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Now, when the Master heard that the Pharisees had been told that he was making and baptizing more disciples than John (Though it was not Jesus himself, but his disciples, who baptized), he left Judea, and set out again for Galilee. He had to pass through Samaria, and, on his way, he came to a Samaritan town called Shechem, near the plot of land that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacobâs Spring was there, and Jesus, being tired after his journey, sat down beside the spring, just as he was. It was then about midday. A woman of Samaria came to draw water; and Jesus said to her â âGive me some to drink,â For his disciples had gone into the town to buy food. âHow is it,â replied the Samaritan woman, âthat you who are a Jew ask for water from a Samaritan woman like me?â (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans). âIf you knew of the gift of God,â replied Jesus, âand who it is that is saying to you âGive me some water,â you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.â
âYou have no bucket, Sir, and the well is deep,â she said. âWhere did you get that âliving water?â Surely you are not greater than our ancestor Jacob who gave us the well, and used to drink from it himself, and his sons, and his cattle!â
âAll who drink of this water,â replied Jesus, âwill be thirsty again; but whoever once drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst any more; but the water that I will give him will become a spring welling up within him â a source of eternal life.â
âGive me this water, Sir,â said the woman, âso that I may not be thirsty, nor have to come all the way here to draw water.â
âGo and call your husband,â said Jesus, âand then come back.â
âI have no husband,â answered the woman. âYou are right in saying âI have no husband,ââ replied Jesus, âFor you have had five husbands, and the man with whom you are now living is not your husband; in saying that, you have spoken the truth.â
âI see, Sir, that you are a prophet!â exclaimed the woman. âIt was on this mountain that our ancestors worshiped; and yet you Jews say that the proper place for worship is in Jerusalem.â
âBelieve me,â replied Jesus, âa time is coming when it will be neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem that you will worship the Father. You Samaritans do not know what you worship; we know what we worship, for salvation comes from the Jews. But a time is coming, indeed it is already here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father spiritually and truly; for such are the worshipers that the Father desires. God is Spirit; and those who worship him must worship spiritually and truly.â
âI know,â answered the woman, âthat the Messiah, who is called the Christ, is coming; when once he has come, he will tell us everything.â
âI am he,â Jesus said to her, âI who am speaking to you.â At this moment his disciples came up, and were surprised to find him talking with a woman; but none of them asked âWhat do you want?â or âWhy are you talking with her?â So the woman, leaving her pitcher, went back to the town, and said to the people, âCome and see someone who has told me everything that I have done. Can he be the Christ?â And the people left the town and went to see Jesus.
Meanwhile the disciples kept saying to him, âTake something to eat, Rabbi.â
âI have food to eat,â he answered, âof which you know nothing.â
âCan anyone have brought him anything to eat?â the disciples said to one another. âMy food,â replied Jesus, âis to do the will of him who sent me, and to complete his work. Donât you say that it still wants four months to harvest? Why, look up, and see how white the fields are for harvest! Already the reaper is receiving wages and gathering in sheaves for eternal life, so that sower and reaper rejoice together. For here the proverb holds good â âOne sows, another reaps.â I have sent you to reap that on which you have spent no labor; others have labored, and you have reaped the results of their labor.â
Many from that town came to believe in Jesus â Samaritans though they were â because the woman had said, âHe has told me everything that I have done.â And, when these Samaritans had come to Jesus, they begged him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. But far more came to believe in him because of what he said himself, and they said to the woman, âIt is no longer because of what you say that we believe in him, for we have heard him ourselves and know that he really is the Savior of the world.â
After these two days Jesus went on to Galilee; for he himself declared that âa prophet is not honored in his own country.â When he entered Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, for they had seen all that he did at Jerusalem during the Festival, at which they also had been present. So Jesus came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. Now there was one of the kingâs officers whose son was lying ill at Capernaum. When this man heard that Jesus had returned from Judea to Galilee, he went to him, and begged him to come down and cure his son; for he was at the point of death. Jesus answered, âUnless you all see signs and wonders, you will not believe.â
âSir,â said the officer, âcome down before my child dies.â And Jesus answered, âGo, your son is living.â The man believed what Jesus said to him, and went; and, while he was on his way down, his servants met him, and told him that his child was living. So he asked them at what time the boy began to get better. âIt was yesterday, about one oâclock,â they said, âthat the fever left him.â By this the father knew that it was at the very time when Jesus had said to him âYour son is livingâ; and he himself, with all his household, believed in Jesus. This was the second occasion on which Jesus gave a sign of his mission on coming from Judea to Galilee. (OEB)
This content from World English Bible (public domain)
There was a famine in the land, in addition to the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, to Gerar. Yahweh appeared to him, and said, âDonât go down into Egypt. Live in the land I will tell you about. Live in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you. For I will give to you, and to your offspring, all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. I will multiply your offspring as the stars of the sky, and will give all these lands to your offspring. In your offspring all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my requirements, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.â
Isaac lived in Gerar. The men of the place asked him about his wife. He said, âShe is my sister,â for he was afraid to say, âMy wife â, lest, he thought, âthe men of the place might kill me for Rebekah, because she is beautiful to look at.â When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was caressing Rebekah, his wife. Abimelech called Isaac, and said, âBehold, surely she is your wife. Why did you say, âShe is my sister?ââ
Isaac said to him, âBecause I said, âLest I die because of her.ââ
Abimelech said, âWhat is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!â
Abimelech commanded all the people, saying, âHe who touches this man or his wife will surely be put to death.â
Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year one hundred times what he planted. Yahweh blessed him. The man grew great, and grew more and more until he became very great. He had possessions of flocks, possessions of herds, and a great household. The Philistines envied him. Now all the wells which his fatherâs servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped, and filled with earth. Abimelech said to Isaac, âGo away from us, for you are much mightier than we.â
Isaac departed from there, encamped in the valley of Gerar, and lived there.
Isaac dug again the wells of water, which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham. He called their names after the names by which his father had called them. Isaacâs servants dug in the valley, and found there a well of flowing [Or, living. Or, fresh. ]water. The herdsmen of Gerar argued with Isaacâs herdsmen, saying, âThe water is ours.â So he called the name of the well Esek, [âEsekâ means âcontentionâ. ]because they contended with him. They dug another well, and they argued over that, also. So he called its name Sitnah. [âSitnahâ means âhostilityâ. ] He left that place, and dug another well. They didnât argue over that one. So he called it Rehoboth. [âRehobothâ means âbroad placesâ. ]He said, âFor now Yahweh has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.â
He went up from there to Beersheba. Yahweh appeared to him the same night, and said, âI am the God of Abraham your father. Donât be afraid, for I am with you, and will bless you, and multiply your offspring for my servant Abrahamâs sake.â
He built an altar there, and called on Yahwehâs name, and pitched his tent there. There Isaacâs servants dug a well.
Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his friend, and Phicol the captain of his army. Isaac said to them, âWhy have you come to me, since you hate me, and have sent me away from you?â
They said, âWe saw plainly that Yahweh was with you. We said, âLet there now be an oath between us, even between us and you, and letâs make a covenant with you, that you will do us no harm, as we have not touched you, and as we have done to you nothing but good, and have sent you away in peace.â You are now the blessed of Yahweh.â
He made them a feast, and they ate and drank. They rose up some time in the morning, and swore an oath to one another. Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace. The same day, Isaacâs servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had dug, and said to him, âWe have found water.â He called it âShibah â. [Shibah means âoathâ or âsevenâ. ]Therefore the name of the city is âBeershebaâ [Beersheba means âwell of the oathâ or âwell of the sevenâ ]to this day.
When Esau was forty years old, he took as wife Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite. They grieved Isaacâs and Rebekahâs spirits. (WEB)
This content from World English Bible (public domain)
Paul, an apostle of Christ [âChristâ means âAnointed Oneâ. ]Jesus through the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without defect before him in love, having predestined us for adoption as children through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his desire, to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely gave us favor in the Beloved. In him we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him to an administration of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in him. We were also assigned an inheritance in him, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who does all things after the counsel of his will, to the end that we should be to the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ. In him you also, having heard the word of the truth, the Good News of your salvation â in whom, having also believed, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is a pledge of our inheritance, to the redemption of Godâs own possession, to the praise of his glory.
