12 About that time King Herod 1 laid hands on 2 some from the church to harm them. 3 2 He had James, the brother of John, executed with a sword. 4 3 When he saw that this pleased the Jews, 5 he proceeded to arrest Peter too. (This took place during the feast of Unleavened Bread.) 6 4 When he had seized him, he put him in prison, handing him over to four squads 7 of soldiers to guard him. Herod 8 planned 9 to bring him out for public trial 10 after the Passover. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but those in the church were earnestly 11 praying to God for him. 12 6 On that very night before Herod was going to bring him out for trial, 13 Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, while 14 guards in front of the door were keeping watch 15 over the prison. 7 Suddenly 16 an angel of the Lord 17 appeared, and a light shone in the prison cell. He struck 18 Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly!” And the chains fell off Peter’s 19 wrists. 20 8 The angel said to him, “Fasten your belt 21 and put on your sandals.” Peter 22 did so. Then the angel 23 said to him, “Put on your cloak 24 and follow me.” 9 Peter 25 went out 26 and followed him; 27 he did not realize that what was happening through the angel was real, 28 but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 After they had passed the first and second guards, 29 they came to the iron 30 gate leading into the city. It 31 opened for them by itself, 32 and they went outside and walked down one narrow street, 33 when at once the angel left him. 11 When 34 Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued 35 me from the hand 36 of Herod 37 and from everything the Jewish people 38 were expecting to happen.”
12 When Peter 39 realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark, 40 where many people had gathered together and were praying. 13 When he knocked at the door of the outer gate, a slave girl named Rhoda answered. 41 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she did not open the gate, but ran back in and told 42 them 43 that Peter was standing at the gate. 15 But they said to her, “You’ve lost your mind!” 44 But she kept insisting that it was Peter, 45 and they kept saying, 46 “It is his angel!” 47 16 Now Peter continued knocking, and when they opened the door 48 and saw him, they were greatly astonished. 49 17 He motioned to them 50 with his hand to be quiet and then related 51 how the Lord had brought 52 him out of the prison. He said, “Tell James and the brothers these things,” and then he left and went to another place. 53
18 At daybreak 54 there was great consternation 55 among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. 19 When Herod 56 had searched 57 for him and did not find him, he questioned 58 the guards and commanded that they be led away to execution. 59 Then 60 Herod 61 went down from Judea to Caesarea 62 and stayed there.
20 Now Herod 63 was having an angry quarrel 64 with the people of Tyre 65 and Sidon. 66 So they joined together 67 and presented themselves before him. And after convincing 68 Blastus, the king’s personal assistant, 69 to help them, 70 they asked for peace, 71 because their country’s food supply was provided by the king’s country. 21 On a day determined in advance, Herod 72 put on his royal robes, 73 sat down on the judgment seat, 74 and made a speech 75 to them. 22 But the crowd 76 began to shout, 77 “The voice of a god, 78 and not of a man!” 23 Immediately an angel of the Lord 79 struck 80 Herod 81 down because he did not give the glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and died. 82 24 But the word of God 83 kept on increasing 84 and multiplying.
25 So Barnabas and Saul returned to 85 Jerusalem 86 when they had completed 87 their mission, 88 bringing along with them John Mark. 89
13 Now there were these prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch: 1 Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, 2 Lucius the Cyrenian, 3 Manaen (a close friend of Herod 4 the tetrarch 5 from childhood 6 ) and Saul. 2 While they were serving 7 the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart 8 for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then, after they had fasted 9 and 10 prayed and placed their hands 11 on them, they sent them off.
4 So Barnabas and Saul, 12 sent out by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia, 13 and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 14 5 When 15 they arrived 16 in Salamis, 17 they began to proclaim 18 the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. 19 (Now they also had John 20 as their assistant.) 21 6 When they had crossed over 22 the whole island as far as Paphos, 23 they found a magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus, 24 7 who was with the proconsul 25 Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. The proconsul 26 summoned 27 Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear 28 the word of God. 8 But the magician Elymas 29 (for that is the way his name is translated) 30 opposed them, trying to turn the proconsul 31 away from the faith. 9 But Saul (also known as Paul), 32 filled with the Holy Spirit, 33 stared straight 34 at him 10 and said, “You who are full of all deceit and all wrongdoing, 35 you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness – will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? 36 11 Now 37 look, the hand of the Lord is against 38 you, and you will be blind, unable to see the sun for a time!” Immediately mistiness 39 and darkness came over 40 him, and he went around seeking people 41 to lead him by the hand. 12 Then when the proconsul 42 saw what had happened, he believed, 43 because he was greatly astounded 44 at the teaching about 45 the Lord.
