In the church at Antioch there were these prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon (also called Niger), Lucius (from the city of Cyrene), Manaen (who had grown up with Herod, the ruler), and Saul. They were all worshiping the Lord and fasting for a certain time. During this time the Holy Spirit said to them, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul to do a special work for which I have chosen them.”
So after they fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on Barnabas and Saul and sent them out.
Barnabas and Saul, sent out by the Holy Spirit, went to the city of Seleucia. From there they sailed to the island of Cyprus. When they came to Salamis, they preached the Good News of God in the synagogues. John Mark was with them to help.
They went across the whole island to Paphos where they met a magician named Bar-Jesus. He was a false prophet who always stayed close to Sergius Paulus, the governor and a smart man. He asked Barnabas and Saul to come to him, because he wanted to hear the message of God. But Elymas, the magician, was against them. (Elymas is the name for Bar-Jesus in the Greek language.) He tried to stop the governor from believing in Jesus. But Saul, who was also called Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit. He looked straight at Elymas and said, “You son of the devil! You are an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of evil tricks and lies, always trying to change the Lord’s truths into lies. Now 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 Elymas, and he walked around, trying to find someone to lead him by the hand. When the governor saw this, he believed because he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
Paul and those with him sailed from Paphos and came to Perga, in Pamphylia. There John Mark left them to return to Jerusalem. They continued their trip from Perga and went to Antioch, a city in Pisidia. On the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. After the law of Moses and the writings of the prophets were read, the leaders of the synagogue sent a message to Paul and Barnabas: “Brothers, if you have any message that will encourage the people, please speak.”
Paul stood up, raised his hand, and said, “You Israelites and you who worship God, please listen! The God of the Israelites chose our ancestors. He made the people great during the time they lived in Egypt, and he brought them out of that country with great power. And he was patient with them for forty years in the desert. God destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan and gave the land to his people. All this happened in about four hundred fifty years.
“After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. 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. After God took him away, God made David their king. God said about him: ‘I have found in David son of Jesse the kind of man I want. He will do all I want him to do.’
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