Acts 13

1 Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.

Preaching in Cyprus

4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.5 And when they arrived in Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John as their assistant.6 Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus,7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.9 Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him10 and said, O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord?11 And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

At Antioch in Pisidia

13 Now when Paul and his party set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia; and John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem.14 But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down.15 And after the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, Men and brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.16 Then Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen:17 The God of this people Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He brought them out of it.18 Now for a time of about forty years He put up with their ways in the wilderness.19 And when He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land to them by allotment.20 After that He gave them judges for about four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.21 And afterward they asked for a king; so God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.22 And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.23 From this mans seed, according to the promise, God raised up for Israel a SaviorJesus24 after John had first preached, before His coming, the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.25 And as John was finishing his course, he said, Who do you think I am? I am not He. But behold, there comes One after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to loose.26 Men and brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to you the word of this salvation has been sent.27 For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him. 28 And though they found no cause for death in Him, they asked Pilate that He should be put to death.29 Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb.30 But God raised Him from the dead.31 He was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people.32 And we declare to you glad tidings that promise which was made to the fathers.33 God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 34 And that He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, He has spoken thus: I will give you the sure mercies of David.35 Therefore He also says in another Psalm: You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption.36 For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption;37 but He whom God raised up saw no corruption.38 Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins;39 and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.40 Beware therefore, lest what has been spoken in the prophets come upon you:41  Behold, you despisers, Marvel and perish! For I work a work in your days, A work which you will by no means believe, Though one were to declare it to you.

Blessing and Conflict at Antioch

42 So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.43 Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God.45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul.46 Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.47 For so the Lord has commanded us: I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth. 48 Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.49 And the word of the Lord was being spread throughout all the region.50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.51 But they shook off the dust from their feet against them, and came to Iconium.52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

ACTS 13

Barnabas and Saul //Are Chosen and Sent

1 The church at Antioch had several prophets and teachers. They were Barnabas, Simeon, also called Niger, Lucius from Cyrene, Manaen, who was Herod'st close friend, and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and going without eating, t the Holy Spirit told them, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul to do the work for which I have chosen them.”

3 Everyone prayed and went without eating for a while longer. Next, they placed their hands on Barnabas and Saul to show that they had been appointed to do this work. Then everyone sent them on their way.

Barnabas and Saul in Cyprus

5 They arrived at Salamis and began to preach God's message in the synagogues. They also had Johnt as a helper.
6 Barnabas and Saul went all the way to the city of Paphos on the other end of the island, where they met a Jewish man named Bar-Jesus. He practiced witchcraft and was a false prophet. 7 He also worked for Sergius Paulus, who was very smart and was the governor of the island. Sergius Paulus wanted to hear God's message, and he sent for Barnabas and Saul.

8 But Bar-Jesus, whose other name was Elymas, was against them. He even tried to keep the governor from having faith in the Lord.
9 Then Saul, better known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit. He looked straight at Elymas 10 and said, “You son of the devil! You are a liar, a crook, and an enemy of everything that is right. When will you stop speaking against the true ways of the Lord?

11 The Lord is going to punish you by making you completely blind for a while.”
Suddenly the man's eyes were covered by a dark mist, and he went around trying to get someone to lead him by the hand.

12 When the governor saw what had happened, he was amazed at this teaching about the Lord. So he put his faith in the Lord.

Paul and Barnabas //in Antioch of Pisidia

14 The rest of them went on from Perga to Antioch in Pisidia. Then on the Sabbath they went to the synagogue and sat down.

15 After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, t the leaders sent someone over to tell Paul and Barnabas, “Friends, if you have anything to say that will help the people, please say it.”

16 Paul got up. He motioned with his hand and said:
People of Israel, and everyone else who worships God, listen! 17 t The God of Israel chose our ancestors, and he let our people prosper while they were living in Egypt. Then with his mighty power he led them out, 18 t and for about 40 years he took care oft them in the desert. 19 t He destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan and gave their land to our people.

20 t All this happened in about 450 years.
Then God gave our people judges until the time of the prophet Samuel, 21 t but the people demanded a king. So for 40 years God gave them King Saul, the son of Kish from the tribe of Benjamin.

22 t Later, God removed Saul and let David rule in his place. God said about him, “David the son of Jesse is the kind of person who pleases me most! He does everything I want him to do.”
23 God promised that someone from David's family would come to save the people of Israel, and this one is Jesus. 24 t But before Jesus came, John was telling everyone in Israel to turn back to God and be baptized.

25 t Then, when John's work was almost done, he said, “Who do you people think I am? Do you think I am the Promised One? He will come later, and I am not good enough to untie his sandals.”
26 Now listen, you descendants of Abraham! Pay attention, all of you Gentiles who are here to worship God! Listen to this message about how to be saved, because it is for everyone.

27 The people of Jerusalem and their leaders didn't realize who Jesus was. And they didn't understand the words of the prophets they read each Sabbath. So they condemned Jesus just as the prophets had said.

28-29  t t They did exactly what the Scriptures said they would. Even though they couldn't find any reason to put Jesus to death, they still asked Pilate to have him killed.
After Jesus had been put to death, he was taken down from the crosst and placed in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from death!

31 t Then for many days Jesus appeared to his followers who had gone with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. Now they are telling our people about him.
32 God made a promise to our ancestors. And we are here to tell you the good news

33 t that he has kept this promise to us. It is just as the second Psalm says about Jesus,
“You are my son because today
I have become your Father.”

34  t God raised Jesus from death and will never let his body decay. It is just as God said,
“I will make to you
the same holy promises
that I made to David.”

35  t And in another psalm it says, “God will never let the body of his Holy One decay.”
36 When David was alive, he obeyed God. Then after he died, he was buried in the family grave, and his body decayed.

37 But God raised Jesus from death, and his body did not decay.
38 My friends, the message is that Jesus can forgive your sins! The Law of Moses could not set you free from all your sins. 39 But everyone who has faith in Jesus is set free.

40 Make sure what the prophets have said doesn't happen to you. They said,

41  t “Look, you people
who make fun of God!
Be amazed
and disappear.
I will do something today
that you won't believe,
even if someone
tells you about it!”
42 As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people begged them to say more about these same things on the next Sabbath.

43 After the service, many Jews and a lot of Gentiles who worshiped God went with them. Paul and Barnabas begged them all to remain faithful to God, who had treated them with undeserved grace.
44 The next Sabbath almost everyone in town came to hear the message about the Lord.t

45 When the Jewish people saw the crowds, they were very jealous. They insulted Paul and spoke against everything he said.

46 But Paul and Barnabas bravely said:
We had to tell God's message to you before we told it to anyone else. But you rejected the message! This proves that you don't deserve eternal life. Now we are going to the Gentiles.

47 t The Lord has given us this command,
“I have placed you here
as a light
for the Gentiles.
You are to take
the saving power of God
to people everywhere on earth.”

48 This message made the Gentiles glad, and they praised what they had heard about the Lord.t Everyone who had been chosen for eternal life then put their faith in the Lord.
49 The message about the Lord spread all over this region.

50 But the Jewish leaders went to some of the important men in the town and to some respected women who were religious. They turned them against Paul and Barnabas and started making trouble for them. They even chased them out of this part of the country.

51  t Paul and Barnabas shook the dust from that place off their feett and went on to the city of Iconium.
52 But the Lord's followers in Antioch were very happy and were filled with the Holy Spirit.