3 ARST So the believers fasted and prayed some more. Then they put their hands on Barnabas and Saul{ to show that they approved of them going on this special mission}. Then they sent them off to do what the Holy Spirit had commanded. BSB BSB: And after they had fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
4 ARST The Holy Spirit gave Barnabas and Saul instructions about where to go. So they went from Antioch to the city of Seleucia, which is by the sea. From there they went by ship to the city of Salamis on the island of Cyprus. BSB BSB: So Barnabas and Saul, sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.
5 ARST While they were in Salamis, they went to the Jewish meeting places. There they proclaimed the message God had told them to share about Jesus. John Mark went with them and was helping them. BSB BSB: When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. And John was with them as their helper.
6 ARST The three of them crossed from one side of the island to the other{ and shared the gospel message in each town they passed through}. Eventually they came to the city of Paphos. There they met a sorcerer whose name was Bar Jesus. He was a Jew who falsely claimed to be a prophet. BSB BSB: They traveled through the whole island as far as Paphos, where they found a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus,
8 ARST However, Bar Jesus, who also called himself Elymas, contradicted what Barnabas and Paul were saying.(The name Elymas means“the Sorcerer.”) He kept trying to persuade the governor not to believe in Jesus. BSB BSB: But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.
9 ARST Saul was using his Roman name, Paul, because he was visiting a Roman official. The Holy Spirit gave Paul boldness and insight. He looked steadily at the sorcerer. BSB BSB: Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked directly at Elymas
10 ARST Paul said,“You are constantly lying to people and doing things to deceive them! You are serving the devil! You try to stop everything that is good! You must stop trying to keep people from living in the way that God wants! BSB BSB: and said, “O child of the devil and enemy of all righteousness, you are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery! Will you never stop perverting the straight ways of the Lord?
11 ARST Right now the Lord God is going to punish you! You will become blind and you will not even be able to see the sun until God decides to let you see again.” At once Elymas could no longer see clearly. Then he could not see at all. He wandered around, searching for someone to take him by the hand and lead him. BSB BSB: Now look, the hand of the Lord is against you, and for a time you will be blind and unable to see the light of the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand.
12 ARST When Sergius Paulus saw what had happened to Elymas, he believed in Jesus. The truth and power of what Paul and Barnabas were teaching about Jesus amazed him. BSB BSB: When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.
13 ARST After that, Paul and the people with him traveled by sailboat from Paphos to the city of Perga in the province of Pamphylia. At Perga, John Mark left them and returned to his home in Jerusalem. BSB BSB: After setting sail from Paphos, Paul and his companions came to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem.
15 ARST Someone read aloud from what Moses had written in the books of the Law. Next someone read from what the prophets had written. Then the leaders of the Jewish meeting place sent a message to Paul and Barnabas. They said,“Fellow Jews, if one of you wants to speak to the people here to encourage them, please speak to us now.” BSB BSB: After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue leaders sent word to them: “Brothers, if you have a word of encouragement for the people, please speak.”
17 ARST God, whom we Israelites worship, chose our ancestors to be his people. He caused them to become very numerous while they were foreigners living in Egypt. Then God did powerful things to lead them out of slavery there. BSB BSB: The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers. He made them into a great people during their stay in Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out of that land.
18 ARST He put up with their disobedience for about forty years while they were in the wilderness. BSB BSB: He endured their conduct for about forty years in the wilderness.
19 ARST He enabled the Israelites to conquer seven people groups who were then living in the region of Canaan. He gave their land to the Israelites to live in. BSB BSB: And having vanquished seven nations in Canaan, He gave their land to His people as an inheritance.
20 ARST The Israelites spent about 450 years in Egypt and in the wilderness.”“After that, God chose people to serve as judges and as leaders to rule the Israelite people. The prophet Samuel was the last of these judges to rule them. BSB BSB: All this took about 450 years. After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet.
21 ARST Then, while Samuel was still their leader, the people demanded that he choose a king to rule them. So God chose Saul, the son of Kish from the tribe of Benjamin, to be their king. He ruled them for 40 years. BSB BSB: Then the people asked for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years.
22 ARST After God had rejected Saul from being king, he chose David to be their king. God said about him,‘I have seen that David, son of Jesse, is exactly the kind of man who desires what I desire. He will do everything that I want him to do.’” BSB BSB: After removing Saul, He raised up David as their king and testified about him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart; he will carry out My will in its entirety.’
23 ARST “God brought one of David’ s descendants, Jesus, to us Israelite people to save us. This is what he had promised David and our other ancestors that he would do. BSB BSB: From the descendants of this man, God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as He promised.
24 ARST Before Jesus began his work, John the Baptizer preached to all of our Israelite people who came to him. He told them that they should turn away from their sinful behavior and ask God to forgive them. Then he would baptize them. BSB BSB: Before the arrival of Jesus, John preached a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
25 ARST When John was about to finish the work that God gave him to do, he told the crowds,‘Do not think that I am the Messiah whom God promised to send, because I am not. But listen! The Messiah will soon come. He is so much greater than I am that I do not even deserve to be his slave and take the sandals off his feet.’” BSB BSB: As John was completing his course, he said, ‘Who do you suppose I am? I am not that One. But there is One coming after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’
27 ARST The people living in Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus. They heard someone read from the writings of the prophets{ in their synagogues} on every Sabbath day.{ But they did not understand what the prophets were saying.} And so what the prophets predicted long ago came true when they condemned Jesus to death. BSB BSB: The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning Him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath.
28 ARST { Many people accused Jesus of doing wicked things.} They could not prove that he had done anything for which he deserved to die. But they still demanded that Pilate, the governor, condemn him to death. BSB BSB: And though they found no ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have Him executed.
