Acts 13

In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius from Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, a ruler over part of the region), and Saul.

1Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

NoteAntioch in Syria was one of the largest cities of the Roman empire, with a big Jewish population and, by this point, a mixed Jewish and Gentile church. A tetrarch was a minor ruler holding a fraction of a kingdom under Roman oversight; this is Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee. Saying Manaen was "brought up with" him means he was raised alongside Antipas at court, roughly a foster brother, so the list runs from a Cypriot Levite to a man from the royal household. "Niger" is Latin for black, used as a nickname, and Cyrene was a city on the North African coast in what is now Libya.

2While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul to do the work I have called them to do."

2As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.

Note"Holy Ghost" is just older English for "Holy Spirit": in 1611 "ghost" meant spirit or breath and carried none of the modern sense of a haunting. Fasting, going without food for a set time, was a normal part of Jewish worship and of seeking a decision from God.

3So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on Barnabas and Saul and sent them off.

3And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

NotePlacing hands on someone was a formal, public gesture of handing over a task or a blessing, used in the Hebrew Bible for commissioning a successor or setting apart someone for a job. It marks these two as sent by the group rather than going on their own initiative.

4Sent out by the Holy Spirit, the two went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to the island of Cyprus.

4So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.

NoteSeleucia was the seaport of Antioch, about sixteen miles downriver at the mouth of the Orontes. Cyprus is a large island off the Syrian coast and was Barnabas's home region.

5When they reached Salamis, they announced God's message in the synagogues, the places where Jews met to read and study the Scriptures. John was with them as their helper.

5And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.

NoteSalamis was the main port on the eastern side of Cyprus. KJV "minister" here does not mean a clergyman; the Greek word means assistant or attendant, someone who handled the practical work of a journey. This John is John Mark, mentioned earlier in Acts 12.

6They traveled across the whole island as far as Paphos. There they found a magician and false prophet, a Jew named Barjesus.

6And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:

NoteKJV "sorcerer" translates the Greek magos, the word behind "magi": a practitioner of astrology, spells and divination. Such men often attached themselves to Roman officials as private advisers. "Barjesus" is Aramaic for "son of Jesus", Jesus being the ordinary name Joshua, which sets up Paul's retort in verse 10.

7He was with Sergius Paulus, the Roman governor of the island, who was a thoughtful man. The governor sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear God's message.

7Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.

NoteKJV "deputy" is the proconsul, the governor the Roman senate appointed over the province of Cyprus. KJV "prudent" here means intelligent or shrewd, not cautious.

8But Elymas the magician (that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the governor away from the faith.

8But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.

NoteHow the two names relate is not obvious and has been argued over since antiquity. "Elymas" is usually traced to a Semitic word for a wise man or magician, so Luke seems to be glossing the man's professional title or second name rather than translating "Barjesus".

9Then Saul, who is also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at him

9Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,

NoteMany Jews in the Roman world carried both a Hebrew name and a similar sounding Greek or Roman one. Saul was his Hebrew name and Paulus his Roman one; he is not being renamed here. From this point Luke simply uses the Roman name, as the story moves into Roman provincial territory.

10and said, "You are full of every kind of trickery and cheating, you son of the devil, you enemy of everything that is right! Will you never stop twisting the straight paths of the Lord?

10And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?

NoteKJV "subtilty" means craftiness and "mischief" means fraud or villainy, far heavier words in 1611 than now. "Thou child of the devil" answers the man's name Barjesus, son of Jesus: Paul is saying whose son he actually is.

11Now look, the Lord's hand is against you. You will be blind and unable to see the sun for a while." Right away a mist and darkness fell on him, and he groped around, looking for someone to lead him by the hand.

11And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.

Note"The hand of the Lord is upon thee" is a Hebrew idiom for God's power at work, here in a hostile sense. "For a season" means for a limited time, not permanently.

12When the governor saw what had happened, he believed, because he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.

12Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.

NoteKJV "doctrine" simply means teaching.

13Paul and those with him sailed from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. There John left them and went back to Jerusalem.

13Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.

NoteKJV "loosed" is a sailing term meaning to cast off. Perga lay in Pamphylia, on the southern coast of what is now Turkey. Luke gives no reason for John Mark's departure; it later becomes the quarrel that splits Paul and Barnabas in Acts 15.

14From Perga they went on inland to Antioch in Pisidia. On the Sabbath, the Jewish day of rest and worship, they went into the synagogue and sat down.

14But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.

NoteA different Antioch from the one in verse 1. This was a Roman colony inland on the high plateau of Asia Minor, near the region of Pisidia; reaching it from the coast meant a climb of several thousand feet through dangerous country.

15After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent word to them: "Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, please speak."

15And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.

