Acts 12:25 – 13:12

Acts 12

²⁵ After Barnabas and Saul had completed their relief mission in Jerusalem, they returned ^[1] and brought along John, who is called Mark.

The Holy Spirit Calls Paul and Barnabas

Acts 13

¹ Now in the church at Antioch there were some prophets and teachers: Barnabas; Simeon, who was called Niger; Lucius of Cyrene; Manaen, who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch; and Saul. ² While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” ³ Then, after they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them off.

⁴ So they were sent out by the Holy Spirit and went down to Seleucia. From there they sailed to Cyprus. ⁵ When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John as their assistant.

⁶ When they had traveled through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came across a sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus. ⁷ He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, who was an intelligent man. The proconsul summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God.

⁸ Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith. ⁹ But Saul, who is also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit and looking straight at him, ¹⁰ said, “You are full of every kind of deceit and fraud, you son of the Devil, you enemy of all righteousness! Will you never stop twisting the straight paths of the Lord? ¹¹ Now look! The hand of the Lord is against you. You will be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the sun.”

Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he went around looking for someone to lead him by the hand. ¹² When the proconsul saw what happened, he believed. He was amazed at the teaching of the Lord.