Saul Persecutes the Church

8 Now Saul was consenting to his death.

At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and ^(A)they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. ² And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and ^(B)made great lamentation over him.

³ As for Saul, ^(C)he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.

Christ Is Preached in Samaria

⁴ Therefore ^(D)those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.

Barnabas and Saul at Antioch

^19 (A)Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only. ²⁰ But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to ^(B)the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus. ²¹ And ^(C)the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and ^(D)turned to the Lord.

²² Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out ^(E)Barnabas to go as far as Antioch. ²³ When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and ^(F)encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. ²⁴ For he was a good man, ^(G)full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. ^(H)And a great many people were added to the Lord.

²⁵ Then Barnabas departed for ^(I)Tarsus to seek Saul. ²⁶ And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.