NoteA synagogue service included set readings from the Law, the five books of Moses, and from the Prophets. A visiting teacher could then be invited to give the "word of exhortation", a short address applying what had been read. That invitation is the only reason Paul gets to speak.

16Paul stood up, motioned with his hand, and said, "Men of Israel, and all of you here who worship God, listen to me.

16Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience.

Note"Ye that fear God" is close to a technical term. God-fearers were non-Jews who attended the synagogue, accepted the God of Israel and kept much of the moral law, but had not become full converts. They are the group Paul keeps addressing in verses 26, 43 and 48. "Give audience" means listen.

17The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors. He made them into a great people while they were living as foreigners in Egypt, and with a powerful arm he brought them out of it.

17The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it.

Note"With an high arm" is a Hebrew idiom, common in the exodus story, for an arm raised to strike: overwhelming, undisguised power.

18For about forty years he put up with the way they behaved in the desert.

18And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness.

NoteKJV "suffered he their manners" means he put up with their conduct; "suffer" in 1611 often means allow or endure. In Greek the word here differs by a single letter from a word meaning "he carried them as a nurse carries a child", and the manuscripts divide between the two, so the line may mean either that God endured them or that God nursed them through the wilderness.

19He destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan and divided their land among our ancestors as their share.

19And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, he divided their land to them by lot.

Note"Chanaan" is the KJV's Greek-based spelling of Canaan. Dividing land "by lot" means assigning it by drawing marked stones or sticks, a method that kept the outcome out of human hands.

20After that, for about 450 years, he gave them judges to lead them, until the time of Samuel the prophet.

20And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.

NoteThe Greek leaves it open what the 450 years measure. It can be read as the whole stretch summarized in verses 17 to 19, from the choosing of the ancestors to the conquest, or as the length of the period of the judges that follows; the rendering takes the second. Judges were military and legal leaders who rose up in emergencies, in the stretch before Israel had kings.

21Then the people asked for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.

21And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years.

Note"Cis" is the KJV's Greek spelling of Kish. Paul, a Benjamite himself, is naming the one king his own tribe produced, and the man who shared his own Hebrew name.

22After removing Saul, God raised up David to be their king. God spoke about him and said, 'I have found David son of Jesse, a man whose heart is like my own. He will do everything I want.'

22And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.

NoteThe quotation stitches together more than one passage: Psalm 89:20 and 1 Samuel 13:14, with a phrase resembling Isaiah 44:28. "A man after mine own heart" does not mean a man God was fond of; it means a man chosen to God's own liking, for God's own purposes.

23From this man's descendants God has brought Israel a Savior, Jesus, just as he promised.

23Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:

NoteKJV "seed" means offspring or descendants. The word is collective, like "stock" or "line", not a single child.

24Before Jesus came, John preached to all the people of Israel that they should turn away from their sins and be baptized.

24When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

NoteBaptism was a ritual washing marking a change of standing. What made John's version startling was that he called Jews themselves to undergo it, since such washings were normally for converts coming in from outside or for removing ritual uncleanness.

25As John was finishing his work, he said, 'Who do you think I am? I am not the one you are waiting for. But someone is coming after me, and I am not worthy to untie the sandals on his feet.'

25And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there cometh one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose.

Note"As John fulfilled his course" pictures running out a set race or finishing an assigned term of duty. Untying and carrying a person's sandals was work for the lowest slave in a household, so John is putting himself below even that.

26"Brothers, children of Abraham's family, and all of you here who worship God, this message about being saved has been sent to us.

26Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent.

Note"Children of the stock of Abraham" means those physically descended from Abraham, addressed here alongside the God-fearing non-Jews of verse 16.

27The people living in Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, and they did not understand the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. Yet by condemning him they made those words come true.

27For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.

NoteKJV "voices of the prophets" means their spoken words, read aloud in the synagogue every Sabbath as in verse 15. The sentence turns on a grim double sense: in failing to recognize what the prophets said, the rulers were the ones who brought it about.

28Even though they found no reason to put him to death, they asked Pilate to have him killed.

28And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain.

NotePontius Pilate was the Roman prefect governing Judea, the only authority able to order an execution.

29When they had carried out everything that had been written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb.

29And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre.

Note"The tree" renders a Greek word for wood or a wooden stake. Early Christian speech used it for the cross because of Deuteronomy 21:23, which speaks of a body hung on a tree. A "sepulchre" was a tomb cut into rock and closed with a stone, not a dug grave.

30But God raised him from the dead.

30But God raised him from the dead:

31For many days he was seen by those who had come with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to the people.

31And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people.

Note"Witnesses" is a legal word here: people who can testify to what they saw at first hand, not people who merely believe something.

32And we bring you good news: the promise God made to our ancestors,

32And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers,

NoteKJV "glad tidings" translates the Greek word usually rendered "gospel", which in ordinary use meant the public announcement of a victory or of a new ruler's accession.

