentance toward God and ^(UO)faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. ²² And now, behold, bound by the ^[dz]Spirit, ^(UP)I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, ²³ except that ^(UQ)the Holy Spirit solemnly ^(UR)testifies to me in every city, saying that ^(US)chains and afflictions await me. ²⁴ But ^(UT)I do not make my life of any account nor dear to myself, so that I may ^(UU)finish my course and ^(UV)the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to ^(UW)testify solemnly of the gospel of ^(UX)the grace of God.

²⁵ “And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about ^(UY)preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face. ²⁶ Therefore, I ^[ea]testify to you this day that ^(UZ)I am ^[eb]innocent of the blood of all. ²⁷ For I ^(VA)did not shrink from declaring to you the whole ^(VB)purpose of God. ²⁸ Be on guard for yourselves and for all ^(VC)the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you ^[ec]overseers, to shepherd ^(VD)the church of God which ^(VE)He ^[ed]purchased ^[ee]with His own blood. ²⁹ I know that after my departure ^(VF)savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing ^(VG)the flock; ³⁰ and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away ^(VH)the disciples after them. ³¹ Therefore be watchful, remembering that night and day for a period of ^(VI)three years I did not cease to admonish each one ^(VJ)with tears. ³² And now I ^(VK)commend you to God and to ^(VL)the word of His grace, which is able to ^(VM)build you up and to give you ^(VN)the inheritance among all those who have been sanctified. ^33 (VO)I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothes. ³⁴ You yourselves know that ^(VP)these hands ministered to my own needs and to those ^(VQ)who were with me. ³⁵ In everything I showed you that by laboring in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

³⁶ And when he had said these things, he ^(VR)knelt down and prayed with them all. ³⁷ And ^[ef]they began to weep aloud and ^(VS)falling on Paul’s neck, they were kissing him, ³⁸ being in agony especially over ^(VT)the word which he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they were ^(VU)accompanying him to the ship.

Paul Sets Out for Jerusalem

21 Now when ^(VV)we had parted from them and had set sail, we came by ^(VW)a straight course to Cos and the next day to Rhodes and from there to Patara; ² and having found a ship crossing over to ^(VX)Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. ³ And when we came in sight of ^(VY)Cyprus, leaving it on the left, we kept sailing to ^(VZ)Syria and landed at ^(WA)Tyre; for there the ship was to unload its cargo. ⁴ And after looking up ^(WB)the disciples, we stayed there seven days; and they kept telling Paul ^(WC)through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem. ⁵ And when ^[eg]our days there were ended, we left and started on our journey, while they all, with wives and children, ^(WD)escorted us until we were out of the city. After ^(WE)kneeling down on the beach and praying, we said farewell to one another. ⁶ Then we went on board the ship, and they returned ^(WF)home again.

⁷ And when we had finished the voyage from ^(WG)Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and after greeting ^(WH)the brothers, we stayed with them for a day. ⁸ And on the next day we left and came to ^(WI)Caesarea, and entering the house of ^(WJ)Philip the ^(WK)evangelist, who was ^(WL)one of the seven, we stayed with him. ⁹ Now this man had four virgin daughters who ^(WM)prophesied. ¹⁰ And as we were staying there for some days, a prophet named ^(WN)Agabus came down from Judea. ¹¹ And coming to us, he ^(WO)took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, “This ^(WP)is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will ^(WQ)bind the man who owns this belt and ^(WR)deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” ¹² And when we had heard this, we as well as the local residents began begging him ^(WS)not to go up to Jerusalem. ¹³ Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, crying and breaking my heart? For ^(WT)I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for ^(WU)the name of the Lord Jesus.” ¹⁴ And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, saying, “^(WV)The will of the Lord be done!”

¹⁵ Now after these days we got ready and ^(WW)started on our way up to Jerusalem. ¹⁶ And some of ^(WX)the disciples from ^(WY)Caesarea also came with us, taking us to Mnason of ^(WZ)Cyprus, an ^(XA)early disciple with whom we were to lodge.

In Jerusalem

¹⁷ And after we arrived in Jerusalem, ^(XB)the brothers welcomed us gladly. ¹⁸ And the following day Paul went in with us to ^(XC)James, and all ^(XD)the elders were present. ¹⁹ And after he had greeted them, he ^(XE)began to relate one by one the things which God did among the Gentiles through his ^(XF)ministry. ²⁰ And when they heard it they began ^(XG)glorifying God; and they said to him, “You see, brother, how many ^[eh]thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all ^(XH)zealous for the Law; ²¹ and they have been told about you, that you are ^(XI)teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them ^(XJ)not to circumcise their children nor to ^[ei]walk according to ^(XK)the customs. ²² What, then, is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. ²³ Therefore do this that we tell you. We have four men who ^[ej](XL)are under a vow; ²⁴ take them and ^(XM)purify yourself along with them, and ^[ek]pay their expenses so that they may ^(XN)shave their ^[el]heads. Then all will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the Law. ²⁵ But concerning the Gentiles who have believed, we wrote, ^(XO)having decided that they should keep from ^[em]meat sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from sexual immorality.” ²⁶ Then Paul ^[en]took the men, and the next day, ^(XP)purifying himself along with them, ^(XQ)went into the temple giving notice of the completion of the days of purification, until the sacrifice was offered for each one of them.

Paul Is Arrested

²⁷ Now when ^(XR)the seven days were almost over, ^(XS)the Jews from ^[eo](XT)Asia, upon noticing him in the temple, began to throw all the crowd into confusion and laid hands on him, ²⁸ crying out, “Men of Israel, help! ^(XU)This is the man who teaches to everyone everywhere against our people and the Law and this place; and besides, he has even brought Greeks into the temple and has ^(XV)defiled this holy place.” ²⁹ For they had previously seen ^(XW)Trophimus the ^(XX)Ephesian in the city with him, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. ³⁰ Then all the city was stirred, and ^[ep]the people rushed together, and taking hold of Paul they ^(XY)dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut. ³¹ While they were seeking to kill him, a report came up to the ^[eq]commander of the ^(XZ)Roman ^[er]cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. ³² At once he ^(YA)took along soldiers and centurions and ran down to them; and when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. ³³ Then the commander came up and took hold of him, and ordered him to be ^(YB)bound with ^(YC)two chains; and he began asking who he was and what he had done. ³⁴ But among the crowd ^(YD)some were shouting one thing and some another, and when he could not find out the ^[es]facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into ^(YE)the barracks. ³⁵ And when he got to ^(YF)the stairs, he actually was carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd; ³⁶ for the multitude of the people kept following them, shouting, “^(YG)Away with him!”

Paul’s Defense Before the Jews

³⁷ As Paul was about to be brought into ^(YH)the barracks, he said to the commander, “May I say something to you?” And he *said, “Do you know Greek? ³⁸ Then you are not ^(YI)the Egyptian who some ^[et]time ago raised a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out ^(YJ)into the wilderness?” ³⁹ But Paul said, “^(YK)I am a Jew of Tarsus in ^(YL)Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city; and I beg you, allow me to speak to the people.” ⁴⁰ And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on ^(YM)the stairs, ^(YN)motioned to the people with his hand; and when there ^[eu]was a great hush, he spoke to them in the ^(YO)Hebrew language, saying,

22 “^(YP)Men, brothers, and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you.”

² And when they heard that he was addressing them in the ^(YQ)Hebrew language, they became even quieter; and he *said,

³ “^(YR)I am ^(YS)a Jew, born in ^(YT)Tarsus of ^(YU)Cilicia, but having been brought up in this city, having been instructed at the feet of ^(YV)Gamaliel according to the ^(YW)strictness of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as ^(YX)you all are today, ^4 (YY)I persecuted this ^(YZ)Way to the death, binding and delivering both men and women into prisons, ⁵ as also ^(ZA)the high priest and all ^(ZB)the Council of the elders ^[ev]can testify. From them I also ^(ZC)received letters to ^(ZD)the brothers, and started off for ^(ZE)Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem ^[ew]as prisoners to be punished.