29 ARST They did to Jesus all the things that the prophets had written long ago that people would do to him.{ They killed Jesus by nailing him to a cross.} Then they took his body down from the cross and placed it in a tomb. BSB BSB: When they had carried out all that was written about Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb.
30 ARST However, God brought him back to life after he was dead. BSB BSB: But God raised Him from the dead,
31 ARST For many days he repeatedly appeared to his disciples who had come along with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. Those who saw him are telling the people about him now.” BSB BSB: and for many days He was seen by those who had accompanied Him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now His witnesses to our people.
32 ARST “Right now we are proclaiming this good news to you. God made a promise to our Jewish ancestors. BSB BSB: And now we proclaim to you the good news: What God promised our fathers
33 ARST God has kept that promise for us who are their descendants, and also for you who are not Jews, by making Jesus alive again. It is just like what David wrote in the second Psalm{, when God was speaking about sending his Son}:‘You are my Son; today I have become your Father.’ BSB BSB: He has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: ‘You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.’
34 ARST God has made the Messiah alive after he was dead, and God will never let him die again. God promised that to the Messiah when he said in the Scriptures,‘I will certainly help you, as I promised David that I would do.’ BSB BSB: In fact, God raised Him from the dead, never to see decay. As He has said: ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’
35 ARST That is why, in another psalm, David also says:‘You, God, will not allow the body of your Messiah to decay.’ BSB BSB: So also, He says in another Psalm: ‘You will not let Your Holy One see decay.’
36 ARST While David was living, he did what God wanted him to do. Then when he died his body was buried where his ancestors’ bodies had been buried. Then David’ s body decayed.{ So he could not have been speaking about himself in this psalm.} BSB BSB: For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep. His body was buried with his fathers and saw decay.
37 ARST But God made Jesus alive again after he died, and his body did not decay.” BSB BSB: But the One whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.
38 ARST “So, fellow Israelites and other friends, we want you to know that God is promising to forgive your sins as a result of what Jesus has done. You could not become right with God by obeying the laws that Moses wrote because there were many laws that you were not able to obey. BSB BSB: Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.
39 ARST But now God declares that all people who believe in Jesus are no longer guilty of any of the things that they have done that have displeased him. BSB BSB: Through Him everyone who believes is justified from everything from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.
40 ARST So then be careful that God does not judge you, as the prophets said that God would do! BSB BSB: Watch out, then, that what was spoken by the prophets does not happen to you:
41 ARST { God said through the prophet Habakkuk,}‘You who ridicule me, you will certainly be amazed when you see what I am doing. Then you will be destroyed. You will be amazed because I will do something terrible to you while you are living. You would not believe that I would do that even if someone told you!’” BSB BSB: ‘Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish! For I am doing a work in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.’”
42 ARST After Paul finished speaking, and as he and Barnabas were going away, many of the people there asked them to return on the next Sabbath and speak to them about these things again. BSB BSB: As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people urged them to continue this message on the next Sabbath.
43 ARST When the meeting was over, many people became disciples of Jesus, as Paul and Barnabas had encouraged them to do. These people were both Jews and non- Jews who worshiped God. Paul and Barnabas continued talking to them. They urged them to continue to trust that God kindly forgives people’ s sins because of what Jesus did. BSB BSB: After the synagogue was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.
44 ARST On the next Sabbath day, most of the people in Antioch came to the Jewish meeting place to hear Paul and Barnabas speak about Jesus. BSB BSB: On the following Sabbath, nearly the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.
45 ARST The leaders of the Jews saw the large crowds of people that were coming to hear Paul and Barnabas. This made them extremely jealous. So they began to contradict the things that Paul was saying. They also insulted him. BSB BSB: But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they blasphemously contradicted what Paul was saying.
46 ARST Then, speaking very boldly, Paul and Barnabas said to those Jewish leaders,“We had to speak the message from God about Jesus to you Jews first before we proclaim it to non- Jews, because God commanded us to do that. But you are rejecting God’ s message. By doing that, you have shown that you are not worthy of everlasting life. Therefore, we are leaving you, and now we will go to the non- Jewish people to tell them the message from God. BSB BSB: Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “It was necessary to speak the word of God to you first. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.
47 ARST We are doing this because the Lord God has commanded us to do it.{ He said in the Scriptures,}‘I have chosen you to reveal things about me to non- Jewish people that will be like a light to them. I have chosen you to tell people everywhere in the world the message that I want to save them.’” BSB BSB: For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
48 ARST When the non- Jewish people heard those words, they rejoiced. They praised God for the message about Jesus. All of the non- Jewish people whom God had chosen for everlasting life put their trust in Jesus. BSB BSB: When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and glorified the word of the Lord, and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.
49 ARST At that time, many of the believers traveled around throughout that region, spreading the message about the Lord Jesus everywhere they went. BSB BSB: And the word of the Lord spread throughout that region.
50 ARST However, some leaders of the Jews talked to some important women who worshiped with them. They also talked to the most important men in the city. The Jewish leaders persuaded the non- Jewish city leaders to try to stop Paul and Barnabas. So those non- Jewish people led many citizens against Paul and Barnabas, and they made them leave their region. BSB BSB: The Jews, however, incited the religious women of prominence and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of their district.
51 ARST As the two apostles were leaving, they shook the dust off their feet. This was to show those leaders that God had rejected them and would punish them. Then they left the city of Antioch and went to the city of Iconium. BSB BSB: So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.
52 ARST Meanwhile, the people in Antioch who had believed in Jesus were very happy and the Holy Spirit was helping them greatly. BSB BSB: And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.