Men and brothers, sons of the stock of Abraham, and all among you who fear God, the word of this salvation was sent to us. For the dwellers in Jerusalem and their chiefs did not recognize him, and by judging him they fulfilled the utterances of the prophets which are read aloud on every sabbath; and without finding any true cause for his death they demanded that Pilate should have him killed. And when they had fulfilled everything that was written about him, they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead; and he appeared for some days to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses before the people. And we bring you the gospel of the promise that was made to our fathers, that God has fulfilled this for us their children by resurrecting Jesus, as it is written in the Second Psalm: You are my son, this day I begot you.
And that he raised him from the dead to be one who would never more return to corruption, this he has said, thus: I will give you the sacraments of David, which are to be believed. Since in another place he says: You shall grant your holy one that he shall not know corruption. For David, after serving the will of God, in his own lifetime died and was laid beside his fathers and knew corruption, but he whom God raised did not know corruption.
Therefore let it be understood by you, men and brothers, that remission of sins through him is promised to you, and for all those matters where you could not be justified by the law of Moses, everyone who believes is justified by him. Look to it then that what was spoken of by the prophets may not come upon you: Look, you scoffers, and marvel and be brought to nothing, because in your days I will do a deed, a deed which you would not believe if someone described it to you.
When Paul and Barnabas went out, they requested that these matters should be spoken of on the next sabbath. And when the meeting broke up, many Jews and faithful proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas; and they talked to them and urged them to remain true to the grace of God. And on the next sabbath almost the entire city was gathered together to listen to the word of God. But the Jews, when they saw the crowds, were filled with envy and attacked the speeches of Paul, reviling him. But Paul and B^nabas spoke out boldly and said: It was necessary that the word of God should be told first to you; but since you reject it and judge yourselves to be unworthy of everlasting life, we are turning to the Gentiles. For thus the Lord has commanded us: I have appointed you to be the light of the Gentiles, and for you to bring salvation as far as the end of the earth. When the Gentiles heard this they were joyful and glorified the word of God, and all those who were destined to life everlasting believed; and the word of the Lord was spread through the entire country. But the Jews stirred up the prominent women who were worshippers and the foremost men of the city, and they started a persecution of Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of their territory. And they shook the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium, and their disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.
fIn the same way it happened in Iconium that they went into the synagogue of the Jews and spoke in such a way that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed. But the Jews who would not believe stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and poisoned them against the brothers. They spent some time there, speaking boldly, trusting in the Lord, who testified to the word of his grace by granting that miracles and portentous things should be brought about at their hands. But the population of the city was split, and some were with the Jews and some were with the apostles. But when there was a movement among the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to use violence and stone them, they got wind of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe and their vicinity; and there they went on bringing the gospel.
Now there was a certain man, crippled in his feet, who sat in Lystra. He was lame from his mother's womb and had never walked. This man was listening to Paul as he spoke; and Paul gazed at him, and seeing that he had faith that he could be saved, he said in a great voice; Get on your feet and stand upright. And he sprang up and walked. And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they cried aloud in their own Lycaonian language, saying: The gods have made themselves like men and come down to us. And they called Barnabas Zeus and Paul Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. And the priest of the Zeus whose temple was before the city brought bulls and garlands into the courtyard and, together with the crowds, wanted to sacrifice to them. When the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their robes and leaped into the crowd, crying out and saying: Men, why are you doing this? We also are men who feel and suffer as you do, who are bringing you the gospel to t^m you away from these idiocies, to the living God, who made the sky and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. In past ages he let all nations go their own ways; and yet he has not let himself be without proof for his good works, giving you rains from the sky and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with sustenance and good cheer. And by saying these things they finally managed to stop the crowds from sacrificing to them.
But Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium, and won over the masses, and stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, believing that he was dead. But his disciples made a circle around him and he got up and went into the city. And on the next day he set out with Barnabas for Derbe. And after bringing the gospel to that city and making a number of converts they returned to Lystra and Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the spirits of the disciples, urging them to endure in their faith, and telling them that it is only through much suffering that we can enter the Kingdom of God. And they selected elders for them, church by church, and with prayer and fasting committed them to the Lord in whom they had put their faith.
Then, passing through Pisidia, they came to Pamphy- lia, and after preaching the word in Perga they came to the sea at Attalia and sailed from there to Antioch; from which place they had by the grace of God been appointed to the work which they had now completed. And arriving there and convening the church they reported all that God had done through them, and that he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. And they spent a considerable amount of time with the disciples there.
1 Then certain men came down from Judaea and began to teach the brothers, saying: Unless you are circumcised by the rite of Moses, you cannot be saved. And when considerable dissension and debate arose between Paul and Barnabas and these men, they decreed that Paul and Barnabas and some others of their number should go up to see the apostles and elders in Jerusalem to discuss this question. So those who were sent by the church passed through Phoenicia and Samaria describing the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers. And arriving in Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done through them. But some believers from the sect of the Pharisees rose up, saying that they must circumcise them in order to keep the law of Moses.
The apostles and the elders assembled to look into this question. And after much discussion Peter stood up and said to them: Men and brothers, you know well that in our early days God made his choice among us that from my lips the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe; and God, who knows the heart, proved it to them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, as he did to us, and did not discriminate between us and them, purifying their hearts through faith. Why then do you make trial of God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither our fathers nor ourselves were strong enough to bear? Rather through the grace of the Lord Jesus we believe that we are saved in the same way as they. Then all the congregation fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul describing all the portentous acts and miracles that God had worked through them among the Gentiles.