Act 9:23, 26-30, 11:25-26, Act 13-14, 15:2-4, 40-18:1 | ESV | STEP | When many days had passed , the Jews plotted to kill him ,

23 ^aWhen many days had passed, the Jews ^{▼▼The Greek word Ioudaioi refers specifically here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, who opposed the Christian faith in that time} plotted to kill him,

Acts 9:26-30

Saul in Jerusalem

26 And ^cwhen he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. 27 But ^dBarnabas took him and ^ebrought him to the apostles and declared to them ^fhow on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and ^ghow at Damascus he had ^hpreached boldly in the name of Jesus. 28 So he went ⁱin and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 And he spoke and disputed against ^jthe Hellenists. ^{▼▼That is, Greek-speaking Jews} But ^lthey were seeking to kill him. 30 And when ^mthe brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off ⁿto Tarsus.

Acts 11:25-26

25 So Barnabas went to ^oTarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called ^pChristians.

Acts 13

Barnabas and Saul Sent Off

1 Now there were in the church at Antioch ^qprophets and ^rteachers, ^sBarnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, ^{▼▼ Niger is a Latin word meaning black, or dark} Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of ^uHerod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, ^vthe Holy Spirit said, ^w“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul ^xfor the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then after fasting and ^ypraying they laid their hands on them and ^zsent them off.

Barnabas and Saul on Cyprus

4 So, being sent out ^aaby the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God ^abin the synagogues of the Jews. And they had ^acJohn to ^adassist them. 6 When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain ^aemagician, ^afa Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. 7 He was with ^agthe proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the ^ahmagician (for that is the meaning of his name) ^aiopposed them, seeking to turn ^ajthe proconsul away from the faith. 9 But Saul, who was also called Paul, ^akfilled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, “You ^alson of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and ^amvillainy, will you not stop ^anmaking crooked ^aothe straight paths of the Lord? 11 And now, behold, ^apthe hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking ^aqpeople to lead him by the hand. 12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at ^arthe teaching of the Lord.

Paul and Barnabas at Antioch in Pisidia

13 Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And ^asJohn left them and returned ^atto Jerusalem, 14 but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And ^auon the Sabbath day ^avthey went into the synagogue and sat down. 15 After ^awthe reading from ^axthe Law and the Prophets, ^aythe rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any ^azword of encouragement for the people, say it.” 16 So Paul stood up, and ^bamotioning with his hand said:

“Men of Israel and ^bbyou who fear God, listen. 17 ^bcThe God of this people Israel ^bdchose our fathers and ^bemade the people great ^bfduring their stay in the land of Egypt, and ^bgwith uplifted arm he led them out of it. 18 And for about ^bhforty years ^bihe put up with ^{▼▼Some manuscripts he carried (compare Deuteronomy 1:31)} them in the wilderness. 19 And ^bkafter destroying ^blseven nations in the land of Canaan, ^bmhe gave them their land as an inheritance. 20 All this took about 450 years. And after that ^bnhe gave them judges until ^boSamuel the prophet. 21 Then ^bpthey asked for a king, and God gave them Saul ^bqthe son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22 And ^brwhen he had removed him, ^bshe raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ^bt‘I have found in David the son of Jesse ^bua man after my heart, ^bvwho will do all my will.’ 23 ^bwOf this man’s offspring God has brought to Israel ^bxa Savior, Jesus, ^byas he promised. 24 Before his coming, ^bzJohn had proclaimed ^caa baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25 And as John was finishing his course, ^cbhe said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’

26 “Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you ^ccwho fear God, to us has been sent ^cdthe message of ^cethis salvation. 27 For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because ^cfthey did not recognize him nor understand ^cgthe utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, ^chfulfilled them by condemning him. 28 And ^cithough they found in him no guilt worthy of death, ^cjthey asked Pilate to have him executed. 29 And when ^ckthey had carried out all that was written of him, ^clthey took him down from ^cmthe tree and laid him in a tomb. 30 But ^cnGod raised him from the dead, 31 and for many days ^cohe appeared to those ^cpwho had come up with him ^cqfrom Galilee to Jerusalem, ^crwho are now ^cshis witnesses to the people. 32 And we bring you the good news ^ctthat what God promised to the fathers, 33 ^cuthis he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm,

^cv“‘You are my Son,
today I have begotten you.’
34 And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, ^cw, ^cxno more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way,

“‘I will give you ^cythe holy and sure blessings of David.’
35 Therefore he says also in another psalm,

^cz“‘You will not let your Holy One see corruption.’
36 For David, after he had ^daserved the purpose of God in his own generation, ^dbfell asleep and ^dcwas laid with his fathers and saw corruption, 37 but he whom ^ddGod raised up did not see corruption. 38 Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, ^dethat through this man ^dfforgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and by him ^dgeveryone who believes is freed ^{▼▼Greek justified; twice in this verse} from everything ^difrom which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. 40 Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about:

41 ^dj“‘Look, you scoffers,
be astounded and perish;
for I am doing a work in your days,
a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.’”
42 As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath. 43 And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and ^dkdevout ^dlconverts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them ^dmto continue in ^dnthe grace of God.

