Acts 13
13
Barnabas and Saul Commissioned
1#Ac 11:22–27; 4:36In the church that was in Antioch there were 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#Ac 9:15; 2Ti 1:11As they worshipped the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3#Ac 6:6; 14:26Then after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
The Apostles Preach in Cyprus
4#Ac 4:36; 13:2So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5#Ac 13:14; 9:20When they arrived at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John as an assistant.
6#Mt 7:15When they had gone through the whole island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet, whose name was Bar-Jesus, 7#Ac 13:12; 19:38who 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#Ac 13:6–7; 2Ti 3:8But Elymas the sorcerer (which is his name by interpretation) opposed them, trying to divert the proconsul from the faith. 9#Ac 4:8; 2:4Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, stared at him and said, 10#Hos 14:9; Mt 13:38“You son of the devil, enemy of all righteousness, full of deceit and of all fraud, will you not cease perverting the right ways of the Lord? 11#Ex 9:3; Ps 32:4Now, look! The hand of the Lord is against you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.”
Immediately mist and darkness fell on him, and he went about seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12#Ac 13:7When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed and was astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.
Paul and Barnabas in Antioch of Pisidia
13#Ac 2:10; 12:12Now when Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John departed from them and returned to Jerusalem. 14#Ac 16:13; 13:5But they departed from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And they went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down. 15#Ac 15:21; Mk 5:22After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it.”
16#Ac 12:17; 10:2Then Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said: “Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen. 17#Dt 7:6–8; Ps 105:23–24The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they lived as foreigners in the land of Egypt, and with great power He led them out of it. 18#Ac 7:36; Dt 9:7For about forty years He endured their conduct in the desert. 19#Ps 78:55; Dt 7:1; Jos 14:1When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He gave them their land as an inheritance by lot.
20#Jdg 2:16; 1Sa 3:20“After about four hundred and fifty years, God gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. 21#1Sa 10:1Then they requested a king. And God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22#1Sa 16:1; 15:23; 15:26When He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, of whom He testified, saying, ‘I have found David#Ps 89:20. the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will fulfill My entire will.’#1Sa 13:14.
23#Mt 1:1; Ps 132:11“From this man’s descendants God has raised a Savior for Israel, Jesus, according to His promise. 24#Ac 1:22Before His coming John had preached a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25#Mt 3:11; Mk 1:7As John was fulfilling his course, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not He. But look! He is coming after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’#Jn 1:20, 27.
26#Ac 4:12; 13:46“Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those of you who fear God, the word of this salvation has been sent to us. 27#Ac 3:17; Lk 24:20Because those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, did not know Him, in condemning Him they have fulfilled the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath. 28#Mt 27:22–25Though they found in Him no cause worthy of death, yet they asked Pilate to have Him killed. 29#Lk 23:53; Mt 27:57–60; Mk 15:45–46When they had fulfilled all that was written of Him, they took Him down from the tree and placed Him in a tomb. 30#Ac 2:24; Mt 28:6But God raised Him from the dead, 31#Lk 24:48; Ac 1:3and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now His witnesses to the people.
32#Ac 26:6; Ro 4:13“We preach to you good news: The promise which was made to the fathers, 33#Ps 2:7; Heb 5:5God has fulfilled to us, their children, raising Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm:
‘You are My Son;
today I have become Your Father.’#Ps 2:7.
34#Isa 55:3; Ro 6:9That He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, He has spoken in this way:
‘I will give You the holy and sure blessings of David.’#Isa 55:3.
35#Ps 16:10So He says in another Psalm:
‘You will not let Your Holy One see decay.’#Ps 16:10.
36#1Ki 2:10; Ac 2:29“For after David had served by the counsel of God in his own generation, he fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw decay. 37#Ac 13:30; 2:24But He whom God raised up saw no decay.
38#Lk 24:47; Ac 2:38“Therefore, brothers, let it be known to you that through this Man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39#Ro 8:3; Gal 2:16and by Him everyone who believes is justified from everything from which you could not be justified by the Law of Moses. 40Therefore beware, lest what is spoken of in the prophets come upon you:
41#Hab 1:5 ‘Look, you scoffers,
marvel and perish!
For I will perform a work in your days
which you will never believe,
even if someone declares it to you.’#Hab 1:5.”
42When Paul and Barnabas went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles asked that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. 43#Ac 11:23; 6:5When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.
44On the next Sabbath almost the whole city assembled to hear the word of God. 45#Ac 18:6; 5:17But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, blaspheming and contradicting what Paul was saying.
46#Ac 3:26; 28:28Then Paul and Barnabas boldly said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first. But seeing you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47#Isa 49:6; Lk 2:32For thus has the Lord commanded us:
‘I have established you to be a light of the Gentiles,
that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’#Isa 42:6; 49:6.”
48When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And all who were ordained to eternal life believed.
49The word of the Lord was spread throughout the entire region. 50#Ac 14:2; 14:19But the Jews stirred up the devout and honorable women and the chief men of the city, and raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them from their region. 51#Mt 10:14; Ac 18:6So they shook off the dust of their feet against them and went to Iconium. 52#Ac 2:4; Mt 5:12And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
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Acts 13: MEV
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Military Bible Association
Acts 13
13
1In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers. Among them were Barnabas, Simeon, and Lucius from Cyrene. Simeon was also called Niger. Another was Manaen. He had been brought up with Herod, the ruler of Galilee. Saul was among them too. 2While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit spoke. “Set apart Barnabas and Saul for me,” he said. “I have appointed them to do special work.” 3The prophets and teachers fasted and prayed. They placed their hands on Barnabas and Saul. Then they sent them off.
