Barnabas and Saul Are Chosen

13 In the church at Antioch there were these prophets and teachers: Barnabas [4:36], Simeon (also called Niger [^Cmeaning “Black”; Luke 23:26]), Lucius (from the city of Cyrene [^Ca city in North Africa]), Manaen (who ·had grown up with Herod [or was a close friend of Herod; or was a member of Herod’s court], the ·ruler [^Ltetrarch; ^Ca Roman political title; see Luke 3:1]), and Saul. ² They were all ·worshiping [or serving] the Lord and fasting [^Cgiving up eating for spiritual purposes]. During this time the Holy Spirit said to them, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul to do ·a special [^Lthe] work for which I have ·chosen [called] them.”

³ So after they fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on [^Ca ritual of blessing and/or conferring of authority] Barnabas and Saul and sent them out.

Barnabas and Saul in Cyprus

⁴ Barnabas and Saul, sent out by the Holy Spirit, went to the city of Seleucia [^Ca Syrian city 15 miles from Antioch]. From there they sailed to the island of Cyprus [^Can island off the coast of Syria, and Barnabas’ homeland; 4:36]. ⁵ When they came to Salamis [^Cthe main city of Cyprus], they preached the ·Good News [Gospel; ^Lword] of God in the synagogues [^Lof the Jews]. John Mark was ·with them to help [their assistant].

⁶ They went across the whole island to Paphos [^Cthe capital city of Cyprus, on the southwest coast] where they met a ·magician [sorcerer] named Bar-Jesus [^Cmeaning “son of Jesus/Joshua”]. He was a Jewish false prophet ⁷ who ·always stayed close to [^Lwas with; ^Cperhaps an assistant or advisor] Sergius Paulus, the ·governor [proconsul] and a ·smart [intelligent; discerning] man. He asked Barnabas and Saul to come to him, because he wanted to hear the ·message [^Lword] of God. ⁸ But Elymas, the magician (that is what his name means), was against them [^CElymas probably comes either from an Arabic word meaning “wise man” or an Aramaic word meaning “interpreter of dreams”—hence a “magician”]. He tried to ·stop [turn away] the ·governor [proconsul] from ·believing in Jesus [^Lthe faith]. ⁹ But Saul, who was also called Paul [^CSaul was his Jewish name; Paul his Roman name (both probably given at birth)], was filled with the Holy Spirit. He looked ·straight [intently] at Elymas ¹⁰ and said, “You son of the devil! You are an enemy of ·everything that is right [all righteousness]! You are full of ·lies [deceit] and ·evil tricks [fraud; evil schemes], ·always trying to change the Lord’s truths into lies [^Lwill you never stop making crooked/perverting the straight paths of the Lord?]. ¹¹ Now [^Llook; ^Tbehold] the [^Lhand of the] Lord will touch you, and you will be blind. For a time you will not be able to see anything—not even the light from the sun.”

Then ·everything became dark for [^Lmist and darkness fell upon] Elymas, and he walked around, trying to find someone to lead him by the hand. ¹² When the ·governor [proconsul] saw this, he believed because he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.

Paul and Barnabas Leave Cyprus

¹³ Paul and ·those with him [his companions] sailed from Paphos [v. 6] and came to Perga, in Pamphylia [^Ca Roman province in southern Turkey; Perga was a major city]. There John Mark left them to return to Jerusalem [15:38]. ¹⁴ They continued their trip from Perga and went to Antioch, a city in Pisidia [^Ca Roman province in southcentral Turkey; this Antioch should not be confused with Antioch in Syria (11:19–20)]. On the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. ¹⁵ After the law of Moses and the writings of the prophets were read [^Cpart of the traditional synagogue service], the leaders of the synagogue sent a message to Paul and Barnabas: “Brothers, if you have any ·message that will encourage the people [^Lword of encouragement/exhortation; ^Cthey are invited to give the homily, or sermon], please speak.”

¹⁶ Paul stood up, ·raised [or motioned with] his hand, and said, “·You Israelites [Men, Israelites] and you who ·worship [^Lfear] God [^CGentiles who worshiped the God of Israel; 10:2], please listen! ¹⁷ The God of the Israelites chose our ·ancestors [^Lfathers; ^CAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob; Gen. 12—36]. He made the people great during the time they lived [as foreigners/aliens] in Egypt, and he brought them out of that country with ·great power [^La raised/uplifted arm]. ¹⁸ And he ·was patient with [put up with] them^[a] for forty years in the ·desert [wilderness; Ex. 16—Deut. 34]. ¹⁹ God destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan and gave the land to his people [^Las an inheritance]. ²⁰ All this happened in about four hundred fifty years [^Ca round number of the time Israel was in Egypt, wandering in the wilderness, and conquering the land].

“After this, God gave them judges [Judg. 1—21] until the time of Samuel the prophet [1 Sam. 1:1—25:1; 28]. ²¹ Then the people asked for a king, so God gave them Saul son of Kish. Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin and was king for forty years [1 Sam. 8—2 Sam. 1]. ²² After God ·took him away [removed/deposed him], God ·made David [^Lraised up David as] their king [2 Sam. 2—7]. God ·said [witnessed; testified] about him: ‘I have found in David son of Jesse ·the kind of man I want [a man whose heart is like mine; ^Ta man after my own heart; 1 Sam. 13:14; Ps. 89:20]. He will ·do [or accomplish] all ·I want him to do [^Lmy will].’ ²³ So God has brought Jesus, one of David’s ·descendants [^Lseed], to Israel to be its Savior, as he promised [2 Sam. 7:12–16; Is. 11:1–16]. ²⁴ Before Jesus came, John [^Cthe Baptist] preached to all the people of Israel about a baptism of ·changed hearts and lives [^Lrepentance; Matt. 3; Mark 1:2–8; Luke 3]. ²⁵ When he was finishing his ·work [race; course; mission], he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not ·the Christ [the Messiah; ^Lhe; ^Cthe anointed king from David’s line]. He is coming later, and I am not worthy to untie his sandals [^Ca gesture of subservience fit for a slave].’

²⁶ “·Brothers, [^LMen, brothers] ·sons [or descendants] of the family of Abraham, and others who ·worship [fear; 13:16] God, listen! The ·news [word; message] about this salvation has been sent to us. ²⁷ Those who live in Jerusalem and their leaders ·did not realize that Jesus was the Savior [^Lwere ignorant of this; or did not recognize him]. They did not understand the ·words that the prophets wrote [^Lvoices of the prophets], which are read every Sabbath day. But they ·made them come true [^Lfulfilled them] when they ·said Jesus was guilty [^Lcondemned him]. ²⁸ They could not find any real ·reason [cause; basis] for Jesus to be put to death, but they asked Pilate to have him ·killed [executed]. ²⁹ When they had done to him all that ·the Scriptures had said [^Lwas written about him], they took him down from the ·cross [^Ltree; 5:30; 10:39; Deut. 21:23; Gal. 3:13] and laid him in a tomb. ³⁰ But God raised him up from the dead! ³¹ After this, for many days, ·those who had gone with Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem saw him [or he appeared to those…Jerusalem]. They are now his witnesses to the people. ³² We tell you the ·Good News [Gospel] about the promise God made to our ·ancestors [forefathers; fathers; Gen. 12:1–3; 2 Sam. 7:12–16]. ³³ ·God has made this promise come true [He has fulfilled this promise] for us, their ·children [descendants], by raising Jesus from the dead. We read about this also in the second psalm:

³⁴ God raised Jesus from the dead, and he will never go back to ·the grave and become dust [^Lcorruption; decay]. So God said:

³⁵ But in another place God says:

