Chapter 13

First Missionary Journey

1 Now there were at aAntioch, in the bchurch that was there, cprophets and dteachers: eBarnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of fCyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with gHerod the tetrarch, and Saul.

2 While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, athe Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me bBarnabas and Saul for cthe work to which I have called them.”

3 Then, when they had fasted and aprayed and blaid their hands on them, cthey sent them away.

4 So, being asent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to bCyprus.

5 When they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in athe synagogues of the Jews; and they also had bJohn as their helper.

6 When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a amagician, a Jewish bfalse prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus,

7 who was with the aproconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.

8 But Elymas the amagician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the bproconsul away from cthe faith.

9 But Saul, who was also known as Paul, 1afilled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him,

10 and said, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you ason of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked bthe straight ways of the Lord?

11 “Now, behold, athe hand of the 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 aproconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being amazed at bthe teaching of the Lord.

13 Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from aPaphos and came to bPerga in cPamphylia; but dJohn left them and returned to Jerusalem.

14 But going on from Perga, they arrived at aPisidian bAntioch, and on cthe Sabbath day they went into dthe synagogue and sat down.

15 After athe reading of the Law and bthe Prophets cthe synagogue officials sent to them, saying, “Brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it.”

16 Paul stood up, and amotioning with his hand said,

“Men of Israel, and byou who fear God, listen:

17 “The God of this people Israel achose our fathers and 1bmade the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm cHe led them out from it.

18 “For aa period of about forty years bHe put up with them in the wilderness.

19 “aWhen He had destroyed bseven nations in the land of Canaan, He cdistributed their land as an inheritance—all of which took dabout four hundred and fifty years.

20 “After these things He agave them judges until bSamuel the prophet.

21 “Then they aasked for a king, and God gave them bSaul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.

22 “After He had aremoved him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘bI have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My 1will.’

23 “aFrom the descendants of this man, baccording to promise, God has brought to Israel ca Savior, Jesus,

24 after aJohn had proclaimed before 1His coming a bbaptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

25 “And while John awas completing his course, bhe kept saying, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’

26 “Brethren, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of athis salvation has been sent.

27 “For those who live in Jerusalem, and their arulers, brecognizing neither Him nor the 1utterances of cthe prophets which are dread every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him.

28 “And though they found no ground for putting Him to death, they aasked Pilate that He be 1executed.

29 “When they had acarried out all that was written concerning Him, bthey took Him down from cthe 1cross and dlaid Him in a tomb.

30 “But God araised Him from the dead;

31 and for many days aHe appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now bHis witnesses to the people.

32 “And we apreach to you the good news of bthe promise made to the fathers,

33 that God has fulfilled this promise 1to our children in that He araised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘bYou are My Son; today i have begotten You.’

34 “As for the fact that He araised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: ‘bI will give you the holy and 1sure blessings of David.’

35 “Therefore He also says in another Psalm, ‘aYou will not 1allow Your 2Holy One to 3undergo decay.’

36 “For aDavid, after he had 1served bthe purpose of God in his own generation, cfell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and 2underwent decay;

37 but He whom God araised did not 1undergo decay.

38 “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that athrough 1Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you,

39 and 1through Him aeveryone who believes is 2freed 3from all things, from which you could not be 2freed 3through the Law of Moses.

40 “Therefore take heed, so that the thing spoken of ain the Prophets may not come upon you:

41 ‘aBehold, you scoffers, and marvel, and 1perish;

For I am accomplishing a work in your days,

A work which you will never believe, though someone should describe it to you.’ ”

42 As 1Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these 2things might be spoken to them the next aSabbath.

43 Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the aGod-fearing 1bproselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in cthe grace of God.

Paul Turns to the Gentiles

44 The next aSabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of 1the Lord.

45 But when athe Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were 1blaspheming.

46 Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you afirst; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, bwe are turning to the Gentiles.

47 “For so the Lord has commanded us,

‘aI have placed You as a blight for the Gentiles,

That You may 1bring salvation to the end of the earth.’ ”

48 When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying athe word of 1the Lord; and as many as bhad been appointed to eternal life believed.

49 And athe word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region.

50 But athe Jews incited the 1bdevout women cof prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their 2district.

51 But athey shook off the dust of their feet in protest against them and went to bIconium.

52 And the disciples were continually afilled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Chapter 14

Acceptance and Opposition

1 In aIconium bthey entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner cthat a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of dGreeks.

2 But athe Jews who 1bdisbelieved stirred up the 2minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against cthe brethren.

3 Therefore they spent a long time there aspeaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that 1bsigns and wonders be done by their hands.

4 aBut the 1people of the city were divided; and some 2sided with bthe Jews, and some with cthe apostles.

5 And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and athe Jews with their rulers, to mistreat and to bstone them,

6 they became aware of it and fled to the cities of aLycaonia, bLystra and cDerbe, and the surrounding region;

7 and there they continued to apreach the gospel.

8 At aLystra ba man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from his mother’s womb, who had never walked.

9 This man was listening to Paul as he spoke, who, awhen he had fixed his gaze on him and had seen that he had bfaith to be 1made well,

10 said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” aAnd he leaped up and began to walk.