Events on Cyprus
4Barnabas and Saul were sent on their way by the Holy Spirit. They went down to Seleucia. From there they sailed to Cyprus. 5They arrived at Salamis. There they preached God’s word in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.
6They traveled all across the island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jew named Bar-Jesus. He was an evil magician and a false prophet. 7He was an attendant of Sergius Paulus, the governor. Paulus was a man of understanding. He sent for Barnabas and Saul. He wanted to hear God’s word. 8But the evil magician named Elymas opposed them. The name Elymas means Magician. He tried to keep the governor from becoming a believer. 9Saul was also known as Paul. He was filled with the Holy Spirit. He looked straight at Elymas. He said to him, 10“You are a child of the devil! You are an enemy of everything that is right! You cheat people. You use all kinds of tricks. Won’t you ever stop twisting the right ways of the Lord? 11Now the Lord’s hand is against you. You are going to go blind. For a while you won’t even be able to see the light of the sun.”
Right away mist and darkness came over him. He tried to feel his way around. He wanted to find someone to lead him by the hand. 12When the governor saw what had happened, he believed. He was amazed at what Paul was teaching about the Lord.
Paul Preaches in Pisidian Antioch
13From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia. There John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem. 14From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath day they entered the synagogue and sat down. 15The Law and the Prophets were read aloud. Then the leaders of the synagogue sent word to Paul and his companions. They said, “Brothers, do you have any words of instruction for the people? If you do, please speak.”
16Paul stood up and motioned with his hand. Then he said, “Fellow Israelites, and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! 17The God of Israel chose our people who lived long ago. He blessed them greatly while they were in Egypt. With his mighty power he led them out of that country. 18He put up with their behavior for about 40 years in the desert. 19And he destroyed seven nations in Canaan. Then he gave the land to his people as their rightful share. 20All this took about 450 years.
“After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. 21Then the people asked for a king. He gave them Saul, son of Kish. Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin. He ruled for 40 years. 22God removed him and made David their king. Here is God’s witness about him. ‘David, son of Jesse, is a man dear to my heart,’ he said. ‘David will do everything I want him to do.’
23“From this man’s family line God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus. This is what he had promised. 24Before Jesus came, John preached that we should turn away from our sins and be baptized. He preached this to all Israel. 25John was coming to the end of his work. ‘Who do you suppose I am?’ he said. ‘I am not the one you are looking for. But there is someone coming after me. I am not good enough to untie his sandals.’
26“Listen, fellow children of Abraham! Listen, you Gentiles who worship God! This message of salvation has been sent to us. 27The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus. By finding him guilty, they made the prophets’ words come true. These are read every Sabbath day. 28The people and their rulers had no reason at all for sentencing Jesus to death. But they asked Pilate to have him killed. 29They did everything that had been written about Jesus. Then they took him down from the cross. They laid him in a tomb. 30But God raised him from the dead. 31For many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. Now they are telling our people about Jesus.
32“We are telling you the good news. What God promised our people long ago 33he has done for us, their children. He has raised up Jesus. This is what is written in the second Psalm. It says,
“ ‘You are my son.
Today I have become your father.’ (Psalm 2:7)
34God raised Jesus from the dead. He will never rot in the grave. As God has said,
“ ‘Holy and sure blessings were promised to David.
I will give them to you.’ (Isaiah 55:3)
35In another place it also says,
“ ‘You will not let your holy one rot away.’ (Psalm 16:10)
36“David carried out God’s purpose while he lived. Then he died. He was buried with his people. His body rotted away. 37But the one whom God raised from the dead did not rot away.
38“My friends, here is what I want you to know. I announce to you that your sins can be forgiven because of what Jesus has done. 39Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin. Moses’ law could not make you right in God’s eyes. 40Be careful! Don’t let what the prophets spoke about happen to you. They said,
41“ ‘Look, you who make fun of the truth!
Wonder and die!
I am going to do something in your days
that you would never believe.
You wouldn’t believe it even if someone told you.’ ” (Habakkuk 1:5)
42Paul and Barnabas started to leave the synagogue. The people invited them to say more about these things on the next Sabbath day. 43The people were told they could leave the service. Many Jews followed Paul and Barnabas. Many Gentiles who faithfully worshiped the God of the Jews did the same. Paul and Barnabas talked with them. They tried to get them to keep living in God’s grace.
44On the next Sabbath day, almost the whole city gathered. They gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45When the Jews saw the crowds, they became very jealous. They began to disagree with what Paul was saying. They said evil things against him.
46Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly. “We had to speak God’s word to you first,” they said. “But you don’t accept it. You don’t think you are good enough for eternal life. So now we are turning to the Gentiles. 47This is what the Lord has commanded us to do. He said,
“ ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles.
You will bring salvation to the whole earth.’ ” (Isaiah 49:6)
48When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad. They honored the word of the Lord. All who were appointed for eternal life believed.
49The word of the Lord spread through the whole area. 50But the Jewish leaders stirred up the important women who worshiped God. They also stirred up the men who were leaders in the city. The Jewish leaders tried to get the women and men to attack Paul and Barnabas. They threw Paul and Barnabas out of that area. 51Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet. This was a warning to the people who had opposed them. Then Paul and Barnabas went on to Iconium. 52The believers were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
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