Acts 15:22–18:5
22 Then it seemed best to the apostles and the elders, together with the whole church, to send men chosen from among them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas—Judas who was called Barsabbas and Silas, men who were leaders among the brothers—23 writing this letter* ⌊to be delivered by them⌋:g
The apostles and the elders, brothers.
To the brothers who are from among the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia.
Greetings!
24 Because we have heard that some have gone out from among us—to whom we gave no orders—and* have thrown you into confusion by words upsetting your ⌊minds⌋,h 25 it seemed best to us, ⌊having reached a unanimous decision⌋,i and* having chosen men, to send them* to you together with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul, 26 men who have risked their lives on behalf of the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Therefore we have sent Judas and Silas, and they will report the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it seemed best to the Holy Spirit and to us to place on you no greater burden except these necessary things: 29 that you abstain from food sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you* keep yourselves from ⌊these things⌋j you will do well.
Farewell.
The Letter Is Delivered to Antioch
30 So when* they were sent off, they came down to Antioch, and after* calling together the community, they delivered the letter. 31 And when they* read it* aloud, they rejoiced at the encouragement. 32 Both Judas and Silas, who were also prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brothers by a long message. 33 And after* spending some time, they were sent away in peace from the brothers to those who had sent them.k 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch teaching and proclaiming the word of the Lord with many others also.
Paul and Barnabas Disagree and Part Company
36 And after some days, Paul said to Barnabas, “Come then, let us return and* visit the brothers in every town in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, to see how they are doing.” 37 Now Barnabas wanted to take John who was called Mark along also, 38 but Paul held the opinion they should not take this one along, who departed from them in Pamphylia and did not accompany them in the work. 39 And a sharp disagreement took place, so that they separated from one another. And Barnabas took along Mark and* sailed away to Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and* departed, after* being commended to the grace of the Lord by the brothers. 41 And he traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
Timothy Accompanies Paul and Silas
16 And he came also to Derbe and to Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there ⌊named⌋a Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman but of a Greek father, 2 who was well spoken of by the brothers in Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted this one to go with him, and he took him* and* circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was Greek. 4 And as they went through the towns, they passed on to them to observe the rules that had been decided by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. 5 So the churches were being strengthened in the faith and were growing in number every day.
Paul’s Vision of a Man of Macedonia
6 And they traveled through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the message in Asia.b 7 And when they* came to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them. 8 So going through Mysia, they went down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul during the night: a certain Macedonian man was standing there and imploring him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and* help us!” 10 And when he had seen the vision, we wanted at once to go away to Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.
The Conversion of Lydia at Philippi
11 So putting out to sea from Troas, we sailed a straight course to Samothrace, and on the following day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of that district of Macedonia, a Roman colony. And we were staying in this city for some days. 13 And on the day of the Sabbath, we went outside the city gate beside the river, where we thought there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and* spoke to the women assembled there. 14 And a certain woman ⌊named⌋c Lydia from the city of Thyatira, a merchant dealing in purple cloth who showed reverence for God, was listening. The Lord opened ⌊her⌋d heart to pay attention to what was being said by Paul. 15 And after she was baptized, and her household, she urged us,* saying, “If you consider me to be a believer in the Lord, come to my house and* stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
16 And it happened that as* we were going to the place of prayer, a certain female slave who had a spirit of divinatione met us, who was bringing a large profit to her owners by* fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and us and* was crying out, saying, “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation!” 18 And she was doing this for many days. But Paul, becoming greatly annoyed and turning around, said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out ⌊immediately⌋.f
19 But when* her owners saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and* dragged them* into the marketplace before the rulers. 20 And when they* had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews, 21 and are proclaiming customs that are not permitted for us to accept or to practice, because we* are Romans!” 22 And the crowd joined in attacking them, and the chief magistrates tore off their clothing and* gave orders to beat them* with rods. 23 And after they* had inflicted many blows on them, they threw them* into prison, giving orders to the jailer to guard them securely. 24 Having received such an order, ⌊he⌋g put them in the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.h
The Conversion of the Philippian Jailer
25 Now about midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and* singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened and all the bondsi were unfastened. 27 And after* the jailer was awake and saw the doors of the prison open, he drew his* sword and* was about to kill himself, because he* thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying, “Do no harm to yourself, for we are all here!” 29 And demanding lights, he rushed in and, ⌊beginning to tremble⌋,j fell down at the feet of Paul and Silas. 30 And he brought them outside and* said, “Sirs, what must I do so that I can be saved?” 31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household!” 32 And they spoke the message of the Lord to him, together with all those in his house. 33 And he took them at that very hour of the night and* washed their* wounds, and he himself was baptized at once, and all those of his household.* 34 And he brought them up into his* house and* set a meal before them,* and rejoiced greatly that he had believed in God with his whole household.
Paul and Silas Receive an Official Apology
35 And when it* was day, the chief magistrates sent the police officers, saying, “Release those men.” 36 And the jailer reported these words to Paul: “The chief magistrates have sent an order* that you should be released. So come out now and* go in peace!” 37 But Paul said to them, “They beat us in public without due process—men who are Roman citizens—and* threw us* into prison, and now they are wanting to release us secretly? Certainly not! Rather let them come themselves and* bring us out!” 38 So the police officers reported these words to the chief magistrates, and they were afraid when they* heard that they were Roman citizens. 39 And they came and* apologized tok them, and after they* brought them* out they asked them* to depart from the city. 40 And when they* came out of the prison, they went to Lydia and when they* saw them,* they encouraged the brothers and departed.
Attacked by a Mob in Thessalonica
17 Now after they* traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 ⌊And as was his custom⌋,a Paul went in to them and on three Sabbath days he discussed with them from the scriptures, 3 explaining and demonstrating that it was necessary for the Christb to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.”c 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, and also a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few of the prominent women.
5 But the Jews were filled with jealousy and, taking along some worthless men from the rabble in the marketplace and forming a mob, threw the city into an uproar. And attacking Jason’s house, they were looking for them to bring them* out to the popular assembly. 6 And when they* did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These people who have stirred up trouble throughout the worldd have come here also, 7 whom Jason has entertained as guests! And these people are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king, Jesus!” 8 And they threw the crowd into confusion, and the city officials who heard these things. 9 And after* taking money as security from Jason and the rest, they released them.
10 Now the brothers sent away both Paul and Silas at once, during the night, to Berea. ⌊They⌋e went into the synagogue of the Jews when they* arrived. 11 Now these were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica. ⌊They⌋f