Acts 13
1 And there were certain in Antioch, in the assembly there, prophets and teachers: both Barnabas, and Simeon who is called Niger, and Lucius the Cyrenian, Manaen also—Herod the tetrarch’s foster-brother—and Saul;
Among the members of the church at Antioch there were several prophets and teachers – Barnabas, Simeon who was known by the name of “Black”, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, foster-brother of Prince Herod, and Saul.
2 and in their ministering to the LORD and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Separate to Me both Barnabas and Saul to the work to which I have called them,”
While they were engaged in the worship of the Lord and were fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul, for the work to which I have called them.’
3 then having fasted, and having prayed, and having laid the hands on them, they sent [them] away.
Accordingly, after fasting and prayer, they placed their hands on them and dismissed them.
4 These, indeed, then, having been sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus,
Barnabas and Saul, sent on this mission, as they were, by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia, and from there sailed to Cyprus.
5 and having come to Salamis, they declared the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews, and they also had John [as] a servant;
On reaching Salamis, they began to tell the message of God in the Jewish synagogues; and they had John with them as an assistant.
6 and having gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain magus, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name [is] Bar-Jesus;
After passing through the whole island, they reached Paphos, where they found an astrologer who pretended to be a prophet – a Jew by birth, whose name was Barjoshua.
7 who was with the proconsul Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man; this one having called for Barnabas and Saul, desired to hear the word of God,
He was at the court of the Governor, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who sent for Barnabas and Saul and asked to be told God’s message.
8 and there withstood them Elymas the magus—for so is his name interpreted—seeking to pervert the proconsul from the faith.
But Elymas, the astrologer (for that is the meaning of the word), opposed them, eager to divert the Governor’s attention from the faith.
9 And Saul—who also [is] Paul—having been filled with the Holy Spirit, and having looked steadfastly on him,
However, Saul (who is the same as Paul), full of the Holy Spirit, fixed his eyes on him and said,
10 said, “O full of all guile, and all recklessness, son of a devil, enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the right ways of the LORD?
‘You incarnation of deceit and all fraud! You son of the devil! You opponent of all that is good! Will you never cease to divert the straight paths of the Lord? Listen!
11 And now, behold, a hand of the LORD [is] on you, and you will be blind, not seeing the sun for a season”; and instantly there fell on him a mist and darkness, and he, going around, was seeking some to lead [him] by the hand;
The hand of the Lord is on you even now, and you will be blind for a time and unable to see the sun.’ Immediately a mist and darkness fell on him, and he went feeling about for someone to guide him.
12 then the proconsul having seen what has come to pass, believed, being astonished at the teaching of the LORD.
When the Governor saw what had happened, he became a believer in Christ, being greatly impressed by the teaching about the Lord.
13 And those around Paul having set sail from Paphos, came to Perga of Pamphylia, and John having departed from them, turned back to Jerusalem,
After this, Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and went to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them and returned to Jerusalem.
14 and they having gone through from Perga, came to Antioch of Pisidia, and having gone into the synagogue on the day of the Sabbaths, they sat down,
The others went on from Perga and arrived at Antioch in Pisidia. There they went into the synagogue on the Sabbath and took their seats.
15 and after the reading of the Law and of the Prophets, the chief men of the synagogue sent to them, saying, “Men, brothers, if there be a word in you of exhortation to the people—say on.”
After the reading of the Law and the prophets, the synagogue leader sent them this message – ‘Friends, if you have any helpful words to address to the people, now is the time to speak.’
16 And Paul having risen, and having beckoned with the hand, said, “Men, Israelites, and those fearing God, listen:
So Paul rose and, motioning with his hand, said: ‘People of Israel and all here who worship God, hear what I have to say.
17 the God of this people Israel chose our fathers, and He exalted the people in their sojourning in the land of Egypt, and He brought them out of it with a high arm;
The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors, and during their stay in Egypt increased the prosperity of the people, and then with uplifted arm brought them out from that land.
18 and about a period of forty years He endured their conduct in the wilderness,
For about forty years he bore with them in the desert;
19 and having destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He divided their land to them by lot.
then, after destroying seven heathen nations in Canaan, he allotted their land to this people –
20 And after these things, about four hundred and fifty years, He gave judges—until Samuel the prophet;
For about four hundred and fifty years. In later times he gave them Judges, of whom the prophet Samuel was the last.
21 and thereafter they asked for a king, and God gave to them Saul, son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years;
And, when they demanded a king, God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for forty years.
22 and having removed him, He raised up to them David for king, to whom also having testified, He said, I found David, the [son] of Jesse, a man according to My heart, who will do all My will.
After removing him, he raised David to the throne, and bore this testimony to him – “In David, the son of Jesse, I have found a man after my own heart, who will carry out all my purposes.”
23 Of this one’s seed, God, according to promise, raised to Israel a Savior—Jesus,
It was from this man’s descendants that God, in accordance with his promise, gave Israel a Saviour – Jesus;
24 John having first preached, before His coming, an immersion of conversion to all the people of Israel;
John having first proclaimed, before the appearance of Jesus, a baptism on repentance for all the people of Israel.
25 and as John was fulfilling the course, he said, Whom do you suppose I am? I am not [He], but behold, He comes after me, of whom I am not worthy to loose the sandal of [His] feet.
