Acts 14:1

Paul and Barnabas at Iconium

14:1 The same thing happened in Iconium ¹  when Paul and Barnabas ²  went into the Jewish synagogue ³  and spoke in such a way that a large group ⁴  of both Jews and Greeks believed.

Acts 14:3

14:3 So they stayed there ⁵  for a considerable time, speaking out courageously for the Lord, who testified ⁶  to the message ⁷  of his grace, granting miraculous signs ⁸  and wonders to be performed through their hands.

Acts 14:21-22

Paul and Barnabas Return to Antioch in Syria

14:21 After they had proclaimed the good news in that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, ⁹  to Iconium, ¹⁰  and to Antioch. ¹¹  14:22 They strengthened ¹²  the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue ¹³  in the faith, saying, “We must enter the kingdom ¹⁴  of God through many persecutions.” ¹⁵ 

[14:1]  ¹ sn Iconium. See the note in 13:51.

[14:1]  ² tn Grk “they”; the referents (Paul and Barnabas) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:1]  ³ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[14:1]  ⁴ tn Or “that a large crowd.”

[14:3]  ⁵ tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[14:3]  ⁶ sn The Lord testified to the message by granting the signs described in the following clause.

[14:3]  ⁷ tn Grk “word.”

[14:3]  ⁸ tn Here the context indicates the miraculous nature of the signs mentioned.

[14:21]  ⁹ sn Lystra was a city in Lycaonia about 35 mi (60 km) northwest of Derbe.

[14:21]  ¹⁰ sn Iconium was a city in Lycaonia about 18 mi (30 km) north of Lystra.

[14:21]  ¹¹ sn Antioch was a city in Pisidia about 90 mi (145 km) west northwest of Lystra.

[14:22]  ¹³ tn Grk “to Antioch, strengthening.” Due to the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, a new sentence was started here. This participle (ἐπιστηρίζοντες, episthrizonte") and the following one (παρακαλοῦντες, parakalounte") have been translated as finite verbs connected by the coordinating conjunction “and.”

[14:22]  ¹⁴ sn And encouraged them to continue. The exhortations are like those noted in Acts 11:23; 13:43. An example of such a speech is found in Acts 20:18-35. Christianity is now characterized as “the faith.”

[14:22]  ¹⁵ sn This reference to the kingdom of God clearly refers to its future arrival.

[14:22]  ¹⁶ tn Or “sufferings.”