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Paul’s First Missionary Journey

So Barnabas and Saul were sent out by the Holy Spirit. They went down to the seaport of Seleucia and then sailed for the island of Cyprus. There, in the town of Salamis, they went to the Jewish synagogues and preached the word of God. John Mark went with them as their assistant.

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. 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. 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.

Saul, also known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he looked the sorcerer in the eye. 10 Then he said, “You son of the devil, full of every sort of deceit and fraud, and enemy of all that is good! Will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord? 11 Watch now, for the Lord has laid his hand of punishment upon you, and you will be struck blind. You will not see the sunlight for some time.” Instantly mist and darkness came over the man’s eyes, and he began groping around begging for someone to take his hand and lead him.

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

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Paul and Barnabas Preach in Cyprus

So Barnabas and Saul,[a] sent out by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia,[b] and from there they sailed to Cyprus.[c] When[d] they arrived[e] in Salamis,[f] they began to proclaim[g] the word of God in the Jewish synagogues.[h] (Now they also had John[i] as their assistant.)[j] When they had crossed over[k] the whole island as far as Paphos,[l] they found a magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus,[m] who was with the proconsul[n] Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. The proconsul[o] summoned[p] Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear[q] the word of God. But the magician Elymas[r] (for that is the way his name is translated)[s] opposed them, trying to turn the proconsul[t] away from the faith. But Saul (also known as Paul),[u] filled with the Holy Spirit,[v] stared straight[w] at him 10 and said, “You who are full of all deceit and all wrongdoing,[x] you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness—will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?[y] 11 Now[z] look, the hand of the Lord is against[aa] you, and you will be blind, unable to see the sun for a time!” Immediately mistiness[ab] and darkness came over[ac] him, and he went around seeking people[ad] to lead him by the hand. 12 Then when the proconsul[ae] saw what had happened, he believed,[af] because he was greatly astounded[ag] at the teaching about[ah] the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 13:4 tn Grk “they”; the referents (Barnabas and Saul) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
  2. Acts 13:4 sn Seleucia was the port city of Antioch in Syria.
  3. Acts 13:4 sn Cyprus was a large island in the Mediterranean off the south coast of Asia Minor.
  4. Acts 13:5 tn Grk “And when.” 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.
  5. Acts 13:5 tn The participle γενόμενοι (genomenoi) is taken temporally.
  6. Acts 13:5 sn Salamis was a city on the southeastern coast of the island of Cyprus. This was a commercial center and a center of Judaism.
  7. Acts 13:5 tn The imperfect verb κατήγγελλον (katēngellon) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.
  8. Acts 13:5 sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.
  9. Acts 13:5 sn John refers here to John Mark (see Acts 12:25).
  10. Acts 13:5 tn The word ὑπηρέτης (hupēretēs) usually has the meaning “servant,” but it is doubtful John Mark fulfilled that capacity for Barnabas and Saul. He was more likely an apprentice or assistant to them.sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
  11. Acts 13:6 tn Or “had passed through,” “had traveled through.”
  12. Acts 13:6 sn Paphos. A city on the southwestern coast of the island of Cyprus. It was the seat of the Roman proconsul.
  13. Acts 13:6 sn Named Bar-Jesus. “Jesus” is the Latin form of the name “Joshua.” The Aramaic “bar” means “son of,” so this man was surnamed “son of Joshua.” The scene depicts the conflict between Judaism and the emerging new faith at a cosmic level, much like the Simon Magus incident in Acts 8:9-24. Paul’s ministry looks like Philip’s and Peter’s here.
  14. Acts 13:7 sn The proconsul was the Roman official who ruled over a province traditionally under the control of the Roman senate.
  15. Acts 13:7 tn Grk “This one”; the referent (the proconsul) is specified in the translation for clarity.
  16. Acts 13:7 tn Grk “summoning Barnabas and Saul, wanted to hear.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesamenos) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  17. Acts 13:7 sn The proconsul…wanted to hear the word of God. This description of Sergius Paulus portrays him as a sensitive, secular Gentile leader.
  18. Acts 13:8 tn On the debate over what the name “Elymas” means, see BDAG 320 s.v. ᾿Ελύμας. The magician’s behavior is more directly opposed to the faith than Simon Magus’ was.
  19. Acts 13:8 sn A parenthetical note by the author.
  20. Acts 13:8 sn The proconsul was the Roman official who ruled over a province traditionally under the control of the Roman senate.
  21. Acts 13:9 sn A parenthetical note by the author.
  22. Acts 13:9 sn This qualifying clause in the narrative indicates who represented God in the dispute.
  23. Acts 13:9 tn Or “gazed intently.”
  24. Acts 13:10 tn Or “unscrupulousness.”
  25. Acts 13:10 sn “You who…paths of the Lord?” This rebuke is like ones from the OT prophets: Jer 5:27; Gen 32:11; Prov 10:7; Hos 14:9. Five separate remarks indicate the magician’s failings. The closing rhetorical question of v. 10 (“will you not stop…?”) shows how opposed he is to the way of God.
  26. Acts 13:11 tn Grk “And now.” 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.
  27. Acts 13:11 tn Grk “upon,” but in a negative sense.
  28. Acts 13:11 sn The term translated mistiness here appears in the writings of the physician Galen as a medical technical description of a person who is blind. The picture of judgment to darkness is symbolic as well. Whatever power Elymas had, it represented darkness. Magic will again be an issue in Acts 19:18-19. This judgment is like that of Ananias and his wife in Acts 5:1-11.
  29. Acts 13:11 tn Grk “fell on.”
  30. Acts 13:11 tn The noun χειραγωγός (cheiragōgos) is plural, so “people” is used rather than singular “someone.”
  31. Acts 13:12 sn See the note on proconsul in v. 8.
  32. Acts 13:12 sn He believed. The faith of the proconsul in the face of Jewish opposition is a theme of the rest of Acts. Paul has indeed become “a light to the Gentiles” (Acts 13:47).
  33. Acts 13:12 tn The translation “greatly astounded” for ἐκπλησσόμενος (ekplēssomenos) is given by L&N 25.219.
  34. Acts 13:12 tn Grk “of,” but this could give the impression the Lord himself had done the teaching (a subjective genitive) when actually the Lord was the object of the teaching (an objective genitive).