Acts 13:1-25

Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets [who spoke a new message of God to the people] and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod [Antipas] the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul (Paul) for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them [in approval and dedication] and sent them away [on their first journey]. So then, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. When Barnabas and Saul arrived at Salamis, they began to preach the word of God [proclaiming the message of eternal salvation through faith in Christ] in the synagogues of the Jews; and they also had John [Mark] as their assistant. When they had traveled through the entire island [of Cyprus] as far as Paphos, they found a sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus, who was [closely associated] with the proconsul [of the province], Sergius Paulus, an intelligent and sensible man. He called for Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God [concerning eternal salvation through faith in Christ]. But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is how his name is translated) opposed them, trying to turn the proconsul away from accepting the faith. But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit and led by Him, looked steadily at Elymas, and said, “You [Elymas] who are full of every [kind of] deceit, and every [kind of] fraud, you son of the devil, enemy of everything that is right and good, will you never stop perverting the straight paths of the Lord? [Hos 14:9] Now, watch! The hand of the Lord is on you, and you will be blind, [so blind that you will be] unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately a mist and darkness fell upon him, and he groped around, seeking people to lead him by the hand. The proconsul believed [the message of salvation] when he saw what had happened, being astonished at the teaching concerning the Lord. Now Paul and his companions sailed from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia; but John [Mark] left them and went back to Jerusalem. Now they went on from Perga and arrived at Antioch in Pisidia, and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. After the reading of the Law and the [writings of the] Prophets, the officials of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Brothers (kinsmen), if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it.” So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand, he said, “ M en of Israel, and you who fear God, listen! The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great and numerous during their stay [as foreigners] in the land of Egypt, and then with an uplifted arm He led them out of there. [Ex 6:1, 6] For a period of about forty years He put up with their behavior in the wilderness. [Deut 1:31] When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He gave their land [to our ancestors] as an inheritance—this took about four hundred and fifty years. [Deut 7:1; Josh 14:1, 2] After this, He gave them judges until the prophet Samuel. Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. And when He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king: of him He testified and said, ‘I HAVE FOUND DAVID the son of Jesse, A MAN AFTER MY OWN HEART [conforming to My will and purposes], who will do all My will.’ [1 Sam 13:14; Ps 89:20; Is 44:28] From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel a Savior, [in the person of] Jesus, according to His promise. Before His coming John [the Baptist] had preached a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John was finishing his course [of ministry], he kept saying, ‘What or who do you think that I am? I am not He [the Christ]; but be aware, One is coming after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie [even as His slave]!’