Praise for the Lord’s Mercies.

A Psalm of David.

A Psalm of Praise.

Aaron’s Benediction

²² Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²³ “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘In this way ^(A)you shall bless the sons of Israel. You are to say to them:

²⁷ So they shall ^[b](H)invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and then I will bless them.”

First Missionary Journey

13 Now there were ^(A)prophets and ^(B)teachers at ^(C)Antioch, in the ^(D)church that was there: ^(E)Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of ^(F)Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with ^(G)Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ² While they were ^[a]serving the Lord and fasting, ^(H)the Holy Spirit said, “Set ^(I)Barnabas and Saul apart for Me for ^(J)the work to which I have called them.” ³ Then, when they had fasted, ^(K)prayed, and ^(L)laid their hands on them, ^(M)they sent them away.

⁴ So, being ^(N)sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to ^(O)Cyprus. ⁵ When they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in ^(P)the synagogues of the Jews; and they also had ^(Q)John as their helper. ⁶ When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a ^(R)magician, a Jewish ^(S)false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus, ⁷ who was with the ^(T)proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. ⁸ But Elymas the ^(U)magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the ^(V)proconsul away from ^(W)the faith. ⁹ But Saul, who was also known as Paul, ^[b](X)filled with the Holy Spirit, stared at him, ¹⁰ and said, “^[c]You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you ^(Y)son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not stop making crooked ^(Z)the straight ways of the Lord? ¹¹ Now, behold, ^(AA)the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.” And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand. ¹² Then the ^(AB)proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being amazed at ^(AC)the teaching of the Lord.

⁴¹ Peter said, “Lord, are You telling this parable to us, or ^(A)to everyone else as well?” ⁴² And ^(B)the Lord said, “^(C)Who then is the faithful and sensible ^(D)steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? ⁴³ Blessed is that ^(E)slave whom his ^[a]master finds so doing when he comes. ⁴⁴ Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁵ But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will take a long time to come,’ and he begins to beat the other slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; ⁴⁶ then the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect, and at an hour that he does not know, and will ^[b]cut him in two, and assign ^[c]him a place with the unbelievers. ⁴⁷ And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accordance with his will, will ^(F)receive many blows, ⁴⁸ but the one who did not ^(G)know it, and committed acts deserving of ^[d]a beating, will receive only a few blows. ^(H)From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.