Acts 14

₁Paul and Barnabas went to Iconium and they did the same there as they had done in Antioch. They went to the synagogue of the Jews and there Paul and Barnabas told them about Jesus. A lot of Jews and Greeks started to believe in Jesus. ₂But the Jews who did not believe in Jesus said bad things about Paul and Barnabas and they made the Gentiles angry and then those people did not want to listen to Paul and Barnabas. ₃Paul and Barnabas stayed in the town of Iconium for a long time. They were not afraid to tell people about the grace of God. The Lord also gave them power to do miracles and signs. This showed the people that their message came from God and was true. ₄The people of the town were in 2 groups: One group believed what the Jews said and the other group believed what the apostles said. ₅Then some of the Gentiles and the Jews and their leaders decided to attack the apostles. They wanted to throw stones at the apostles and kill them. ₆But someone told the apostles what the people wanted to do and they fled to the towns of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe and places nearby. ₇They preached the Good_News in all those places.

₈There was a man in the town of Lystra who was cripple. He had never walked from the day that he was born. ₉The man listened to the words that Paul said. Paul looked at him for a long time and then he saw that the cripple man believed that God could heal him. ₁₀Then Paul talked loudly and said to him: ‘Get up. Stand on your feet.’

Immediately the man jumped up and he started to walk. ₁₁When the people saw this miracle that Paul did, they shouted: ‘The gods have come down to us and they have become like men.’

They said this in the language of the people of the land of Lycaonia. ₁₂The people gave Barnabas the name Zeus and they named Paul Hermes, because Paul was the one who talked the most. ₁₃The temple of the god Zeus was just outside the town. The priest of that temple and the people took bulls and flowers to the gate of the town. They wanted to sacrifice the bulls for Paul and Barnabas. ₁₄When Paul and Barnabas saw what they wanted to do, they tore their clothes. They ran to the people and they shouted to them: ₁₅‘Stop. Why do you want to do this? We are people like you. We bring you the Good_News that you must stop praying to gods that are dead and can not do anything. You must turn your lives to God and live as He wants and you must serve God, the living God. He made heaven and the earth and the sea and all things in the sea. ₁₆Before this time, God saw that all the people did what they wanted to do and God did not punish them. ₁₇But God always showed the people that He was there, He had always done good things for them, He gave them rain from the sky and He gave them good plants and food to eat. Yes, God gave you a lot of food and He made you happy.’

₁₈The apostles said these things to the people to stop them. They did not want the people to sacrifice bulls for them, but the people did not want to stop. They wanted to sacrifice the bulls for the apostles. ₁₉Then some of the Jews from Antioch in Pisidia and Iconium came to Lystra and they said bad things about the apostles and the people believed those Jews. Then the people became angry and they started to throw stones at Paul. They pulled Paul out of the town because they thought he was dead. ₂₀The believers came and they stood around Paul. Then Paul got up and he went into the town. The next day Paul and Barnabas went away from Lystra to the town of Derbe.

₂₁Paul and Barnabas preached the Good_News in the town of Derbe and a lot of people started to believe in Jesus. Then they went back to the towns of Lystra, Iconium and Antioch in Pisidia. ₂₂Paul and Barnabas encouraged the believers and asked them to continue to believe in Jesus. They said: ‘We will suffer a lot before we go to be with God where He is King and where He rules.’

₂₃Paul and Barnabas chose a few believers to be elders for each congregation. Then they prayed and fasted and asked the Lord to bless these elders and the group of believers who had trusted in the Lord.

₂₄Paul and Barnabas went to the province of Pisidia and then to the province of Pamphylia. ₂₅Then they preached in the town of Perga and they went to the town of Attalia. ₂₆From there they sailed to the city of Antioch in Syria. That is the place where the believers prayed to God and asked Him to give his grace to them so that they could do the work that He had given them to do. And now Paul and Barnabas had finished their work.

₂₇When they came to Antioch, they called the congregation to come together. They told them how God had helped them to preach and do miracles with his power, and how God had helped Gentiles to believe in Jesus. ₂₈Paul and Barnabas stayed there with the believers for a long time.