⁶ “^(ZF)But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me, ⁷ and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ ⁸ And I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am ^(ZG)Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ ⁹ And those who were with me ^(ZH)beheld the light, to be sure, but ^(ZI)did not ^[ex]understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me. ¹⁰ And I said, ‘^(ZJ)What should I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told of all that has been determined for you to do.’ ¹¹ But since I ^(ZK)could not see because of the glory of that light, being led by the hand by those who were with me, I came into Damascus.

¹² “Now a certain ^(ZL)Ananias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law, and ^(ZM)well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, ¹³ came to me, and standing near, said to me, ‘^(ZN)Brother Saul, regain your sight!’ And ^[ey](ZO)at that very hour I regained my sight and saw him. ¹⁴ And he said, ‘^(ZP)The God of our fathers has ^(ZQ)appointed you to know His will and to ^(ZR)see the ^(ZS)Righteous One and to hear a ^[ez]voice from His mouth. ¹⁵ For you will be ^(ZT)a witness for Him to all men of ^(ZU)what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ Now why do you delay? ^(ZV)Rise up and be baptized, and ^(ZW)wash away your sins, ^(ZX)calling on His name.’

¹⁷ “Now it happened when I ^(ZY)returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I ^(ZZ)fell into a trance, ¹⁸ and I saw Him saying to me, ‘^(AAA)Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your witness about Me.’ ¹⁹ And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another ^(AAB)I used to imprison and ^(AAC)beat those who believed in You. ²⁰ And ^(AAD)when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing by approving, and guarding the garments of those who were slaying him.’ ²¹ And He said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away ^(AAE)to the Gentiles.’”

Paul, a Citizen of Rome

²² And they were listening to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, “^(AAF)Away with such a fellow from the earth, for ^(AAG)he should not be allowed to live!” ²³ And as they were crying out and ^(AAH)throwing off their garments and ^(AAI)tossing dust into the air, ²⁴ the ^[fa]commander ordered him to be brought into ^(AAJ)the barracks, stating that he should be ^(AAK)examined by flogging so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way. ²⁵ But when they stretched him out ^[fb]with leather straps, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it ^[fc]lawful for you to flog ^(AAL)a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?” ²⁶ And when the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported to him, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.” ²⁷ And the commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” ²⁸ And the commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I have been born a citizen.” ²⁹ Therefore those who were about to ^(AAM)examine him immediately withdrew from him; and the commander also ^(AAN)was afraid when he learned that he was a Roman, and because he had ^(AAO)bound him.

Paul Before the Sanhedrin

³⁰ But on the next day, ^(AAP)wishing to know for certain why he had been accused by the Jews, he ^(AAQ)released him and ordered the chief priests and all ^(AAR)the Sanhedrin to come together, and brought Paul down and set him before them.

23 Now Paul, looking intently at ^(AAS)the Sanhedrin, said, “^(AAT)Brothers, ^(AAU)I have ^[fd]lived my life in all good conscience before God up to this day.” ² And the high priest ^(AAV)Ananias commanded those standing beside him ^(AAW)to strike him on the mouth. ³ Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, ^(AAX)you whitewashed wall! Do you ^(AAY)sit to try me according to the Law, and in violation of the Law order me to be struck?” ⁴ But those standing nearby said, “Do you revile the high priest of God?” ⁵ And Paul said, “I was not aware, brothers, that he was high priest; for it is written, ‘^(AAZ)You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”

⁶ But knowing that one group were ^(ABA)Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began crying out in ^(ABB)the Sanhedrin, “^(ABC)Brothers, ^(ABD)I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for ^(ABE)the hope and resurrection of the dead!” ⁷ As he said this, there was dissension between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ⁸ For ^(ABF)the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. ⁹ And there occurred a great outcry; and some of ^(ABG)the scribes of the Pharisaic party stood up and began to argue heatedly, saying, “^(ABH)We find nothing wrong with this man. ^(ABI)Suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” ¹⁰ And as a great dissension was developing, because the ^[fe]commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them, he ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force, and bring him into ^(ABJ)the barracks.

