Acts 28:1-16

Acts 28

Safe on Malta

¹ Once we were safely on shore, we learned that the island was called Malta. ² The natives showed us extraordinary kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all, because it had started to rain and was cold.

³ As Paul gathered a bundle of sticks and laid it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. ⁴ When the natives saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he escaped from the sea, Justice ^[1] has not allowed him to live.”

⁵ However, Paul shook the snake off into the fire and was not harmed. ⁶ The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had waited for a long time and saw nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

⁷ In the nearby vicinity was an estate that belonged to a man named Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us and entertained us hospitably as his guests for three days. ⁸ The father of Publius happened to be sick in bed, suffering from a fever and dysentery. Paul went to him, prayed, laid his hands on him, and healed him.

⁹ After that happened, others on the island who were sick also came and were healed. ¹⁰ They honored us in many ways, and when we were going to sail, they put on board whatever we needed.

On to Rome

¹¹ After three months, we set sail in an Alexandrian ship that had wintered at the island. Its figurehead was the Twin Brothers. ^{[2] 12} We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days. ¹³ From there we sailed up the coast and arrived at Rhegium. After one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. ¹⁴ There we found some brothers ^[3] and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome. ¹⁵ The brothers there heard the news about us and came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and was encouraged.

God’s Witness Reaches Rome

¹⁶ When we entered Rome, ^[4] Paul was allowed to live by himself with a soldier who guarded him.

Acts 27:1-20

Acts 27

Paul Sails for Rome

¹ When it was decided that we ^[1] would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, of the Imperial Regiment. ² After boarding a ship from Adramyttium, which was going to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia, we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.

³ The next day, we put in at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul kindly and allowed him to go to his friends to receive their care. ⁴ From there we put out to sea and sailed on the sheltered side of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. ⁵ We crossed the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia and landed at Myra in Lycia. ⁶ There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy, and he put us on board. ⁷ We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus. Since the wind did not permit us to go further, we sailed on the sheltered side of Crete, off Salmone. ⁸ With difficulty we sailed along its coast and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea.

⁹ Since so much time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous because the Fast ^[2] was already over, Paul advised them, ¹⁰ “Men, it looks to me as if the voyage is going to end with disaster and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship but also of our lives.” ¹¹ But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and the owner of the ship than to what Paul was saying. ¹² Since that harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there, hoping somehow to reach Phoenix and winter there. (Phoenix is a harbor on Crete, facing both southwest and northwest.) ¹³ When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they could carry out their plan. They raised the anchor and sailed close to the shore of Crete.

The Storm

¹⁴ But before long, a hurricane-like wind, called the “northeaster,” rushed down from the island. ¹⁵ Since the ship was caught in it and could not head into the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. ¹⁶ As we sailed on the sheltered side of a small island called Cauda, we were barely able to secure the skiff. ^{[3] 17} After hoisting it on board, the men tied ropes around the ship to reinforce it. Then, fearing that they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and in this way were driven along. ¹⁸ Because we were tossed around so violently by the storm, the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. ¹⁹ On the third day, they threw the ship’s gear overboard with their own hands. ²⁰ When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the violent storm kept pressing down on us, finally all hope that we would be saved was disappearing.

Acts 26:1-18

Acts 26

¹ Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.”

Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense. ² “King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate that I am going to make my defense before you today concerning all the things about which I am being accused by the Jews, ³ especially because you are an expert in all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.

⁴ “All the Jews know the way I have lived from the earliest days of my youth, among my own people and in Jerusalem. ⁵ They have known about me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I lived as a Pharisee according to the strictest party of our religion.

⁶ “And now I stand on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, ⁷ the promise that our twelve tribes hope to attain as they earnestly serve God night and day. I am being accused by the Jews concerning this hope, O King. ⁸ Why does it seem unbelievable to any of you that God raises the dead?

⁹ “I too was convinced that it was necessary to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus the Nazarene. ¹⁰ And that is what I did in Jerusalem. After receiving authority from the chief priests, I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. ¹¹ I often tried to make them blaspheme by punishing them throughout all the synagogues. Because I was so insanely angry with them, I even pursued them to foreign cities.

