Acts 13:1–15

Preparing for the Mission Field

13In the church that was at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius the Cyrenian, Manaen, a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, ^dand Saul.

²As they were ministering to ^ethe Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work I have called them to.” ^f3Then after they had fasted, prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them off. ^g

The Mission to Cyprus

⁴Being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they came down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. ⁵Arriving in Salamis, they proclaimed God’s message in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John as their assistant. ^h6When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came across a sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. ⁱ⁷He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and desired to hear God’s message. ^j8But Elymas the sorcerer (this is the meaning of his name) opposed ^kthem and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith. ^l

⁹Then Saul—also called Paul—filled with the Holy Spirit, stared straight at the sorcerer ¹⁰and said, “You son of the Devil, ^mfull of all deceit and all fraud, enemy of all righteousness! Won’t you ever stop perverting the straight paths ⁿof the Lord? ¹¹Now, look! The Lord’s hand is against you. ^oYou are going to be blind, and will not see the sun for a time.” Suddenly a mist and darkness fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

¹²Then the proconsul, seeing what happened, believed and was astonished at the teaching about the Lord. ^p

Paul’s Sermon in Antioch of Pisidia

¹³Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. John, however, left them and went back to Jerusalem. ^q14They continued their journey from Perga and reached Antioch in Pisidia. On the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. ^r15After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any message of encouragement for the people, you can speak.” ^s