For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you and the love which you have toward all the saints, donât cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts [TR reads âunderstandingâ instead of âheartsâ ]enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might which he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule, authority, power, dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come. He put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things for the assembly, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. (WEB)
This content from World English Bible (public domain)
Beloved, donât believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit who doesnât confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God; and this is the spirit of the Antichrist, of whom you have heard that it comes. Now it is in the world already. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God listens to us. He who is not of God doesnât listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
Beloved, letâs love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. He who doesnât love doesnât know God, for God is love. By this Godâs love was revealed in us, that God has sent his only born [The phrase âonly bornâ is from the Greek word âΟονογξνΡâ, which is sometimes translated âonly begottenâ or âone and onlyâ. ]Son into the world that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice [âatoning sacrificeâ is from the Greek âΚΝιĎΟοĎâ, an appeasing, propitiating, or the means of appeasement or propitiationâthe sacrifice that turns away Godâs wrath because of our sin. ]for our sins. Beloved, if God loved us in this way, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love has been perfected in us.
By this we know that we remain in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him, and he in God. We know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. In this, love has been made perfect among us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as he is, even so we are in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has punishment. He who fears is not made perfect in love. We love him, [NU omits âhimâ. ]because he first loved us. If a man says, âI love God,â and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who doesnât love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? This commandment we have from him, that he who loves God should also love his brother. (WEB)
This content from World English Bible (public domain)
Then Job answered,
âOh that my anguish were weighed,
and all my calamity laid in the balances!
For now it would be heavier than the sand of the seas,
therefore my words have been rash.
For the arrows of the Almighty are within me.
My spirit drinks up their poison.
The terrors of God set themselves in array against me.
Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass?
Or does the ox low over his fodder?
Can that which has no flavor be eaten without salt?
Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?
My soul refuses to touch them.
They are as loathsome food to me.
âOh that I might have my request,
that God would grant the thing that I long for,
even that it would please God to crush me;
that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off!
Let it still be my consolation,
yes, let me exult in pain that doesnât spare,
that I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
What is my strength, that I should wait?
What is my end, that I should be patient?
Is my strength the strength of stones?
Or is my flesh of bronze?
Isnât it that I have no help in me,
that wisdom is driven away from me?
âTo him who is ready to faint, kindness should be shown from his friend;
even to him who forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
My brothers have dealt deceitfully as a brook,
as the channel of brooks that pass away;
which are black by reason of the ice,
in which the snow hides itself.
In the dry season, they vanish.
When it is hot, they are consumed out of their place.
The caravans that travel beside them turn away.
They go up into the waste, and perish.
The caravans of Tema looked.
The companies of Sheba waited for them.
They were distressed because they were confident.
They came there, and were confounded.
For now you are nothing.
You see a terror, and are afraid.
Did I ever say, âGive to me?â
or, âOffer a present for me from your substance?â
or, âDeliver me from the adversaryâs hand?â
or, âRedeem me from the hand of the oppressors?â
âTeach me, and I will hold my peace.
Cause me to understand my error.
How forcible are words of uprightness!
But your reproof, what does it reprove?
Do you intend to reprove words,
since the speeches of one who is desperate are as wind?
Yes, you would even cast lots for the fatherless,
and make merchandise of your friend.
Now therefore be pleased to look at me,
for surely I will not lie to your face.
Please return.
Let there be no injustice.
Yes, return again.
My cause is righteous.
Is there injustice on my tongue?
Canât my taste discern mischievous things? (WEB)
This content from OpenEnglishBible (public domain)
âHad it not been the Lá´Ęá´ who was for usâ
let Israel say
âHad it not been the Lá´Ęá´ who was for us
when enemies rose against us,
then alive theyâd have swallowed us up,
when their anger was kindled against us.
Then the waters wouldâve swept us away,
and the torrent passed over us clean:
then most sure wouldâve passed over us clean
the wild seething waters.â
Blest be the Lá´Ęá´ who has given us not
to be torn by their teeth.
We are like a bird just escaped
from the snare of the fowler.
The snare is broken,
and we are escaped.
Our help is the name of the Lá´Ęá´ ,
the Creator of heaven and earth.
(OEB)
This content pulled from bible.org.
