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The Church in Antioch of Syria

19 Meanwhile, the believers who had been scattered during the persecution after Stephen’s death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria. They preached the word of God, but only to Jews. 20 However, some of the believers who went to Antioch from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching to the Gentiles[a] about the Lord Jesus. 21 The power of the Lord was with them, and a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord.

22 When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. 24 Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith. And many people were brought to the Lord.

25 Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. 26 When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people. (It was at Antioch that the believers[b] were first called Christians.)

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Footnotes

  1. 11:20 Greek the Hellenists (i.e., those who speak Greek); other manuscripts read the Greeks.
  2. 11:26 Greek disciples; also in 11:29.

Activity in the Church at Antioch

19 Now those who had been scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen[a] went as far as[b] Phoenicia,[c] Cyprus,[d] and Antioch,[e] speaking the message[f] to no one but Jews. 20 But there were some men from Cyprus[g] and Cyrene[h] among them who came[i] to Antioch[j] and began to speak to the Greeks[k] too, proclaiming the good news of the Lord Jesus. 21 The[l] hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed[m] turned[n] to the Lord. 22 A report[o] about them came to the attention[p] of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas[q] to Antioch.[r] 23 When[s] he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain true[t] to the Lord with devoted hearts,[u] 24 because he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and a significant number of people[v] were brought to the Lord. 25 Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch.[w] So[x] for a whole year Barnabas and Saul[y] met with the church and taught a significant number of people.[z] Now it was in Antioch[aa] that the disciples were first called Christians.[ab]

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 11:19 sn The phrase over Stephen means in connection with Stephen’s death. See Acts 8:1b-3.
  2. Acts 11:19 tn Or “finally reached.” The translations “went as far as” and “finally reached” for διῆλθον (diēlthon) in this verse are given in L&N 15.17.
  3. Acts 11:19 sn Phoenicia was an area along the Mediterranean coast north of Palestine.
  4. Acts 11:19 tn Grk “and Cyprus,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.sn Cyprus was a large island in the Mediterranean off the south coast of Asia Minor.
  5. Acts 11:19 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). This was probably the third largest city in the Greco-Roman world (Alexandria in Egypt was the second largest, and Rome the largest) and was the seat of government in Syria. Five miles away was a major temple to Artemis, Apollo, and Astarte, major pagan deities.
  6. Acts 11:19 tn Grk “word.”
  7. Acts 11:20 sn Cyprus was a large island in the Mediterranean off the south coast of Asia Minor.
  8. Acts 11:20 sn Cyrene was a city on the northern African coast west of Egypt.
  9. Acts 11:20 tn Grk “among them, coming to Antioch began to speak.” The participle ἐλθόντες (elthontes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  10. Acts 11:20 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19.
  11. Acts 11:20 sn The statement that some men from Cyprus and Cyrene…began to speak to the Greeks shows that Peter’s experience of reaching out to the Gentiles was not unique.
  12. Acts 11:21 tn Grk “And the.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
  13. Acts 11:21 tn The participle πιστεύσας (pisteusas) is articular and thus cannot be adverbial. It is adjectival, modifying ἀριθμός (arithmos), but has been translated into English as a relative clause (“who believed”).
  14. Acts 11:21 sn Again, the expression turned is a summary term for responding to the gospel.
  15. Acts 11:22 tn Grk “Word.”
  16. Acts 11:22 tn Grk “was heard in the ears,” an idiom. L&N 24.67 states that the idiom means “to hear in secret” (which it certainly does in Matt 10:27), but secrecy does not seem to be part of the context here, and there is no particular reason to suggest the report was made in secret.
  17. Acts 11:22 tc ‡ Most mss read the infinitive “to travel” after “Barnabas.” διελθεῖν (dielthein) is found before ἕως (heōs) in D E Ψ 33 M and some versional mss. It is lacking in P74 א A B 81 1739 and some versional mss. Although the infinitive with ἕως fits Lukan style, it has the appearance of a scribal clarification. The infinitive has the earmarks of a Western expansion on the text and thus is unlikely to be autographic. NA28 has the infinitive in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.
  18. Acts 11:22 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19. Again the Jerusalem church exercised an oversight role.
  19. Acts 11:23 tn Grk “Antioch, who when.” The relative pronoun was omitted and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek.
  20. Acts 11:23 tn BDAG 883 s.v. προσμένω 1.a.β has “remain true to the Lord” for προσμένειν (prosmenein) in this verse.sn He…encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord. The call to faithfulness is frequent in Acts (2:40; 14:22; 15:32; 16:39; 20:1-2).
  21. Acts 11:23 tn Grk “with purpose of heart”; BDAG 869 s.v. πρόθεσις 2.a translates this phrase “purpose of heart, i.e. devotion” here.
  22. Acts 11:24 tn Grk “a significant crowd.”
  23. Acts 11:26 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19.
  24. Acts 11:26 tn Grk “So it happened that” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
  25. Acts 11:26 tn Grk “year they”; the referents (Barnabas and Saul) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
  26. Acts 11:26 tn Grk “a significant crowd.”
  27. Acts 11:26 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia). See the note in 11:19.
  28. Acts 11:26 sn The term Christians appears only here, in Acts 26:28, and 1 Pet 4:16 in the NT.