1 O r, nella chiesa di Antiochia, vi erano profeti e dottori: Barnaba, Simeone chiamato Niger, Lucio di Cirene, Manaen, allevato assieme a Erode il tetrarca, e Saulo.

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 O r, mentre celebravano il servizio al Signore e digiunavano, lo Spirito Santo disse: «Mettetemi da parte Barnaba e Saulo per l'opera alla quale li ho chiamati».

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 A llora, dopo aver digiunato e pregato, imposero loro le mani e li congedarono.

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 E ssi dunque, mandati dallo Spirito Santo, scesero a Seleucia e di là si imbarcarono per Cipro.

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

5 G iunti a Salamina, annunziarono la parola di Dio nelle sinagoghe dei Giudei; or avevano anche Giovanni come aiutante.

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 P oi, attraversata l'isola fino a Pafo, trovarono lí un mago, falso profeta giudeo, di nome Bar-Gesú,

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 c he stava col proconsole Sergio Paolo, uomo prudente. Costui, chiamati a sé Barnaba e Saulo, cercava di ascoltare la parola di Dio,

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 m a Elimas, il mago (questo infatti è il significato del suo nome) resisteva loro cercando di allontanare il proconsole dalla fede.

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 A llora Saulo, detto anche Paolo, ripieno di Spirito Santo, fissando gli occhi su di lui, disse:

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

10 « O uomo pieno di ogni frode e di ogni malizia, figlio del diavolo, nemico di ogni giustizia, non la smetterai tu di pervertire le diritte vie del Signore?

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 O ra dunque, ecco, la mano del Signore è su di te, e sarai cieco senza vedere il sole per un certo tempo». Immediatamente caddero su di lui caligine e tenebre; e andava attorno in cerca di chi lo conducesse per mano.

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 A llora il proconsole, visto ciò che era accaduto, credette, colpito dalla dottrina del Signore.

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 O r Paolo e i suoi compagni salparono da Pafo e arrivarono per via mare a Perge di Panfilia; ma Giovanni, separatosi da loro ritornò a Gerusalemme.

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 O r essi, proseguendo da Perge, giunsero ad Antiochia di Pisidia; e, entrati nella sinagoga in giorno di sabato, si sedettero.

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 D opo la lettura della legge e dei profeti, i capi della sinagoga mandarono loro a dire: «Fratelli, se avete qualche parola di esortazione da rivolgere al popolo, ditela».

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 A llora Paolo si alzò e, fatto cenno con la mano, disse: «Israeliti e voi che temete Dio, ascoltate.

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

17 I l Dio di questo popolo d'Israele elesse i nostri padri, e rese grande il popolo durante la sua dimora nel paese di Egitto; poi, con braccio potente, lo fece uscire fuori di là.

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 E per circa quarant'anni lo sopportò nel deserto.

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

19 P oi distrusse sette nazioni nel paese di Canaan e distribuí ad essi in eredità il loro paese.

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 D opo di che, per circa quattrocentocinquant'anni, diede loro dei Giudici fino al profeta Samuele.

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

21 I n seguito essi chiesero un re; e Dio diede loro Saul, figlio di Kis, un uomo della tribú di Beniamino, per quarant'anni.

“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 P oi Dio lo rimosse e suscitò loro come re, Davide, a cui rese testimonianza, dicendo: "Io trovato Davide, figlio di Iesse, uomo secondo il mio cuore, il quale eseguirà tutti i miei voleri".

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 D alla sua discendenza Dio, secondo la sua promessa, ha suscitato ad Israele il Salvatore Gesú.

“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 P rima della sua venuta Giovanni predicò un battesimo di ravvedimento a tutto il popolo d'Israele.

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 E , come Giovanni stava per finire la sua missione, disse: "Chi pensate voi che io sia? Io non sono il Cristo; ma ecco, dopo di me viene uno, a cui io non sono degno di sciogliere i sandali dei piedi".