¹² “That is how I came to be traveling to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. ¹³ At noon along the road, O King, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those traveling with me. ¹⁴ We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ^[1] ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ ^[2]

¹⁵ “Then I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’

“The Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. ¹⁶ Now get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose: to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things you have seen ^[3] and to the things I will reveal to you. ¹⁷ I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you. ¹⁸ You are to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive the forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

Acts 24:22 – 25:12

Acts 24

²² Then Felix, ^[1] because he was rather well informed about the Way, adjourned the proceedings. He said, “When Lysias the commander comes down, I will decide your case.” ²³ He ordered the centurion to guard Paul, but to let him have some freedom and not to prevent any of his friends from taking care of his needs.

²⁴ Several days later, Felix appeared in public with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁵ While Paul instructed him about righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and replied, “Leave me for now, but when it is convenient, I will send for you.” ²⁶ At the same time, he was also hoping that Paul would give him money, ^[2] and for this reason he sent for him as often as possible and talked with him.

²⁷ After two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Portius Festus. But because he wanted to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.

Paul on Trial Before Festus

Acts 25

¹ Three days after Festus arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. ² Then the high priests and the leaders of the Jews brought formal charges against Paul ³ and asked Festus for the favor of transferring Paul’s case to Jerusalem. Their plan was to ambush and kill Paul along the way.

⁴ However, Festus replied that Paul was being held in custody at Caesarea and that he himself intended to go there soon. ⁵ “Therefore,” he said, “let some of your leaders go down with me and press charges against him, if there is anything evil about the man.”

⁶ After spending no more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea. The next day, he sat on the judicial bench and ordered Paul to be brought in.

⁷ When he arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him and brought many serious charges that they could not prove. ⁸ Paul said in his defense, “I have not committed any offense against the Jewish law, against the temple, or against Caesar.”

⁹ But since Festus wanted to do the Jews a favor, he said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?”

¹⁰ But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s judicial bench, where I ought to be tried. I have done nothing wrong to the Jews, as also you yourself know very well. ¹¹ If I am guilty and have done something worthy of death, I am not trying to escape death. But if there is nothing to the charges they are making against me, no one can hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”

¹² After Festus conferred with his council, he answered, “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!”

Acts 23:11-35

Acts 23

¹¹ The following night the Lord stood next to Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have solemnly testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”

The Plot to Kill Paul

¹² When day came, the Jews ^[1] formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath, saying that they would not eat or drink until they had killed Paul. ¹³ There were more than forty who took part in this plot.

¹⁴ They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have bound ourselves under a solemn oath not to taste anything until we have killed Paul. ¹⁵ Now then, you and the Sanhedrin file charges with the commander so that he will bring him down to you ^[2] as if you were going to make a more thorough examination of his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets close to this place.”

¹⁶ But when the son of Paul’s sister heard about the ambush, he went into the barracks and told Paul. ¹⁷ Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander, because he has something to report to him.”

¹⁸ So he brought him to the commander and said, “The prisoner Paul called for me and asked me to bring this young man to you, because he has something to tell you.”

¹⁹ The commander took him by the hand, led him aside, and asked him privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?”

²⁰ He said, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the Sanhedrin tomorrow, as if they want to gain more accurate information about him. ²¹ Don’t let them persuade you, because more than forty of their men are waiting in ambush for him. They have bound themselves under a solemn oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are ready right now, waiting for your consent.”

²² So the commander dismissed the young man with this order: “Don’t tell anyone that you have reported these things to me.”

²³ Then he called two of the centurions and said, “Get two hundred soldiers ready, along with seventy cavalry and two hundred spearmen, to go as far as Caesarea at the third hour of the night. ^{[3] 24} Also provide mounts so that they can put Paul on one and bring him safely to Felix the governor.” ²⁵ He wrote a letter as follows:

³¹ So the soldiers, according to their orders, took Paul and brought him to Antipatris during the night. ³² The next day they let the cavalry go on with him, while they returned to the barracks. ³³ When the cavalry came to Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor, and they handed Paul over to him.

³⁴ After the governor had read the letter, he asked what province he was from. When he learned that he was from Cilicia, ³⁵ he said, “I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive.” Then he ordered that Paul should be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.

Acts 22:17-29

Acts 22

¹⁷ “When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance. ¹⁸ I saw the Lord telling me: ‘Hurry, get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’

¹⁹ “I said, ‘Lord, these people know that I went from one synagogue to another imprisoning and beating those who believed in you. ²⁰ And when the blood of your witness Stephen was shed, I stood by, giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were putting him to death.’

²¹ “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”

²² They were listening to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices, shouting, “Rid the earth of this fellow, for he is not fit to live!”

