Acts 13:13-43
Good News Translation
In Antioch in Pisidia
13 Paul and his companions sailed from Paphos and came to Perga, a city in Pamphylia, where John Mark left them and went back to Jerusalem. 14 They went on from Perga and arrived in Antioch in Pisidia, and on the Sabbath they went into the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading from the Law of Moses and from the writings of the prophets, the officials of the synagogue sent them a message: “Friends, we want you to speak to the people if you have a message of encouragement for them.” 16 Paul stood up, motioned with his hand, and began to speak:
“Fellow Israelites and all Gentiles here who worship God: hear me! 17 (A)The God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors and made the people a great nation during the time they lived as foreigners in Egypt. God brought them out of Egypt by his great power, 18 (B)and for forty years he endured[a] them in the desert. 19 (C)He destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan and made his people the owners of the land. 20 (D)All of this took about 450 years.
“After this[b] he gave them judges until the time of the prophet Samuel. 21 (E)And when they asked for a king, God gave them Saul son of Kish from the tribe of Benjamin, to be their king for forty years. 22 (F)After removing him, God made David their king. This is what God said about him: ‘I have found that David son of Jesse is the kind of man I like, a man who will do all I want him to do.’ 23 It was Jesus, a descendant of David, whom God made the Savior of the people of Israel, as he had promised. 24 (G)Before Jesus began his work, John preached to all the people of Israel that they should turn from their sins and be baptized. 25 (H)And as John was about to finish his mission, he said to the people, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not the one you are waiting for. But listen! He is coming after me, and I am not good enough to take his sandals off his feet.’
26 “My fellow Israelites, descendants of Abraham, and all Gentiles here who worship God: it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent! 27 For the people who live in Jerusalem and their leaders did not know that he is the Savior, nor did they understand the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. Yet they made the prophets' words come true by condemning Jesus. 28 (I)And even though they could find no reason to pass the death sentence on him, they asked Pilate to have him put to death. 29 (J)And after they had done everything that the Scriptures say about him, they took him down from the cross and placed him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from death, 31 (K)and for many days he appeared to those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now witnesses for him to the people of Israel. 32-33 (L)And we are here to bring the Good News to you: what God promised our ancestors he would do, he has now done for us, who are their descendants, by raising Jesus to life. As it is written in the second Psalm,
‘You are my Son;
today I have become your Father.’
34 (M)And this is what God said about raising him from death, never to rot away in the grave:
‘I will give you the sacred and sure blessings
that I promised to David.’
35 (N)As indeed he says in another passage,
‘You will not allow your faithful servant to rot in the grave.’
36 For David served God's purposes in his own time, and then he died, was buried with his ancestors, and his body rotted in the grave. 37 But this did not happen to the one whom God raised from death. 38-39 All of you, my fellow Israelites, are to know for sure that it is through Jesus that the message about forgiveness of sins is preached to you; you are to know that everyone who believes in him is set free from all the sins from which the Law of Moses could not set you free. 40 Take care, then, so that what the prophets said may not happen to you:[c]
41 (O)‘Look, you scoffers! Be astonished and die!
For what I am doing today
is something that you will not believe,
even when someone explains it to you!’”
42 As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to come back the next Sabbath and tell them more about these things. 43 After the people had left the meeting, Paul and Barnabas were followed by many Jews and by many Gentiles who had been converted to Judaism. The apostles spoke to them and encouraged them to keep on living in the grace of God.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Acts 13:18 he endured; some manuscripts have he took care of.
- Acts 13:20 All of this took about 450 years. After this; or Some 450 years later.
- Acts 13:40 Some manuscripts do not have to you.
Acts 13:13-43
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Paul and Barnabas in Antioch of Pisidia
13 Then Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. John, however, left them and returned to Jerusalem,(A) 14 but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.(B) 15 After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the officials of the synagogue sent them a message, saying, “Brothers,[a] if you have any word of exhortation for the people, give it.” 16 So Paul stood up and with a gesture began to speak:
“Fellow Israelites[b] and others who fear God, listen. 17 The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it.(C) 18 For about forty years he put up with[c] them in the wilderness.(D) 19 After he had destroyed seven peoples in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance(E) 20 for about four hundred fifty years. After that he gave them judges until the time of the prophet Samuel.(F) 21 Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for forty years.(G) 22 When he had removed him, he made David their king. In his testimony about him he said, ‘I have found David, son of Jesse, to be a man after my heart, who will carry out all my wishes.’(H) 23 Of this man’s posterity God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised;(I) 24 before his coming John had already proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.(J) 25 And as John was finishing his work, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but one is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the strap of the sandals[d] on his feet.’(K)
26 “Brothers and sisters,[e] you descendants of Abraham’s family and others who fear God, to us[f] the message of this salvation has been sent. 27 Because the residents of Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognize him or understand the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath, they fulfilled those words by condemning him.(L) 28 Even though they found no cause for a sentence of death, they asked Pilate to have him killed.(M) 29 When they had carried out everything that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb.(N) 30 But God raised him from the dead,(O) 31 and for many days he appeared to those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, and they are now his witnesses to the people.(P) 32 And we bring you the good news that what God promised to our ancestors(Q) 33 he has fulfilled for us, their children,[g] by raising Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm,
‘You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.’(R)
34 “As to his raising him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way,
‘I will give you the holy promises made to David.’(S)
35 “Therefore he has also said in another psalm,
‘You will not let your Holy One experience corruption.’(T)
36 “For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, died,[h] was laid beside his ancestors, and experienced corruption,(U) 37 but he whom God raised up experienced no corruption. 38 Let it be known to you therefore, brothers and sisters,[i] that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you;(V) 39 by this Jesus[j] everyone who believes is set free from all those sins[k] from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.(W) 40 Beware, therefore, that what the prophets said does not happen to you:(X)
41 ‘Look, you scoffers!