44 The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 ^doBut ^dpwhen the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with ^dqjealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, ^drreviling him. 46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God ^dsbe spoken first to you. ^dtSince you thrust it aside and judge yourselves ^duunworthy of eternal life, behold, we ^dvare turning to the Gentiles. 47 ^dwFor so the Lord has commanded us, saying,

^dx“‘I have made you ^dya light for the Gentiles,
that you may ^dzbring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and ^eaglorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. 49 And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. 50 ^ebBut the Jews ^{▼▼Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time} incited the devout ^edwomen of high standing and the leading men of the city, ^eestirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and ^efdrove them out of their district. 51 But they ^egshook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled ^ehwith joy and ^eiwith the Holy Spirit.

Acts 14

Paul and Barnabas at Iconium

1 Now at Iconium ^ejthey entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. 2 ^ekBut the ^elunbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against ^emthe brothers. ^{▼▼Or brothers and sisters} 3 So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for ^eothe Lord, who bore witness to ^epthe word of his grace, ^eqgranting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. 4 But the people of the city ^erwere divided; ^essome sided with the Jews and some with the apostles. 5 When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, ^etto mistreat them and ^euto stone them, 6 they learned of it and ^evfled to ^ewLystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country, 7 and there they continued to preach the gospel.

Paul and Barnabas at Lystra

8 Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was ^excrippled from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and ^eyseeing that he had faith to be made well, ^{▼▼Or be saved} 10 said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he ^fasprang up and began walking. 11 And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, ^fb“The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” 12 Barnabas they called ^fcZeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. 13 And the priest of ^fdZeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and ^fewanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. 14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they ^fftore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, 15 “Men, ^fgwhy are you doing these things? We also are men, ^fhof like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that ^fiyou should turn from these ^fjvain things to ^fka living God, ^flwho made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. 16 In past generations he ^fmallowed all the nations ^fnto walk in their own ways. 17 Yet ^fohe did not leave himself without witness, for he ^fpdid good by ^fqgiving you rains from heaven and ^frfruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with ^fsfood and ^ftgladness.” 18 Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.

Paul Stoned at Lystra

19 ^fuBut Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, ^fvthey stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. 20 But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. 21 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had ^fwmade many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22 ^fxstrengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them ^fyto continue in ^fzthe faith, and saying that ^gathrough many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. 23 And when they had ^gbappointed ^gcelders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting ^gdthey committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

Paul and Barnabas Return to Antioch in Syria

24 Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. 25 And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia, 26 and from there they sailed to Antioch, ^gewhere they had been ^gfcommended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. 27 And when they arrived and gathered the church together, ^ggthey declared all that God had done with them, and ^ghhow he had ^giopened ^gja door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And they remained no little time with the disciples.

Acts 15:2-4

2 And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and ^gkdebate with them, Paul and Barnabas and ^glsome of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to ^gmthe apostles and the elders about this question. 3 So, ^gnbeing sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, ^godescribing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and ^gpbrought great joy to all ^gqthe brothers. ^{▼▼Or brothers and sisters; also verse 22} 4 ^gsWhen they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and ^gtthe apostles and the elders, and ^guthey declared all that God had done with them.

Acts 15:40-41

40 but Paul chose Silas and departed, ^gvhaving been commended by ^gwthe brothers to ^gxthe grace of the Lord. 41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, ^gystrengthening the churches.

Acts 16

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

1 Paul ^{▼▼Greek He} came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named ^haTimothy, ^hbthe son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by ^hcthe brothers ^{▼▼Or brothers and sisters; also verse 40} at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he ^hetook him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance ^hfthe decisions ^hgthat had been reached by ^hhthe apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. 5 ^hiSo the churches were strengthened in ^hjthe faith, and they increased in numbers ^hkdaily.

The Macedonian Call

6 And ^hlthey went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but ^hmthe Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. 8 So, passing by Mysia, they went down ^hnto Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 And when Paul ^{▼▼Greek he} had seen the vision, immediately ^hpwe sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

The Conversion of Lydia

11 So, setting sail from Troas, we ^hqmade a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to ^hrPhilippi, which is a leading city of the ^{▼▼Or that} district of Macedonia and ^hta Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. 13 And ^huon the Sabbath day we went outside the gate ^hvto the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we ^hwsat down and spoke to the women who had come together. 14 One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, ^hxwho was a worshiper of God. The Lord ^hyopened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. 15 And after she was baptized, ^hzand her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she ^iaprevailed upon us.

