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Paul and Barnabas are called to preach among the heathen. Of Sergius Paulus and Elymas the magician. Paul preaches at Antioch.

13 There were in the congregation at Antioch certain prophets and teachers, such as Barnabas, and Simeon called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they worshipped the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Separate unto me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. Then they fasted and prayed, and put their hands on them, and let them go. And they, after they were sent by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to the island of Cyprus. And when they had come to Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John Mark to assist them.

When they had gone throughout the isle to the city of Paphos, they found a certain magician, a false prophet who was a Jew named Bar-Jesus. He was with the proconsul of the province, one Sergius Paulus, a man of understanding. This man called to him Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God. But Elymas the magician (for so was his name by translation) withstood them, and sought to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

Then Saul, who also is called Paul, being full of the Holy Spirit, set his eyes on him 10 and said, O full of all subtlety and deceitfulness, child of the devil and enemy of all righteousness, you cease not to pervert the straight ways of the Lord. 11 And now behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a season.

And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness, and he went about seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12 Then the proconsul, when he saw what had happened, believed, and wondered at the doctrine of the Lord.

13 When those who were with Paul departed from Paphos by ship, they went to Perga, a city of Pamphylia; but there John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem. 14 But they wandered through the districts from Perga to Antioch, a city of the province of Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and sat down. 15 And after the law and the prophets were read, the leaders of the synagogue sent to them, saying, Men and brethren, if you have any sermon to exhort the people, do speak.

16 Then Paul stood up and beckoned with his hand and said, Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen! 17 The God of this people chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with a mighty arm brought them out of it. 18 And for the time of about forty years he suffered their ways in the wilderness. 19 And he destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, and divided their land to them by lot. 20 And afterward he gave them judges for about 450 years, until the time of Samuel the prophet. 21 And after that they desired a king, and God gave to them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for 40 years. 22 And after he had put him down, he set up David to be their king, of whom he reported, saying: I have found David the son of Jesse to be a man after my own heart. He will fulfil all my will.

23 From this man’s seed, God (according to his promise) brought forth to the people of Israel a saviour, one Jesus, 24 when John, before his coming, had first preached the baptism of repentance to Israel. 25 And when John was finishing his course, he said, He whom you think that I am, I am not. But behold, there comes one after me, the shoes of whose feet I am not worthy to loose.  

26 Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whoever among you fears God, to you is this word of salvation sent. 27 The inhabiters of Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not know him, nor yet the voices of the prophets that are read every Sabbath day, have fulfilled the prophets in condemning him. 28 And when they found no cause of death in him, yet they asked Pilate to kill him. 29 And when they had fulfilled all the things that were written of him, they took him down from the tree and put him in a sepulchre. 30 But God raised him again from death, 31 and he was seen during many days by those who came with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses to the people.

32 And we declare to you that the promise made to the fathers, 33 God has fulfilled unto us, their children, in that he raised up Jesus again, even as it is written in the second psalm: You are my Son; this same day I have begotten you. 34 As concerning that he raised him up from death, now no more to return to corruption, he said thus: The holy promises made to David, I will give faithfully to you. 35 Therefore he says also in another place: You shall not suffer your Holy One to see corruption. 36 However David, after he had in his time fulfilled the will of God, slept, and was laid with his fathers, and saw corruption. 37 But he whom God raised again saw no corruption.

38 Be it known to you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man the forgiveness of sins is preached to you, 39 and that by him all who believe are justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. 40 Beware, therefore, lest that fall on you which is spoken of in the prophets: 41 Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish! For I do a work in your days that you will not believe, though a man were to declare it to you.

42 When they came out of the synagogue of the Jews, the Gentiles urged them to preach the word to them between the Sabbath days. 43 When the congregation broke up, many of the Jews and virtuous converts followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them, and exhorted them to continue in the grace of God. 44 And the next Sabbath day, almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God.

45 When the Jews saw the people, they were full of indignation and spoke against those things that were said by Paul, contradicting and railing on it. 46 Then Paul and Barnabas were bold and said, It was fitting that the word of God should first have been preached to you. But seeing you put it from you, and think yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. 47 For so has the Lord commanded us: I have made you a light to the Gentiles, to be salvation to the end of the world.

48 The Gentiles heard and were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord and believed – even as many as were appointed to eternal life. 49 And the word of the Lord went abroad throughout all the region.