Be amazed and perish,
for in your days I am doing a work,
a work that you will never believe, even if someone tells you.’ ”
42 As Paul and Barnabas[l] were going out, the people urged them to speak about these things again the next Sabbath. 43 When the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.(Y)
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 13.15 Gk Men, brothers
- 13.16 Gk Men, Israelites
- 13.18 Other ancient authorities read cared for
- 13.25 Gk untie the sandals
- 13.26 Gk Men, brothers
- 13.26 Other ancient authorities read you
- 13.33 Other ancient authorities read for our children
- 13.36 Gk fell asleep
- 13.38 Gk Men, brothers
- 13.39 Gk this
- 13.39 Gk all
- 13.42 Gk they
Acts 13:13-43
Complete Jewish Bible
13 Having set sail from Paphos, Sha’ul and his companions arrived at Perga in Pamphylia. There Yochanan left them and returned to Yerushalayim, 14 but the others went on from Perga to Pisidian Antioch, and on Shabbat they went into the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading from the Torah and from the Prophets, the synagogue leaders sent them a message, “Brothers, if any of you has a word of exhortation for the people, speak!” 16 So Sha’ul stood, motioned with his hand, and said:
“Men of Isra’el and God-fearers, listen! 17 The God of this people Isra’el chose our fathers. He made the people great during the time when they were living as aliens in Egypt and with a stretched-out arm he led them out of that land.[a] 18 For some forty years[b] he took care of them in the desert, 19 and after he had destroyed seven nations[c] in the land of Kena‘an he gave their land to his people as an inheritance. 20 All this took about 450 years. After that, he gave them judges,[d] down to the prophet Sh’mu’el. 21 Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Sha’ul Ben-Kish, a man from the tribe of Binyamin. After forty years, 22 God removed him and raised up David as king for them, making his approval known with these words, ‘I found David Ben-Yishai to be a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want.’[e]
23 “In keeping with his promise, God has brought to Isra’el from this man’s descendants a deliverer, Yeshua. 24 Now before the coming of Yeshua, Yochanan proclaimed to all the people of Isra’el an immersion in connection with turning to God from sin. 25 But as Yochanan was ending his work, he said, ‘Who do you suppose I am? Well — I’m not! But after me is coming someone, the sandals of whose feet I am unworthy to untie.’
26 “Brothers! — sons of Avraham and those among you who are ‘God-fearers’! It is to us that the message of this deliverance has been sent! 27 For the people living in Yerushalayim and their leaders did not recognize who Yeshua was or understand the message of the Prophets read every Shabbat, so they fulfilled that message by condemning him. 28 They could not find any legitimate ground for a death sentence; nevertheless they asked Pilate to have him executed; 29 and when they had carried out all the things written about him, he was taken down from the stake[f] and placed in a tomb.
30 “But God raised him from the dead! 31 He appeared for many days to those who had come up with him from the Galil to Yerushalayim; and they are now his witnesses to the people.
32 “As for us, we are bringing you the Good News that what God promised to the fathers, 33 he has fulfilled for us the children in raising up Yeshua, as indeed it is written in the second Psalm,
‘You are my Son;
today I have become your Father.’[g]
34 And as for his raising him up from the dead, to return to decay no more, he said,
‘I will give the holy and trustworthy things of David to you.’[h]
35 This is explained elsewhere:
‘You will not let your Holy One see decay.’[i]
36 For David did indeed serve God’s purposes in his own generation; but after that, he died, was buried with his fathers and did see decay. 37 However, the one God raised up did not see decay.
38 “Therefore, brothers, let it be known to you that through this man is proclaimed forgiveness of sins! 39 That is, God clears everyone who puts his trust in this man, even in regard to all the things concerning which you could not be cleared by the Torah of Moshe.
40 “Watch out, then, so that this word found in the Prophets may not happen to you:
41 ‘You mockers! Look, and marvel, and die!
For in your own time, I am doing a work
that you simply will not believe,
even if someone explains it to you!’ ”[j]
42 As they left, the people invited Sha’ul and Bar-Nabba to tell them more about these matters the following Shabbat. 43 When the synagogue meeting broke up, many of the born Jews and devout proselytes followed Sha’ul and Bar-Nabba, who spoke with them and urged them to keep holding fast to the love and kindness of God.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Acts 13:17 Exodus 6:6; 12:51
- Acts 13:18 Exodus 16:35; Numbers 14:34
- Acts 13:19 Deuteronomy 7:1
- Acts 13:20 Judges 2:16
- Acts 13:22 Psalm 89:21(20); 1 Samuel 13:14
- Acts 13:29 Deuteronomy 21:23
- Acts 13:33 Psalm 2:7
- Acts 13:34 Isaiah 55:3
- Acts 13:35 Psalm 16:10
- Acts 13:41 Habakkuk 1:5
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.