The whole city was stirred up and people came running from all directions. They grabbed Paul and dragged him out of the temple. They closed the temple gates behind him so that he couldn’t get back in to safety.
But they didn’t find them there, so they dragged Jason and some of the other believers to the city officials. “Those men who’ve upset the entire world have now come here!” they shouted.
We don’t give up if we’re beaten or put in prison, or if people stir up trouble in the streets. We work hard and go without sleep or food if we have to.
One day when we were going to the place of prayer, a female slave met us. She had a spirit that told fortunes. She earned a lot of money for her owners by doing this.
Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over to their side. They threw stones at Paul and then dragged him out of the city, thinking he was dead.
“Look out—you’ll be handed over to the local courts, and you’ll be whipped in the synagogues. You’ll be brought in for questioning by governors and kings because of me. But in that way, you’ll become witnesses to them.
Then the apostles, elders, and the whole church decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas Barsabbas and Silas, who were leaders among the believers.
Love for money causes all kinds of evil. By trying to get rich, some people have wandered away from the faith and been hurt by many sad things that have happened to them.
Earlier, in the city of Philippi, we suffered and the people treated us very badly, as you also know. But God still gave us the boldness to tell you his good news, even when people strongly opposed us.