he crowd, they were jealous
and began to contradict what Paul said, and to insult him. But Paul and
Barnabas spoke out fearlessly and said, "It was necessary that God's
message should be spoken first to you; but since you will not hear it
and prove yourselves unworthy of eternal life, here and now we turn to
those who are not Jews. For this is the Lord's command to us: 'I have
set you as a light to other races, to bring salvation to the ends of the
earth.'"

When those who were not Jews heard this, they were glad and gave thanks
for God's message; and as many as were ordained to receive eternal life
believed, and God's message was carried far and wide throughout the
country. But the Jews, with the help of women of high rank and the
leading men in the city, started a persecution against Paul and Barnabas
and drove them from the city. So the apostles shook the dust from their
feet as a protest against them, and went on to Iconium. The new
disciples, however, were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

At Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went into the Jewish synagogue and spoke,
so that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. But the Jews
who did not believe stirred up the other races and poisoned their minds
against the apostles. The people of the town were divided, some being on
the side of the Jews and others on the side of the apostles. An attempt
was made both by the other races and by the Jews, with the help of their
rulers, to attack and stone the apostles; but they learned of it and
escaped to the towns of Lystra and Derbe, and there they continued to
preach the good news.

At Lystra there was a man who could not move his feet, who had been lame
from his birth and had never walked. As this man listened to Paul's
preaching, the apostle fixed his eyes on him and, seeing that he had
faith enough to make him well, said in a loud voice, "Stand up on your
feet." And the man sprang up and began to walk. When the crowds saw what
Paul had done, they shouted in their language, "The gods have come down
to us in the form of men!" Barnabas they called "Zeus," and Paul
"Hermes," because he was the chief speaker. The priests of the temple of
Zeus, which stood in front of the town, brought oxen and wreaths to the
gates, so as to join the crowds in offering sacrifice to them.

But when Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and
rushed into the crowd, shouting, "Men, why are you doing this? We are
but men like y