50 But the Jews moved the devout and honourable women and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their district. 51 And they shook off the dust from their feet against them, and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

13 Now in the church at Antioch(A) there were prophets(B) and teachers:(C) Barnabas,(D) Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene,(E) Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod(F) the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,(G) “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work(H) to which I have called them.”(I) So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them(J) and sent them off.(K)

On Cyprus

The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit,(L) went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.(M) When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God(N) in the Jewish synagogues.(O) John(P) was with them as their helper.

They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer(Q) and false prophet(R) named Bar-Jesus, who was an attendant of the proconsul,(S) Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer(T) (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul(U) from the faith.(V) Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit,(W) looked straight at Elymas and said, 10 “You are a child of the devil(X) and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?(Y) 11 Now the hand of the Lord is against you.(Z) You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.”(AA)

Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12 When the proconsul(AB) saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.

In Pisidian Antioch

13 From Paphos,(AC) Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia,(AD) where John(AE) left them to return to Jerusalem. 14 From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch.(AF) On the Sabbath(AG) they entered the synagogue(AH) and sat down. 15 After the reading from the Law(AI) and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have a word of exhortation for the people, please speak.”

16 Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand(AJ) and said: “Fellow Israelites and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! 17 The God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt; with mighty power he led them out of that country;(AK) 18 for about forty years he endured their conduct[a](AL) in the wilderness;(AM) 19 and he overthrew seven nations in Canaan,(AN) giving their land to his people(AO) as their inheritance.(AP) 20 All this took about 450 years.

“After this, God gave them judges(AQ) until the time of Samuel the prophet.(AR) 21 Then the people asked for a king,(AS) and he gave them Saul(AT) son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin,(AU) who ruled forty years. 22 After removing Saul,(AV) he made David their king.(AW) God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart;(AX) he will do everything I want him to do.’(AY)

23 “From this man’s descendants(AZ) God has brought to Israel the Savior(BA) Jesus,(BB) as he promised.(BC) 24 Before the coming of Jesus, John preached repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel.(BD) 25 As John was completing his work,(BE) he said: ‘Who do you suppose I am? I am not the one you are looking for.(BF) But there is one coming after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’(BG)

26 “Fellow children of Abraham(BH) and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation(BI) has been sent. 27 The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus,(BJ) yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets(BK) that are read every Sabbath. 28 Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed.(BL) 29 When they had carried out all that was written about him,(BM) they took him down from the cross(BN) and laid him in a tomb.(BO) 30 But God raised him from the dead,(BP) 31 and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem.(BQ) They are now his witnesses(BR) to our people.

32 “We tell you the good news:(BS) What God promised our ancestors(BT) 33 he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus.(BU) As it is written in the second Psalm:

“‘You are my son;
    today I have become your father.’[b](BV)

34 God raised him from the dead so that he will never be subject to decay. As God has said,

“‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’[c](BW)

35 So it is also stated elsewhere:

“‘You will not let your holy one see decay.’[d](BX)

36 “Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep;(BY) he was buried with his ancestors(BZ) and his body decayed. 37 But the one whom God raised from the dead(CA) did not see decay.

38 “Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.(CB) 39 Through him everyone who believes(CC) is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses.(CD) 40 Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you:

41 “‘Look, you scoffers,
    wonder and perish,
for I am going to do something in your days
    that you would never believe,
    even if someone told you.’[e](CE)

42 As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue,(CF) the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. 43 When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.(CG)

44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying(CH) and heaped abuse(CI) on him.

46 Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first.(CJ) Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.(CK) 47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us:

“‘I have made you[f] a light for the Gentiles,(CL)
    that you[g] may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’[h](CM)

48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord;(CN) and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.

49 The word of the Lord(CO) spread through the whole region. 50 But the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.(CP) 51 So they shook the dust off their feet(CQ) as a warning to them and went to Iconium.(CR) 52 And the disciples(CS) were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.(CT)

Footnotes

  1. Acts 13:18 Some manuscripts he cared for them
  2. Acts 13:33 Psalm 2:7
  3. Acts 13:34 Isaiah 55:3
  4. Acts 13:35 Psalm 16:10 (see Septuagint)
  5. Acts 13:41 Hab. 1:5
  6. Acts 13:47 The Greek is singular.
  7. Acts 13:47 The Greek is singular.
  8. Acts 13:47 Isaiah 49:6