David Hears of Saul’s Death

1 After the death of Saul, when David had returned ^afrom striking down the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag. 2 And on the third day, behold, ^ba man came from Saul’s camp, ^cwith his clothes torn and dirt on his head. And when he came to David, ^dhe fell to the ground and paid homage. 3 David said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.” 4 And David said to him, ^e“How did it go? Tell me.” And he answered, “The people fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead, and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.” 5 Then David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” 6 And the young man who told him said, ^f“By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul leaning on his spear, and behold, the chariots and the horsemen were close upon him. 7 And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called to me. And I answered, ‘Here I am.’ 8 And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ 9 And he said to me, ^g‘Stand beside me and kill me, for anguish has seized me, and yet my life still lingers.’ 10 So I stood beside him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. ^hAnd I took the crown that was on his head and the armlet that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”

11 Then David took hold of his clothes and ⁱtore them, and so did all the men who were with him. 12 And they mourned and wept ^jand fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son and for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. 13 And David said to the young man who told him, “Where do you come from?” And he answered, “I am the son of a sojourner, an Amalekite.” 14 David said to him, “How is it you were not ^kafraid to put out your hand to destroy ^lthe Lord’s anointed?” 15 Then ^mDavid called one of the young men and said, “Go, execute him.” And he struck him down so that he died. 16 And David said to him, ⁿ“Your blood be on your head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed ^othe Lord’s anointed.’”

David’s Lament for Saul and Jonathan

17 And David ^plamented with this lamentation over Saul and Jonathan his son, 18 and he said it¹ should be taught to the people of Judah; behold, it is written in ^qthe Book of Jashar.² He said:

More Sayings of the Wise

23 These also are sayings of ^athe wise.

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

1 Paul¹ came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named ^zTimothy, ^athe son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by ^bthe brothers² at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he ^ctook 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 ^dthe decisions ^ethat had been reached by ^fthe apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. 5 ^gSo the churches were strengthened in ^hthe faith, and they increased in numbers ⁱdaily.

The Macedonian Call

6 And ^jthey 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 ^kthe Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. 8 So, passing by Mysia, they went down ^lto 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 Paul³ had seen the vision, immediately ^mwe 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 ⁿmade a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to ^oPhilippi, which is a leading city of the⁴ district of Macedonia and ^pa Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. 13 And ^qon the Sabbath day we went outside the gate ^rto the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we ^ssat 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, ^twho was a worshiper of God. The Lord ^uopened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. 15 And after she was baptized, ^vand 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 ^wprevailed upon us.

Paul and Silas in Prison

16 As we were going to ^xthe place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had ^ya spirit of ^zdivination and ^abrought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and us, ^bcrying out, “These men are ^cservants of ^dthe Most High God, who proclaim to you ^ethe way of salvation.” 18 And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, ^f“I command you ^gin the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And ^hit came out that very hour.

19 But ⁱwhen her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and ^jdragged 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 ^kadvocate customs that are not lawful for us ^las Romans to accept or practice.” 22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders ^mto 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 ⁿprison and fastened their feet in ^othe stocks.

The Philippian Jailer Converted

25 ^pAbout midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26 and suddenly ^qthere was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately ^rall the doors were opened, and ^severyone’s bonds were unfastened. 27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and ^twas 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 jailer⁵ called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he ^ufell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, ^vwhat must I do to be ^wsaved?” 31 And they said, ^x“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you ^yand 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 ^zthe same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he ^awas baptized at once, he and all his family. 34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he ^brejoiced 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, ^cuncondemned, 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 ^cthey were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. 39 So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and ^dasked them to leave the city. 40 So they went out of the prison and visited ^eLydia. And when they had seen ^fthe brothers, they encouraged them and departed.

Paul and Silas in Thessalonica

1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to ^gThessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, ^has was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them ⁱfrom the Scriptures, 3 ^jexplaining and proving that it was necessary for ^kthe Christ to suffer and ^lto rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” 4 And ^msome of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did ⁿa great many of the devout ^oGreeks and not a few of the leading women. 5 ^pBut the Jews^{6 q}were jealous, and taking ^rsome 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, ^sthey 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 ^tthe decrees of Caesar, saying that there is ^uanother 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 ^vThe brothers⁷ immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they ^wwent into the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, ^xexamining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. 12 ^yMany of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek ^zwomen 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, ^aagitating and stirring up the crowds. 14 Then the brothers ^bimmediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and ^cTimothy remained there. 15 ^dThose who conducted Paul brought him as far as ^eAthens, and after receiving a command ^ffor 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 ^gprovoked within him as he saw that the city was ^hfull of idols. 17 So ⁱhe 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, ^j“What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because ^khe was preaching ^lJesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took him and brought him to ^mthe Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this ⁿnew teaching is that you are presenting? 20 For you bring some ^ostrange 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: ^p‘To the unknown god.’ ^pWhat therefore you worship ^qas unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 ^rThe God who made the world and everything in it, being ^sLord of heaven and earth, ^tdoes not live in temples made by man,⁸ 25 nor is he served by human hands, ^uas though he needed anything, since he himself ^vgives to all mankind ^wlife and breath and everything. 26 And ^xhe made from one man every nation of mankind to live ^yon all the face of the earth, ^zhaving determined allotted periods and ^athe boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 ^bthat they should seek God, ^cand perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. ^dYet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for

as even some of ^fyour own poets have said,

29 ^gBeing then God’s offspring, ^hwe 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 ⁱThe times of ignorance ^jGod overlooked, but ^know he ^lcommands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed ^ma day on which ⁿhe will judge the world ^oin righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and ^pof this he has given assurance to all ^qby raising him from the dead.”

32 Now when they heard of ^rthe resurrection of the dead, ^ssome mocked. But others said, ^t“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 ^uthe Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

Paul in Corinth

1 After this Paul¹¹ left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 And he found a Jew named ^vAquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife ^vPriscilla, because ^wClaudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, 3 and ^xbecause he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. 4 And ^yhe reasoned in the synagogue ^yevery Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.

5 ^zWhen Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul ^awas occupied with the word, ^btestifying to the Jews that the Christ was ^cJesus. 6 And when they opposed and reviled him, ^dhe shook out his garments and said to them, ^e“Your blood be on your own heads! ^fI am innocent. ^gFrom now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 7 And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius ^hJustus, ⁱa worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. 8 ^jCrispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together ^kwith his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. 9 And the Lord said to Paul ^lone night in ^ma vision, ⁿ“Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, 10 ⁿfor I am with you, and ^ono one will attack you to harm you, for ^pI have many in this city who are my people.” 11 And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.