Acts 13
New King James Version
Paul and Barnabas Are Sent to the Gentiles
13 Now (A)in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: (B)Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, (C)Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, (D)“Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work (E)to which I have called them.” 3 Then, (F)having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.
Preaching in Cyprus
4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to (G)Cyprus. 5 And when they arrived in Salamis, (H)they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had (I)John as their assistant.
6 Now when they had gone through [a]the island to Paphos, they found (J)a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, 7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. 8 But (K)Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) [b]withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 Then Saul, who also is called Paul, (L)filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, (M)you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? 11 And now, indeed, (N)the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.”
And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
At Antioch in Pisidia
13 Now when Paul and his party set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia; and (O)John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem. 14 But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and (P)went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down. 15 And (Q)after the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, “Men and brethren, if you have (R)any word of [c]exhortation for the people, say on.”
16 Then Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, “Men of Israel, and (S)you who fear God, listen: 17 The God of this people [d]Israel (T)chose our fathers, and exalted the people (U)when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with [e]an uplifted arm He (V)brought them out of it. 18 Now (W)for a time of about forty years He put up with their ways in the wilderness. 19 And when He had destroyed (X)seven nations in the land of Canaan, (Y)He distributed their land to them by allotment.
20 “After that (Z)He gave them judges for about four hundred and fifty years, (AA)until Samuel the prophet. 21 (AB)And afterward they asked for a king; so God gave them (AC)Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22 And (AD)when He had removed him, (AE)He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, (AF)‘I have found David the son of Jesse, (AG)a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’ 23 (AH)From this man’s seed, according (AI)to the promise, God raised up for Israel (AJ)a[f] Savior—Jesus— 24 (AK)after John had first preached, before His coming, the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25 And as John was finishing his course, he said, (AL)‘Who do you think I am? I am not He. But behold, (AM)there comes One after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to loose.’
26 “Men and brethren, sons of the [g]family of Abraham, and (AN)those among you who fear God, (AO)to you the [h]word of this salvation has been sent. 27 For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, (AP)because they did not know Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him. 28 (AQ)And though they found no cause for death in Him, they asked Pilate that He should be put to death. 29 (AR)Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, (AS)they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. 30 (AT)But God raised Him from the dead. 31 (AU)He was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people. 32 And we declare to you glad tidings—(AV)that promise which was made to the fathers. 33 God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm:
(AW)‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.’
34 And that He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to [i]corruption, He has spoken thus:
35 Therefore He also says in another Psalm:
(AY)‘You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption.’
36 “For David, after he had served [k]his own generation by the will of God, (AZ)fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and [l]saw corruption; 37 but He whom God raised up [m]saw no corruption. 38 Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that (BA)through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; 39 and (BB)by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. 40 Beware therefore, lest what has been spoken in the prophets come upon you:
41 ‘Behold,(BC) you despisers,
Marvel and perish!
For I work a work in your days,
A work which you will by no means believe,
Though one were to declare it to you.’ ”
Blessing and Conflict at Antioch
42 [n]So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. 43 Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, (BD)persuaded them to continue in (BE)the grace of God.
44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. 45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they (BF)opposed the things spoken by Paul. 46 Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, (BG)“It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but (BH)since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, (BI)we turn to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us:
(BJ)‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles,
That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”
48 Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. (BK)And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.
49 And the word of the Lord was being spread throughout all the region. 50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, (BL)raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. 51 (BM)But they shook off the dust from their feet against them, and came to Iconium. 52 And the disciples (BN)were filled with joy and (BO)with the Holy Spirit.
Footnotes
- Acts 13:6 NU the whole island
- Acts 13:8 opposed
- Acts 13:15 encouragement
- Acts 13:17 M omits Israel
- Acts 13:17 Mighty power
- Acts 13:23 M salvation, after
- Acts 13:26 stock
- Acts 13:26 message
- Acts 13:34 the state of decay
- Acts 13:34 blessings
- Acts 13:36 in his
- Acts 13:36 underwent decay
- Acts 13:37 underwent no decay
- Acts 13:42 Or And when they went out of the synagogue of the Jews; NU And when they went out, they begged
Acts 13
The Message
Barnabas, Saul, and Doctor Know-It-All
13 1-2 The congregation in Antioch was blessed with a number of prophet-preachers and teachers:
Barnabas,
Simon, nicknamed Niger,
Lucius the Cyrenian,
Manaen, an advisor to the ruler Herod,
Saul.
One day as they were worshiping God—they were also fasting as they waited for guidance—the Holy Spirit spoke: “Take Barnabas and Saul and commission them for the work I have called them to do.”
3 So they commissioned them. In that circle of intensity and obedience, of fasting and praying, they laid hands on their heads and sent them off.
4-5 Sent off on their new assignment by the Holy Spirit, Barnabas and Saul went down to Seleucia and caught a ship for Cyprus. The first thing they did when they put in at Salamis was preach God’s Word in the Jewish meeting places. They had John along to help out as needed.
6-7 They traveled the length of the island, and at Paphos came upon a Jewish wizard who had worked himself into the confidence of the governor, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man not easily taken in by charlatans. The wizard’s name was Bar-Jesus. He was as crooked as a corkscrew.
