1 It happened in Iconium that Paul and Barnabas [again] entered the Jewish synagogue and presented the message [so powerfully] that a large number of both Jews and Greeks [i.e., Gentiles] became believers.
2 But the Jews who did not obey [the Gospel message] incited the spirits of the [unconverted] Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.
3 Paul and Barnabas remained there a long time and spoke [the message] boldly for [or, in the power of] the Lord who gave His approval to the message of unearned favor by allowing [miraculous] signs and wonders to be performed by them.
4 But the large crowd in the city [who heard them] became divided [over how to respond to it]; some sided with the [unbelieving] Jews and some with the apostles.
5 And when the Jews, along with their rulers and [unconverted] Gentiles, all mounted an attack, intending to stone them,
6 Paul and Barnabas found out about it and escaped to the towns of Lystra and Derbe, in the province of Lycaonia, and elsewhere in the vicinity.
7 There they continued preaching the good news [about Jesus].
8 At Lystra they met a certain man sitting [on the street] who had a crippling handicap in his feet which he had suffered since birth. [It was so severe] he was never able to walk.
9 As he listened to Paul, [the apostle] looked at him intently, perceiving that he had [enough] faith to be fully healed [of his lame condition],
10 so he said loudly, "Stand straight up on your feet." And the man jumped up and began walking.
11 And when the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the dialect of Lycaonia, "The gods have come down to us in human form."
12 So, they called Barnabas, "Zeus," and Paul "Hermes," because Paul was the principal speaker.
13 Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance of the city, brought bulls and wreaths of flowers to the gates [of the heathen temple], wanting to offer [animal] sacrifices on behalf of the crowds.
14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard about what they were trying to do [to them], they tore their clothes [i.e., as an expression of frustration] and rushed over to the crowd and shouted,
15 "Gentlemen, why are you doing these things? [Do you not know that] we are also human beings with the same kind of feelings that you have? And we are just bringing you the good news that you should turn away from these useless things [i.e., idol worship] and [turn] to the living God, who created the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them.
16 God allowed all nations to go their own way in past generations,
17 and yet He did not leave them without evidence about Himself. He gave you good [things], brought rain from the sky, [provided] fruitful harvests and filled [your bodies] with food and your hearts with joy."
18 And [even though] they said these things, it was difficult to restrain the crowds from offering [animal] sacrifices to them.
19 But Jews came to [Lystra] from Antioch [in Pisidia] and Iconium. When they persuaded the crowds [to reject Paul's message] they stoned him and dragged him out of town, assuming he was dead.
20 But as the disciples stood around [Paul's apparently lifeless body], he [surprisingly] stood up [fully restored to health] and entered the town. On the following day he went with Barnabas to Derbe.
21 When they had preached the good news to that town, and had led many to become disciples, they returned to Lystra, [then] to Derbe, and [then on] to Antioch [in Pisidia].
22 [Along the way] they strengthened the hearts of the disciples, urging them to continue [to believe and practice] the faith and [explaining] that entering God's [heavenly] kingdom [See II Tim. 4:18] requires enduring many trials.
23 And when Paul and Barnabas had appointed elders [for the churches] in every congregation and had prayed and fasted [over these elders], they committed them to [the care of] the Lord, in whom they had come to trust.
24 Then they traveled through [the rest of] Pisidia until they came to [the province of] Pamphylia.
25 After they had proclaimed the message in [the town of] Perga [in the province of Pamphylia], they went down to Attalia [a seaport of Pamphylia].
26 And from there they sailed to Antioch [in Syria], from where they had [originally] been committed to God's favor for [carrying out] the work which they had just completed.
27 And when they arrived [in Antioch of Syria], they gathered the church together and reported everything that God had done through them and how He had opened a door [of opportunity] for the [unconverted] Gentiles to [enter] the faith.
28 And they stayed with the disciples [there at Antioch] for quite some time.