Acts 13–15

Barnabas and Saul Commissioned

¹³Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a childhood friend of Herod the ruler,^f and Saul.^{* 2}While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”^{* 3}Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.^*

The Apostles Preach in Cyprus

⁴So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.^{* 5}When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. And they had John also to assist them.^{* 6}When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they met a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet, named Bar-Jesus.^{* 7}He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man who summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God.^{* 8}But the magician Elymas (for that is the translation of his name) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith.^{* 9}But Saul, also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him^{* 10}and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?^{* 11}And now listen—the hand of the Lord is against you, and you will be blind for a while, unable to see the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he fumbled about for someone to lead him by the hand.^{* 12}When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.

Paul and Barnabas in Antioch of Pisidia

¹³Then Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. John, however, left them and returned to Jerusalem,^{* 14}but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.^{* 15}After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the officials of the synagogue sent them a message, saying, “Brothers,^g if you have any word of exhortation for the people, give it.” ¹⁶So Paul stood up and with a gesture began to speak:

“Fellow Israelites^h and others who fear God, listen. ¹⁷The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it.^{* 18}For about forty years he put up withⁱ them in the wilderness.^{* 19}After he had destroyed seven peoples in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance^{* 20}for about four hundred fifty years. After that he gave them judges until the time of the prophet Samuel.^{* 21}Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for forty years.^{* 22}When he had removed him, he made David their king. In his testimony about him he said, ‘I have found David, son of Jesse, to be a man after my heart, who will carry out all my wishes.’^{* 23}Of this man’s posterity God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised;^{* 24}before his coming John had already proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.^{* 25}And as John was finishing his work, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but one is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the strap of the sandals^j on his feet.’^*

²⁶“Brothers and sisters,^k you descendants of Abraham’s family and others who fear God, to us^l the message of this salvation has been sent. ²⁷Because the residents of Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognize him or understand the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath, they fulfilled those words by condemning him.^{* 28}Even though they found no cause for a sentence of death, they asked Pilate to have him killed.^{* 29}When they had carried out everything that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb.^{* 30}But God raised him from the dead,^{* 31}and for many days he appeared to those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, and they are now his witnesses to the people.^{* 32}And we bring you the good news that what God promised to our ancestors^{* 33}he has fulfilled for us, their children,^m by raising Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm,

‘You are my Son;

today I have begotten you.’^*

³⁴“As to his raising him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way,

‘I will give you the holy promises made to David.’^*

³⁵“Therefore he has also said in another psalm,

‘You will not let your Holy One experience corruption.’^*

³⁶“For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, died,ⁿ was laid beside his ancestors, and experienced corruption,^{* 37}but he whom God raised up experienced no corruption. ³⁸Let it be known to you therefore, brothers and sisters,^o that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you;^{* 39}by this Jesus^p everyone who believes is set free from all those sins^q from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.^{* 40}Beware, therefore, that what the prophets said does not happen to you:^*

⁴¹‘Look, you scoffers!

Be amazed and perish,

for in your days I am doing a work,

a work that you will never believe, even if someone tells you.’ ”

⁴²As Paul and Barnabas^r were going out, the people urged them to speak about these things again the next Sabbath. ⁴³When the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.^*

⁴⁴The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.^{s 45}But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and blaspheming, they contradicted what was spoken by Paul.^{* 46}Then both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you reject it and judge yourselves to be unworthy of eternal life, we are now turning to the gentiles.^{* 47}For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,

‘I have set you to be a light for the gentiles,

so that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”^*

⁴⁸When the gentiles heard this, they were glad and praised the word of the Lord, and as many as had been destined for eternal life became believers. ⁴⁹Thus the word of the Lord spread throughout the region. ⁵⁰But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city and stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of their region. ⁵¹So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.^{* 52}And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.^*

Paul and Barnabas in Iconium

¹⁴The same thing occurred in Iconium, where Paul^t and Barnabas^u went into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers. ²But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. ³So they remained for a long time speaking boldly for the Lord, who testified to the word of his grace by granting signs and wonders to be done through them.^{* 4}But the residents of the city were divided: some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles.^{* 5}And when an attempt was made by both gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them,^{* 6}the apostles^v learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding region,^{* 7}and there they continued proclaiming the good news.

Paul and Barnabas in Lystra and Derbe

⁸In Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet and had never walked, for he had been lame from birth.^{* 9}He listened to Paul as he was speaking. And Paul, looking at him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed,^{* 10}said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And the man^w sprang up and began to walk. ¹¹When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!”^{* 12}Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. ¹³The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city,^x brought oxen and garlands to the gates; he and the crowds wanted to offer sacrifice. ¹⁴When the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting, ¹⁵“People,^y why are you doing this? We are mortals just like you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.^{* 16}In past generations he allowed all peoples to follow their own ways,^{* 17}yet he has not left himself without a witness in doing good, giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons and filling you with food and your hearts with joy.”^{* 18}Even with these words, they scarcely restrained the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.

¹⁹But Jews came there from Antioch and Iconium and won over the crowds. Then they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.^{* 20}But when the disciples surrounded him, he got up and went into the city. The next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe.^*

The Return to Antioch in Syria

²¹After they had proclaimed the good news to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, then on to Iconium and Antioch. ²²There they strengthened the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue in the faith, saying, “It is through many persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God.”^{* 23}And after they had appointed elders for them in each church, with prayer and fasting they entrusted them to the Lord in whom they had come to believe.^*

²⁴Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. ²⁵When they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. ²⁶From…