1Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers; Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius the Cyrenaean, and Manaen, the foster-brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
2And while they were ministering to the Lord, and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.
3Then, after they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
4They therefore being sent forth by the Holy Spirit, came down to Seleucia, and from thence sailed to Cyprus.
5And having come to Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews; and they had also John as an assistant.
6And when they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a certain magian, a Jewish false prophet, whose name was Bar-jesus,
7who was with the proconsul of the country, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. He, having called for Barnabas and Saul, desired to hear the word of God.
8But Elymas the magian (for so is his name interpreted) withstood them, seeking so turn away the proconsul from the faith.
9But Saul (who is also called Paul), filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his eyes on him
10and said, O full of all deceit, and of all mischief, son of the Devil, 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 wilt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and darkness; and going about he sought to find some who would lead him by the hand.
12Then the proconsul, when he saw what had taken place, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.
13And Paul and his company, having put to sea from Paphos, came to Perga in Pamphylia. But John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem.
14And they, going on from Perga, came to Antioch in Pisidia; and they 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 to them, saying, Brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, speak.
16Then Paul stood up, and beckoned with his hand and said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, hearken.
17The God of this people chose our fathers, and he exalted the people in their sojourn in the land of Egypt, and with a high arm he brought them out of it;
18and for about forty years he nourished them in the wilderness.
19And having destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as a possession.
20And after that, for about four hundred and fifty years, he gave judges, until Samuel the prophet.
21And afterward they asked for a king; and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years;
22and having removed him, he raised up to them David to be their king, to whom he gave testimony, saying, “I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will do all my will.”
23From the seed of this man hath God, according to his promise, brought to Israel a Saviour, Jesus;
24before whose coming forward John had first preached a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
25And as John was finishing his course, he said, Who do ye think that I am? I am not He. But lo I there cometh after me one, the sandal of whose feet I am not worthy to loose.
26Brethren, sons of the stock of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to you was the word of this salvation sent forth.
27For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, not knowing him, nor the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath, fulfilled them in condemning him.
28And though they found nothing deserving death in him, they asked of Pilate that he should be slain.
29And when they had accomplished all that was written of him, they took him down from the cross, and laid him in a tomb.
30But God raised him from the dead,
31and he was seen for many days by those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people.
32And we declare to you the glad tidings, that the promise which was made to the fathers
33God hath fulfilled to us their children, in raising up Jesus from the dead; as it is also written in the first Psalm: “Thou art my Son; I have this day begotten thee.”
34And that he raised him up from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he hath thus spoken: “I will give you the sure holy things promised to David.”
35Wherefore also in another Psalm he saith, “Thou wilt not suffer thy holy one to see corruption:”
36For David, after having in his own generation served the will of God, fell asleep, and was added to his fathers, and saw corruption;
37but he whom God raised from the dead did not see corruption.
38Be it therefore known to you, brethren, that through this man is announced to you the forgiveness of sins;
39and by him every one that believeth is 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 in the Prophets,
41“Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish! for I work a work in your days, a work which ye will not believe, though one should plainly declare it to you.”
42And as they were going out, they besought that these words might be spoken to them on the next sabbath.
43And when the synagogue broke up, many of the Jews and proselyte worshippers followed Paul and Barnabas; who, speaking to them, exhorted them to continue in the grace of God.
44And on the next sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of the Lord.
45But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with indignation, and spoke against what was spoken by Paul, contradicting and reviling.
46Then Paul and Barnabas said boldly and plainly, It was necessary that the word of God should first be spoken to you; but seeing ye thrust it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of the everlasting life, lo! we turn to the gentiles.
47For thus hath the Lord commanded us: “I have set thee to be a light of the gentiles, that thou mayst bring salvation even to the end of the earth.”
48And when the gentiles heard this, they rejoiced, and glorified the word of the Lord; and as many as were ordained to everlasting life, believed.
49And the word of the Lord was spread abroad throughout the whole country.
50But the Jews stirred up the women of rank who worshipped God, and the chief men of the city, and raised a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them from their borders.
51But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came to Iconium.
52And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
