22 If you see your fellow Israelite’s ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it but be sure to take it back to its owner.^{(A) 2} If they do not live near you or if you do not know who owns it, take it home with you and keep it until they come looking for it. Then give it back. ³ Do the same if you find their donkey or cloak or anything else they have lost. Do not ignore it.

⁴ If you see your fellow Israelite’s donkey^(B) or ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it. Help the owner get it to its feet.^(C)

⁵ A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this.

⁶ If you come across a bird’s nest beside the road, either in a tree or on the ground, and the mother is sitting on the young or on the eggs, do not take the mother with the young.^{(D) 7} You may take the young, but be sure to let the mother go,^(E) so that it may go well with you and you may have a long life.^(F)

⁸ When you build a new house, make a parapet around your roof so that you may not bring the guilt of bloodshed on your house if someone falls from the roof.^(G)

⁹ Do not plant two kinds of seed in your vineyard;^(H) if you do, not only the crops you plant but also the fruit of the vineyard will be defiled.^[a]

¹⁰ Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.^(I)

¹¹ Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together.^(J)

¹² Make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you wear.^(K)

Marriage Violations

¹³ If a man takes a wife and, after sleeping with her^(L), dislikes her ¹⁴ and slanders her and gives her a bad name, saying, “I married this woman, but when I approached her, I did not find proof of her virginity,” ¹⁵ then the young woman’s father and mother shall bring to the town elders at the gate^(M) proof that she was a virgin. ¹⁶ Her father will say to the elders, “I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but he dislikes her. ¹⁷ Now he has slandered her and said, ‘I did not find your daughter to be a virgin.’ But here is the proof of my daughter’s virginity.” Then her parents shall display the cloth before the elders of the town, ¹⁸ and the elders^(N) shall take the man and punish him. ¹⁹ They shall fine him a hundred shekels^[b] of silver and give them to the young woman’s father, because this man has given an Israelite virgin a bad name. She shall continue to be his wife; he must not divorce her as long as he lives.

²⁰ If, however, the charge is true^(O) and no proof of the young woman’s virginity can be found, ²¹ she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death. She has done an outrageous thing^(P) in Israel by being promiscuous while still in her father’s house. You must purge the evil from among you.

²² If a man is found sleeping with another man’s wife, both the man who slept^(Q) with her and the woman must die.^(R) You must purge the evil from Israel.

²³ If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her, ²⁴ you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death—the young woman because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man’s wife. You must purge the evil from among you.^(S)

²⁵ But if out in the country a man happens to meet a young woman pledged to be married and rapes her, only the man who has done this shall die. ²⁶ Do nothing to the woman; she has committed no sin deserving death. This case is like that of someone who attacks and murders a neighbor, ²⁷ for the man found the young woman out in the country, and though the betrothed woman screamed,^(T) there was no one to rescue her.

²⁸ If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered,^{(U) 29} he shall pay her father fifty shekels^[c] of silver. He must marry the young woman, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives.

³⁰ A man is not to marry his father’s wife; he must not dishonor his father’s bed.^[d](V)

Psalm 130

A song of ascents.

In Iconium

14 At Iconium^(A) Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue.^(B) There they spoke so effectively that a great number^(C) of Jews and Greeks believed. ² But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.^{(D) 3} So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly^(E) for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.^{(F) 4} The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles.^{(G) 5} There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews,^(H) together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them.^{(I) 6} But they found out about it and fled^(J) to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, ⁷ where they continued to preach^(K) the gospel.^(L)

In Lystra and Derbe

⁸ In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth^(M) and had never walked. ⁹ He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed^{(N) 10} and called out, “Stand up on your feet!”^(O) At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.^(P)

¹¹ When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!”^{(Q) 12} Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker.^{(R) 13} The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.

¹⁴ But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes^(S) and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: ¹⁵ “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human,^(T) like you. We are bringing you good news,^(U) telling you to turn from these worthless things^(V) to the living God,^(W) who made the heavens and the earth^(X) and the sea and everything in them.^{(Y) 16} In the past, he let^(Z) all nations go their own way.^{(AA) 17} Yet he has not left himself without testimony:^(AB) He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons;^(AC) he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”^{(AD) 18} Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.

¹⁹ Then some Jews^(AE) came from Antioch and Iconium^(AF) and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul^(AG) and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. ²⁰ But after the disciples^(AH) had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.

The Return to Antioch in Syria

²¹ They preached the gospel^(AI) in that city and won a large number^(AJ) of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium^(AK) and Antioch, ²² strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith.^(AL) “We must go through many hardships^(AM) to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. ²³ Paul and Barnabas appointed elders^[a](AN) for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting,^(AO) committed them to the Lord,^(AP) in whom they had put their trust. ²⁴ After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia,^{(AQ) 25} and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.

²⁶ From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch,^(AR) where they had been committed to the grace of God^(AS) for the work they had now completed.^{(AT) 27} On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them^(AU) and how he had opened a door^(AV) of faith to the Gentiles. ²⁸ And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.^(AW)

The Council at Jerusalem

15 Certain people^(AX) came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers:^(AY) “Unless you are circumcised,^(AZ) according to the custom taught by Moses,^(BA) you cannot be saved.” ² This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem^(BB) to see the apostles and elders^(BC) about this question. ³ The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia^(BD) and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted.^(BE) This news made all the believers very glad. ⁴ When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.^(BF)

⁵ Then some of the believers who belonged to the party^(BG) of the Pharisees^(BH) stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.”^(BI)

⁶ The apostles and elders met to consider this question. ⁷ After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe.^{(BJ) 8} God, who knows the heart,^(BK) showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them,^(BL) just as he did to us. ⁹ He did not discriminate between us and them,^(BM) for he purified their hearts by faith.^{(BN) 10} Now then, why do you try to test God^(BO) by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke^(BP) that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? ¹¹ No! We believe it is through the grace^(BQ) of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”

¹² The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders^(BR) God had done among the Gentiles through them.^{(BS) 13} When they finished, James^(BT) spoke up. “Brothers,” he said, “listen to me. ¹⁴ Simon^[b] has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles.^{(BU) 15} The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:

¹⁹ “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. ²⁰ Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols,^(BX) from sexual immorality,^(BY) from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.^{(BZ) 21} For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”^(CA)

The Council’s Letter to Gentile Believers

²² Then the apostles and elders,^(CB) with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch^(CC) with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas,^(CD) men who were leaders among the believers. ²³ With them they sent the following letter:

³⁰ So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. ³¹ The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. ³² Judas and Silas,^(CN) who themselves were prophets,^(CO) said much to encourage and strengthen the believers. ³³ After spending some time there, they were sent off by the believers with the blessing of peace^(CP) to return to those who had sent them. ^{[34] [e] 35} But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached^(CQ) the word of the Lord.^(CR)

Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas

³⁶ Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns^(CS) where we preached the word of the Lord^(CT) and see how they are doing.” ³⁷ Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark,^(CU) with them, ³⁸ but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them^(CV) in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. ³⁹ They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, ⁴⁰ but Paul chose Silas^(CW) and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord.^{(CX) 41} He went through Syria^(CY) and Cilicia,^(CZ) strengthening the churches.^(DA)