¹¹ But on ^(ABK)that very night, the Lord stood at his side and said, “^(ABL)Take courage; for ^(ABM)as you have ^(ABN)solemnly borne witness to My cause at Jerusalem, so you must bear witness at Rome also.”

A Plot to Kill Paul

¹² Now when it was day, ^(ABO)the Jews formed a ^[ff]conspiracy and ^(ABP)bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. ¹³ And there were more than forty who formed this scheme. ¹⁴ They came to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have ^(ABQ)bound ourselves under a curse to taste nothing until we have killed Paul. ¹⁵ So now you, along with ^(ABR)the Sanhedrin, notify the commander to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more carefully; and we for our part are ready to slay him before he comes near.”

¹⁶ But when the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, ^[fg]he came and entered ^(ABS)the barracks and reported it to Paul. ¹⁷ And Paul called one of the centurions to him and said, “Lead this young man to the commander, for he has something to report to him.” ¹⁸ So he took him and led him to the ^[fh]commander and *said, “Paul ^(ABT)the prisoner called me to him and asked me to lead this young man to you since he has something to tell you.” ¹⁹ And the ^[fi]commander took him by the hand and stepping aside, began to inquire of him privately, “What is it that you have to report to me?” ²⁰ And he said, “^(ABU)The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down tomorrow to ^(ABV)the Sanhedrin, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more carefully about him. ²¹ So do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of them—who have ^(ABW)bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they slay him—are ^(ABX)lying in wait for him and now they are ready and waiting for the promise from you.” ²² So the commander let the young man go, instructing him, “Tell no one that you have notified me of these things.”

Paul Is Brought to Caesarea

²³ And when he called to him two of the centurions, he said, “Make ready two hundred soldiers, ^[fj]seventy horsemen, and two hundred ^[fk]spearmen to proceed to ^(ABY)Caesarea by the ^[fl]third hour of the night, ²⁴ and provide mounts to put Paul on and bring him safely to ^(ABZ)Felix the governor.” ²⁵ And he wrote a letter having this form:

³¹ So the soldiers, according to their orders, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. ³² But the next day, leaving ^(ACM)the horsemen to go on with him, they returned to ^(ACN)the barracks. ³³ When these had come to ^(ACO)Caesarea and delivered the letter to ^(ACP)the governor, they also presented Paul to him. ³⁴ And when he had read it, he asked from what ^(ACQ)province he was, and when he learned that ^(ACR)he was from Cilicia, ³⁵ he said, “I will give you a hearing after your ^(ACS)accusers arrive also,” giving orders for him to be ^(ACT)kept in Herod’s ^[fo]Praetorium.

Paul’s Trial Before Felix the Governor

24 Now after ^(ACU)five days the high priest ^(ACV)Ananias came down with some elders, ^[fp]with an ^[fq]attorney named Tertullus, and they ^[fr]brought charges to ^(ACW)the governor against Paul. ² And after Paul had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying,

“As we have attained much peace through you—and because by your provision reforms are being carried out for this nation— ³ we welcome this in every way and everywhere, ^(ACX)most excellent Felix, with all thankfulness. ⁴ But, that I may not weary you any further, I plead with you by your forbearance to hear us briefly. ⁵ For we have found this man a real pest and a fellow who stirs up dissension among all the Jews throughout ^[fs]the world, and a ringleader of the ^(ACY)sect of the Nazarenes. ⁶ And he even tried to ^(ACZ)desecrate the temple; and ^[ft]then we arrested him. ^[fu][We wanted to judge him according to our own Law. ⁷ But Lysias the commander came along, and with much violence took him out of our hands, ⁸ ordering his accusers to come before you.] By examining him yourself concerning all these matters you will be able to ascertain the things of which we accuse him.” ^9 (ADA)And the Jews also joined in the attack, asserting that these things were so.

