Acts 13:17-51

¹⁷The God of this people chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they stayed as aliens in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm, he led them out of it.

¹⁸For a period of about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness.

¹⁹When he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land for an inheritance for about four hundred fifty years.

²⁰After these things, he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.

²¹Afterward they asked for a king, and God gave to them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.

²²When he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, to whom he also testified, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’

²³From this man’s offspring, God has brought salvation to Israel according to his promise,

²⁴before his coming, when John had first preached the baptism of repentance to Israel.

²⁵As John was fulfilling his course, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. But behold, one comes after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’

²⁶“Brothers, children of the stock of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, the word of this salvation is sent out to you.

²⁷For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they didn’t know him, nor the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him.

²⁸Though they found no cause for death, they still asked Pilate to have him killed.

²⁹When they had fulfilled all things that were written about him, they took him down from the tree 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 his witnesses to the people.

³²We bring you good news of the promise made to the fathers,

³³that God has fulfilled this to us, their children, in that he raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second psalm, ‘You are my Son. Today I have become your father.’

³⁴“Concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he has spoken thus: ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’

³⁵Therefore he says also in another psalm, ‘You will not allow your Holy One to see decay.’

³⁶For David, after he had in his own generation served the counsel of God, fell asleep, was laid with his fathers, and saw decay.

³⁷But he whom God raised up saw no decay.

³⁸Be it known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man is proclaimed to you remission of sins;

³⁹and by him everyone who believes is justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

⁴⁰Beware therefore, lest that come on you which is spoken in the prophets:

⁴¹‘Behold, you scoffers! Wonder and perish, for I work a work in your days, a work which you will in no way believe, if one declares it to you.’”

⁴²So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.

⁴³Now when the synagogue broke up, many of the Jews and of the devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas; who, speaking to them, urged them to continue in the grace of God.

⁴⁴The next Sabbath, almost the whole city was gathered together to hear the word of God.

⁴⁵But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with jealousy, and contradicted the things which were spoken by Paul, and blasphemed.

⁴⁶Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, and said, “It was necessary that God’s word should be spoken to you first. Since indeed you thrust it from yourselves, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.

⁴⁷For so has the Lord commanded us, saying, ‘I have set you as a light for the Gentiles, that you should bring salvation to the uttermost parts of the earth.’”

⁴⁸As the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of God. As many as were appointed to eternal life believed.

⁴⁹The Lord’s word was spread abroad throughout all the region.

⁵⁰But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, and stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and threw them out of their borders.

⁵¹But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came to Iconium.