Sent Out from Antioch

13 Now in the Antioch community, there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius the Cyrenian, Manaen (brought up since childhood with Herod the Tetrarch), and Saul. ² While they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Ruach ha-Kodesh said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” ³ Then after fasting, praying, and laying hands on them, they sent them off.

⁴ So, sent out by the Ruach ha-Kodesh, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. ⁵ When they arrived at Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John^[a] as a helper.

⁶ When they had gone throughout the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a man who was a magician—a Jewish false prophet, whose name was Bar-Yeshua. ⁷ He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. ⁸ But Elymas the magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. ⁹ But Saul, who is also Paul, filled with the Ruach ha-Kodesh, fixed his gaze on him ¹⁰ and said, “O you, full of all deceit and trickery, son of the devil, enemy of all righteousness—will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? ^{[b] 11} Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you,^[c] and you shall be blind and not see the sun for awhile.” Immediately, cloudiness and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. ¹² When he saw what had happened, the proconsul believed, because he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.

Paul’s Message in Diaspora Synagogues

¹³ Setting sail from Paphos, Paul’s company came to Perga in Pamphylia. John left them and returned to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ But they passed on from Perga and came to Antioch of Pisidia. Entering the synagogue on the Shabbat, they sat down. ¹⁵ After the reading of the Torah and the Prophets, the synagogue leaders sent to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, speak.”

¹⁶ So Paul, standing up and motioning with his hand, said, “Men of Israel and God-fearers, listen. ¹⁷ The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt,^[d] and with an outstretched arm He led them out of there. ¹⁸ For about forty years He put up with them in the wilderness. ^{[e] 19} And when He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He gave their land as an inheritance^[f]— ²⁰ all of this took about 450 years. After that, he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. ²¹ Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul, son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. ²² After removing him, He raised up David to be their king. He also testified about him and said, ‘I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do My will.’^[g]

²³ “From this man’s seed, in keeping with His promise, God brought to Israel a Savior^[h]—Yeshua. ²⁴ Before His coming, John had proclaimed an immersion of repentance to all the people of Israel. ²⁵ As John was completing his service, he said, ‘What do you suppose me to be? I am not He. But behold, One is coming after me, whose sandal I’m not worthy to untie.’

²⁶ “Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham and those among you who are God-fearers, it is to us the message of this salvation has been sent. ²⁷ For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers—not recognizing Him or the sayings of the Prophets that are read every Shabbat—fulfilled these words by condemning Him. ²⁸ Though they found no charge worthy of a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have Him executed. ²⁹ When they had carried out all that had been 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 For many days He appeared to those who had come up from the Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now His witnesses to the people.

³² “And we proclaim to you Good News—the promise to the fathers has arrived! ³³ For God has fulfilled this promise to the children—to us—by raising up Yeshua, as it is also written in the second psalm:

³⁴ “But since He raised Him up from the dead, never to return to decay, He has spoken in this way, ‘I will give you the holy and sure mercies of David.’ ^{[j] 35} Therefore He also says in another psalm, ‘You will not permit Your Holy One to see decay.’ ^{[k] 36} For after David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he went to sleep and was laid with his fathers and saw decay. ³⁷ But the One whom God raised up did not see decay.

³⁸ “Therefore, let it be known to you, brothers, that through this One is proclaimed to you the removal of sins, including all those from which you could not be set right by the Torah of Moses. ³⁹ Through this One everyone who keeps trusting is made righteous.

⁴⁰ “Be careful, then, so that what is said in the Prophets may not come upon you:

⁴² As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging them to speak these things to them the next Shabbat. ⁴³ When the synagogue meeting broke up, many of the Jewish people and God-fearing inquirers followed Paul and Barnabas, who were speaking with them and trying to persuade them to continue in the grace of God.

⁴⁴ The following Shabbat, almost the entire city came together to hear the word of the Lord. ⁴⁵ When the Jewish leaders saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and tried to contradict what Paul was saying by reviling him. ⁴⁶ Both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary for the word of God to be spoken to you first. Since you reject it and judge yourselves unfit for eternal life—behold, we turn to the Gentiles.

⁴⁸ When the Gentiles heard this, they were thrilled and glorified the word of the Lord; and as many as had been inscribed for eternal life believed.^[n]

⁴⁹ Now the word of the Lord spread throughout the whole region. ⁵⁰ But the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and they drove them out of their district. ⁵¹ But Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet against them,^[o] and they went on to Iconium. ⁵² And the disciples were filled with joy and the Ruach ha-Kodesh.