11 When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the aLycaonian language, “bThe gods have become like men and have come down to us.”

12 And they began calling Barnabas, 1Zeus, and Paul, 2Hermes, because he was 3the chief speaker.

13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was 1just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and awanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds.

14 But when athe apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they btore their 1robes and rushed out into the crowd, crying out

15 and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We are also amen of the same nature as you, and bpreach the gospel to you that you should turn from these 1cvain things to a dliving God, ewho made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.

16 “1In the generations gone by He apermitted all the 2nations to bgo their own ways;

17 and yet aHe did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and bgave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, 1satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.”

18 Even saying these things, with difficulty they restrained the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.

19 But aJews came from bAntioch and cIconium, and having won over the crowds, they dstoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead.

20 But while athe disciples stood around him, he got up and entered the city. The next day he went away with Barnabas to bDerbe.

21 After they had apreached the gospel to that city and had bmade many disciples, they returned to cLystra and to dIconium and to eAntioch,

22 strengthening the souls of athe disciples, encouraging them to continue in bthe faith, and saying, “cThrough many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”

23 When athey had appointed belders for them in every church, having cprayed with fasting, they dcommended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

24 They passed through aPisidia and came into bPamphylia.

25 When they had spoken the word in aPerga, they went down to Attalia.

26 From there they sailed to aAntioch, from bwhich they had been ccommended to the grace of God for the work that they had 1accomplished.

27 When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to areport all things that God had done with them and 1how He had opened a bdoor of faith to the Gentiles.

28 And they spent 1a long time with athe disciples.

Chapter 15

The Council at Jerusalem

1 aSome men came down from Judea and began teaching bthe brethren, “Unless you are ccircumcised according to dthe custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

2 And when Paul and Barnabas had 1great dissension and adebate with them, bthe brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the capostles and elders concerning this issue.

3 Therefore, being asent on their way by the church, they were passing through both bPhoenicia and Samaria, cdescribing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and were bringing great joy to all dthe brethren.

4 When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and athe apostles and the elders, and they breported all that God had done with them.

5 But some of athe sect of the bPharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to ccircumcise them and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses.”

6 aThe apostles and the elders came together to 1look into this 2matter.

7 After there had been much adebate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brethren, you know that 1in the early days bGod made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of cthe gospel and believe.

8 “And God, awho knows the heart, testified to them bgiving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us;

9 and aHe made no distinction between us and them, bcleansing their hearts by faith.

10 “Now therefore why do you aput God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which bneither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?

11 “But we believe that we are saved through athe grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”

12 All the people kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were arelating what bsigns and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.

James’s Judgment

13 After they had stopped speaking, 1aJames answered, saying, “Brethren, listen to me.

14 “aSimeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name.

15 “With this the words of athe Prophets agree, just as it is written,

16 ‘aAfter these things bI will return,

And I will rebuild the 1tabernacle of David which has fallen,

And I will rebuild its ruins,

And I will restore it,

17 aSo that the rest of 1mankind may seek the Lord,

And all the Gentiles 2bwho are called by My name,’

18 aSays the Lord, who 1bmakes these things known from long ago.

19 “Therefore it is amy judgment 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 1athings contaminated by idols and from bfornication and from cwhat is strangled and from blood.

21 “For aMoses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since 1he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

22 Then it seemed good to athe apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to bAntioch with Paul and Barnabas—Judas called Barsabbas, and cSilas, leading men among dthe brethren,

23 and they 1sent this letter by them,

“aThe apostles and the brethren who are elders, to bthe brethren in cAntioch and dSyria and eCilicia who are from the Gentiles, fgreetings.

24 “Since we have heard that asome 1of our number to whom we gave no instruction have bdisturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls,

25 ait seemed good to us, having 1become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

26 men who have 1arisked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

27 “Therefore we have sent aJudas and bSilas, who themselves will also report the same things by word of mouth.

28 “For ait seemed good to bthe Holy Spirit and to cus to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials:

29 that you abstain from athings sacrificed to idols and from ablood and from athings strangled and from afornication; 1if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell.”

30 So when they were sent away, athey went down to Antioch; and having gathered the 1congregation together, they delivered the letter.

31 When they had read it, they rejoiced because of its 1encouragement.

32 aJudas and bSilas, also being cprophets themselves, 1encouraged and strengthened dthe brethren with a lengthy message.

33 After they had spent time there, they were sent away from the brethren ain peace to those who had bsent them out.

34 [1But it seemed good to Silas to remain there.]

35 But aPaul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, teaching and bpreaching with many others also, cthe word of the Lord.

Second Missionary Journey

36 After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brethren in aevery city in which we proclaimed bthe word of the Lord, and see how they are.”

37 Barnabas wanted to take aJohn, called Mark, along with them also.

38 But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had adeserted them 1in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.

39 And there occurred such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took aMark with him and sailed away to bCyprus.

40 But Paul chose aSilas and left, being bcommitted by the brethren to the grace of the Lord.

41 And he was traveling through aSyria and bCilicia, strengthening the churches.