Acts 13
Disciples’ Literal New Testament
While Teaching In Antioch, The Spirit Sends Saul And Barnabas On a Missionary Journey
13 Now there were prophets and teachers at Antioch in[a] the church existing there— Barnabas and Simeon (the one being called Niger[b]) and Lucius the Cyrenian, and Manaen (one brought-up-with[c] Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 And while they were ministering[d] to[e] the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Separate now Barnabas and Saul for Me, for the work which I have called them to”. 3 Then, having fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent[f] them away.
On Cyprus, Bar-Jesus The Magician Is Blinded, Sergius Paulus The Proconsul Believes
4 So indeed, having been sent-out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there sailed-away to Cyprus. 5 And having come-to-be in Salamis, they were proclaiming the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they also were having John as an assistant[g]. 6 And having gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a certain man who was a magician, a Jewish false-prophet for whom the name was Bar-Jesus[h]— 7 who was with the proconsul[i], Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This one, having summoned Barnabas and Saul, sought to hear the word of God. 8 But the magician Elymas[j] (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn away the proconsul from the faith. 9 But Saul (the one also called Paul), having been filled with the Holy Spirit, having looked-intently at him, 10 said “O son of the devil full of all deceit and all villainy[k], enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting[l] the straight ways of the Lord? 11 And now, behold— the hand of the Lord is upon you and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time”. And at-once mistiness and darkness fell upon him. And going around, he was seeking ones-leading-by-the-hand[m]. 12 Then the proconsul, having seen the thing having taken place, believed, being astounded at the teaching of the Lord.
In Perga John Mark Leaves. Paul And Barnabas Go On To Pisidian Antioch
13 And having put-to-sea from Paphos, the ones around[n] Paul came to Perga of Pamphylia. But John, having departed[o] from them, returned to Jerusalem. 14 But they, having gone through[p] from Perga, arrived at Pisidian Antioch. And having entered into the synagogue on the day of the Sabbath, they sat-down. 15 And after the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue-officials sent forth a message to them, saying, “Men, brothers, if there is any word of exhortation[q] among you for the people, speak”.
Paul Proclaims That John Announced The Coming of The Davidic Savior, Jesus
16 And Paul, having stood up, and having motioned with his hand, said “Men, Israelites, and the ones fearing God: listen. 17 The God of this people Israel chose our fathers. And He lifted-up the people during the stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm led them out of it. 18 And for about a forty year period He put-up-with[r] them in the wilderness. 19 And having brought-down seven[s] nations in the land of Canaan, He gave them their land as-an-inheritance 20 about[t] in [a total of] four-hundred and fifty years. And after these things He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. 21 And from there they asked-for a king. And God gave them Saul— the son of Kish, a man from the tribe of Benjamin— for forty years. 22 And having removed him, He raised-up David for them for a king— concerning whom also having testified, He said, ‘I found David the son of Jesse, a man in-accordance-with[u] My heart, who will do all My desires’. 23 From the seed of this one, in accordance with the promise, God brought a Savior for[v] Israel, Jesus— 24 John having publicly-proclaimed a baptism of repentance for all the people of Israel before the presence of His coming. 25 And as John was completing his course, he was saying, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not the One. But behold— He is coming after me, of Whom I am not worthy to untie the sandal of His feet’.