¹⁰ And when ^(ADB)the governor had nodded for him to speak, Paul answered:

“Knowing that for many years you have been a judge to this nation, I cheerfully make my defense, ¹¹ since you are able to ascertain the fact that no more than ^(ADC)twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship. ^12 (ADD)And neither in the temple, nor in the synagogues, nor across the city did they find me carrying on a discussion with anyone or ^(ADE)causing ^[fv]a riot. ^13 (ADF)Nor are they able to prove to you of what they are now accusing me. ¹⁴ But this I confess to you, that according to ^(ADG)the Way, which they call a ^(ADH)sect, I do serve ^[fw](ADI)the God of our fathers, ^(ADJ)believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets; ¹⁵ having a hope in God, for which ^(ADK)these men are waiting, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous. ¹⁶ In view of this, ^(ADL)I also ^[fx]do my best to maintain always a conscience without fault both before God and before men. ¹⁷ Now ^(ADM)after several years I ^(ADN)came to bring ^[fy]alms to my nation and offerings; ¹⁸ in which they found me, having been ^(ADO)purified in the temple, without any ^(ADP)crowd or uproar. But there were some ^(ADQ)Jews from ^[fz]Asia— ¹⁹ who ought to have been present before you and to ^(ADR)make accusation, if they should have anything against me. ²⁰ Or else let these men themselves tell what wrongdoing they found when I stood before ^(ADS)the Sanhedrin, ²¹ other than for this one statement which ^(ADT)I shouted out while standing among them, ‘For the resurrection of the dead I am on trial before you today.’”

²² But Felix, having a more accurate knowledge about ^(ADU)the Way, put them off, saying, “When Lysias the ^[ga]commander comes down, I will decide your case.” ²³ Then he gave orders to the centurion for him to be ^(ADV)kept in custody and yet ^(ADW)have some rest, and not to prevent any of ^(ADX)his friends from ministering to him.

²⁴ But some days later Felix arrived with Drusilla, his ^[gb]wife who was a Jewess, and summoned Paul and heard him speak about ^(ADY)faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁵ But as he was discussing ^(ADZ)righteousness, ^(AEA)self-control, and ^(AEB)the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and answered, “Go away for the present, and when I find time I will call for you.” ²⁶ At the same time, he was also hoping that ^(AEC)money would be given him by Paul; therefore he also used to summon for him quite often and converse with him. ²⁷ But after two years had passed, Felix ^[gc]was succeeded by Porcius ^(AED)Festus, and ^(AEE)wishing to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul ^(AEF)imprisoned.

Paul Before Festus

25 Festus then, having arrived in ^(AEG)the province, after three days went up to Jerusalem from ^(AEH)Caesarea. ² And the chief priests and the leading men of the Jews ^(AEI)brought charges against Paul, and they were pleading with him, ³ requesting a favor against ^[gd]Paul, that he might ^[ge]have him brought to Jerusalem (while they ^(AEJ)set an ambush to kill him on the way). ⁴ Festus then ^(AEK)answered that Paul ^(AEL)was being kept in custody at ^(AEM)Caesarea and that he himself was about to leave shortly. ⁵ “Therefore,” he *said, “let the influential men among you go down there with me, and if there is anything wrong ^[gf]about the man, let them accuse him.”

⁶ And after he had spent not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to ^(AEN)Caesarea, and on the next day he took his seat on ^(AEO)the judgment seat and ordered Paul to be brought. ⁷ And after Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing ^(AEP)many and serious charges against him ^(AEQ)which they could not prove, ⁸ while Paul said in his own defense, “^(AER)I have committed no sin either against the Law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar.” ⁹ But Festus, ^(AES)wishing to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, “^(AET)Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and to be tried before me on these matters?” ¹⁰ But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s ^(AEU)judgment seat, where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you also very well know. ¹¹ If, then, I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die; but if none of those things is true of which these men accuse me, no one can hand me over to them. I ^(AEV)appeal to Caesar.” ¹² Then when Festus had conferred with ^[gg]his council, he answered, “You have appealed to Caesar, to Caesar you shall go.”