Paul and Silas in Prison

16 As we were going to ^ibthe place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had ^ica spirit of ^iddivination and ^iebrought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and us, ^ifcrying out, “These men are ^igservants ^{▼▼Greek bondservants} of ⁱⁱthe Most High God, who proclaim to you ^ijthe way of salvation.” 18 And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, ^ik“I command you ^ilin the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And ^imit came out that very hour.

19 But ⁱⁿwhen her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and ^iodragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. 20 And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. 21 They ^ipadvocate customs that are not lawful for us ^iqas Romans to accept or practice.” 22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders ^irto beat them with rods. 23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner ^isprison and fastened their feet in ^itthe stocks.

The Philippian Jailer Converted

25 ^iuAbout midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26 and suddenly ^ivthere was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately ^iwall the doors were opened, and ^ixeveryone’s bonds were unfastened. 27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and ^iywas about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” 29 And the jailer ^{▼▼Greek he} called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he ^jafell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, ^jbwhat must I do to be ^jcsaved?” 31 And they said, ^jd“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you ^jeand your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them ^jfthe same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he ^jgwas baptized at once, he and all his family. 34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he ^jhrejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

35 But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” 36 And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” 37 But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, ^jiuncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.” 38 The police reported these words to the magistrates, and ^jjthey were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. 39 So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and ^jkasked them to leave the city. 40 So they went out of the prison and visited ^jlLydia. And when they had seen ^jmthe brothers, they encouraged them and departed.

Acts 17

Paul and Silas in Thessalonica

1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to ^jnThessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, ^joas was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them ^jpfrom the Scriptures, 3 ^jqexplaining and proving that it was necessary for ^jrthe Christ to suffer and ^jsto rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” 4 And ^jtsome of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did ^jua great many of the devout ^jvGreeks and not a few of the leading women. 5 ^jwBut the Jews ^{▼▼Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time; also verse 13} ^jywere jealous, and taking ^jzsome wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. 6 And when they could not find them, ^kathey dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, 7 and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against ^kbthe decrees of Caesar, saying that there is ^kcanother king, Jesus.” 8 And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. 9 And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.

Paul and Silas in Berea

10 ^kdThe brothers ^{▼▼Or brothers and sisters; also verse 14} immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they ^kfwent into the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, ^kgexamining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. 12 ^khMany of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek ^kiwomen of high standing as well as men. 13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, ^kjagitating and stirring up the crowds. 14 Then the brothers ^kkimmediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and ^klTimothy remained there. 15 ^kmThose who conducted Paul brought him as far as ^knAthens, and after receiving a command ^kofor Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.

Paul in Athens

16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was ^kpprovoked within him as he saw that the city was ^kqfull of idols. 17 So ^krhe reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. 18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, ^ks“What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because ^kthe was preaching ^kuJesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took him and brought him to ^kvthe Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this ^kwnew teaching is that you are presenting? 20 For you bring some ^kxstrange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.

Paul Addresses the Areopagus

22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ^ky‘To the unknown god.’ ^kzWhat therefore you worship ^laas unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 ^lbThe God who made the world and everything in it, being ^lcLord of heaven and earth, ^lddoes not live in temples made by man, ^{▼▼Greek made by hands} 25 nor is he served by human hands, ^lfas though he needed anything, since he himself ^lggives to all mankind ^lhlife and breath and everything. 26 And ^lihe made from one man every nation of mankind to live ^ljon all the face of the earth, ^lkhaving determined allotted periods and ^llthe boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 ^lmthat they should seek God, ^lnand perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. ^loYet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for

^lp“‘In him we live and move and have our being’; ^{▼▼Probably from Epimenides of Crete}
as even some of ^lryour own poets have said,

“‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ ^{▼▼From Aratus’s poem “Phainomena”}
29 ^ltBeing then God’s offspring, ^luwe ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 ^lvThe times of ignorance ^lwGod overlooked, but ^lxnow he ^lycommands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed ^lza day on which ^mahe will judge the world ^mbin righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and ^mcof this he has given assurance to all ^mdby raising him from the dead.”

32 Now when they heard of ^methe resurrection of the dead, ^mfsome mocked. But others said, ^mg“We will hear you again about this.” 33 So Paul went out from their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius ^mhthe Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

Acts 18:1

Paul in Corinth

1 After this Paul ^{▼▼Greek he} left Athens and went to Corinth.