The Jerusalem Council

15 ^yBut some men came down from Judea and were teaching ^zthe brothers, “Unless you are ^acircumcised ^baccording to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and ^cdebate with them, Paul and Barnabas and ^dsome of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to ^ethe apostles and the elders about this question. 3 So, ^fbeing sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, ^gdescribing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and ^hbrought great joy to all ⁱthe brothers.¹ 4 ^jWhen they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and ^kthe apostles and the elders, and ^gthey declared all that God had done with them. 5 But some believers who belonged to ^lthe party of the Pharisees rose up and said, ^m“It is necessary ⁿto circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”

6 ^oThe ^kapostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. 7 And after there had been much ^pdebate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, ^qthat by my mouth the Gentiles should hear ^rthe word of ^sthe gospel and believe. 8 And God, ^twho knows the heart, ^ubore witness to them, ^vby giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, 9 and ^whe made no distinction between us and them, ^xhaving cleansed their hearts ^yby faith. 10 Now, therefore, why ^zare you putting God to the test ^aby placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples ^bthat neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we ^cbelieve that we will be ^dsaved through ^ethe grace of the Lord Jesus, ^wjust as they will.”

12 And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul ^fas they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. 13 After they finished speaking, ^gJames replied, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 ^hSimeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them ⁱa people for his name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,

19 Therefore ⁿmy judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who ^oturn to God, 20 but should write to them ^pto abstain from ^qthe things polluted by idols, and from ^rsexual immorality, and from ^swhat has been strangled, and from ^sblood. 21 For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, ^tfor he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”

The Council’s Letter to Gentile Believers

22 Then it seemed good to ^uthe apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called ^vBarsabbas, and ^wSilas, leading men among ^xthe brothers, 23 with the following letter: ^x“The brothers, both ^uthe apostles and the elders, to the brothers³ who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, ^ygreetings. 24 Since we have heard that ^zsome persons have gone out from us and ^atroubled you⁴ with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, 25 it has seemed good to us, having come ^bto one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our ^cbeloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 ^dmen who have ^erisked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We have therefore sent ^fJudas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it has seemed good ^gto the Holy Spirit and ^hto us ⁱto lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: 29 ^jthat you abstain from ^kwhat has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”

30 So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. 31 And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. 32 And Judas and Silas, who were themselves ^lprophets, encouraged and ^mstrengthened ⁿthe brothers with many words. 33 And after they had spent some time, they were sent off ^oin peace by ⁿthe brothers to those who had sent them.⁵ 35 But ^pPaul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

Paul and Barnabas Separate

36 And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit ⁿthe brothers ^qin every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” 37 Now Barnabas wanted to take with them ^rJohn called Mark. 38 But Paul thought best not to take with them one ^swho had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. 39 And there arose ^ta sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. ^uBarnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and departed, ^vhaving been commended by ^wthe brothers to ^xthe grace of the Lord. 41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, ^ystrengthening the churches.

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

16 Paul¹ came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named ^zTimothy, ^athe son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by ^bthe brothers² at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he ^ctook him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance ^dthe decisions ^ethat had been reached by ^fthe apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. 5 ^gSo the churches were strengthened in ^hthe faith, and they increased in numbers ⁱdaily.

The Macedonian Call

6 And ^jthey went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but ^kthe Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. 8 So, passing by Mysia, they went down ^lto Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 And when Paul³ had seen the vision, immediately ^mwe sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

The Conversion of Lydia

11 So, setting sail from Troas, we ⁿmade a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to ^oPhilippi, which is a leading city of the⁴ district of Macedonia and ^pa Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. 13 And ^qon the Sabbath day we went outside the gate ^rto the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we ^ssat down and spoke to the women who had come together. 14 One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, ^twho was a worshiper of God. The Lord ^uopened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. 15 And after she was baptized, ^vand her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she ^wprevailed upon us.

Paul and Silas in Prison

16 As we were going to ^xthe place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had ^ya spirit of ^zdivination and ^abrought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and us, ^bcrying out, “These men are ^cservants of ^dthe Most High God, who proclaim to you ^ethe way of salvation.” 18 And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, ^f“I command you ^gin the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And ^hit came out that very hour.

19 But ⁱwhen her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and ^jdragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. 20 And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. 21 They ^kadvocate customs that are not lawful for us ^las Romans to accept or practice.” 22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders ^mto beat them with rods. 23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner ⁿprison and fastened their feet in ^othe stocks.

The Philippian Jailer Converted

25 ^pAbout midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26 and suddenly ^qthere was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately ^rall the doors were opened, and ^severyone’s bonds were unfastened. 27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and ^twas about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” 29 And the jailer⁵ called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he ^ufell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, ^vwhat must I do to be ^wsaved?” 31 And they said, ^x“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you ^yand your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them ^zthe same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he ^awas baptized at once, he and all his family. 34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he ^brejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

35 But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” 36 And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” 37 But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, ^cuncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.” 38 The police reported these words to the magistrates, and ^cthey were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. 39 So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and ^dasked them to leave the city. 40 So they went out of the prison and visited ^eLydia. And when they had seen ^fthe brothers, they encouraged them and departed.

