Little attention is given to the stare and the loud voice of Paul in the healing of the cripple in Acts 14.8–10. This article examines these two actions and suggests that far from being incidental in the narrative they help to explain how the Lystrans recognized that ‘the gods have come down’ in Paul and Barnabas. In both Graeco-Roman texts and in Jewish literature, the stare and the loud voice are indicators of the action or presence of the gods. In addition, the command ‘arise’ is commonly given by divine beings in Jewish texts.