³⁶ [^LFor; Now] David ·did God’s will [served God’s purpose] during his ·lifetime [^Lgeneration]. Then he ·died [^Lslept; ^Ca euphemism for death] and was ·buried [^Lplaced] beside his ·ancestors [^Lfathers], and his body ·experienced [^Lsaw] ·decay [corruption] in the grave. ³⁷ But the One God raised from the dead did not ·experience [^Lsee] ·decay [corruption]. ³⁸ [^LTherefore] ·Brothers [^LMen, brothers], ·understand what we are telling you [know this]: ·You can have forgiveness of your sins [^LForgiveness of sins is announced to you] through ·Jesus [^Lthis man]. ³⁹ The law of Moses could not ·free you from your sins [justify you; make you righteous]. But through Jesus everyone who believes is ·free from all sins [justified; made/declared righteous]. ⁴⁰ [^LSo; Therefore] ·Be careful [Watch out]! Don’t let what the prophets said happen to you:

⁴² While ·Paul and Barnabas [^Lthey] were leaving the synagogue, the people ·asked [urged; encouraged] them to tell them more about these things on the next Sabbath. ⁴³ When the meeting was over, many of the Jews and devout ·converts to Judaism [^Lproselytes] followed Paul and Barnabas from that place. Paul and Barnabas were persuading them to continue trusting in God’s grace.

⁴⁴ On the next Sabbath day, almost everyone in the city ·came [gathered] to hear the word of the Lord. ⁴⁵ Seeing the crowd, the Jewish people became very jealous and said ·insulting [blasphemous] things and ·argued against [contradicted] what Paul said. ⁴⁶ But Paul and Barnabas spoke very ·boldly [fearlessly; courageously], saying, “·We must [It was necessary for us to] speak the ·message [word] of God to you first. But [^Lsince] you ·refuse to listen [or reject it]. You are judging yourselves not worthy of having eternal life! So we will now ·go [^Lturn] to the ·people of other nations [Gentiles]. ⁴⁷ [^LFor] This is what the Lord ·told us to do [commanded us], saying:

⁴⁸ When the Gentiles heard Paul say this, they ·were happy [rejoiced] and ·gave honor to [praised] the ·message [word] of the Lord. And the people who were ·chosen [destined; appointed] to have life forever ·believed the message [^Lbelieved].

⁴⁹ So the ·message [word] of the Lord was spreading through the whole ·country [area; region]. ⁵⁰ But the Jewish people ·stirred up [incited] some of the ·important religious women [devout/God-fearing women of high social status] and the ·leaders [or prominent men] of the city. They ·started trouble [stirred up persecution] against Paul and Barnabas and forced them out of their ·area [region]. ⁵¹ So Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet [^Ca sign of rejection and protest] and went to Iconium [^Ca city in the interior of south central Asia Minor, present-day Turkey]. ⁵² But the ·followers [disciples] were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

Paul and Barnabas in Iconium

14 In Iconium [13:51], ·Paul and Barnabas [^Lthey] went as usual to the Jewish synagogue [^Cthey typically appealed to their fellow Jews first]. They spoke ·so well [^Lin such a way] that a great many Jews and Greeks believed. ² But the Jews who did not believe ·excited [stirred up] the Gentiles and ·turned them [poisoned their minds; ^Lharmed/did evil to their souls] against the ·believers [^Lbrothers (and sisters)]. ³ [^LSo; Therefore] ·Paul and Barnabas [^LThey] stayed in Iconium a long time and spoke ·bravely [or boldly] for the Lord. He ·showed [testified; confirmed] that their ·message [word] about his grace was true by giving them the power to work [miraculous] signs and ·miracles [wonders]. ⁴ But [^Lthe people/population of] the city was divided. Some of the people agreed with the Jews, and others ·believed [^Lwere with] the apostles.

⁵ Some Gentiles, some Jews, and some of their rulers ·wanted [intended; plotted] to mistreat Paul and Barnabas and to stone them to death. ⁶ When ·Paul and Barnabas [^Lthey] learned about this, they ·ran away [fled; escaped] to Lystra [^Ceighteen miles south of Iconium] and Derbe [^Csixty miles southeast from Lystra], cities in Lycaonia [^Cthe administrative district], and to the areas around those cities. ⁷ They ·announced the Good News [preached the Gospel] there, too.

