Acts 16:2 (LSB)

Passage

and he was well spoken of by the brothers who were in Lystra and Iconium.

Nearby Context

Acts 16:1 Now Paul also arrived at Derbe and at Lystra. And behold, a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek,

Acts 16:2 and he was well spoken of by the brothers who were in Lystra and Iconium.

Acts 16:3 Paul wanted this man to go with him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

Acts 16:4 Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering the decrees which had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem, for them to keep.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "well", "spoken", "brothers", "lystra", and "iconium". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "well" and "spoken", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 1's "Now Paul also arrived at Derbe and..." into verse 3's "Paul wanted this man to go with...", so "well" and "spoken" belong inside that flow. In Acts context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "well" and "spoken" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.