13:1 In the church at Antioch there were these prophets and teachers: Barnabas [4:36], Simeon (also called Niger [C meaning “Black”; Luke 23:26]), Lucius (from the city of Cyrene [C a city in North Africa]), Manaen (who ·had grown up with Herod [or was a close friend of Herod; or was a member of Herod’s court], the ·ruler [L tetrarch; C a Roman political title; see Luke 3:1]), and Saul.
13:2 They were all ·worshiping [or serving] the Lord and fasting [C giving up eating for spiritual purposes]. During this time the Holy Spirit said to them, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul to do ·a special [L the] work for which I have ·chosen [called] them.”
13:3 So after they fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on [C a ritual of blessing and/or conferring of authority] Barnabas and Saul and sent them out.
13:4 Barnabas and Saul, sent out by the Holy Spirit, went to the city of Seleucia [C a Syrian city 15 miles from Antioch]. From there they sailed to the island of Cyprus [C an island off the coast of Syria, and Barnabas’ homeland; 4:36].
13:5 When they came to Salamis [C the main city of Cyprus], they preached the ·Good News [Gospel; L word] of God in the synagogues [L of the Jews]. John Mark was ·with them to help [their assistant].
13:6 They went across the whole island to Paphos [C the capital city of Cyprus, on the southwest coast] where they met a ·magician [sorcerer] named Bar-Jesus [C meaning “son of Jesus/Joshua”]. He was a Jewish false prophet
13:7 who ·always stayed close to [L was with; C perhaps an assistant or advisor] Sergius Paulus, the ·governor [proconsul] and a ·smart [intelligent; discerning] man. He asked Barnabas and Saul to come to him, because he wanted to hear the ·message [L word] of God.
13:8 But Elymas, the magician (that is what his name means), was against them [C Elymas probably comes either from an Arabic word meaning “wise man” or an Aramaic word meaning “interpreter of dreams”—hence a “magician”]. He tried to ·stop [turn away] the ·governor [proconsul] from ·believing in Jesus [L the faith].
13:9 But Saul, who was also called Paul [C Saul was his Jewish name; Paul his Roman name (both probably given at birth)], was filled with the Holy Spirit. He looked ·straight [intently] at Elymas
13:10 and said, “You son of the devil! You are an enemy of ·everything that is right [all righteousness]! You are full of ·lies [deceit] and ·evil tricks [fraud; evil schemes], ·always trying to change the Lord’s truths into lies [L will you never stop making crooked/perverting the straight paths of the Lord?].
13:11 Now [L look; T behold] the [L hand of the] Lord will touch you, and you will be blind. For a time you will not be able to see anything—not even the light from the sun.” Then ·everything became dark for [L mist and darkness fell upon] Elymas, and he walked around, trying to find someone to lead him by the hand.
13:12 When the ·governor [proconsul] saw this, he believed because he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
13:13 Paul and ·those with him [his companions] sailed from Paphos [v. 6] and came to Perga, in Pamphylia [C a Roman province in southern Turkey; Perga was a major city]. There John Mark left them to return to Jerusalem [15:38].
13:14 They continued their trip from Perga and went to Antioch, a city in Pisidia [C a Roman province in southcentral Turkey; this Antioch should not be confused with Antioch in Syria (11:19–20)]. On the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.
13:15 After the law of Moses and the writings of the prophets were read [C part of the traditional synagogue service], the leaders of the synagogue sent a message to Paul and Barnabas: “Brothers, if you have any ·message that will encourage the people [L word of encouragement/exhortation; C they are invited to give the homily, or sermon], please speak.”
13:16 Paul stood up, ·raised [or motioned with] his hand, and said, “·You Israelites [Men, Israelites] and you who ·worship [L fear] God [C Gentiles who worshiped the God of Israel; 10:2], please listen!
13:17 The God of the Israelites chose our ·ancestors [L fathers; C Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; Gen. 12—36]. He made the people great during the time they lived [as foreigners/aliens] in Egypt, and he brought them out of that country with ·great power [L a raised/uplifted arm].
13:18 And he ·was patient with [put up with] them for forty years in the ·desert [wilderness; Ex. 16—Deut. 34].
13:19 God destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan and gave the land to his people [L as an inheritance].
13:20 All this happened in about four hundred fifty years [C a round number of the time Israel was in Egypt, wandering in the wilderness, and conquering the land]. “After this, God gave them judges [Judg. 1—21] until the time of Samuel the prophet [1 Sam. 1:1—25:1; 28].
13:21 Then the people asked for a king, so God gave them Saul son of Kish. Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin and was king for forty years [1 Sam. 8—2 Sam. 1].
13:22 After God ·took him away [removed/deposed him], God ·made David [L raised up David as] their king [2 Sam. 2—7]. God ·said [witnessed; testified] about him: ‘I have found in David son of Jesse ·the kind of man I want [a man whose heart is like mine; T a man after my own heart; 1 Sam. 13:14; Ps. 89:20]. He will ·do [or accomplish] all ·I want him to do [L my will].’
13:23 So God has brought Jesus, one of David’s ·descendants [L seed], to Israel to be its Savior, as he promised [2 Sam. 7:12–16; Is. 11:1–16].
13:24 Before Jesus came, John [C the Baptist] preached to all the people of Israel about a baptism of ·changed hearts and lives [L repentance; Matt. 3; Mark 1:2–8; Luke 3].
