⁸ But Elymas, the sorcerer (as his name means in Greek), interfered and urged the governor to pay no attention to what Barnabas and Saul said. He was trying to keep the governor from believing.

⁸ These teachers oppose the truth just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses. They have depraved minds and a counterfeit faith.

¹⁴ Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm, but the Lord will judge him for what he has done. ¹⁵ Be careful of him, for he fought against everything we said.

⁶ Afterward they traveled from town to town across the entire island until finally they reached Paphos, where they met a Jewish sorcerer, a false prophet named Bar-Jesus. ⁷ He had attached himself to the governor, Sergius Paulus, who was an intelligent man. The governor invited Barnabas and Saul to visit him, for he wanted to hear the word of God.

¹² When the governor saw what had happened, he became a believer, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.

³⁶ There was a believer in Joppa named Tabitha (which in Greek is Dorcas^[a]). She was always doing kind things for others and helping the poor.

⁹ A man named Simon had been a sorcerer there for many years, amazing the people of Samaria and claiming to be someone great.

⁷ So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too.

⁴¹ Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ”^[a]).

A Message for Shemaiah

²⁴ The Lord sent this message to Shemaiah the Nehelamite in Babylon: ²⁵ “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: You wrote a letter on your own authority to Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, the priest, and you sent copies to the other priests and people in Jerusalem. You wrote to Zephaniah,

²⁹ But when Zephaniah the priest received Shemaiah’s letter, he took it to Jeremiah and read it to him. ³⁰ Then the Lord gave this message to Jeremiah: ³¹ “Send an open letter to all the exiles in Babylon. Tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Since he has prophesied to you when I did not send him and has tricked you into believing his lies, ³² I will punish him and his family. None of his descendants will see the good things I will do for my people, for he has incited you to rebel against me. I, the Lord, have spoken!’”