Acts 14:8–23

In Lystra and Derbe

⁸In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth^z and had never walked. ⁹He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed^{a 10}and called out, “Stand up on your feet!”^b At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.^c

¹¹When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!”^{d 12}Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker.^{e 13}The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.

¹⁴But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes^f and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: ¹⁵“Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human,^g like you. We are bringing you good news,^h telling you to turn from these worthless thingsⁱ to the living God,^j who made the heavens and the earth^k and the sea and everything in them.^{l 16}In the past, he let^m all nations go their own way.^{n 17}Yet he has not left himself without testimony:^o He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons;^p he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”^{q 18}Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.

¹⁹Then some Jews^r came from Antioch and Iconium^s and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul^t and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. ²⁰But after the disciples^u had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.

The Return to Antioch in Syria

²¹They preached the gospel^v in that city and won a large number^w of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium^x and Antioch, ²²strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith.^y “We must go through many hardships^z to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. ²³Paul and Barnabas appointed elders^aa for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting,^b committed them to the Lord,^c in whom they had put their trust.