13 Then Paul and his companions put out to sea 46 from Paphos 47 and came to Perga 48 in Pamphylia, 49 but John 50 left them and returned to Jerusalem. 51 14 Moving on from 52 Perga, 53 they arrived at Pisidian Antioch, 54 and on the Sabbath day they went into 55 the synagogue 56 and sat down. 15 After the reading from the law and the prophets, 57 the leaders of the synagogue 58 sent them a message, 59 saying, “Brothers, 60 if you have any message 61 of exhortation 62 for the people, speak it.” 63 16 So Paul stood up, 64 gestured 65 with his hand and said,
“Men of Israel, 66 and you Gentiles who fear God, 67 listen: 17 The God of this people Israel 68 chose our ancestors 69 and made the people great 70 during their stay as foreigners 71 in the country 72 of Egypt, and with uplifted arm 73 he led them out of it. 18 For 74 a period of about forty years he put up with 75 them in the wilderness. 76 19 After 77 he had destroyed 78 seven nations 79 in the land of Canaan, he gave his people their land as an inheritance. 80 20 All this took 81 about four hundred fifty years. After this 82 he gave them judges until the time of 83 Samuel the prophet. 21 Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled 84 forty years. 22 After removing him, God 85 raised up 86 David their king. He testified about him: 87 ‘I have found David 88 the son of Jesse to be a man after my heart, 89 who will accomplish everything I want him to do.’ 90 23 From the descendants 91 of this man 92 God brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, just as he promised. 93 24 Before 94 Jesus 95 arrived, John 96 had proclaimed a baptism for repentance 97 to all the people of Israel. 25 But while John was completing his mission, 98 he said repeatedly, 99 ‘What do you think I am? I am not he. But look, one is coming after me. I am not worthy to untie the sandals on his feet!’ 100 26 Brothers, 101 descendants 102 of Abraham’s family, 103 and those Gentiles among you who fear God, 104 the message 105 of this salvation has been sent to us. 27 For the people who live in Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize 106 him, 107 and they fulfilled the sayings 108 of the prophets that are read every Sabbath by condemning 109 him. 110 28 Though 111 they found 112 no basis 113 for a death sentence, 114 they asked Pilate to have him executed. 29 When they had accomplished 115 everything that was written 116 about him, they took him down 117 from the cross 118 and placed him 119 in a tomb. 30 But God raised 120 him from the dead, 31 and 121 for many days he appeared to those who had accompanied 122 him from Galilee to Jerusalem. These 123 are now his witnesses to the people. 32 And we proclaim to you the good news about the promise to our ancestors, 124 33 that this promise 125 God has fulfilled to us, their children, by raising 126 Jesus, as also it is written in the second psalm, ‘You are my Son; 127 today I have fathered you.’ 128 34 But regarding the fact that he has raised Jesus 129 from the dead, never 130 again to be 131 in a state of decay, God 132 has spoken in this way: ‘I will give you 133 the holy and trustworthy promises 134 made to David.’ 135 35 Therefore he also says in another psalm, 136 ‘You will not permit your Holy One 137 to experience 138 decay.’ 139 36 For David, after he had served 140 God’s purpose in his own generation, died, 141 was buried with his ancestors, 142 and experienced 143 decay, 37 but the one 144 whom God raised up did not experience 145 decay. 38 Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through this one 146 forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and by this one 147 everyone who believes is justified 148 from everything from which the law of Moses could not justify 149 you. 150 40 Watch out, 151 then, that what is spoken about by 152 the prophets does not happen to you:
41 ‘Look, you scoffers; be amazed and perish! 153
For I am doing a work in your days,
a work you would never believe, even if someone tells you.’” 154
42 As Paul and Barnabas 155 were going out, 156 the people 157 were urging 158 them to speak about these things 159 on the next Sabbath. 43 When the meeting of the synagogue 160 had broken up, 161 many of the Jews and God-fearing proselytes 162 followed Paul and Barnabas, who were speaking with them and were persuading 163 them 164 to continue 165 in the grace of God.
44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city assembled together to hear the word of the Lord. 166 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, 167 and they began to contradict 168 what Paul was saying 169 by reviling him. 170 46 Both Paul and Barnabas replied courageously, 171 “It was necessary to speak the word of God 172 to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy 173 of eternal life, we 174 are turning to the Gentiles. 175 47 For this 176 is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have appointed 177 you to be a light 178 for the Gentiles, to bring salvation 179 to the ends of the earth.’” 180 48 When the Gentiles heard this, they began to rejoice 181 and praise 182 the word of the Lord, and all who had been appointed for eternal life 183 believed. 49 So the word of the Lord was spreading 184 through the entire region. 50 But the Jews incited 185 the God-fearing women of high social standing and the prominent men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and threw them out 186 of their region. 51 So after they shook 187 the dust off their feet 188 in protest against them, they went to Iconium. 189 52 And the disciples were filled with joy 190 and with the Holy Spirit.
14 The same thing happened in Iconium 1 when Paul and Barnabas 2 went into the Jewish synagogue 3 and spoke in such a way that a large group 4 of both Jews and Greeks believed. 2 But the Jews who refused to believe 5 stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds 6 against the brothers. 3 So they stayed there 7 for a considerable time, speaking out courageously for the Lord, who testified 8 to the message 9 of his grace, granting miraculous signs 10 and wonders to be performed through their hands. 4 But the population 11 of the city was divided; some 12 sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles. 5 When both the Gentiles and the Jews (together with their rulers) made 13 an attempt to mistreat 14 them and stone them, 15 6 Paul and Barnabas 16 learned about it 17 and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra 18 and Derbe 19 and the surrounding region. 7 There 20 they continued to proclaim 21 the good news.
8 In 22 Lystra 23 sat a man who could not use his feet, 24 lame from birth, 25 who had never walked. 9 This man was listening to Paul as he was speaking. When Paul 26 stared 27 intently at him and saw he had faith to be healed, 10 he said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” 28 And the man 29 leaped up and began walking. 30 11 So when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted 31 in the Lycaonian language, 32 “The gods have come down to us in human form!” 33 12 They began to call 34 Barnabas Zeus 35 and Paul Hermes, 36 because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of the temple 37 of Zeus, 38 located just outside the city, brought bulls 39 and garlands 40 to the city gates; he and the crowds wanted to offer sacrifices to them. 41 14 But when the apostles 42 Barnabas and Paul heard about 43 it, they tore 44 their clothes and rushed out 45 into the crowd, shouting, 46 15 “Men, why are you doing these things? We too are men, with human natures 47 just like you! We are proclaiming the good news to you, so that you should turn 48 from these worthless 49 things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, 50 the sea, and everything that is in them. 16 In 51 past 52 generations he allowed all the nations 53 to go their own ways, 17 yet he did not leave himself without a witness by doing good, 54 by giving you rain from heaven 55 and fruitful seasons, satisfying you 56 with food and your hearts with joy.” 57 18 Even by saying 58 these things, they scarcely persuaded 59 the crowds not to offer sacrifice to them.
19 But Jews came from Antioch 60 and Iconium, 61 and after winning 62 the crowds over, they stoned 63 Paul and dragged him out of the city, presuming him to be dead. 20 But after the disciples had surrounded him, he got up and went back 64 into the city. On 65 the next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe. 66
21 After they had proclaimed the good news in that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, 67 to Iconium, 68 and to Antioch. 69 22 They strengthened 70 the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue 71 in the faith, saying, “We must enter the kingdom 72 of God through many persecutions.” 73 23 When they had appointed elders 74 for them in the various churches, 75 with prayer and fasting 76 they entrusted them to the protection 77 of the Lord in whom they had believed. 24 Then they passed through 78 Pisidia and came into Pamphylia, 79 25 and when they had spoken the word 80 in Perga, 81 they went down to Attalia. 82 26 From there they sailed back to Antioch, 83 where they had been commended 84 to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. 85 27 When they arrived and gathered the church together, they reported 86 all the things God 87 had done with them, and that he had opened a door 88 of faith for the Gentiles. 28 So they spent 89 considerable 90 time with the disciples.