7-11 The governor invited Barnabas and Saul in, wanting to hear God’s Word firsthand from them. But Dr. Know-It-All (that’s the wizard’s name in plain English) stirred up a ruckus, trying to divert the governor from becoming a believer. But Saul (or Paul), full of the Holy Spirit and looking him straight in the eye, said, “You bag of wind, you parody of a devil—why, you stay up nights inventing schemes to cheat people out of God. But now you’ve come up against God himself, and your game is up. You’re about to go blind—no sunlight for you for a good long stretch.” He was plunged immediately into a shadowy mist and stumbled around, begging people to take his hand and show him the way.
12 When the governor saw what happened, he became a believer, full of enthusiasm over what they were saying about the Master.
Don’t Take This Lightly
13-14 From Paphos, Paul and company put out to sea, sailing on to Perga in Pamphylia. That’s where John called it quits and went back to Jerusalem. From Perga the rest of them traveled on to Antioch in Pisidia.
14-15 On the Sabbath they went to the meeting place and took their places. After the reading of the Scriptures—God’s Law and the Prophets—the president of the meeting asked them, “Friends, do you have anything you want to say? A word of encouragement, perhaps?”
16-20 Paul stood up, paused and took a deep breath, then said, “Fellow Israelites and friends of God, listen. God took a special interest in our ancestors, pulled our people who were beaten down in Egyptian exile to their feet, and led them out of there in grand style. He took good care of them for nearly forty years in that godforsaken wilderness and then, having wiped out seven enemies who stood in the way, gave them the land of Canaan for their very own—a span in all of about 450 years.
20-22 “Up to the time of Samuel the prophet, God provided judges to lead them. But then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul, son of Kish, out of the tribe of Benjamin. After Saul had ruled forty years, God removed him from office and put King David in his place, with this commendation: ‘I’ve searched the land and found this David, son of Jesse. He’s a man whose heart beats to my heart, a man who will do what I tell him.’
23-25 “From out of David’s descendants God produced a Savior for Israel, Jesus, exactly as he promised—but only after John had thoroughly alerted the people to his arrival by preparing them for a total life-change. As John was finishing up his work, he said, ‘Did you think I was the One? No, I’m not the One. But the One you’ve been waiting for all these years is just around the corner, about to appear. And I’m about to disappear.’
26-29 “Dear brothers and sisters, children of Abraham, and friends of God, this message of salvation has been precisely targeted to you. The citizens and rulers in Jerusalem didn’t recognize who he was and condemned him to death. They couldn’t find a good reason, but demanded that Pilate execute him anyway. They did just what the prophets said they would do, but had no idea they were following to the letter the script of the prophets, even though those same prophets are read every Sabbath in their meeting places.
29-31 “After they had done everything the prophets said they would do, they took him down from the cross and buried him. And then God raised him from death. There is no disputing that—he appeared over and over again many times and places to those who had known him well in the Galilean years, and these same people continue to give witness that he is alive.
32-35 “And we’re here today bringing you good news: the Message that what God promised the fathers has come true for the children—for us! He raised Jesus, exactly as described in the second Psalm:
My Son! My very own Son!
Today I celebrate you!
“When he raised him from the dead, he did it for good—no going back to that rot and decay for him. That’s why Isaiah said, ‘I’ll give to all of you David’s guaranteed blessings.’ So also the psalmist’s prayer: ‘You’ll never let your Holy One see death’s rot and decay.’
36-39 “David, of course, having completed the work God set out for him, has been in the grave, dust and ashes, a long time now. But the One God raised up—no dust and ashes for him! I want you to know, my very dear friends, that it is on account of this resurrected Jesus that the forgiveness of your sins can be promised. He accomplishes, in those who believe, everything that the Law of Moses could never make good on. But everyone who believes in this raised-up Jesus is declared good and right and whole before God.
40-41 “Don’t take this lightly. You don’t want the prophet’s revelation to describe you:
Watch out, cynics;
Look hard—watch your world fall to pieces.
I’m doing something right before your eyes
That you won’t believe, though it’s staring you in the face.”
42-43 When the service was over, Paul and Barnabas were invited back to preach again the next Sabbath. As the meeting broke up, a good many Jews and converts to Judaism went along with Paul and Barnabas, who urged them in long conversations to stick with what they’d started, this living in and by God’s grace.
44-45 When the next Sabbath came around, practically the whole city showed up to hear the Word of God. Some of the Jews, seeing the crowds, went wild with jealousy and tore into Paul, contradicting everything he was saying, making an ugly scene.
46-47 But Paul and Barnabas didn’t back down. Standing their ground they said, “It was required that God’s Word be spoken first of all to you, the Jews. But seeing that you want no part of it—you’ve made it quite clear that you have no taste or inclination for eternal life—the door is open to all the outsiders. And we’re on our way through it, following orders, doing what God commanded when he said,
I’ve set you up
as light to all nations.
You’ll proclaim salvation
to the four winds and seven seas!”
48-49 When the non-Jewish outsiders heard this, they could hardly believe their good fortune. All who were marked out for real life put their trust in God—they honored God’s Word by receiving that life. And this Message of salvation spread like wildfire all through the region.
50-52 Some of the Jews convinced the most respected women and leading men of the town that their precious way of life was about to be destroyed. Alarmed, they turned on Paul and Barnabas and forced them to leave. Paul and Barnabas shrugged their shoulders and went on to the next town, Iconium, brimming with joy and the Holy Spirit, two happy disciples.
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson