1. Paul and Barnabas went to the city of Iconium. As they did in Antioch, they entered the Jewish synagogue. They spoke to the people there. They spoke so well that many Jews and Greeks believed what they said.
2. But some of the Jews did not believe. They said things that caused the non-Jewish people to be angry and turn against the believers.
3. So Paul and Barnabas stayed in Iconium a long time, and they spoke bravely for the Lord. They told the people about God’s grace. The Lord proved that what they said was true by causing miraculous signs and wonders to be done through them.
4. But some of the people in the city agreed with the Jews who did not believe Paul and Barnabas. Others followed the apostles. So the city was divided.
5. Some of the Jews there, as well as their leaders and some of the non-Jewish people, were determined to hurt Paul and Barnabas. They wanted to stone them to death.
6. When Paul and Barnabas learned about this, they left the city. They went to Lystra and Derbe, cities in Lycaonia, and to the surrounding areas.
7. They told the Good News there too.
8. In Lystra there was a man who had something wrong with his feet. He had been born crippled and had never walked.
9. He was sitting and listening to Paul speak. Paul looked straight at him and saw that the man believed God could heal him.
10. So Paul shouted, “Stand up on your feet!” The man jumped up and began walking around.
11. When the people saw what Paul did, they shouted in their own Lycaonian language. They said, “The gods have come down to us in the form of humans!”
12. The people began to call Barnabas “Zeus,” and they called Paul “Hermes,” because he was the main speaker.
13. The temple of Zeus was near the city. The priest of this temple brought some bulls and flowers to the city gates. The priest and the people wanted to offer a sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas.
14. But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, understood what the people were doing, they tore their own clothes. Then they ran in among the people and shouted to them:
15. “Men, why are you doing this? We are not gods. We are human just like you. We came to tell you the Good News. We are telling you to turn away from these worthless things. Turn to the true living God, the one who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them.
16. “In the past God let all the nations do what they wanted.
17. But God was always there doing the good things that prove he is real. He gives you rain from heaven and good harvests at the right times. He gives you plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”
18. Even after saying all this, Paul and Barnabas still could hardly stop the people from offering sacrifices to them.
19. Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and persuaded the people to turn against Paul. So they threw stones at him and dragged him out of the town. They thought they had killed him.