they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding region,
Parallel translations
- WEB they became aware of it, and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra, Derbe, and the surrounding region.
- KJV They were ware of it, and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region that lieth round about:
- NKJV they became aware of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding region.
- NASB they became aware of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, and the surrounding region;
- NLT When the apostles learned of it, they fled to the region of Lycaonia—to the towns of Lystra and Derbe and the surrounding area.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Learning of the plot, they fled to Lystra, Derbe, and the surrounding Lycaonian region. Wise retreat from danger can serve the spread of the gospel.
Overview
Fleeing was not cowardice but obedience to Jesus' instruction to move on when persecuted (Matthew 10:23). Their flight carried the gospel into new towns that might otherwise never have heard it. God's mission advances even through opposition, as scattered preachers plant the word in fresh soil.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Acts 14:20–21But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. And the next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.
- Matt 10:23When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next. Truly I tell you, you will not reach all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
- 2 Tim 3:11my persecutions, and the sufferings that came upon me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.
- Acts 16:1–2Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where he found a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman and a Greek father.
- Acts 17:13–14But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that Paul was also proclaiming the word of God in Berea, they went there themselves to incite and agitate the crowds.
- Acts 9:24but Saul learned of their plot. Day and night they watched the city gates in order to kill him.
- 2 Kgs 6:8–12Now the king of Aram was at war against Israel. After consulting with his servants, he said, “My camp will be in such and such a place.”
- Acts 23:12–22When daylight came, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.
How Acts 14:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.