Acts 14:12

They began to say that Barnabas was probably the chief god, whose name was Zeus. And they began to say that Paul was Hermes, the messenger/spokesman for the other gods. They mistakenly thought that because Paul was the one who had been speaking.

Translation for Translators

In The King James Version

And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker.

In Context

11When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they thought that Paul and Barnabas ◄ were/must be► the gods that they worshipped. So they shouted excitedly in their own Lycaonia language, “ Look! These people are the gods that we(inc) worship! They have made themselves look like people and have come down from the sky/heaven to help us!”

13Just outside the gates of the city there was a temple where the people worshipped Zeus. The priest who was there heard what Paul and Barnabas had done, so he came to the city gate, where many people had already gathered. He brought two bulls with wreaths of flowers around their necks. The priest and the other people wanted to kill the bulls as part of a ceremony to worship Paul and Barnabas.

Read all of Acts 14

Cross References

Acts 19:35Then the city secretary made the crowd stop shouting, and he said to them, “My fellow-citizens, everyone in the world knows [RHQ] that we(inc) people who live in Ephesus city guard the temple where we worship the great goddess Artemis. Also, everyone knows that we(inc) watch over the sacred image of our goddess that fell down from heaven!

Matthew Henry on Acts 14:9-19

The Lame Man Healed at Lystra; Paul and Barnabas at Lystra. 8 And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked: 9 The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, 10 Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked. 11 And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study Acts 14:12