Barnabas and Saul Sent Off

13 Now there were in the church at Antioch ^(A)prophets and ^(B)teachers, ^(C)Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger,^[a] Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of ^(D)Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ² While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, ^(E)the Holy Spirit said, ^(F)“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul ^(G)for the work to which I have called them.” ³ Then after fasting and ^(H)praying they laid their hands on them and ^(I)sent them off.

Barnabas and Saul on Cyprus

⁴ So, being sent out ^(J)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 ^(K)in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had ^(L)John to ^(M)assist them. ⁶ When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain ^(N)magician, ^(O)a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. ⁷ He was with ^(P)the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. ⁸ But Elymas the ^(Q)magician (for that is the meaning of his name) ^(R)opposed them, seeking to turn ^(S)the proconsul away from the faith. ⁹ But Saul, who was also called Paul, ^(T)filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him ¹⁰ and said, “You ^(U)son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and ^(V)villainy, will you not stop ^(W)making crooked ^(X)the straight paths of the Lord? ¹¹ And now, behold, ^(Y)the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking ^(Z)people to lead him by the hand. ¹² Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at ^(AA)the teaching of the Lord.

Paul and Barnabas at Antioch in Pisidia

¹³ Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And ^(AB)John left them and returned ^(AC)to Jerusalem, ¹⁴ but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And ^(AD)on the Sabbath day ^(AE)they went into the synagogue and sat down. ¹⁵ After ^(AF)the reading from ^(AG)the Law and the Prophets, ^(AH)the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any ^(AI)word of encouragement for the people, say it.” ¹⁶ So Paul stood up, and ^(AJ)motioning with his hand said:

“Men of Israel and ^(AK)you who fear God, listen. ^17 (AL)The God of this people Israel ^(AM)chose our fathers and ^(AN)made the people great ^(AO)during their stay in the land of Egypt, and ^(AP)with uplifted arm he led them out of it. ¹⁸ And for about ^(AQ)forty years ^(AR)he put up with^[b] them in the wilderness. ¹⁹ And ^(AS)after destroying ^(AT)seven nations in the land of Canaan, ^(AU)he gave them their land as an inheritance. ²⁰ All this took about 450 years. And after that ^(AV)he gave them judges until ^(AW)Samuel the prophet. ²¹ Then ^(AX)they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul ^(AY)the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. ²² And ^(AZ)when he had removed him, ^(BA)he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ^(BB)‘I have found in David the son of Jesse ^(BC)a man after my heart, ^(BD)who will do all my will.’ ^23 (BE)Of this man's offspring God has brought to Israel ^(BF)a Savior, Jesus, ^(BG)as he promised.