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 F ratelli, figli della progenie di Abrahamo, e quelli fra di voi che temono Dio, a voi è stata mandata la parola di questa salvezza.

“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 P oiché gli abitanti di Gerusalemme e i loro capi, non avendo riconosciuto questo Gesú, condannandolo, hanno adempiuto le parole dei profeti che si leggono ogni sabato.

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 E , benché non trovassero in lui alcuna colpa degna di morte, richiesero a Pilato che fosse fatto morire.

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

29 D opo aver compiuto tutte le cose che sono scritte di lui egli fu tratto giú dal legno e fu posto in un sepolcro.

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

30 M a Dio lo risuscitò dai morti.

But God raised Him from the dead.

31 e d egli fu visto per molti giorni da coloro che erano saliti con lui dalla Galilea a Gerusalemme, i quali sono ora i suoi testimoni presso il popolo.

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 E noi vi annunziamo la buona novella della promessa fatta ai padri,

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

33 d icendovi, che Dio l'ha adempiuta per noi, loro figli, avendo risuscitato Gesú come anche è scritto nel secondo salmo: "Tu sei il mio Figlio. oggi ti ho generato".

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 E poiché lo ha risuscitato dai morti per non tornare piú nella corruzione, egli ha detto cosí: "Io vi darò le fedeli promesse fatte a Davide".

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 P er questo egli dice anche in un altro Salmo: "Tu non permetterai che il tuo Santo veda la corruzione.

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

36 O r Davide, dopo aver eseguito il consiglio di Dio nella sua generazione, si addormentò e fu aggiunto ai suoi padri, e vide la corruzione,

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 m a colui che Dio ha risuscitato, non ha visto corruzione.

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

38 V i sia dunque noto, fratelli, che per mezzo di lui vi è annunziato il perdono dei peccati,

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

39 e che, mediante lui, chiunque crede è giustificato di tutte le cose, di cui non avete potuto essere giustificati mediante la legge di Mosé.

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 G uardatevi dunque che non vi accada ciò che è detto nei profeti:

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

41 G uardate, o sprezzatori, meravigliatevi e siate consumati, perché io compio un'opera ai vostri giorni, un'opera che non credereste, se qualcuno ve la raccontasse.

‘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 O ra, quando i Giudei furono usciti dalla sinagoga, i gentili li pregarono che il sabato seguente fossero loro proposte le stesse cose.

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 E , dopo che fu sciolta la riunione molti fra i Giudei e pii proseliti seguirono Paolo e Barnaba, i quali, parlando loro, li persuasero a perseverare nella grazia di Dio.

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 I l sabato seguente quasi tutta la città si radunò per ascoltare la parola di Dio.

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

45 M a i Giudei, vedendo la folla, furono ripieni d'invidia e si opponevano alle cose dette da Paolo, contraddicendo e bestemmiando.

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 llora Paolo e Barnaba, parlando con franchezza, dissero: «Era necessario che fosse annunziata a voi per primi la parola di Dio; ma poiché la respingete e non vi giudicate degni della vita eterna ecco, noi ci rivolgiamo ai gentili.

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 P oiché cosí ci ha comandato il Signore: "Io ti ho posto come luce delle genti perché tu porti la salvezza fino all'estremità della terra.

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 I gentili, udendo queste cose, si rallegrarono e glorificavano la parola del Signore; e tutti coloro che erano preordinati alla vita eterna credettero.

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 E la parola del Signore si diffondeva per tutto il paese.

The Word of God was preached over all that land.

50 M a i Giudei istigarono le donne pie di alto rango e i notabili della città e suscitarono una persecuzione contro Paolo e Barnaba, e li scacciarono dai loro confini.

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 E ssi allora, scossa la polvere dai loro piedi contro di loro, si recarono a Iconio.

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

52 E i discepoli erano ripieni di gioia di Spirito Santo.

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