²³ When they started shouting and throwing off their cloaks and throwing dust into the air, ²⁴ the commander ordered that Paul be brought into the barracks. He directed that Paul be interrogated by whipping, in order to learn why the people were shouting at him like this. ²⁵ As they stretched him for the whipping, Paul asked the centurion standing by, “Is it legal for you to whip a man who is a Roman citizen and who has not been found guilty by a proper trial?”

²⁶ When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and said, “What are you about to do? ^[1] This man is a Roman citizen!”

²⁷ The commander came and asked him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”

He answered, “Yes.”

²⁸ Then the commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship for a large sum of money.”

Paul said, “But I was born a citizen.”

²⁹ Immediately, those who were about to interrogate him moved away from him. The commander was also alarmed when he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen, because he had tied him up.

Acts 21:17-36

Acts 21

¹⁷ When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers gave us a warm welcome. ¹⁸ The next day, Paul went with us to see James, and all the elders were present. ¹⁹ After greeting them, he reported in detail each of the things God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. ²⁰ When they heard this, they praised God. ^[1]

Then they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews who have believed, and all of them are zealous observers of the law. ²¹ They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, since you are telling them not to circumcise their children or follow our customs. ²² So what is to be done? ^[2] They will certainly hear that you have come. ²³ So do what we are going to tell you.

“We have four men who have taken a vow. ²⁴ Take them with you, go through the ceremony of purification with them, and pay their expenses so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know that there is nothing to the reports that have been made about you, but that you yourself are carefully following the law. ²⁵ As for the Gentiles who believe, we have sent them a letter about the resolution ^[3] that they should avoid food sacrificed to idols, blood, the meat of strangled animals, and sexual immorality.”

²⁶ The next day, Paul took the men and went through the ceremony of purification with them. He entered the temple to announce the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.

Paul Is Arrested

²⁷ When the seven days were almost over, Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul in the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, ²⁸ shouting, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law, and against this place. And now he has even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” ²⁹ (They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.)

³⁰ The whole city was stirred up, and the people rushed together as a mob. They seized Paul, dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. ³¹ While they were looking for a way to kill him, a report went up to the commander of the cohort ^[4] that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. ³² He immediately took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. When they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

³³ Then the commander approached Paul, arrested him, and gave an order that he should be bound with two chains. He asked who Paul was and what he had done. ³⁴ Some in the crowd were shouting one thing and some another. Since the commander could not find out the truth because of the uproar, he ordered his men to take Paul away to the barracks. ³⁵ When he came to the steps, Paul had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob. ³⁶ The large number of people that was following kept shouting, “Away with him!”

Acts 20:17-38

Acts 20

Paul Says Farewell to the Elders of Ephesus

¹⁷ From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. ¹⁸ When they came to him, he said to them, “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I set foot in the province of Asia. ¹⁹ I served the Lord with all humility, with tears, and with the trials that came to me due to the plots of the Jews. ²⁰ You know how I did not hesitate to proclaim to you anything that would be beneficial for you or to teach you publicly and from house to house. ²¹ I have solemnly testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. ^[1]

²² “And you see, now I am going to Jerusalem, compelled by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, ²³ except that the Holy Spirit keeps warning me in town after town that chains and afflictions are waiting for me. ²⁴ However, I consider my life as of no great value to me, so that I may finish my race and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus—to testify to the gospel of God’s grace.

²⁵ “Now take note of this too. I know that none of you among whom I went around preaching the kingdom of God will ever see my face again. ²⁶ Therefore I solemnly declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, ²⁷ for I did not hesitate to proclaim to you the whole counsel of God.

²⁸ “Always keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock in which the Holy Spirit has placed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, ^[2] which he purchased with his own blood. ²⁹ I know that after my departure savage wolves, who will not spare the flock, will come in among you. ³⁰ Even from your own group men will rise up, twisting the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. ³¹ Therefore be always on the alert! Remember that for three years, night and day, I never stopped warning each one of you with tears.

³² “And now I entrust you to God and to the word of his grace, which has power to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. ³³ I did not covet anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. ³⁴ You yourselves know that these hands have provided for my needs and for those who were with me. ³⁵ In every way I gave you an example that, by working hard like this, we need to help the weak and to remember the words that the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

³⁶ After Paul said these things, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. ³⁷ They all wept very much, as they threw their arms around Paul’s neck and kissed him. ³⁸ They were most distressed over the statement he made, that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.

