1 N ow in the church (assembly) at Antioch there were prophets (inspired interpreters of the will and purposes of God) and teachers: Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

In the church in the city of Antioch there were preachers and teachers. They were Barnabas, Simeon Niger, Lucius of the country of Cyrene, Manaen of Herod’s family, and Saul.

2 W hile they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Separate now for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.

While they were worshiping the Lord and eating no food so they could pray better, the Holy Spirit said, “Let Barnabas and Saul be given to Me for the work I have called them to.” Paul and Barnabas Go to Antioch

3 T hen after fasting and praying, they put their hands on them and sent them away.

These preachers and teachers went without food during that time and prayed. Then they laid their hands on Barnabas and Saul and sent them away.

4 S o then, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from they sailed away to Cyprus.

They were sent by the Holy Spirit to the city of Seleucia. From there they went by ship to the island of Cyprus.

5 W hen they arrived at Salamis, they preached the Word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John as an attendant to assist them.

When they went to shore at the city of Salamis, they preached the Word of God in the Jewish place of worship. John Mark was with them as their helper.

6 W hen they had passed through the entire island of Cyprus as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain Jewish wizard or sorcerer, a false prophet named Bar-Jesus.

They went over Cyprus as far as the city of Paphos. While there, they found a Jew who did witchcraft. He was a false preacher named Barjesus.

7 H e was closely associated with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, who was an intelligent and sensible man of sound understanding; he summoned to him Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the Word of God.

Sergius Paulus was the leader of the country and a man who knew much. Barjesus was with Sergius Paulus. Sergius Paulus asked Barnabas and Saul to come to him so he might hear the Word of God.

8 B ut Elymas the wise man—for that is the translation of his name '> which he had given himself]—opposed them, seeking to keep the proconsul from accepting the faith.

But Elymas (as he called himself), the man who did witchcraft, worked against Barnabas and Saul. He tried to keep the leader of the country from putting his trust in the Lord.

9 B ut Saul, who is also called Paul, filled with and controlled by the Holy Spirit, looked steadily at

Saul, whose other name was Paul, was full of the Holy Spirit. He looked at Elymas.

10 A nd said, You master in every form of deception and recklessness, unscrupulousness, and wickedness, you son of the devil, you enemy of everything that is upright and good, will you never stop perverting and making crooked the straight paths of the Lord and plotting against His saving purposes?

Then Saul said, “You false preacher and trouble-maker! You son of the devil! You hate what is right! Will you always be turning people from the right ways of the Lord?

11 A nd now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind, unable to see the sun for a time. Instantly there fell upon him a mist and a darkness, and he groped about seeking persons who would lead him by the hand.

And now look! The hand of the Lord is on you. You will become blind. For a time you will not be able to see the sun.” At once it became dark to Elymas, and he could not see. He asked people to take him by the hand to lead him from place to place.

12 T hen the proconsul believed (became a Christian) when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished and deeply touched at the teaching concerning the Lord and from Him.

The leader of the country put his trust in the Lord because he saw what had happened. He was surprised and wondered about the teaching of the Lord.

13 N ow Paul and his companions sailed from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John separated himself from them and went back to Jerusalem,

Paul and those with him went by ship from Paphos to the city of Perga in the country of Pamphylia. John Mark did not go with them but went back to Jerusalem. Paul Preaches in Antioch

14 B ut they came on from Perga and arrived at Antioch in Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue there and sat down.

From Perga they went on to the city of Antioch in the country of Pisidia. On the Day of Rest they went into the Jewish place of worship and sat down.

15 A fter the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent to them saying, Brethren, if you have any word of exhortation or consolation or encouragement for the people, say it.

After the leaders had read from the Jewish Law and the writings of the early preachers, they sent to them saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of comfort and help for the people, say it now.”

16 S o Paul arose, and motioning with his hand said, Men of Israel and you who reverence and fear God, listen!

Paul got up. He raised his hand and said, “Jewish men and you who honor God, listen!

17 T he God of this people Israel selected our forefathers and made this people great and important during their stay in the land of Egypt, and then with an uplifted arm He led them out from there.

The God of the Jews chose our early fathers and made them a great people during the time they lived in the land of Egypt. With a strong hand He took them out from there.

18 A nd for about forty years like a fatherly nurse He cared for them in the wilderness and endured their behavior.

For about forty years He took care of them in the desert.

19 W hen He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He gave them their land as an inheritance about 450 years.

He destroyed the people of seven nations in the land of Canaan. Then He divided the land and gave it to them as their own.

20 A fter that, He gave them judges until the prophet Samuel.

For about 450 years He let them have special leaders. They had these leaders until the time of Samuel.

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

“Then they wanted a king. God gave them Saul who was the son of Kish from the family group of Benjamin. He was king forty years.

22 A nd when He had deposed him, He raised up David to be their king; of him He bore witness and said, I have found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart, who will do all My will and carry out My program fully.

When God took Saul as king from them, He made David to be their king. He said, ‘David, Jesse’s son, will please My heart. He will do all I want done.’

23 O f this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel a Savior, according to His promise.

“From this man’s family, God gave to the Jews the One Who saves from the punishment of sin as He had promised. He is Jesus.

24 B efore His coming John had preached baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

Before Jesus came, John had preached to all the Jews that they should be baptized because they were sorry for their sins and turned from them.

25 A nd as John was ending his course, he asked, What or who do you secretly think that I am? I am not He, but note that after me One is coming, the sandals of Whose feet I am not worthy to untie!

When John was near the end of his work, he asked, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not the Christ. No, but He is coming later and I am not good enough to get down and help Him take off His shoes!’

26 B rethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and all those others among you who reverence and fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation.

“Men and brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and all of you who honor God, listen! This news of being able to be saved from the punishment of sin has been sent to you.

