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Barnabas and Saul Sent from Antioch by the Holy Spirit

¹ Now there were at ^(C1)Antioch, in the ^(C2)church that was there, ^(C3)prophets and ^(C4)teachers: ^(C5)Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of ^(C6)Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with ^(C7)Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.² And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, ^(C1)the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me ^(C2)Barnabas and Saul for ^(C3)the work to which I have called them."³ Then, when they had fasted and ^(C1)prayed and ^(C2)laid their hands on them, ^(C3)they sent them away.

On Cyprus

⁴ So, being ^(C1)sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to ^(C2)Cyprus.⁵ And when they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in ^(C1)the synagogues of the Jews, and they also had ^(C2)John as their helper.⁶ And when they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a ^(C1)magician, a Jewish ^(C2)false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus,⁷ who was with the ^(C1)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 ^(C1)magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the ^(C2)proconsul away from ^(C3)the faith.⁹ But Saul, who was also known as Paul, ^(F1)(C1)filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him,¹⁰ and said, "You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you ^(C1)son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked ^(C2)the straight ways of the ^(F1)Lord?¹¹ "Now, behold, ^(C1)the hand of the ^(F1)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 ^(C1)proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being astonished at ^(C2)the teaching of the Lord.

In Pisidian Antioch

¹³ Now after Paul and his companions set sail from ^(C1)Paphos, they came to ^(C2)Perga in ^(C3)Pamphylia, but ^(C4)John left them and returned to Jerusalem.¹⁴ But going on from Perga, they arrived at ^(C1)Pisidian ^(C2)Antioch. And on ^(C3)the Sabbath day, they went into ^(C4)the synagogue and sat down.¹⁵ And after ^(C1)the reading of the Law and ^(C2)the Prophets ^(C3)the synagogue officials sent to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it."

¹⁶ So Paul stood up, and ^(C1)motioning with his hand said, "Men of Israel, and ^(C2)you who fear God, listen:¹⁷ "The God of this people Israel ^(C1)chose our fathers and ^(F1)(C2)lifted up the people during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm ^(C3)He led them out from it.¹⁸ "And for ^(C1)a period of about forty years ^(C2)He put up with them in the wilderness.¹⁹ "^(C1)And when He destroyed ^(C2)seven nations in the land of Canaan, He ^(C3)distributed their land as an inheritance—all of which took ^(C4)about 450 years.²⁰ "After these things He ^(C1)gave them judges until ^(C2)Samuel the prophet.²¹ "Then they ^(C1)asked for a king, and God gave them ^(C2)Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.²² "And after He had ^(C1)removed him, He raised up David to be their king, about whom He also said, bearing witness, '^(C2)I HAVE FOUND DAVID the son of Jesse, A MAN AFTER MY HEART, who will do all My ^(F1)will.'²³ "^(C1)From the seed of this man, ^(C2)according to promise, God has brought to Israel ^(C3)a Savior, Jesus,²⁴ after ^(C1)John had preached before ^(F1)His coming a ^(C2)baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.²⁵ "And as John ^(C1)was fulfilling his course, ^(C2)he kept saying, 'What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me of whom I am not worthy to untie the sandals of His feet.'

²⁶ "Brothers, sons of Abraham's family, and those among you who fear God, to us the word of ^(C1)this salvation was sent.²⁷ "For those who live in Jerusalem, and their ^(C1)rulers, ^(C2)recognizing neither Him nor the ^(F1)utterances of ^(C3)the prophets which are ^(C4)read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning Him.²⁸ "And though they found no ground for death, they ^(C1)asked Pilate that He be ^(F1)executed.²⁹ "And when they had ^(C1)finished all that was written concerning Him, ^(C2)they took Him down from ^(C3)the tree and ^(C4)laid Him in a tomb.³⁰ "But God ^(C1)raised Him from the dead;³¹ and for many days ^(C1)He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now ^(C2)His witnesses to the people.³² "And we ^(C1)proclaim to you the good news of ^(C2)the promise made to the fathers,³³ that God has fulfilled this promise ^(F1)to our children in that He ^(C1)raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, '^(C2)YOU ARE MY SON; TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU.'³⁴ "But that He ^(C1)raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to corruption, He has spoken in this way: '^(C2)I WILL GIVE YOU THE HOLY and ^(F1)FAITHFUL lovingkindnesses OF DAVID.'³⁵ "Therefore He also says in another Psalm, '^(C1)YOU WILL NOT GIVE YOUR ^(F1)HOLY ONE OVER TO SEE CORRUPTION.'³⁶ "For ^(C1)David, after he had ^(F1)served ^(C2)the purpose of God in his own generation, ^(C3)fell asleep and was laid among his fathers and saw corruption;³⁷ but He whom God ^(C1)raised did not see corruption.³⁸ "Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that ^(C1)through ^(F1)Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you,³⁹ and that in Him, ^(C1)everyone who believes is justified from all things which you could not be justified from ^(F1)through the Law of Moses.⁴⁰ "Therefore watch out, so that the thing spoken of ^(C1)in the Prophets may not come upon you:

⁴¹ '^(C1)LOOK, YOU SCOFFERS, AND MARVEL, AND ^(F1)PERISH;
FOR I AM ACCOMPLISHING A WORK IN YOUR DAYS,
A WORK WHICH YOU WILL NEVER BELIEVE, THOUGH SOMEONE SHOULD RECOUNT IT TO YOU.'"

⁴² And as ^(F1)Paul and Barnabas were leaving, the people kept pleading that these words might be spoken to them the next ^(C1)Sabbath.⁴³ Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the ^(C1)God-fearing ^(F1)(C2)proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in ^(C3)the grace of God.

Many Gentiles Believe

⁴⁴ And the next ^(C1)Sabbath, nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of ^(F1)the ^(F2)Lord.⁴⁵ But when ^(C1)the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, ^(F1)blaspheming.⁴⁶ Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, "It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you ^(C1)first. Since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, ^(C2)we are turning to the Gentiles.⁴⁷ "For so the ^(F1)Lord has commanded us,

'^(C1)I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A ^(C2)LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES,
THAT YOU MAY ^(F2)BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.'"

⁴⁸ And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying ^(C1)the word of ^(F1)the ^(F2)Lord, and as many as ^(C2)had been appointed to eternal life believed.⁴⁹ And ^(C1)the word of the ^(F1)Lord was being spread through the whole region.⁵⁰ But ^(C1)the Jews incited the ^(F1)(C2)God-fearing women ^(C3)of prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their ^(F2)district.⁵¹ But ^(C1)having shaken off the dust of their feet against them, they went to ^(C2)Iconium.⁵² And the disciples were continually ^(C1)filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.