Festus and Agrippa Discuss Paul’s Trial

¹³ Now when several days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at ^(AEW)Caesarea ^[gh]and greeted Festus. ¹⁴ And while they were spending many days there, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying, “There is a man who was ^(AEX)left as a prisoner by Felix; ¹⁵ and when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews ^(AEY)brought charges against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him. ¹⁶ I ^(AEZ)answered them that it is not the custom of the Romans to hand over any man before ^(AFA)the accused meets his accusers face to face and has an opportunity to make his defense against the charges. ¹⁷ So after they had assembled here, I did not delay, but on the next day took my seat on ^(AFB)the judgment seat and ordered the man to be brought before me. ¹⁸ When the accusers stood up, they were not bringing any charges against him for the evil deeds I was expecting, ¹⁹ but they had some ^(AFC)points of disagreement with him about their own ^[gi](AFD)religion and about a certain Jesus, a dead man whom Paul asserted to be alive. ^20 (AFE)And being perplexed about how to investigate ^[gj]such matters, I was asking whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and there to be tried on these matters. ²¹ But when Paul ^(AFF)appealed to be held in custody for ^[gk]the Emperor’s decision, I ordered him to be kept in custody until I send him to Caesar.” ²² Then ^(AFG)Agrippa said to Festus, “I also would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” he *said, “you shall hear him.”

Paul Before Agrippa and Bernice

²³ So, on the next day when ^(AFH)Agrippa came ^[gl]together with ^(AFI)Bernice amid great pomp, and entered the hall ^[gm]accompanied by the ^[gn]commanders and the prominent men of the city, at the order of Festus, Paul was brought in. ²⁴ And Festus *said, “King Agrippa, and all you gentlemen here present with us, you see this man about whom ^(AFJ)all the people of the Jews appealed to me, both at Jerusalem and here, loudly declaring that ^(AFK)he ought not to live any longer. ²⁵ But I found that he had committed ^(AFL)nothing worthy of death, and since he himself ^(AFM)appealed to ^[go]the Emperor, I decided to send him. ^26 [gp]Yet I have nothing definite about him to write to my lord. Therefore I have brought him before you all and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the investigation has taken place, I may have something to write. ²⁷ For it seems absurd to me in sending a prisoner, not to indicate also the charges against him.”

26 ^(AFN)Now Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.” Then Paul, stretching out his hand, began to make his defense:

² “Concerning all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, I regard myself blessed, King Agrippa, that I am about to make my defense before you today; ^3 [gq]especially because you are an expert in all ^(AFO)customs and ^[gr]questions among the Jews; therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.

⁴ “So then, all Jews know ^(AFP)my manner of life from my youth, which from the beginning was spent among my own nation and at Jerusalem; ⁵ since they have known about me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I lived as a ^(AFQ)Pharisee ^(AFR)according to the strictest ^(AFS)sect of our religion. ⁶ And now I am standing here being tried ^(AFT)for the hope of ^(AFU)the promise made by God to our fathers; ⁷ the promise ^(AFV)to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve God night and day. And for this ^(AFW)hope, O King, I am being ^(AFX)accused by Jews. ⁸ Why is it considered unbelievable among all of you ^(AFY)if God does raise the dead?

⁹ “So then, ^(AFZ)I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to ^(AGA)the name of Jesus the Nazarene. ¹⁰ And this is ^[gs]just what I ^(AGB)did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the ^[gt]saints in prisons, having ^(AGC)received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death I ^(AGD)cast my vote against them. ¹¹ And ^(AGE)as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and being ^(AGF)furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them ^(AGG)even to ^[gu]foreign cities.

