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¹Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch), and Saul.[ † ]Acts 14:26Acts 11:22Romans 16:21 ²While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”[ † ]Numbers 8:14Acts 9:15Acts 22:21Romans 1:1Galatians 1:15Galatians 2:9Matthew 9:38Acts 14:26Romans 10:15Ephesians 3:7-81 Timothy 2:72 Timothy 1:11Hebrews 5:4 ³And after they had fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.[ † ]Matthew 9:15Mark 2:20Luke 5:35Acts 6:6

⁴So Barnabas and Saul, sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.[ † ]Acts 4:36 ⁵When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. And John was with them as their helper.[ † ]Acts 13:46Acts 12:25Acts 15:37

⁶They traveled through the whole island as far as Paphos, where they found a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus,[ † ]Acts 8:9 ⁷an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, a man of intelligence, summoned Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. ⁸But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.[ † ]Exodus 7:112 Timothy 3:8

⁹Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked directly at Elymas[ † ]Acts 2:4Acts 4:8 ¹⁰and said, “O child of the devil and enemy of all righteousness, you are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery! Will you never stop perverting the straight ways of the Lord?[ † ]Matthew 13:38John 8:441 John 3:8 ¹¹Now look, the hand of the Lord is against you, and for a time you will be blind and unable to see the light of the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand.[ † ]Exodus 9:31 Samuel 5:6Job 19:21Psalms 32:4Hebrews 10:31

¹²When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.

¹³After setting sail from Paphos, Paul and his companions came to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem.[ † ]Acts 15:38 ¹⁴And from Perga, they traveled inland to Pisidian Antioch, where they entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and sat down.[ † ]Acts 16:13 ¹⁵After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue leaders sent word to them: “Brothers, if you have a word of encouragement for the people, please speak.”[ † ]Luke 4:16Hebrews 13:22

¹⁶Paul stood up, motioned with his hand, and began to speak: “Men of Israel and you Gentiles who fear God, listen to me![ † ]Acts 10:35 ¹⁷The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers. He made them into a great people during their stay in Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out of that land.[ † ]Exodus 6:1-6Exodus 13:14-16Deuteronomy 7:6-8Acts 7:17Exodus 14:8 ¹⁸He endured their conduct for about forty years in the wilderness.[ † ]Exodus 16:35Numbers 14:34Acts 7:36 ¹⁹And having vanquished seven nations in Canaan, He gave their land to His people as an inheritance.[ † ]Deuteronomy 7:1Joshua 14:1-2Joshua 19:51Psalms 78:55

²⁰All this took about 450 years. After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet.[ † ]Judges 2:161 Samuel 4:181 Samuel 7:151 Samuel 3:20Acts 3:24 ²¹Then the people asked for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years.[ † ]1 Samuel 8:51 Samuel 10:20-24 ²²After removing Saul, He raised up David as their king and testified about him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart; he will carry out My will in its entirety.’[ † ]1 Samuel 15:23-26, 281 Samuel 16:1-12, 13Psalms 89:201 Samuel 13:14

²³From the descendants of this man, God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as He promised.[ † ]Isaiah 11:1Psalms 132:11Matthew 1:21 ²⁴Before the arrival of Jesus, John preached a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.[ † ]Matthew 3:1Luke 3:3 ²⁵As John was completing his course, he said, ‘Who do you suppose I am? I am not that One. But there is One coming after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’[ † ]Matthew 3:11Mark 1:7Luke 3:16John 1:20-27

²⁶Brothers, children of Abraham, and you Gentiles who fear God, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent.[ † ]Psalms 66:16Matthew 10:6 ²⁷The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning Him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath.[ † ]Luke 23:34 ²⁸And though they found no ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have Him executed.[ † ]Matthew 27:22-23Mark 15:13-14Luke 23:21-23John 19:15Acts 3:142 Corinthians 5:21Hebrews 4:151 Peter 2:22

²⁹When they had carried out all that was written about Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb.[ † ]Luke 18:31Matthew 27:57-61Mark 15:42-47Luke 23:50-56John 19:38-42 ³⁰But God raised Him from the dead,[ † ]Psalms 16:10-11Hosea 6:2Matthew 12:39-40Matthew 28:6 ³¹and for many days He was seen by those who had accompanied Him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now His witnesses to our people.[ † ]Matthew 28:16Acts 1:3-111 Corinthians 15:5-8

³²And now we proclaim to you the good news: What God promised our fathers[ † ]Genesis 3:15

³⁶For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep. His body was buried with his fathers and saw decay.[ † ]Acts 2:29 ³⁷But the One whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.

³⁸Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.[ † ]Jeremiah 31:34 ³⁹Through Him everyone who believes is justified from everything from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.[ † ]Isaiah 53:11John 3:16 ⁴⁰Watch out, then, that what was spoken by the prophets does not happen to you:

⁴²As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people urged them to continue this message on the next Sabbath. ⁴³After the synagogue was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.[ † ]Acts 11:23Titus 2:11Hebrews 12:151 Peter 5:12

⁴⁴On the following Sabbath, nearly the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. ⁴⁵But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they blasphemously contradicted what Paul was saying.[ † ]Acts 18:61 Peter 4:4Jude 10

⁴⁶Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “It was necessary to speak the word of God to you first. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.[ † ]Matthew 10:6Acts 3:26Romans 1:16Exodus 32:10Deuteronomy 32:21Isaiah 55:5Matthew 21:43Romans 10:19Acts 18:6

⁴⁸When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and glorified the word of the Lord, and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.[ † ]Acts 2:47 ⁴⁹And the word of the Lord spread throughout that region.

⁵⁰The Jews, however, incited the religious women of prominence and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of their district.[ † ]Acts 7:522 Timothy 3:11 ⁵¹So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.[ † ]Matthew 10:14Mark 6:11Luke 9:5 ⁵²And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.[ † ]Matthew 5:12John 16:22Acts 2:4Acts 4:8-31Acts 13:9