My child, if you have made a pledge for your neighbor, if you have become a guarantor for a stranger, if you have been ensnared by the words you have uttered and have been caught by the words you have spoken, then, my child, do this in order to deliver yourself, because you have fallen into your neighborâs power: Go, humble yourself, and appeal firmly to your neighbor. Permit no sleep to your eyes or slumber to your eyelids. Deliver yourself like a gazelle from a snare and like a bird from the trap of the fowler. Go to the ant, you sluggard; observe her ways and be wise! It has no commander, overseer, or ruler, yet it would prepare its food in the summer;it gathered at the harvest what it will eat. How long, you sluggard, will you lie there?When will you rise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber,a little folding of the hands to relax, and your poverty will come like a robber, and your need like an armed man. A worthless and wicked person walks around saying perverse things; he winks with his eyes,signals with his feet,and points with his fingers; he plots evil with perverse thoughts in his heart;he spreads contention at all times. Therefore, his disaster will come suddenly;in an instant he will be broken, and there will be no remedy. There are six things that the Lord hates,even seven things that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift to run to evil, a false witness who pours out lies, and a person who spreads discord among family members. My child, guard the commands of your fatherand do not forsake the instruction of your mother. Bind them on your heart continually;fasten them around your neck. When you walk about, they will guide you; when you lie down, they will watch over you;when you wake up, they will talk to you. For the commandments are like a lamp; instruction is like a light,and rebukes of discipline are like the road leading to life by keeping you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the loose woman. Do not lust in your heart for her beauty,and do not let her captivate you with her alluring eyes; for on account of a prostitute one is brought down to a loaf of bread,but the wife of another man preys on your precious life. Can a man hold fire against his chest without burning his clothes? Can a man walk on hot coalswithout scorching his feet? So it is with the one who sleeps with his neighborâs wife;no one who touches her will escape punishment. People do not despise a thief when he stealsto fulfill his need when he is hungry. Yet if he is caught he must repay seven times over;he might even have to give all the wealth of his house. A man who commits adultery with a woman lacks sense; whoever does it destroys his own life. He will be beaten and despised, and his reproach will not be wiped away; for jealousy kindles a husbandâs rage,and he will not show mercy when he takes revenge. He will not consider any compensation; he will not be willing, even if you multiply the compensation.
(NET)
This content from World English Bible (public domain)
The child Samuel ministered to Yahweh before Eli. Yahwehâs word was rare in those days. There were not many visions, then. At that time, when Eli was laid down in his place (now his eyes had begun to grow dim, so that he could not see), and Godâs lamp hadnât yet gone out, and Samuel had laid down in Yahwehâs temple where Godâs ark was, Yahweh called Samuel. He said, âHere I am.â
He ran to Eli and said, âHere I am; for you called me.â
He said, âI didnât call. Lie down again.â
He went and lay down. Yahweh called yet again, âSamuel!â
Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, âHere I am; for you called me.â
He answered, âI didnât call, my son. Lie down again.â Now Samuel didnât yet know Yahweh, neither was Yahwehâs word yet revealed to him. Yahweh called Samuel again the third time. He arose and went to Eli and said, âHere I am; for you called me.â
Eli perceived that Yahweh had called the child. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, âGo, lie down. It shall be, if he calls you, that you shall say, âSpeak, Yahweh; for your servant hears.ââ So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Yahweh came, and stood, and called as at other times, âSamuel! Samuel!â
Then Samuel said, âSpeak; for your servant hears.â
Yahweh said to Samuel, âBehold, I will do a thing in Israel at which both the ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from the beginning even to the end. For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves, and he didnât restrain them. Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eliâs house shall not be removed with sacrifice or offering forever.â
Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of Yahwehâs house. Samuel was afraid to show Eli the vision. Then Eli called Samuel and said, âSamuel, my son!â
He said, âHere I am.â
He said, âWhat is the thing that he has spoken to you? Please donât hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that he spoke to you.â
Samuel told him every bit, and hid nothing from him.
