1 Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain
prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger,
and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod
the tetrarch, and Saul. 2As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted,
the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work
whereunto I have called them.
3And when they had fasted and prayed, and
laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
4 So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto
Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus. 5And when they were at
Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews:
and they had also John to their minister.
6 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a
certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:
7Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent
man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of
God.
8But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation)
withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
9Then
Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his
eyes on him, 10And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou
child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease
to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
11And now, behold, the hand of
the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a
season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he
went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
12Then the deputy,
when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of
the Lord.
13 Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to
Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.
14But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in
Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.
15And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the
synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any
word of exhortation for the people, say on.
16 Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of
Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience. 17The God of this people of
Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as
strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out
of it. 18And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in
the wilderness. 19And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land
of Chanaan, he divided their land to them by lot.
20And after that he
gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years,
until Samuel the prophet.
21And afterward they desired a king: and God
gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by
the space of forty years. 22And when he had removed him, he raised up
unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and
said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart,
which shall fulfil all my will.
23Of this man’s seed hath God according
to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus: 24When John had
first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the
people of Israel.
25And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom
think ye that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there cometh one after me,
whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose.
26 Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and
whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation
sent.
27For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they
knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every
sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him. 28And though
they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he
should be slain. 29And when they had fulfilled all that was written of
him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre.
30But God raised him from the dead: 31And he was seen many days of them
which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses
unto the people.
32And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the
promise which was made unto the fathers, 33God hath fulfilled the same
unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is
also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I
begotten thee.
34And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead,
now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give
you the sure mercies of David. 35Wherefore he saith also in another
psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 36For
David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell
on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption: 37But he,
whom God raised again, saw no corruption.
38Be it known unto you
therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you
the forgiveness of sins: 39And by him all that believe are justified
from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of
Moses.
40Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in
the prophets; 41Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I
work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe,
though a man declare it unto you.
42And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles
besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.
43Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and
religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them,
persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
44And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to
hear the word of God. 45But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were
filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by
Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.
46 Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary
that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye
put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo,
we turn to the Gentiles. 47For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I
have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for
salvation unto the ends of the earth.
48And when the Gentiles heard
this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord:
and as many as
were ordained to eternal life believed.
49And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the
region. 50But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and
the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and
Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts. 51But they shook off
the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium.
52And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.