13:25 When he was finishing his ·work [race; course; mission], he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not ·the Christ [the Messiah; L he; C the anointed king from David’s line]. He is coming later, and I am not worthy to untie his sandals [C a gesture of subservience fit for a slave].’
13:26 “·Brothers, [L Men, brothers] ·sons [or descendants] of the family of Abraham, and others who ·worship [fear; 13:16] God, listen! The ·news [word; message] about this salvation has been sent to us.
13:27 Those who live in Jerusalem and their leaders ·did not realize that Jesus was the Savior [L were ignorant of this; or did not recognize him]. They did not understand the ·words that the prophets wrote [L voices of the prophets], which are read every Sabbath day. But they ·made them come true [L fulfilled them] when they ·said Jesus was guilty [L condemned him].
13:28 They could not find any real ·reason [cause; basis] for Jesus to be put to death, but they asked Pilate to have him ·killed [executed].
13:29 When they had done to him all that ·the Scriptures had said [L was written about him], they took him down from the ·cross [L tree; 5:30; 10:39; Deut. 21:23; Gal. 3:13] and laid him in a tomb.
13:31 After this, for many days, ·those who had gone with Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem saw him [or he appeared to those…Jerusalem]. They are now his witnesses to the people.
13:32 We tell you the ·Good News [Gospel] about the promise God made to our ·ancestors [forefathers; fathers; Gen. 12:1–3; 2 Sam. 7:12–16].
13:33 ·God has made this promise come true [He has fulfilled this promise] for us, their ·children [descendants], by raising Jesus from the dead. We read about this also in the second psalm: ‘You are my Son. Today I have ·become your Father [fathered you; T begotten you; Ps. 2:7].’
13:34 God raised Jesus from the dead, and he will never go back to ·the grave and become dust [L corruption; decay]. So God said: ‘I will give you the holy and ·sure blessings [L faithful things] that I promised to David [Is. 55:3].’
13:35 But in another place God says: ‘You will not let your Holy One ·experience [L see] ·decay [corruption; Ps. 16:10].’
13:36 [L For; Now] David ·did God’s will [served God’s purpose] during his ·lifetime [L generation]. Then he ·died [L slept; C a euphemism for death] and was ·buried [L placed] beside his ·ancestors [L fathers], and his body ·experienced [L saw] ·decay [corruption] in the grave.
13:37 But the One God raised from the dead did not ·experience [L see] ·decay [corruption].
13:38 [L Therefore] ·Brothers [L Men, brothers], ·understand what we are telling you [know this]: ·You can have forgiveness of your sins [L Forgiveness of sins is announced to you] through ·Jesus [L this man].
13:39 The law of Moses could not ·free you from your sins [justify you; make you righteous]. But through Jesus everyone who believes is ·free from all sins [justified; made/declared righteous].
13:40 [L So; Therefore] ·Be careful [Watch out]! Don’t let what the prophets said happen to you:
13:41 ‘·Listen [L Look; T Behold], you ·people who doubt [scoffers; mockers]! ·You can wonder [Be amazed], and then ·die [L perish; vanish]. I ·will do something [L am working a work] in your ·lifetime [L days] that you won’t believe even when you are told about it [Hab. 1:5]!’”
13:42 While ·Paul and Barnabas [L they] were leaving the synagogue, the people ·asked [urged; encouraged] them to tell them more about these things on the next Sabbath.
13:43 When the meeting was over, many of the Jews and devout ·converts to Judaism [L proselytes] followed Paul and Barnabas from that place. Paul and Barnabas were persuading them to continue trusting in God’s grace.
13:44 On the next Sabbath day, almost everyone in the city ·came [gathered] to hear the word of the Lord.
13:45 Seeing the crowd, the Jewish people became very jealous and said ·insulting [blasphemous] things and ·argued against [contradicted] what Paul said.
13:46 But Paul and Barnabas spoke very ·boldly [fearlessly; courageously], saying, “·We must [It was necessary for us to] speak the ·message [word] of God to you first. But [L since] you ·refuse to listen [or reject it]. You are judging yourselves not worthy of having eternal life! So we will now ·go [L turn] to the ·people of other nations [Gentiles].
13:47 [L For] This is what the Lord ·told us to do [commanded us], saying: ‘I have ·made [appointed] you a light for the ·nations [Gentiles]; ·you will show people all over the world the way to be saved [L to bring salvation to the ends of the earth; Is. 42:6; 49:6; Acts 1:8].’”
13:48 When the Gentiles heard Paul say this, they ·were happy [rejoiced] and ·gave honor to [praised] the ·message [word] of the Lord. And the people who were ·chosen [destined; appointed] to have life forever ·believed the message [L believed].
13:49 So the ·message [word] of the Lord was spreading through the whole ·country [area; region].
13:50 But the Jewish people ·stirred up [incited] some of the ·important religious women [devout/God-fearing women of high social status] and the ·leaders [or prominent men] of the city. They ·started trouble [stirred up persecution] against Paul and Barnabas and forced them out of their ·area [region].
13:51 So Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet [C a sign of rejection and protest] and went to Iconium [C a city in the interior of south central Asia Minor, present-day Turkey].
13:52 But the ·followers [disciples] were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.
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