As John was drawing towards the end of his career, he said “What do you suppose that I am? I am not the Christ. But there is ‘one coming’ after me, whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”
26 Men, brothers, sons of the race of Abraham, and those among you fearing God, to you was the word of this salvation sent,
Brothers and sisters, descendants of Abraham, and all those among you who worship God, it was to us that the message of this salvation was sent.
27 for those dwelling in Jerusalem, and their chiefs, having not known this One, also the voices of the Prophets, which are being read every Sabbath—having judged [Him]—fulfilled,
The people of Jerusalem and their leaders, failing to recognise Jesus, and not understanding the utterances of the prophets that are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him.
28 and having found no cause of death, they asked of Pilate that He should be slain,
They found no ground at all for putting him to death, and yet demanded his execution from Pilate;
29 and when they fulfilled all the things written about Him, having taken [Him] down from the tree, they laid Him in a tomb;
and, after carrying out everything written about him, they took Jesus down from the cross, and laid him in a tomb.
30 and God raised Him out of the dead,
But God raised him from the dead;
31 and He was seen for many days of those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people.
and he appeared for many days to those who had gone up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, and who are now witnesses for him to the people.
32 And we proclaim good news to you—that the promise made to the fathers,
We also have good news to tell you, about the promise made to our ancestors –
33 God has completed this in full to us their children, having raised up Jesus, as also in the second Psalm it has been written: You are My Son—I have begotten You today.
That our children have had this promise completely fulfilled to them by God, by his raising Jesus. That is just what is said in the second Psalm – “You are my Son; this day I have become your Father.”
34 And that He raised Him up out of the dead, to no longer return to corruption, He has said this: I will give to You the holy [blessings] of David [that are] faithful;
As to his raising Jesus from the dead, never again to return to corruption, this is what is said – “I will give to you the sacred promises made to David;”
35 for what reason He also says in another [place]: You will not give Your Holy One to see corruption;
And, therefore, in another Psalm it is said – “You will not give up the Holy One to undergo corruption.”
36 for David, indeed, having served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, and was added to his fathers, and saw corruption,
David, after obediently doing God’s will in his own time, fell asleep and was laid by the side of his ancestors, and did undergo corruption;
37 but He whom God raised up, did not see corruption.
but Jesus, whom God raised from the dead, did not undergo corruption.
38 Let it therefore be known to you, men, brothers, that the forgiveness of sins is declared to you through this One,
I would, therefore, like you to know, friends, that through Jesus forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you,
39 and from all things in the Law of Moses from which you were not able to be declared righteous, everyone who is believing in this One is declared righteous;
and that, in union with him, everyone who believes in him is absolved from every sin from which under the Law of Moses you could not be absolved.
40 see, therefore, it may not come on you that has been spoken in the Prophets:
Beware, therefore, that what is said in the prophets does not come true of you –
41 See, you despisers, and wonder, and perish, because I work a work in your days, a work in which you may not believe, though anyone may declare [it] to you.”
“Look, you despisers, and wonder, and perish; for I am doing a deed in your days – a deed which, though told you in full, you will never believe”.’
42 And having gone forth out of the synagogue of the Jews, the nations were calling on [them] that on the next Sabbath these sayings may be spoken to them,
As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people begged for a repetition of this teaching on the next Sabbath.
43 and the synagogue having been dismissed, many of the Jews and of the devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were persuading them to remain in the grace of God.
After the congregation had dispersed, many of the Jews, and of the converts who joined in their worship, followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue to rely on the loving kindness of God.
44 And on the coming Sabbath, almost all the city was gathered together to hear the word of God,
On the following Sabbath, almost all the city gathered to hear God’s message.
45 and the Jews having seen the multitudes, were filled with zeal, and contradicted the things spoken by Paul—contradicting and slandering.
But the sight of the crowds of people filled the minds of the Jews with jealousy, and they kept contradicting Paul’s statements in violent language.
46 And speaking boldly, Paul and Barnabas said, “It was necessary that the word of God be first spoken to you, and seeing you thrust it away, and do not judge yourselves worthy of the continuous life, behold, we turn to the nations; (aiōnios g166)
Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out fearlessly, and said: ‘It was necessary that the message of God should be told to you first; but, since you reject it and reckon yourselves not worthy of the eternal life – we turn to the Gentiles! (aiōnios g166)
47 for so the LORD has commanded us: I have set you for a light of nations—for your being for salvation to the end of the earth.”
For this is the Lord’s command to us – “I have destined you for a light to the Gentiles, a means of salvation to the ends of the earth”.’
48 And the nations hearing were glad, and were glorifying the word of the LORD, and believed—as many as were appointed to continuous life; (aiōnios g166)
On hearing this, the Gentiles were glad and extolled God’s message; and all those who had been enrolled for eternal life became believers in Christ; (aiōnios g166)
49 and the word of the LORD was spread abroad through all the region.
and the Lord’s message was carried throughout that district.
50 And the Jews stirred up the devout and honorable women, and the first men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and put them out from their borders;
But the Jews incited the women of high social standing who worshiped with them, and the leading men of the town, and started a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their region.
51 and having shaken off the dust of their feet against them, they came to Iconium,
They, however, shook the dust off their feet in protest,
52 and the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.
and went to Iconium, leaving the disciples full of joy and of the Holy Spirit.