Paul in Lystra and Derbe

⁸ In Lystra [v. 6] there sat a man who had been ·born crippled [^Llame from the womb of his mother]; he had never walked. ⁹ As this man was listening to Paul speak, Paul looked straight at him and saw that he ·believed [had faith that] God could heal him. ¹⁰ So he ·cried out [^Lsaid with a loud voice], “Stand up on your feet!” The man jumped up and began walking around. ¹¹ When the crowds saw what Paul did, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have ·become like humans [or taken on human form] and have come down to us!” ¹² Then the people began to call Barnabas “Zeus” [^Cmain god of the Greek pantheon] and Paul “Hermes,” [^Cthe Greek god who delivered messages] because he was the main speaker. ¹³ The priest in the temple of Zeus, which was ·near [or beside; at the entrance of] the city, brought some ·bulls [or oxen] and ·flowers [garlands; wreaths] to the ·gates [temple gates; or city gates; ^Cbut it is doubtful that Lystra had city walls at this time]. He and the people wanted to offer a sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas. ¹⁴ But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard about it, they tore their clothes [^Cindicating outrage or sorrow]. They ran in among the people, shouting, ¹⁵ “·Friends [^LMen], why are you doing these things? We are only human beings ·like [of the same nature as] you. We are bringing you the ·Good News [Gospel] and are telling you to turn away from these worthless things and turn to the living God. He is the One who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything in them [Ex. 20:11; Ps. 146:6]. ¹⁶ In the past [^Lgenerations], God let all the nations ·do what they wanted [^Lgo their own way]. ¹⁷ Yet he ·proved he is real [^Lhas not left himself without a witness] by ·showing kindness [doing good], by giving you rain from heaven and crops at the right ·times [seasons], by ·giving you [satisfying/filling you with] food and filling your hearts with joy [Ps. 104:13–15].” ¹⁸ Even with these words, they were barely able to keep the crowd from offering sacrifices to them.

¹⁹ Then some Jews [^Cthose who had opposed them earlier; 13:50–51; 14:2, 5] came from Antioch and Iconium and persuaded the people to turn against Paul. So they threw stones at him [2 Cor. 11:25; ^Cstoning was the main Jewish method of execution] and dragged him out of town, thinking they had killed him. ²⁰ But the ·followers [disciples] ·gathered around him [or surrounded him; ^Ceither to protect from further attack or to check on his condition], and he got up and went back into the town [^Cperhaps a miracle; certainly evidence of Paul’s perseverance]. The next day he and Barnabas left and went to the city of Derbe [v. 6].

The Return to Antioch in Syria

²¹ ·Paul and Barnabas [^LThey] ·told the Good News [preached the Gospel] in Derbe, and many became ·followers [disciples]. ·Paul and Barnabas [^LThey] returned to Lystra [14:6], Iconium, and Antioch, ²² ·making the followers of Jesus stronger [^Lstrengthening the souls/lives of the disciples] and ·helping them stay [^Lencouraging/exhorting them to remain/persevere] in the faith. They said, “We must ·suffer many things [endure/pass through many trials/persecutions] to enter God’s kingdom.” ²³ They ·chose [appointed; or elected] elders [1 Tim. 5:17–20; Titus 1:5–9] for each church, ·by [after; ^Lwith] praying and fasting [^Cgiving up eating for spiritual purposes]. These elders had ·trusted [believed in] the Lord, so Paul and Barnabas ·put them in [committed them to] the Lord’s care.

²⁴ Then they went through Pisidia [13:14] and came to Pamphylia [13:13]. ²⁵ When they had ·preached the message [^Lspoken the word] in Perga [13:13], they went down to Attalia [^Ceight miles southwest of Perga]. ²⁶ And from there they sailed away to Antioch [^Cin Syria about 400 miles away] where ·the believers had put them into God’s care [^Lthey had been delivered over to God’s grace] to do the work that they had now ·finished [completed; fulfilled].

²⁷ When they arrived in Antioch, ·Paul and Barnabas [^Lthey] gathered the church together. They ·told [reported/recounted to] the church all about what God had done with them and how God had ·made it possible for the Gentiles to believe [^Lopened a door of faith to the Gentiles]. ²⁸ And they stayed there ·a long [a considerable; ^Lno little] time with the ·followers [disciples].