Fulfilling The Scriptures, The Rulers Killed Jesus And God Raised Him Up
26 “Men, brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and the ones among you fearing God: the message of this salvation was sent-out to us. 27 For the ones dwelling in Jerusalem and their rulers, not having known this One and the voices of the prophets being read every Sabbath— having condemned Him, fulfilled them. 28 And having found no charge worthy of death, they asked Pilate that He be executed. 29 And when they fulfilled all the things having been written about Him, having taken Him down from the cross, they laid Him in a tomb. 30 But God raised Him from the dead— 31 Who appeared for many days to the ones having come up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who now are His witnesses to the people. 32 And we are announcing-as-good-news-to you the promise having been made to the fathers— 33 that God has fulfilled this promise for us their children, having raised-up[w] Jesus, as it has also been written in the second Psalm: ‘You are My Son. Today I have fathered You’ [Ps 2:7]. 34 And that[x] He raised Him up from the dead as One no longer going to return to decay, He has spoken in this manner [in Isa 55:3]: that ‘I will give You the holy, trustworthy[y] things of [z] David’. 35 Therefore[aa] also in another place it says, ‘You will not give[ab] Your holy One to see[ac] decay’ [Ps 16:10]. 36 For David, having served the purpose[ad] of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was put-with[ae] his fathers, and saw decay. 37 But He Whom God raised did not see decay.
Forgiveness Is Now Being Proclaimed To You. Don’t Be Scoffers
38 “Therefore let it be known to you, men, brothers, that through this One forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you. And from all things from which you could not be declared-righteous by the Law of Moses— 39 by[af] this One everyone believing is declared-righteous. 40 Therefore be watching-out that the thing having been spoken in the Prophets [in Hab 1:5] may not come upon you: 41 ‘Look, scoffers, and marvel and perish. Because I am working a work in your days, a work which you will never believe if someone tells you in detail’”.
At The Next Sabbath Meeting, The Jews Contradict Paul. He Turns To The Gentiles
42 And while they were going out, they were begging that these words might be spoken to them on the next Sabbath. 43 And the gathering[ag] having been released[ah], many of the Jews and of the worshiping proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas— who, speaking to them, were persuading them to continue-in the grace of God. 44 Now on the coming Sabbath, almost the whole city was gathered together to hear the word of the Lord. 45 But the Jews, having seen the crowds, were filled with jealousy. And they were contradicting[ai] the things being spoken by Paul, blaspheming. 46 And Paul and Barnabas, having spoken-boldly, said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first. Since you are rejecting it and judging yourselves not worthy of eternal life, behold— we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 For thus the Lord has commanded us [in Isa 49:6]: ‘I have placed you for[aj] a light to the Gentiles, that you may be a light for salvation as far as the last place of the earth’”. 48 And the Gentiles, having heard it, were rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord. And all who had been appointed[ak] to eternal life believed.
The Jews Drive Paul And Barnabas Out of Their Districts
49 And the word of the Lord was being carried[al] through the whole region[am]. 50 But the Jews incited the prominent worshiping women and the leading men of the city, and aroused a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out from their districts. 51 But the ones, having shaken-out the dust from their feet against them, went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were being filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Footnotes
- Acts 13:1 Or, throughout.
- Acts 13:1 This is a Latin name, meaning ‘black’.
- Acts 13:1 Or, a childhood-companion of.
- Acts 13:2 Or, rendering-priestly-service.
- Acts 13:2 That is, praying or worshiping. Or, for. That is, teaching or prophesying.
- Acts 13:3 Or, let them go.
- Acts 13:5 Or, helper.
- Acts 13:6 Or, Bar-Joshua. Bar means ‘son of ’.
- Acts 13:7 That is, the Roman governor of the province.
- Acts 13:8 This is not a translation of Bar-Jesus, nor it is a Greek word otherwise known to us. Luke’s intent is currently unclear to us.
- Acts 13:10 Or, fraud.
- Acts 13:10 Or, making-crooked.
- Acts 13:11 Or, hand-leaders, guides.
- Acts 13:13 That is, around Paul as their leader.
- Acts 13:13 Or, gone-away, left, withdrawn. Or more strongly (based on one’s understanding of this event), abandoned, deserted. Compare 15:38.
- Acts 13:14 That is, gone through the Taurus mountain range.
- Acts 13:15 Or, encouragement.
- Acts 13:18 Some manuscripts say ‘carried’, meaning ‘cared-for’, as in the Hebrew of Deut 1:31, where this same variation occurs in the Greek manuscripts.
