After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch,

When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

They passed through Pisidia and came into Pamphylia.

When they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.

From there they sailed to Antioch, from which they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had accomplished.

When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to report all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

And they spent a long time with the disciples.

Therefore, being sent on their way by the church, they were passing through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and were bringing great joy to all the brethren.

When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them.

But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”

All the people kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were relating what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.

After they had stopped speaking, James answered, saying, “Brethren, listen to me.

but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood.

and they sent this letter by them, “The apostles and the brethren who are elders, to the brethren in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia who are from the Gentiles, greetings.

So when they were sent away, they went down to Antioch; and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter.

When they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.

After they had spent time there, they were sent away from the brethren in peace to those who had sent them out.

After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.”

But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.

And there occurred such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.

Paul wanted this man to go with him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering the decrees which had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem, for them to observe.

They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia;

and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them;

and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.

But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market place before the authorities,

and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews,

When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely;

They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house.

But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us in public without trial, men who are Romans, and have thrown us into prison; and now are they sending us away secretly? No indeed! But let them come themselves and bring us out.”

The policemen reported these words to the chief magistrates. They were afraid when they heard that they were Romans,

and they came and appealed to them, and when they had brought them out, they kept begging them to leave the city.

They went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia, and when they saw the brethren, they encouraged them and departed.

Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.

But the Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the market place, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and attacking the house of Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the people.

When they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset the world have come here also;

and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.”

They stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things.

And when they had received a pledge from Jason and the others, they released them.

The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.

Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.

But when the Jews of Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Berea also, they came there as well, agitating and stirring up the crowds.

Now those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left.

And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming?

that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;

Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, “We shall hear you again concerning this.”

and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers.

But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized.

And they all took hold of Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and began beating him in front of the judgment seat. But Gallio was not concerned about any of these things.

They came to Ephesus, and he left them there. Now he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.

When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he did not consent,

and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”

And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.”

When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying.

And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.

When they heard this and were filled with rage, they began crying out, saying, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

The city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed with one accord into the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia.

So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the assembly was in confusion and the majority did not know for what reason they had come together.

But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single outcry arose from them all as they shouted for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

They took away the boy alive, and were greatly comforted.

And when they had come to him, he said to them,“You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time,

And they began to weep aloud and embraced Paul, and repeatedly kissed him,

grieving especially over the word which he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they were accompanying him to the ship.

After looking up the disciples, we stayed there seven days; and they kept telling Paul through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem.

When our days there were ended, we left and started on our journey, while they all, with wives and children, escorted us until we were out of the city. After kneeling down on the beach and praying, we said farewell to one another.

Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home again.

And when they heard it they began glorifying God; and they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law;

and they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs.

What, then, is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come.

take them and purify yourself along with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads; and all will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the Law.

But concerning the Gentiles who have believed, we wrote, having decided that they should abstain from meat sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication.”

For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.

Then all the city was provoked, and the people rushed together, and taking hold of Paul they dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut.

While they were seeking to kill him, a report came up to the commander of the Roman cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion.

At once he took along some soldiers and centurions and ran down to them; and when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew dialect, they became even more quiet; and he *said,

and I saw Him saying to me, ‘Make haste, and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’

And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another I used to imprison and beat those who believed in You.

They listened to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he should not be allowed to live!”

And as they were crying out and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust into the air,

the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, stating that he should be examined by scourging so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way.

But when they stretched him out with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?”

When it was day, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.

They came to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have bound ourselves under a solemn oath to taste nothing until we have killed Paul.

And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down tomorrow to the Council, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more thoroughly about him.

So do not listen to them, for more than forty of them are lying in wait for him who have bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they slay him; and now they are ready and waiting for the promise from you.”

They were also to provide mounts to put Paul on and bring him safely to Felix the governor.

“And wanting to ascertain the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their Council;

But the next day, leaving the horsemen to go on with him, they returned to the barracks.

When these had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him.

After five days the high priest Ananias came down with some elders, with an attorney named Tertullus, and they brought charges to the governor against Paul.

Neither in the temple, nor in the synagogues, nor in the city itself did they find me carrying on a discussion with anyone or causing a riot.

Nor can they prove to you the charges of which they now accuse me.

But this I admit to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets;

in which they found me occupied in the temple, having been purified, without any crowd or uproar. But there were some Jews from Asia—