የሐዋርያት ሥራ 14

In Iconium

¹In Iconium the two of them went together into the synagogue of the Jews. They spoke in such a way that a large crowd of Jews and Greeks believed.^{a 2}But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and turned their minds against the brothers and sisters.^{b 3}So they stayed there a long time and spoke boldly, relying on the Lord. He bore witness to the word of his grace by allowing signs and wonders to happen through their hands. ⁴The people of the city were split: some sided with the Jews, and others with the apostles. ⁵When Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, set out to abuse the apostles and stone them, ⁶the apostles learned of it and escaped to Lystra and Derbe, towns of Lycaonia, and to the country around them. ⁷There they kept on proclaiming the gospel.^c

Called gods at Lystra

⁸At Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He had been lame since birth and had never taken a step. ⁹The man was listening while Paul spoke. Paul fixed his eyes on him and saw that he had faith that he would be made well. ¹⁰So he said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet!” And the man leaped up and walked.^{d 11}When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices in the Lycaonian language: “The gods have become like humans and come down to us!” ¹²They began calling Barnabas Zeus, and Paul Hermes, because Paul was the one who took the lead in speaking.^{e 13}Zeus had a temple just in front of the city. His priest came to the gates with bulls and garlands, for he and the crowds meant to offer sacrifice. ¹⁴But the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it. They ripped their garments and dashed into the middle of the crowd, crying out, ¹⁵“People, why are you doing these things?^fg We are mortals with the same nature as you. We have come with the gospel, calling you to turn away from these empty things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and the sea and everything that is in them. ¹⁶In past generations he allowed every nation to walk in its own ways. ¹⁷Even so, he has not left himself without a witness. He does you good: he gives you rain from the sky and seasons that bear fruit, and he fills you with food and your hearts with gladness.”^{h 18}Saying these things, they could hardly hold the crowds back from offering sacrifice to them.ⁱ

Paul stoned at Lystra

¹⁹But Jews from Antioch and Iconium came on the scene and persuaded the crowds. They stoned Paul and hauled him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.^{j 20}But when the disciples stood in a circle around him, he rose and went back into the city. The next day he set out with Barnabas for Derbe.

Back through the cities, and home to Antioch

²¹They proclaimed the gospel in that city and made many disciples. After that they retraced their steps to Lystra, to Iconium and to Antioch. ²²They made the disciples strong in spirit and urged them to hold on to the faith, saying, “We must enter the kingdom of God by way of many afflictions.” ²³In each church they appointed elders for the believers, and after praying and fasting, they placed them in the care of the Lord in whom they had believed.^{k 24}They crossed Pisidia and came into Pamphylia, ²⁵and when they had spoken the word in Perga they went down to Attalia. ²⁶From there they set sail for Antioch, the place where they had first been entrusted to God’s grace for the task that they had now carried out to the end. ²⁷Once they had arrived, they called the church together and told all that God had done as he worked along with them, and that he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. ²⁸And they remained a long while with the disciples there.