- Acts 13:19 See Deut 7:1.
- Acts 13:20 That is, about 450 years after they left the land for Egypt. Some manuscripts instead have this phrase in the next sentence, He gave them judges for about 450 years.
- Acts 13:22 Or, in-harmony-with.
- Acts 13:23 Or, to.
- Acts 13:33 That is, brought to Israel, as this word is used in 3:22; or, raised from the dead, as this word is used next in v 34.
- Acts 13:34 That is, And as to the fact that.
- Acts 13:34 Or, faithful, sure, dependable.
- Acts 13:34 That is, promised to.
- Acts 13:35 If Messiah permanently fulfills what was promised to David, He cannot decay in the grave as David did. This is why Ps 16 says He will not see decay.
- Acts 13:35 That is, permit.
- Acts 13:35 That is, experience.
- Acts 13:36 Or, plan.
- Acts 13:36 Or, added-to.
- Acts 13:39 That is, by means of this One, in contrast with ‘not... by the Law’. Or, in, so that it says ‘Moses— everyone believing in this One is declared-righteous’.
- Acts 13:43 Or, synagogue, congregation, meeting.
- Acts 13:43 Or, dismissed.
- Acts 13:45 Or, speaking against.
- Acts 13:47 That is, to be a light.
- Acts 13:48 Or, assigned, arrayed, arranged. That is, predestined by God to believe; or, providentially arranged for eternal life that day as ripe fruit ready for harvest.
- Acts 13:49 Or, spread.
- Acts 13:49 That is, the region of Phrygia, in which Pisidian Antioch (v 14) was located. This region is in the Roman province of Galatia.
Acts 13
EasyEnglish Bible
The believers in Antioch send Saul and Barnabas to Cyprus
13 There were some prophets among the group of believers in Antioch. They taught the other believers more about Jesus. Barnabas and Simeon were two of these men. (People also called Simeon ‘Niger’.)[a] There was Lucius who had lived in Cyrene. There was also Manaen who had lived together with the ruler Herod when they were children. And there was Saul.
2 One day, the believers were meeting together. They were praising the Lord God and they were praying. They also fasted for a time. During that time, the Holy Spirit said to them, ‘I have chosen Barnabas and Saul to do a special work for me. Let them go now and do it.’
3 The believers continued to pray and to fast. Then the leaders put their hands on Barnabas and Saul and they prayed for them. They sent them away to start this new work.
What happened in Cyprus
4 The Holy Spirit sent Barnabas and Saul away from Antioch. They travelled to the town of Seleucia, which is near the coast. From there they travelled on a ship to an island called Cyprus. 5 They arrived at a town called Salamis. There they went into the Jewish meeting places and they told the people God's message about Jesus. John Mark went with Barnabas and Saul to help them with their work.
6 They travelled across the whole island and they arrived at a town called Paphos. There they met a man called Bar-Jesus.[b] He was a Jew. He used magic to do surprising things. He said that he was a prophet from God. But his messages were not true.
7 The ruler of Cyprus was called Sergius Paulus. Bar-Jesus was his friend. Sergius Paulus understood things well. So he asked Barnabas and Saul to come to him. He wanted them to tell him God's message. 8 Bar-Jesus was also called Elymas. That was his name in the Greek language. He did not like what Barnabas and Saul were saying. He did not want Sergius Paulus to believe in Jesus. So he tried to stop him. 9 Then God filled Saul with the power of his Holy Spirit. (Saul was also now called Paul.[c] ) Paul looked straight at Elymas and he said, 10 ‘You are a servant of the Devil! You are against everything that is right. Your mind is full of lies and other bad things. You try to change the true message of the Lord and make it into lies. You must stop doing that! 11 The Lord will now punish you. You will become blind for a time. You will not even see the light of the sun.’
