Acts 14

Paul and Barnabas Preach in Iconium

1At Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went into the Jewish synagogue, as they usually did. They spoke there with great power, and large numbers of Jews and Greeks became believers. 2But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up some of the other Gentiles and turned them against the believers. 3Paul and Barnabas spent a lot of time there, speaking boldly for the Lord. He gave them the ability to do signs and wonders, and in this way, the Lord showed that they were telling the truth about his grace. 4The people of the city were divided. Some took the side of the Jews, while others took the side of the apostles. 5Some Jews and Gentiles, with their leaders, made a plot to attack Paul and Barnabas and kill them by stoning them. 6-7But Paul and Barnabas found out about their plan and escaped north to the region of Lycaonia. There they continued to preach the good news in the cities of Lystra and Derbe and in the area around them.

Paul Preaches in Lystra

8In Lystra there was a man who’d never been able to walk from the day he was born. 9He was listening while Paul was speaking. Paul looked right at him and saw that he had the faith to be healed. 10So he called out to him, “Stand up on your feet!” The man sprang to his feet began to walk.

11When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” 12Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the main speaker. 13Just outside the city there was a temple to the god Zeus. Its priest brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.

14But when the apostles Paul and Barnabas heard about this, they ripped their clothes and rushed out into the crowd. They shouted, 15“Friends, why are you doing this? We’re only human, just like you. We’re bringing you good news, telling you to turn away from these worthless things to the living God. He’s the one who made the heavens, the earth, and the sea and everything in them. 16In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17But he still gave proof of what he’s like. He showed you kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons. He provided you with plenty of food and filled your hearts with joy.” 18Paul and Barnabas told them all these things, but even so they had trouble keeping the crowd from offering sacrifices to them.

19Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over to their side. They threw stones at Paul and then dragged him out of the city, thinking he was dead. 20But when the disciples gathered around Paul, he got up and went back into the city! The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.

Paul and Barnabas Return to Antioch

21Paul and Barnabas preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch. 22There they strengthened the disciples, encouraging them to remain faithful to what they’d been taught. “We have to go through many hard times to enter the kingdom of God,” they explained. 23Paul and Barnabas appointed people who’d trusted in the Lord to be elders in each church. They prayed and fasted and committed the elders to the Lord’s care. 24After going through Pisidia, Paul and Barnabas came into Pamphylia. 25They preached the good news in Perga, and then they went down to Attalia.

26From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they’d been placed in God’s care to do the work they’d now completed. 27When they arrived in Antioch, they gathered the church together and told everything that God had done through them. They shared how he had opened a way for the Gentiles to believe. 28And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.

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