Acts 13

¹Now there were in Antioch, in the church there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who is called Niger, and Lucius the Cyrenian, and Manaen who was brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

²And as they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said: Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.

³Then, having fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them off.

⁴So they, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.

⁵And when they arrived in Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John also as an assistant.

⁶And having passed through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a certain man, a magician, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-Jesus,

⁷who was with the proconsul Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. He, summoning Barnabas and Saul, sought to hear the word of God.

⁸But Elymas the magician — for that is how his name is translated — was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

⁹But Saul, who is also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, and looking intently at him,

¹⁰said: O you full of all deceit and all villany, son of the devil, enemy of all righteousness — will you not stop perverting the straight paths of the Lord?

¹¹And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind, not seeing the sun, for a season. And immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and going about he was seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

¹²Then the proconsul, when he saw what had happened, believed, being greatly astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

¹³Now Paul and those with him, having set sail from Paphos, came to Perga of Pamphylia. But John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem.

¹⁴But they themselves, passing through from Perga, arrived at Antioch in Pisidia, and going into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, they sat down.

¹⁵And after the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying: Men, brothers, if there is among you any word of exhortation for the people, speak.

¹⁶And Paul, standing up and motioning with his hand, said: Men, Israelites and you who fear God, listen.

¹⁷The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors and exalted the people during their sojourn in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm he brought them out of it.

¹⁹And having destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave their land as an inheritance.

²¹Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.

²²And having removed him, he raised up David for them as king, about whom he also testified, saying: 'I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will do all my will.'

²³From this man's seed, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus.

²⁴Before his coming, John had proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

²⁵And as John was completing his course, he was saying: 'What do you suppose me to be? I am not he. But look, one comes after me of whose sandals of his feet I am not worthy to untie.'

²⁶Brothers, sons of Abraham's family, and those among you who fear God, to us the word of this salvation has been sent out.

²⁷For those dwelling in Jerusalem and their rulers, not having recognized him, and the sayings of the prophets that are read every Sabbath — by condemning him they fulfilled them.

²⁸And though they found no cause for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed.

²⁹And when they had finished everything written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb.

³⁰But God raised him from the dead.

³¹He appeared for many days to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people.

³²And we bring you good news of the promise made to the fathers,

³⁴And that he raised him from the dead, never again to return to decay, he has thus spoken: 'I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.'

³⁵Therefore also in another psalm he says: 'You will not let your Holy One experience decay.'

³⁶For David, having served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was gathered to his fathers and experienced decay.

³⁷But he whom God raised did not experience decay.

³⁸Let it therefore be known to you, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.

³⁹And in him everyone who believes is justified.

⁴⁰Take heed therefore, lest what is said in the prophets come upon you:

⁴¹'Look, you scoffers, and wonder and vanish away, for I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will never believe, even if someone declares it to you.'

⁴²And as they were going out, the people were urging that these words be spoken to them on the next Sabbath.

⁴³And after the synagogue meeting broke up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke with them and were urging them to continue in the grace of God.

⁴⁴And on the following Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.

⁴⁵But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting what Paul was saying, and they were blaspheming.

⁴⁶And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said: 'It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, look, we are turning to the Gentiles.'

⁴⁷For thus the Lord has commanded us: 'I have set you as a light for the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.'

⁴⁸And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.

⁴⁹And the word of the Lord was spreading through the whole region.

⁵⁰But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, and they stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them from their territory.

⁵¹And they shook the dust off their feet against them and came to Iconium.

⁵²And the disciples were being filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.