Acts 19:21-41

Acts 19

²¹ After all this had happened, Paul resolved in his spirit ^[1] to go to Jerusalem by traveling through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must also see Rome.” ²² After sending two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, he stayed in the province of Asia for a while.

The Riot in Ephesus

²³ During that time there was more than a minor disturbance about the Way. ²⁴ A certain silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in no little income for the craftsmen. ²⁵ He called them together, along with the workers in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity comes from this income. ²⁶ You also see and hear that not merely in Ephesus but throughout almost the entire province of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a large number of people. He says that gods made by hands are not gods at all! ²⁷ Not only is there danger that our trade may be discredited, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be considered worthless. Then she will suffer the loss of her magnificence, although she is worshipped by the whole province of Asia and the world.”

²⁸ When they heard this, they were filled with rage and began to shout, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” ²⁹ The city was filled with confusion, and with one goal in mind they rushed to the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s traveling companions. ³⁰ Paul wanted to enter the public assembly, but the disciples would not let him. ³¹ Even some of the provincial officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater.

³² Some were shouting one thing, others another, because the assembly was in confusion. Most of them did not even know why they had come together. ³³ They made Alexander come out of the crowd. ^[2] It was the Jews who pushed him forward. Alexander motioned with his hand and wanted to make his defense to the assembly. ³⁴ But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single cry rose from all of them. For about two hours, they kept shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

³⁵ After the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the keeper of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image that fell from heaven? ³⁶ Therefore, since these things cannot be denied, you need to be quiet and not do anything rash. ³⁷ For you have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our ^[3] goddess. ³⁸ If Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them press charges against one another. ³⁹ If you want to pursue something about other matters, ^[4] it should be settled in the legal assembly. ⁴⁰ For we are in danger of being charged with rioting today, because we will not be able to give any reason for this disorderly mob.” ⁴¹ After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.

Acts 18:18-28

Acts 18

Return to Antioch in Syria

¹⁸ After Paul stayed many more days, he said good-bye to the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchrea Paul had his head shaved, because he was keeping a vow.

¹⁹ Next they arrived at Ephesus, where he left Priscilla and Aquila. Paul himself went into the synagogue and led a discussion with the Jews. ²⁰ When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he declined. ²¹ But as he said good-bye, he told them, ^[1] “I will come back to you again if it is God’s will.” Then he set sail from Ephesus.

²² When he landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church. Then he went down to Antioch. ²³ After spending some time there, he set out, traveling through one place after another in the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

Apollos

²⁴ A Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man and well versed in the Scriptures. ²⁵ He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. He spoke with burning zeal and taught the facts about Jesus ^[2] accurately, although he knew only the baptism of John. ²⁶ He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him home and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

²⁷ When he wanted to cross over to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he provided much help to those who had become believers by grace, ²⁸ because he vigorously refuted the Jews in public, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.

Acts 17:16-34

Acts 17

In Athens

¹⁶ While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was very distressed to see that the city was full of idols. ¹⁷ So he led a discussion in the synagogue with the Jews and those who feared God, as well as with those who happened to be in the marketplace every day.

¹⁸ Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also debated with him. Some said, “What is this seed picker ^[1] trying to say?” Others said, “He seems to be someone who is proclaiming foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.

¹⁹ They took him and brought him to the council of the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are talking about? ²⁰ You seem to be bringing in some ideas that are strange to our ears, so we want to know what these things mean.” ²¹ (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there enjoyed doing nothing more than telling or listening to something new.)

²² Then Paul stood up in front of the council of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious in every way. ²³ For as I was walking around and carefully observing your objects of worship, I even found an altar on which had been inscribed, ‘To an unknown god.’ Now what you worship as unknown—this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

²⁴ “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made with hands. ²⁵ Neither is he served by human hands, as if he needed anything, since he himself gives all people life and breath and everything they have. ²⁶ From one man, ^[2] he made every nation of mankind to live over the entire face of the earth. He determined the appointed times and the boundaries where they would live. ²⁷ He did this so they would seek God ^[3] and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ²⁸ ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ ^[4] As some of your own poets have said, ‘Indeed, we are also his offspring.’ ^[5]

²⁹ “Therefore, since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by human skill and planning. ³⁰ Although God overlooked the times of ignorance, he is now commanding all people everywhere to repent, ³¹ because he has set a day on which he is going to judge the world in righteousness by the man he appointed. He provided proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

³² When they heard about the resurrection from the dead, some of them started to scoff. But others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” ³³ So Paul left the council. ³⁴ However, some men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them were Dionysius (a member of the council of the Areopagus) and a woman named Damaris, as well as others with them.

