But the Jews incited<n id="1" /> the God-fearing women of high social standing and the prominent men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and threw them out<n id="2" /> of their region.

So they were sent on their way by the church, and as they passed through both Phoenicia<n id="1" /> and Samaria, they were relating at length<n id="2" /> the conversion of the Gentiles and bringing great joy<n id="3" /> to all the brothers.

<p class="otpoetry"><b><i>so that the rest of humanityi>b><n id="1" /> <b><i>may seek the Lord,i>b>p> <p class="otpoetry"><b><i>namely,i>b><n id="2" /> <b><i>all the Gentilesi>b><n id="3" /> <b><i>I have called to be my own,i>b>&#8217;<n id="4" /> <b><i>says the Lord,i>b><n id="5" /> <i>who makes these thingsi>

She followed behind Paul and us and kept crying out,<n id="1" /> &#8220;These men are servants<n id="2" /> of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way<n id="3" /> of salvation.&#8221;<n id="4" />

But when her owners<n id="1" /> saw their hope of profit<n id="2" /> was gone, they seized<n id="3" /> Paul and Silas and dragged<n id="4" /> them into the marketplace before the authorities.

But the Jews became jealous,<n id="1" /> and gathering together some worthless men from the rabble in the marketplace,<n id="2" /> they formed a mob<n id="3" /> and set the city in an uproar.<n id="4" /> They attacked Jason&#8217;s house,<n id="5" /> trying to find Paul and Silas<n id="6" /> to bring them out to the assembly.<n id="7" />

But when the Jews from Thessalonica<n id="1" /> heard that Paul had also proclaimed the word of God<n id="2" /> in Berea,<n id="3" /> they came there too, inciting<n id="4" /> and disturbing<n id="5" /> the crowds.

Those who accompanied Paul escorted him as far as Athens,<n id="1" /> and after receiving an order for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left.<n id="2" />p>

When Apollos<n id="1" /> wanted to cross over to Achaia,<n id="2" /> the brothers encouraged<n id="3" /> him<n id="4" /> and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he<n id="5" /> assisted greatly those who had believed by grace,

And you see and hear that this Paul has persuaded<n id="1" /> and turned away<n id="2" /> a large crowd,<n id="3" /> not only in Ephesus<n id="4" /> but in practically all of the province of Asia,<n id="5" /> by saying<n id="6" /> that gods made by hands are not gods at all.<n id="7" />

When they heard this, they praised<n id="1" /> God. Then they said to him, &#8220;You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews<n id="2" /> there are who have believed, and they are all ardent observers<n id="3" /> of the law.<n id="4" />

When the seven days were almost over,<n id="1" /> the Jews from the province of Asia<n id="2" /> who had seen him in the temple area<n id="3" /> stirred up the whole crowd<n id="4" /> and seized<n id="5" /> him,

Then those who were about to interrogate him stayed away<n id="1" /> from him, and the commanding officer<n id="2" /> was frightened when he realized that Paul<n id="3" /> was<n id="4" /> a Roman citizen<n id="5" /> and that he had had him tied up.<n id="6" />p>

He replied,<n id="1" /> &#8220;The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council<n id="2" /> tomorrow, as if they were going to inquire more thoroughly about him.

I have experienced<n id="1" /> help from God to this day, and so I stand testifying to both small and great, saying nothing except<n id="2" /> what the prophets and Moses said<n id="3" /> was going to happen:

Because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided<n id="1" /> to put out to sea<n id="2" /> from there. They hoped that<n id="3" /> somehow they could reach<n id="4" /> Phoenix,<n id="5" /> a harbor of Crete facing<n id="6" /> southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.

The local inhabitants<n id="1" /> showed us extraordinary<n id="2" /> kindness, for they built a fire and welcomed us all because it had started to rain<n id="3" /> and was cold.

When the local people<n id="1" /> saw the creature hanging from Paul&#8217;s<n id="2" /> hand, they said to one another, &#8220;No doubt this man is a murderer! Although he has escaped from the sea, Justice herself<n id="3" /> has not allowed him to live!&#8221;<n id="4" />

But they were expecting that he was going to swell up<n id="1" /> or suddenly drop dead. So after they had waited<n id="2" /> a long time and had seen<n id="3" /> nothing unusual happen<n id="4" /> to him, they changed their minds<n id="5" /> and said he was a god.<n id="6" />p>

The brothers from there,<n id="1" /> when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius<n id="2" /> and Three Taverns<n id="3" /> to meet us. When he saw them,<n id="4" /> Paul thanked God and took courage.