Paul Tells of His Conversion

¹² “^[gv]While so engaged ^(AGH)as I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, ¹³ at midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven, ^[gw]brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me. ¹⁴ And when we had ^(AGI)all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the ^[gx](AGJ)Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? ^[gy]It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ ¹⁵ And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. ¹⁶ But rise up and ^(AGK)stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to ^(AGL)appoint you a ^(AGM)servant and ^(AGN)a witness not only to the things which you have ^[gz]seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; ^17 (AGO)rescuing you ^(AGP)from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, ¹⁸ to ^(AGQ)open their eyes so that they may turn from ^(AGR)darkness to light and from the authority of ^(AGS)Satan to God, that they may receive ^(AGT)forgiveness of sins and an ^(AGU)inheritance among those who have been sanctified by ^(AGV)faith in Me.’

¹⁹ “So, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, ²⁰ but kept declaring both ^(AGW)to those of Damascus first, and also ^(AGX)at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even ^(AGY)to the Gentiles, that they should ^(AGZ)repent and turn to God, practicing deeds ^(AHA)appropriate to repentance. ²¹ For this reason some Jews ^(AHB)seized me in the temple and were trying ^(AHC)to put me to death. ²² Therefore, having obtained help from God to this day, I stand here ^(AHD)bearing witness both to small and great, stating nothing but what ^(AHE)the Prophets and Moses said was going to take place; ^{23 [ha](AHF)}that the ^[hb]Christ was ^[hc]to suffer, and ^[hd]that ^(AHG)as first of the resurrection from the dead, He was going to proclaim ^(AHH)light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”

²⁴ Now while ^[he]Paul was saying this in his defense, Festus *said in a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind! ^[hf]Great ^(AHI)learning is driving you out of your mind.” ²⁵ But Paul *said, “I am not out of my mind, ^(AHJ)most excellent Festus, but I utter words ^[hg]of sober truth. ²⁶ For the king ^[hh](AHK)knows about these matters, and I speak to him also with confidence, since I am persuaded that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a ^[hi]corner. ²⁷ King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets? I know you believe.” ²⁸ But Agrippa replied to Paul, “^[hj]In such short time ^[hk]are you persuading me to become a ^(AHL)Christian?” ²⁹ And Paul said, “I would pray to God, that whether ^[hl]in a short or long time, not only you, but also all who hear me this day, might become such as I am, except for these ^(AHM)chains.”

^30 (AHN)And the king stood up and the governor and Bernice, and those who were sitting with them, ³¹ and when they had gone aside, they began talking to one another, saying, “^(AHO)This man is not doing anything worthy of death or ^[hm]imprisonment.” ³² And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been ^(AHP)set free if he had not ^(AHQ)appealed to Caesar.”

Paul Is Sent to Rome

27 Now when it was decided that ^(AHR)we ^(AHS)would sail for ^(AHT)Italy, they proceeded to deliver Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan ^[hn](AHU)cohort named Julius. ² And getting aboard an Adramyttian ship, which was about to sail to the regions along the coast of ^[ho](AHV)Asia, we set sail accompanied by ^(AHW)Aristarchus, a ^(AHX)Macedonian of ^(AHY)Thessalonica. ³ The next day we put in at ^(AHZ)Sidon, and Julius ^(AIA)treated Paul with consideration and ^(AIB)allowed him to go to his friends and receive care. ⁴ And from there we set sail and sailed under the shelter of ^(AIC)Cyprus because ^(AID)the winds were against us. ⁵ And when we had sailed through the sea along the coast of ^(AIE)Cilicia and ^(AIF)Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. ⁶ There the centurion found an ^(AIG)Alexandrian ship sailing for ^(AIH)Italy, and he put us aboard it. ⁷ And when we had sailed slowly for a good many days, and with difficulty had arrived off Cnidus, ^(AII)since the wind did not permit us to go farther, we sailed under the shelter of ^(AIJ)Crete, off Salmone;