Acts 16:16-40

Acts 16

Paul and Silas Put in Prison

¹⁶ Once when we were going to the place of prayer, a slave girl met us. She had a spirit that foretold the future, and she made a large profit for her owners by fortune-telling. ¹⁷ As she followed Paul and us, she kept crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you ^[1] the way to be saved.” ¹⁸ When she kept doing this for many days, Paul became so annoyed that he turned to the spirit and said, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very moment.

¹⁹ When her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities. ²⁰ They had brought them to the magistrates and said, “These men are throwing our city into a state of confusion. They are Jews, ²¹ and they are teaching customs that are not lawful for us to accept or practice, since we are Romans.”

²² When the crowd also joined in the attack against them, the magistrates tore off their clothes and ordered them to be beaten with rods. ²³ After they had beaten them severely, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to guard them securely. ²⁴ Because he received such a command, the jailer threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

The Earthquake and the Jailer’s Conversion

²⁵ About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶ Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. Instantly all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains came loose. ²⁷ When the jailer woke up and saw that the prison doors were opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, because he thought that the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸ But Paul shouted with a loud voice, “Don’t harm yourself, because we are all here!”

²⁹ The jailer called for lights, rushed in, and fell down trembling in front of Paul and Silas. ³⁰ Then he brought them outside and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹ They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus ^[2] and you will be saved, you and your household.” ³² They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his home. ³³ At the same hour of the night, he took them and washed their wounds. Without delay, he and all his family were baptized. ³⁴ Then he brought Paul and Silas into his house and set food before them. He rejoiced, because he and his whole household had come to believe in God.

Released From Prison

³⁵ At daybreak the magistrates sent officers, saying, “Release those men!” ³⁶ The jailer reported these words to Paul: “The magistrates have sent orders that you should be released. So come out now and go in peace.”

³⁷ But Paul said to them, “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now they are releasing us secretly? Absolutely not! Let them come themselves and escort us out!”

³⁸ The officers reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. ³⁹ So they came and apologized to them. As they escorted them out, they requested that they leave the city. ⁴⁰ After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house. They saw the brothers, encouraged them, and then left.

Acts 15:35 – 16:5

Acts 15

³⁵ But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they, along with many others, kept on teaching and preaching the word of the Lord.

Paul and Barnabas Go Separate Ways

³⁶ After a time Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return and visit the ^[1] brothers ^[2] in every town where we have preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” ³⁷ Barnabas wanted to take John, who is called Mark, along with them. ³⁸ But Paul did not think it was a good idea to take him along, since he had deserted them in Pamphylia and did not continue to travel with them in the work. ³⁹ They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, ⁴⁰ but Paul chose Silas and set out, after being entrusted to the grace of the Lord ^[3] by the brothers. ⁴¹ He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

Acts 16

¹ Paul arrived in Derbe and in Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, who was the son of a believing Jewish woman, but his father was a Greek. ² The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. ³ Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, so he took him and circumcised him on account of the Jews who lived in those places, because they all knew that his father was a Greek. ⁴ As they traveled through the towns, they delivered the resolutions decided by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to keep. ⁵ So the churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in number day by day.

Acts 15:1-12

Acts 15

The Council at Jerusalem

¹ Some men came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers: “Unless you are circumcised according to the law handed down by Moses, you cannot be saved.” ² Because this brought about a serious argument and debate between Paul and Barnabas and these men, they appointed Paul and Barnabas and some other men from the church to go up to Jerusalem, to see the apostles and the elders concerning this controversy.

³ After they were sent on their way by the church, and as they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, they described in detail the conversion of the Gentiles and brought great joy to all the brothers. ⁴ When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, the apostles, and the elders, and they reported everything God had done through them.

⁵ But some of the believers from the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise the Gentiles and to command them to keep the Law of Moses.”

⁶ The apostles and the elders gathered together to look into this matter. ⁷ After there had been much discussion, Peter stood up and said to them, “Gentlemen, brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you, that through my mouth the Gentiles would hear the message of the gospel and believe. ⁸ God, who knows the heart, testified on their behalf by giving them the Holy Spirit, exactly as he gave him to us. ⁹ He also showed that there is no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. ¹⁰ Now then, why are you testing God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke, which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? ¹¹ On the contrary! We believe that we are saved in the same way they are—through the grace of our Lord Jesus.”

¹² The whole assembly fell silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul, who reported all the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.