When Paul said that, immediately something like a dark cloud covered Elymas's eyes. He could not find his own way. He needed someone to lead him by the hand. 12 Sergius Paulus saw what had happened to Elymas. He was very surprised about the things that Barnabas and Paul taught him about the Lord Jesus. And so he believed in Jesus.
Paul and Barnabas go to Antioch in Pisidia
13 Paul and the two other men got in a ship and they sailed away from Paphos. They arrived at a town called Perga, which is in the region called Pamphylia. John Mark left them there and he returned to Jerusalem. 14 Paul and Barnabas left Perga, and they went to a town called Antioch in Pisidia. On the Jewish day of rest, they went into the meeting place and they sat down. 15 Someone read aloud some words from the Bible. They read from God's Law and from the messages of God's prophets. After this, the leaders of the Jewish meeting place passed a note to Paul and Barnabas. The note said, ‘Friends, do you have a message that will help the people? If you do, please speak now.’
16 So Paul stood up. He raised his hand towards the people so that they would listen to him. Then he said to them, ‘Some of you are Jews, like us. Some of you are Gentiles who now worship our God. All of you, listen carefully to me.
17 The God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors to be his people. While they lived in Egypt, God caused his people to become a very large group. They lived as foreign people in Egypt. But God used his great power to bring them out from that country.[d] 18 The people of Israel did not obey God. But God took care of them in the wilderness for 40 years. 19 He destroyed seven nations of people who lived in the land of Canaan. God gave their land to his own people so that they could live there. 20 All of these things happened during about 450 years.
After this, God gave to his people leaders who were called judges. They ruled Israel until the time when God's prophet Samuel was alive. 21 Then the people of Israel asked Samuel to choose a king for them. So God gave Saul to them as their king. Saul was the son of Kish and he was from the tribe of Benjamin. He ruled Israel for 40 years. 22 Then God removed Saul as king. He caused David to be their king instead.[e] God said this about David: “I have watched David, the son of Jesse. He does things that make me happy. I know that he will do everything that I want.”
23 God promised to send to the people of Israel someone who would save us. Jesus is the man that God sent to save us. He is a descendant of King David. 24 Before Jesus began his work in this world, John spoke a message to all the people of Israel. He told people to stop doing wrong things and to turn to God. Then he would baptize them.[f] 25 When John had almost finished his work, he said to the people, “Perhaps you think that I am the special man that God will send. I am not that man. But listen! That man will come soon. I am not good enough even to undo his shoes for him.” ’[g]
26 Paul then said, ‘I speak to all you people here. Some of you, like us, have Abraham as your ancestor. Some of you are Gentiles who now worship our God. God has sent this message to all of us. It tells us how he will save us. 27 The people who were living in Jerusalem, and their leaders, did not understand about Jesus. They did not know that he was God's special man. Every Jewish day of rest, someone reads aloud the messages of God's prophets. But the people in Jerusalem did not understand. Instead, they said that Jesus had done bad things. They said that he should die. In that way, they caused the message of the prophets to become true. 28 The Jewish leaders could not find any reason to kill Jesus for what he had done. But they continued to say to Pilate, “Your soldiers must kill him.” 29 When the soldiers did that, it happened just like the prophets had written about him long ago. After that, some of Jesus' disciples took him down from the cross where he had died. They took his body and they buried it. 30 But after Jesus died, God caused him to become alive again. 31 For many days after this, Jesus appeared to his disciples. The people who had earlier travelled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem saw him. They are now telling the people of Israel all about it.[h]
32 So we have come here to tell you this good news. God promised our ancestors that he would do these great things for his people. 33 Now he has done these things for us who are alive today. He has raised up Jesus to live again. We can read about this in the second Psalm. God says,
“You are my Son.
Today, I have become your Father.”[i]
34 God caused Jesus to live again so that nothing would destroy his body. He will not die again. This is what God said to our ancestors:
“I will surely help you with good things,
just like I promised to King David.”[j]
35 God also says this in another Psalm:
“Your servant who loves you will not remain dead.