27 F or those who dwell in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not know or recognize Him or understand the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, have actually fulfilled these very predictions by condemning and sentencing.

The people of Jerusalem and their leaders did not know Him. They did not understand the words from the early preachers. These words were read to them every Day of Rest. But they did the very thing the early preachers had said they would do by handing Him over to die.

28 A nd although they could find no cause deserving death with which to charge Him, yet they asked Pilate to have Him executed and put out of the way.

They could find no reason that He should die, but they asked Pilate to have Him killed.

29 A nd when they had finished and fulfilled everything that was written about Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb.

When everything was done that had been written about Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a grave.

30 B ut God raised Him from the dead.

But God raised Him from the dead.

31 A nd for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, and they are His witnesses to the people.

For many days He was seen by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem. These are the ones who tell the people about Him.

32 S o now we are bringing you the good news (Gospel) that what God promised to our forefathers,

“We bring you the Good News about the promise made to our early fathers.

33 T his He has completely fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus, as it is written in the second psalm, You are My Son; today I have begotten You '> caused You to arise, to be born; formally shown You to be the Messiah by the resurrection].

God has finished this for us who are their children. He did this by raising Jesus from the dead. It is written in the second Psalm, ‘You are My Son. Today I have become Your Father.’

34 A nd as to His having raised Him from among the dead, now no more to return to putrefaction and dissolution, He spoke in this way, I will fulfill and give to you the holy and sure mercy and blessings to David.

God proved that Jesus was His Son by raising Him from the dead. He will never die again. He has said, ‘I will complete the promises made to David.’

35 F or this reason He says also in another psalm, You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption.

“In another Psalm He says, ‘You will not allow Your Holy One to go back to dust!’

36 F or David, after he had served God’s will and purpose and counsel in his own generation, fell asleep '> in death] and was buried among his forefathers, and he did see corruption and undergo putrefaction and dissolution.

David was a good leader for the people of his day. He did what God wanted. Then he died and was put into a grave close to his father’s grave. His body went back to dust.

37 B ut He Whom God raised up saw no corruption.

But God raised this One (Christ) to life. He did not go back to dust.

38 S o let it be clearly known and understood by you, brethren, that through this Man forgiveness and removal of sins is now proclaimed to you;

“Men and brothers, listen to this. You may be forgiven of your sins by this One I am telling you about.

39 A nd that through Him everyone who believes '> acknowledges Jesus as his Savior and devotes himself to Him] is absolved (cleared and freed) from every charge from which he could not be justified and freed by the Law of Moses and given right standing with God.

Everyone who puts his trust in Christ will be made right with God. You will be made free from those things the Law of Moses could not make you free from.

40 T ake care, therefore, lest there come upon you what is spoken in the prophets:

But look out! The writings of the early preachers tell of many things that you do not want to happen to you.

41 L ook, you scoffers and scorners, and marvel and perish and vanish away; for I am doing a deed in your days, a deed which you will never have confidence in or believe, if someone '> clearly describing it in detail] declares it to you.

‘Listen, you who doubt and laugh at the truth will die. I will do a work during your days. It will be a work that you will not believe even if someone tells you about it.’”

42 A s they went out, the people earnestly begged that these things might be told to them the next Sabbath.

As Paul and Barnabas went out of the Jewish place of worship, the people asked them to talk about these things on the next Day of Rest.

43 A nd when the congregation of the synagogue dispersed, many of the Jews and the devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked to them and urged them to continue in the grace (the unmerited favor and blessing) of God.

The people went from the place of worship. Many Jews and others who had become Jews followed Paul and Barnabas as they talked to the Jews. They told them to keep on trusting in the loving-favor of God. Paul and Barnabas Go to the People Who Are Not Jews

44 T he next Sabbath almost the entire city gathered together to hear the Word of God '> the attainment through Christ of salvation in the kingdom of God].

Almost all of the people of the town came to hear the Word of God on the next Day of Rest.

45 B ut when the Jews saw the crowds, filled with envy and jealousy they contradicted what was said by Paul and talked abusively.

The Jews were filled with jealousy when they saw so many people. They spoke against the things Paul said by saying he was wrong. They also spoke against God.

46 A nd Paul and Barnabas spoke out plainly and boldly, saying, It was necessary that God’s message '> salvation through Christ] should be spoken to you first. But since you thrust it from you, you pass this judgment on yourselves that you are unworthy of eternal life and out of your own mouth you will be judged. behold, we turn to the Gentiles (the heathen).

Paul and Barnabas said to the people in plain words, “We must preach the Word of God to you first. But because you put it aside, you are not good enough for life that lasts forever. So we will go to the people who are not Jews.

47 F or so the Lord has charged us, saying, I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles (the heathen), that you may bring salvation to the uttermost parts of the earth.

The Lord gave us a work to do. He said, ‘You are to be a light to the people who are not Jews. You are to preach so that men over all the earth can be saved from the punishment of their sins.’”

48 A nd when the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and glorified (praised and gave thanks for) the Word of God; and as many as were destined (appointed and ordained) to eternal life believed (adhered to, trusted in, and relied on Jesus as the Christ and their Savior).

The people who were not Jews were glad when they heard this. They were thankful for the Word of God. Those who were chosen for life that lasts forever believed.

49 A nd so the Word of the Lord scattered and spread throughout the whole region.

The Word of God was preached over all that land.

50 B ut the Jews stirred up the devout women of high rank and the outstanding men of the town, and instigated persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of their boundaries.

The Jews worked on the feelings of the women who were religious and respected. They worked on the leading men of the city also. They worked against Paul and Barnabas and made them leave their city.

51 B ut shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium.

But Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off from their feet against them and went to the city of Iconium.

52 A nd the disciples were continually filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

The missionaries were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.