Acts 14 — FBV
14Verse 1In Iconium the same thing happened. Paul and Barnabas went to the Jewish synagogue and spoke so convincingly that many of both the Jewish and Greek-speaking worshipers trusted in Jesus.Verse 2But the Jews that refused to believe in Jesus stirred up the feelings of the foreigners,+and poisoned them against the believers.Verse 3Paul and Barnabas stayed there a long time, speaking to them boldly in the Lord, who confirmed their message of grace through the miraculous signs that they were enabled to perform.Verse 4The inhabitants of the town were divided, with some supporting the Jews and some the apostles.Verse 5But then the foreigners and the Jews, together with their leaders, decided to attack and stone Paul and Barnabas.Verse 6However, they found out about it and fled to the region of Lycaonia, to the towns of Lystra and Derbe,Verse 7where they continued to share the good news.Verse 8In the town of Lystra there was a disabled man who was lame in both feet. He had been crippled from birth and had never been able to walk.Verse 9He sat there listening to Paul speaking. When Paul looked directly at him, and realized that the man was trusting in God to heal him,Verse 10Paul said in a loud voice, “Stand up on your feet!” The man jumped to his feet and started walking.Verse 11When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted out in the language of Lycaonia, “The gods have come down to us looking like men!”Verse 12They identified Barnabas as the Greek god Zeus, and Paul as the god Hermes because he was one who did most of the talking.Verse 13The priest of the temple of Zeus that lay just outside the town, brought oxen and wreaths+to the town gates. He planned to carry out a sacrifice in front of the crowds.Verse 14But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul learned what was happening, they tore their clothes,+and rushed into the crowds, shouting out,Verse 15“People, what are you doing? We are human beings with the same kind of nature as you. We came to bring you good news, so you could turn from these pointless things to a God who is truly alive. He is the one who made heaven, earth, and sea, and everything in them.Verse 16In past times he allowed all the nations to follow their own ways.Verse 17Even so he still provided evidence of himself by doing good, sending you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons, providing all the food you need, and filling you with happiness.”Verse 18With these words they barely managed to stop the crowds from offering sacrifices to them.Verse 19But then some Jews from Antioch and Iconium arrived and won over the crowds. They stoned Paul, and dragged him outside the town, thinking he was dead.Verse 20But when the believers gathered around him, he got up, and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.Verse 21After sharing the good news with the people in that town, and after many had become believers, they went back to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch.Verse 22They encouraged the believers to remain firm and to continue to trust in Jesus. “We have to go through many trials to enter God's kingdom,” they said.Verse 23After they had appointed elders for every church, and had prayed and fasted with them, Paul and Barnabas left them in the Lord's care, the one that they trusted in.Verse 24They passed through Pisidia, and arrived in Pamphylia.Verse 25They spoke God's word in Perga, and then went on to Attalia.Verse 26From there they sailed back to Antioch+where they had started out, having been dedicated there in God's grace to the work they had now accomplished.Verse 27When they arrived, they called the church together. They reported everything God had done through them, and how he had opened a door for the foreigners to trust in him.Verse 28They stayed there with the believers for a long time.