33he has now kept for us, their children, by raising Jesus up. This is what is written in the second psalm: 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father.'

33God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.

NoteThe quotation is Psalm 2:7. "This day have I begotten thee" was language spoken over a king of Israel at his enthronement, declaring him God's son in the sense of the installed royal heir; "begotten" here is about appointment, not birth. Some early manuscripts read "first psalm" rather than "second", because Psalms 1 and 2 were sometimes counted as a single psalm.

34And about God raising him from the dead, never again to go back to decay, God said this: 'I will give you the holy and sure blessings I promised to David.'

34And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.

Note"On this wise" means in this way. KJV "corruption" in verses 34 to 37 means the physical decay of a dead body, not moral corruption. "The sure mercies of David" quotes Isaiah 55:3 and means the reliable, binding promises God swore to David.

35That is why he also says in another psalm, 'You will not let your Holy One decay.'

35Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

NoteThe quotation is Psalm 16:10. "Suffer" here means allow or permit.

36David served God's purpose for his own time, and then he died. He was buried with his ancestors, and his body decayed.

36For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:

Note"Fell on sleep" is an ordinary ancient way of saying he died. "Was laid unto his fathers" means he was buried in the family tomb alongside earlier generations.

37But the one whom God raised from the dead did not decay.

37But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.

38So understand this, brothers: it is through this man that forgiveness of sins is announced to you.

38Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:

39Through him, everyone who believes is set right with God, freed from everything that the law of Moses could not free you from.

39And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

NoteKJV "justified" is a courtroom word: to be declared in the right, acquitted of a charge. The Greek sentence is genuinely open: it can mean the law of Moses could clear people of some things but not all, or that it could clear them of nothing.

40So be careful that what the prophets spoke about does not happen to you:

40Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets;

41'Look, you who sneer at this. Be amazed, and then be destroyed. For I am doing something in your days that you would never believe, even if someone explained it to you.'"

41Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.

NoteThe quotation is Habakkuk 1:5, in its Greek form. "Despisers" means scoffers, and "in no wise" means in no way at all. In Habakkuk the unbelievable work God announced was the coming of an invading army.

42When the Jews had left the synagogue, the Gentiles, people who were not Jews, begged that these same words be told to them on the next Sabbath.

42And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.

NoteKJV's wording, with the Jews leaving and the Gentiles making the request, follows later manuscripts. The earliest read simply "as they were going out, they kept begging", without naming who asked. Either way the request is that the same address be repeated the next week.

43When the meeting broke up, many of the Jews and many devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas. The two talked with them and urged them to keep living in the grace of God, his undeserved kindness.

43Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.

NoteA "proselyte" was a non-Jew who had formally converted to Judaism, a fuller step than the God-fearers of verse 16. "When the congregation was broken up" means when the synagogue meeting was dismissed.

44On the next Sabbath day almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God.

44And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.

45But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They spoke against what Paul was saying, contradicting him and insulting him.

45But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.

NoteKJV "envy" here means jealousy at the sight of their own hearers going elsewhere. "Blaspheming" translates a Greek word covering abusive, slanderous speech against a person as well as against God, so it need not mean cursing God.

46Then Paul and Barnabas spoke boldly and said, "God's message had to be spoken to you first. But since you push it away and judge yourselves not worthy of eternal life, look, we are turning to the Gentiles.

46Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.

Note"Waxed bold" means grew bold, spoke out freely. "Wax" in 1611 English simply means to become or grow.

47For this is what the Lord has commanded us: 'I have made you a light for the Gentiles, so that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'"

47For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.

NoteThe quotation is Isaiah 49:6, words addressed there to God's servant. Paul takes them as the job description handed to him and Barnabas.

48When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and praised the word of the Lord. And all who were appointed to eternal life believed.

48And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.

NoteKJV "ordained" translates a word used for being appointed, assigned or enrolled, as a soldier is posted to a unit or a name entered on a list. It has nothing to do with ordination to church office in the modern sense.

49And the word of the Lord spread through that whole region.

49And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.

NoteKJV "published" means spread abroad by word of mouth. Printing did not exist in either the first century or, in this sense, the 1611 vocabulary.

50But the Jews stirred up the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They started trouble and attacks against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of their district.

50But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.

Note"Devout and honourable women" means women of high social rank who were attached to the synagogue as worshipers. In the cities of Asia Minor such women often held real influence with their husbands and with the town authorities. KJV "coasts" means borders or territory and has nothing to do with the sea.

51So they shook the dust off their feet as a protest against them, and they went on to Iconium.

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

NoteShaking the dust off the feet was a recognized gesture of breaking off relations: treating a place as foreign ground whose very dust one refuses to carry away, and leaving its people to answer for themselves.

52And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

52And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.