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13 Now in the church that was in Antioch, there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas and Simeon (called Niger), and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch) and Saul.

Now as they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, “Separate Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

Then they fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, and let them go.

And after they were sent forth by the Holy Ghost, they came down to Seleucia. And from there they sailed to Cyprus.

And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they also had John as their attendant.

So after they had gone through the island, to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer (a false prophet, a Jew) named Bar-Jesus,

who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man. He called Barnabas and Saul to him and asked to hear the word of God.

But Elymas the sorcerer (for such is the meaning of his name) opposed them and sought to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

Then Saul (who is also called Paul) being full of the Holy Ghost, stared at him,

10 and said, “O, child of the devil, the enemy of all righteousness, full of all subtlety and all mischief! Will you not cease to pervert the straight ways of the Lord?!

11 “Now, therefore, behold the hand of the Lord upon you! And you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time!” And immediately a mist and a darkness fell on him. And he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

12 Then the proconsul, when he saw what had been done, believed, and was astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.

13 Now when Paul and those who were with him had departed by ship from Paphos, they came to Perga of Pamphylia. Then John left them and returned to Jerusalem.

14 But when they left Perga, they came to Antioch of Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and sat down.

15 And after the reading of the Law and Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Men, brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, speak.”

16 Then Paul stood up and beckoned with the hand, and said, “Men of Israel, and you who fear God, hear me!

17 “The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers and exalted the people when they dwelt in the land of Egypt. And with a high arm, He brought them out of there.

18 “And for about forty years, He endured their manners in the wilderness.

19 “And He destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan and divided their land to them by lot.

20 “Then afterward, He gave them Judges for about four hundred and fifty years, until the time of Samuel the Prophet.

21 “So after that, they desired a King. And God gave them Saul (the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin) for forty years.

22 “And after He had taken him away, he raised up David to be their King. Of whom He testified, saying, ‘I have found David of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all things that I will.

23 “Of this man’s seed, God has raised up the Savior Jesus, according to His promise to Israel.

24 “Before His coming, John had first preached the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

25 “And when John had fulfilled his course, he said, ‘Whom do you think that I am? I am not He. But behold, there comes One after me, whose shoe of His feet I am not worthy to untie.’

26 “Men, brothers, children of the generation of Abraham, and whoever among you fears God, to you is the word of this salvation sent.

27 “For the inhabitants of Jerusalem and their rulers - because they did not know Him, or even the words of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath - have fulfilled them in condemning Him.

28 “And even though they found no cause for death, they still asked Pilate to kill Him.

29 “And when they had fulfilled all things that were written of Him, they took Him down from the tree, and put Him in a sepulcher.

30 “But God raised Him up from the dead.

31 “And He was seen by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem (who are his witnesses to the people) for many days.

32 “And we declare to you concerning the promise made to the fathers:

33 “that God has fulfilled it to us, their children, in that He raised up Jesus; even as it is written in the second Psalm, ‘You are My Son. This day have I begotten You.’

34 “And considering that He raised Him up from the dead, to return no more to decay, He has said this, ‘I will give you the holy things of David, which are faithful.’

35 “Therefore He also says in another place, ‘You will not allow Your Holy One to see decay.’

36 “For David - after he had served his time, by the counsel of God - slept, and was laid with his fathers, and saw decay.

37 But He Whom God raised up, saw no decay.

38 “Therefore, be it known to you, brothers, that the forgiveness of sins is preached to you through this Man.

39 “And by Him, everyone who believes is justified from all things which the Law of Moses could not justify.

40 “Therefore beware, so that that which is spoken of in the Prophets does not come upon you:

41 ‘Behold, you despisers, and wonder, and vanish away. For I work a work in your days; a work which you shall not believe, if one should declare it you.’”

42 And when they had come out of the synagogue of the Jews, the Gentiles begged them to preach these words to them the next Sabbath.

43 Now, after the congregation had dispersed, many of the Jews (and proselytes who feared God) followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and encouraged them to continue in the grace of God.

44 And the next Sabbath, almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God.

45 But when the Jews saw the people, they were full of envy. And contradicting and blaspheming, they spoke against those things which were spoken by Paul.

46 Then Paul and Barnabas spoke boldly, and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should have been spoken first to you. But seeing you reject it - and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life - lo, we turn to the Gentiles.

47 “For so has the Lord commanded us, saying, “I have made you a light of the Gentiles, so that you should be for salvation to the end of the world.”

48 And when the Gentiles heard it, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as were appointed to eternal life, believed.

49 Thus, the word of the Lord was spread throughout the whole country.

50 But the Jews stirred up devout and honorable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their region.

51 But they shook off the dust of their feet against them and came to Iconium.

52 And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.

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