You will not let anything destroy the body of your Holy One.”[k]
36 While David was alive, he served God as God wanted him to do. Then he died and men buried him next to his ancestors. So worms destroyed David's body. 37 But as for Jesus, God caused him to become alive again. He did not die again and nothing destroyed his body.
38 My friends, I want all of you to know this. God forgives us for the bad things that we have done. He does this because of what Jesus did. That is my message to you. 39 God can cause anyone to become right with him. If you believe in Jesus, God will make you free from your sins. God's Law that he gave to Moses cannot do this for you. That Law cannot make you free, even if you obey all of it. 40 Be careful then! Remember what God's prophets spoke about long ago. Do not let that happen to you. This is what one of them wrote:[l]
41 “Listen to me, you people who laugh at God!
You will be surprised at the great things that I do.
And then you will die.
I am working now, while you are still alive.
But still you will not believe what is true.
Even if someone explains everything to you,
you will never believe.” ’
42 After Paul spoke this message, he and Barnabas were leaving the meeting place. The people there said to them, ‘Please return on our next day of rest. Then you can tell us more about what you have already told us.’ 43 When the meeting finished, many people followed Paul and Barnabas. Some of them were Jews. Others were Gentiles who now worshipped God. Paul and Barnabas said to them, ‘God has been very kind to you. You should continue to trust him.’
44 On the next Jewish day of rest, almost everyone in the town came together to hear the Lord God's message. 45 But when some Jews saw the crowds of people, they became angry. They were very jealous because the people listened to Paul and Barnabas. They said that Paul was teaching wrong things. They also said bad things against him.
46 But Paul and Barnabas were not afraid of them. They said to them, ‘It was right that we first tell you who are Jews the message from God. But now you say that God's message is not true. You have shown that you do not deserve true life with God. So we will leave you now. We will go and tell this message to the Gentiles.
47 The Lord God has also told us to do this. He said:
“I have chosen you to be like a light to the Gentiles.
You must go to people everywhere in the world.
You must tell them how God wants to save them.” ’[m]
48 When the Gentiles there heard this, they were very happy. They thanked God for the message about the Lord Jesus. Many people believed in Jesus. They were the people that God had chosen to have true life with him.
49 Many people in that part of the country heard the message about the Lord Jesus. 50 But the Jewish leaders spoke to the important men in the city. They also spoke to some rich women who worshipped God. The Jewish leaders told them bad things about Paul and Barnabas. So these important people started to speak against Paul and Barnabas. They caused Paul and Barnabas to leave that region. 51 So Paul and Barnabas cleaned the dirt of that place off their feet. This showed that the people in that town had done a bad thing. Paul and Barnabas then travelled to a town called Iconium.
52 The believers in Antioch continued to be very happy. The Holy Spirit completely filled them.
Footnotes
- 13:1 ‘Niger’ was a word in the language of the Roman people (Latin). It means ‘Black’. Simeon was probably a man with dark skin who came from north Africa.
- 13:6 ‘Bar-Jesus’ means ‘the son of Jesus’.
- 13:9 Luke now begins to call Saul by his new name, Paul.
- 13:17 We can read about the Israelites when they left Egypt in Exodus 12.
- 13:22 We can read about Samuel, Saul and David in 1 Samuel 8—31.
- 13:24 We can read about John the Baptist and his work in Luke 3.
- 13:25 It was the job of servants to remove their master's shoes.
- 13:31 We can read about what happened to Jesus in Jerusalem in Luke 22—24.
- 13:33 See Psalms 2:7.
- 13:34 See Isaiah 55:3.
- 13:35 See Psalms 16:10
- 13:40 See Habakkuk 1:5
- 13:47 See Isaiah 42:6; 49:6.
Disciples' Literal New Testament: Serving Modern Disciples by More Fully Reflecting the Writing Style of the Ancient Disciples, Copyright © 2011 Michael J. Magill. All Rights Reserved. Published by Reyma Publishing
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