Paul and Silas in Thessalonica

17 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to ^gThessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, ^has was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them ⁱfrom the Scriptures, 3 ^jexplaining and proving that it was necessary for ^kthe Christ to suffer and ^lto rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” 4 And ^msome of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did ⁿa great many of the devout ^oGreeks and not a few of the leading women. 5 ^pBut the Jews^{1 q}were jealous, and taking ^rsome wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. 6 And when they could not find them, ^sthey dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, 7 and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against ^tthe decrees of Caesar, saying that there is ^uanother king, Jesus.” 8 And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. 9 And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.

Paul and Silas in Berea

10 ^vThe brothers² immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they ^wwent into the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, ^xexamining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. 12 ^yMany of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek ^zwomen of high standing as well as men. 13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, ^aagitating and stirring up the crowds. 14 Then the brothers ^bimmediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and ^cTimothy remained there. 15 ^dThose who conducted Paul brought him as far as ^eAthens, and after receiving a command ^ffor Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.

Paul in Athens

16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was ^gprovoked within him as he saw that the city was ^hfull of idols. 17 So ⁱhe reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. 18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, ^j“What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because ^khe was preaching ^lJesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took him and brought him to ^mthe Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this ⁿnew teaching is that you are presenting? 20 For you bring some ^ostrange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.

Paul Addresses the Areopagus

22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ^p‘To the unknown god.’ ^pWhat therefore you worship ^qas unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 ^rThe God who made the world and everything in it, being ^sLord of heaven and earth, ^tdoes not live in temples made by man,³ 25 nor is he served by human hands, ^uas though he needed anything, since he himself ^vgives to all mankind ^wlife and breath and everything. 26 And ^xhe made from one man every nation of mankind to live ^yon all the face of the earth, ^zhaving determined allotted periods and ^athe boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 ^bthat they should seek God, ^cand perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. ^dYet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for

as even some of ^fyour own poets have said,

29 ^gBeing then God’s offspring, ^hwe ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 ⁱThe times of ignorance ^jGod overlooked, but ^know he ^lcommands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed ^ma day on which ⁿhe will judge the world ^oin righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and ^pof this he has given assurance to all ^qby raising him from the dead.”

32 Now when they heard of ^rthe resurrection of the dead, ^ssome mocked. But others said, ^t“We will hear you again about this.” 33 So Paul went out from their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius ^uthe Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

Paul in Corinth

18 After this Paul¹ left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 And he found a Jew named ^vAquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife ^vPriscilla, because ^wClaudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, 3 and ^xbecause he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. 4 And ^yhe reasoned in the synagogue ^yevery Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.

5 ^zWhen Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul ^awas occupied with the word, ^btestifying to the Jews that the Christ was ^cJesus. 6 And when they opposed and reviled him, ^dhe shook out his garments and said to them, ^e“Your blood be on your own heads! ^fI am innocent. ^gFrom now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 7 And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius ^hJustus, ⁱa worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. 8 ^jCrispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together ^kwith his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. 9 And the Lord said to Paul ^lone night in ^ma vision, ⁿ“Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, 10 ⁿfor I am with you, and ^ono one will attack you to harm you, for ^pI have many in this city who are my people.” 11 And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

12 But when Gallio was ^qproconsul of Achaia, ^rthe Jews² made a united attack on Paul and ^sbrought him before the tribunal, 13 saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to ^tthe law.” 14 But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious ^ucrime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. 15 But ^vsince it is a matter of questions about words and names and ^wyour own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things.” 16 And he drove them from the tribunal. 17 And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this.

Paul Returns to Antioch

18 After this, Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of ^xthe brothers³ and set sail for Syria, and with him ^yPriscilla and Aquila. At ^zCenchreae ^ahe had cut his hair, for he was under a vow. 19 And they came to ^bEphesus, and he left them there, but ^che himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay for a longer period, he declined. 21 But on taking leave of them he said, “I will return to you ^dif God wills,” and he set sail from Ephesus.

22 When he had landed at Caesarea, he ^ewent up and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch. 23 After spending some time there, he departed and ^fwent from one place to the next through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, ^gstrengthening all the disciples.

Apollos Speaks Boldly in Ephesus

24 Now a Jew named ^hApollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, ⁱcompetent in the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in ^jthe way of the Lord. And ^kbeing fervent in spirit,⁴ he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only ^lthe baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when ^mPriscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him ⁿthe way of God more accurately. 27 And when he wished to cross to ^oAchaia, ^pthe brothers encouraged him and ^qwrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, ^rhe greatly helped those who through grace had believed, 28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures ^sthat the Christ was Jesus.