He said, âIt is Yahweh. Let him do what seems good to him.â
Samuel grew, and Yahweh was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of Yahweh. Yahweh appeared again in Shiloh; for Yahweh revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by Yahwehâs word. (WEB)
This content from World English Bible (public domain)
Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and robberyâ no end to the prey. The noise of the whip, the noise of the rattling of wheels, prancing horses, and bounding chariots, the horseman charging, and the flashing sword, the glittering spear, and a multitude of slain, and a great heap of corpses, and there is no end of the bodies. They stumble on their bodies because of the multitude of the prostitution of the alluring prostitute, the mistress of witchcraft, who sells nations through her prostitution, and families through her witchcraft. âBehold, I am against you,â says Yahweh of Armies, âand I will lift your skirts over your face. I will show the nations your nakedness, and the kingdoms your shame. I will throw abominable filth on you and make you vile, and will make you a spectacle. It will happen that all those who look at you will flee from you, and say, âNineveh is laid waste! Who will mourn for her?â Where will I seek comforters for you?â
Are you better than No-Amon, [or, Thebes ]who was situated among the rivers, [or, Nile ]who had the waters around her, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was of the sea? Cush and Egypt were her boundless strength. Put and Libya were her helpers. Yet was she carried away. She went into captivity. Her young children also were dashed in pieces at the head of all the streets, and they cast lots for her honorable men, and all her great men were bound in chains. You also will be drunken. You will be hidden. You also will seek a stronghold because of the enemy. All your fortresses will be like fig trees with the first-ripe figs. If they are shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater. Behold, your troops among you are women. The gates of your land are set wide open to your enemies. The fire has devoured your bars.
Draw water for the siege. Strengthen your fortresses. Go into the clay, and tread the mortar. Make the brick kiln strong. There the fire will devour you. The sword will cut you off. It will devour you like the grasshopper. Multiply like grasshoppers. Multiply like the locust. You have increased your merchants more than the stars of the skies. The grasshopper strips and flees away. Your guards are like the locusts, and your officials like the swarms of locusts, which settle on the walls on a cold day, but when the sun appears, they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.
Your shepherds slumber, king of Assyria. Your nobles lie down. Your people are scattered on the mountains, and there is no one to gather them. There is no healing your wound, for your injury is fatal. All who hear the report of you clap their hands over you, for who hasnât felt your endless cruelty? (WEB)
This content from OpenEnglishBible (public domain)
The same thing occurred in Iconium, where Paul and Barnabas went into the Jewish synagogue, and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed in Christ. But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles, and poisoned their minds against the Lordâs followers. Therefore Paul and Barnabas spent a long time there, and spoke out fearlessly, relying on the Lord, who confirmed the message of his love by permitting signs and wonders to take place at their hands. But the townspeople were divided, some siding with the Jews, some with the apostles; and, when there was an attempt on the part of both Gentiles and Jews, with their leaders, to resort to violence and to stone them, the apostles heard of it, and took refuge in Lystra and Derbe, towns in Lycaonia, and in the district around, and there they continued to tell the good news.
In the streets of Lystra there used to sit a man who had no power in his feet; he had been lame from his birth, and had never walked. This man was listening to Paul speaking, when Paul, looking intently at him, and seeing that he had the faith to be healed, said loudly, âStand upright on your feet.â
The man leaped up, and began walking about, and the crowd, seeing what Paul had done, called out in the Lycaonian language, âThe Gods have come down to us in human form.â So they called Barnabas âZeus,â and Paul âHermes,â because he took the lead in speaking; and the priest of Zeus-beyond-the-Walls, accompanied by the crowd, brought bullocks and garlands to the gates, with the intention of offering sacrifices. But, when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd.
âFriends, why are you doing this?â they shouted. âWe are only people like yourselves, and we have come with the good news that you should turn away from these follies to a living God, who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them. In bygone times he permitted all the nations to go their own ways. Yet he has not failed to give you, in the good he does, some revelation of himself â sending you from heaven rain and fruitful seasons, and gladdening your hearts with plenty and good cheer.â Even with this appeal they could hardly restrain the people from offering sacrifice to them.
Presently, however, there came some Jews from Antioch, and Iconium who, after they had won over the people, stoned Paul, and dragged him out of the town, thinking him to be dead. But, when the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the town; the next day he went with Barnabas to Derbe. After telling the good news throughout that town, and making a number of converts, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, reassuring the minds of the disciples, urging them to remain true to the faith, and showing that it is only through many troubles that we can enter the kingdom of God. They also appointed elders for them in every church, and, after prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord in whom they had learned to believe. Paul and Barnabas then went through Pisidia, and came into Pamphylia, and, after telling the message at Perga, went down to Attaleia. From there they sailed to Antioch â the place where they had been committed to the gracious care of God for the work which they had now finished. After their arrival, they gathered the church together, and gave an account of all that God had helped them to do, and especially how he had opened to the Gentiles the door of faith; and at Antioch they stayed with the disciples for a considerable time. (OEB)