Mistaken for Gods at Lystra

¹In Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke so effectively that a large number of both Jews and Greeks came to believe. ²But the Jews who refused to believe poisoned the minds of the Gentiles and turned them against the brothers. ³So Paul and Barnabas stayed there for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders. ⁴The people of the city were split — some sided with the Jews, and some sided with the apostles. ⁵When both the Gentiles and the Jews, along with their leaders, plotted to mistreat and stone them, ⁶they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and the surrounding region. ⁷There they continued to preach the gospel. ⁸In Lystra there was a man sitting who had no strength in his feet — he had been crippled from birth and had never walked. ⁹This man was listening to Paul speak. Paul looked directly at him and, seeing that he had faith to be healed, ¹⁰called out in a loud voice, "Stand upright on your feet!" And the man leaped up and walked. ¹¹When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, shouting in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!" ¹²They called Barnabas "Jupiter" and Paul "Mercury," because he was the chief speaker. ¹³The priest of Jupiter, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifices along with the crowd. ¹⁴When the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard about this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, ¹⁵"People, why are you doing this? We are men of the same nature as you, and we are bringing you good news — that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven, earth, the sea, and everything in them. ¹⁶In past generations, he allowed all nations to walk in their own ways. ¹⁷Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. ¹⁸Even with these words, they barely restrained the crowd from offering sacrifices to them.