131 Now there were at Antioch , in the church that was there, prophets and teachers : Barnabas , and Simeon who was called Niger , and Lucius of Cyrene , and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch , and Saul . 2 While 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." 3 Then , when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away .
4 So , being sent out by the Holy Spirit , they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus . 5 When they reached Salamis , they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews ; and they also had John as their helper . 6 When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos , they found a magician , a Jewish false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus , 7 who was with the 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 magician (for so his name is translated ) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith . 9 But Saul , who was also known as Paul , filled with the Holy Spirit , fixed his gaze on him, 10 and said , "You who are full of all deceit and fraud , you son of the devil , you enemy of all righteousness , will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord ? 11 "Now , behold , the hand of the 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 proconsul believed when he saw what had happened , being amazed at the teaching of the Lord .
13 Now Paul and his companions e put out to sea from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia ; but John left them and returned to Jerusalem .
14 But going on from Perga , they arrived at Pisidian Antioch , and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down . 15 After the reading of the Law and the Prophets the synagogue officials sent to them, saying , "Brethren e , if you have any word of exhortation for the people , say it." 16 Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said , "Men of Israel , and you who fear God , listen : 17 "The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt , and with an uplifted arm He led them out from it. 18 "For a period of about forty years He put up with them in the wilderness . 19 " When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan , He distributed their land as an inheritance -all of which took about four hundred and fifty years . 20 "After these things He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet . 21 "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 . 22 "After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king , concerning whom He also testified and said , ' I HAVE FOUND DAVID the son of Jesse , A MAN AFTER MY HEART , who will do all My will .' 23 " From the descendants of this man , according to promise , God has brought to Israel a Savior , Jesus , 24 after John had proclaimed before His coming e a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel . 25 "And while John was completing his course , he kept saying , 'What do you suppose that I am ? I am not He. But behold , one is coming after me the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie .' 26 "Brethren e , sons of Abraham's family , and those among you who fear God , to us the message of this salvation has been sent . 27 "For those who live in Jerusalem , and their rulers , recognizing neither Him nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath , fulfilled these by condemning Him. 28 "And though they found no ground for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed . 29 "When they had carried out all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb . 30 "But God raised Him from the dead ; 31 and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem , the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people . 32 "And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers , 33 that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus , as it is also written in the second Psalm , ' YOU ARE MY SON ; TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU.' 34 "As for the fact that He raised Him up from the dead , no longer to return to decay , He has spoken in this way : ' I WILL GIVE YOU THE HOLY and SURE blessings OF DAVID .' 35 "Therefore He also says in another Psalm, ' YOU WILL NOT ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY .' 36 "For David , after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation , fell asleep , and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay ; 37 but He whom God raised did not undergo decay . 38 "Therefore let it be known to you, brethren e , that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things , from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses . 40 "Therefore take heed , so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you: 41 ' BEHOLD , YOU SCOFFERS , AND MARVEL , AND PERISH ; FOR I AM ACCOMPLISHING A WORK IN YOUR DAYS , A WORK WHICH YOU WILL NEVER e BELIEVE , THOUGH SOMEONE SHOULD DESCRIBE IT TO YOU.' "
42 As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath . 43 Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas , who , speaking to them, were urging them to continue in the grace of God . 44 The next Sabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord . 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds , they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul , and were blaspheming . 46 Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said , "It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first ; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy e of eternal life , behold , we are turning to the Gentiles . 47 "For so the Lord has commanded us, ' I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES , THAT YOU MAY BRING e SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH .' " 48 When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord ; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed . 49 And the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region . 50 But the Jews incited the devout women of prominence and the leading men of the city , and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas , and drove them out of their district . 51 But they shook off the dust of their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium . 52 And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit .
