- 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.
- 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.
- 3And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
- 4 So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.
- 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.
- 6And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-jesus:
- 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.
- 8But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
- 9Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,
- 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?
- 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.
- 12Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.
- 13Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.
- 14 But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and 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 unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.
- 16Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience.
- 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.
- 18And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness.
- 19And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, he divided their land to them by lot.
- 20And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.
- 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.
- 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.
- 23Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:
- 24When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
- 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.
- 26Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent.
- 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.
- 28And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain.
- 29And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre.
- 30But God raised him from the dead:
- 31And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people.
- 32And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers,
- 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.
- 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.
- 35Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
- 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:
- 37But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.
- 38 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:
- 39And by him all that believe are 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 of in the prophets;
- 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.
- 42And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.
- 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.
- 44 And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 49And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.
- 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.
- 51But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium.
- 52And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.
KING JAMES VERSION
ACTS 13
Read the chapter, follow a linked verse, and continue into related Watchman 33 teaching.
CHAPTER VISUAL
Acts 13 — The Holy Ghost sends Barnabas and Paul from Antioch, and the word of salvation turns outward as a light to the Gentiles.
About this illustration
The commissioning is placed beside the departure harbor to unite prayer, sending, and the mission that unfolds through Cyprus and Pisidian Antioch. Elymas’s blindness and later persecution are not separately staged.
Scripture basis: Acts 13:1–52King James Version · Standardized 1769 text with Strong’s numbering · Public domain outside the United Kingdom
EXPLORE THE MESSAGE
Related Watchman 33 Resources
Archaeological Evidence
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEInscription
Late first century BC–first century AD, probably before AD 70
Theodotus Synagogue Inscription
A Greek building inscription from late Second Temple-period Jerusalem names Theodotus, a priest and synagogue leader, and says his complex served Torah reading, instruction, lodging, and water needs for visitors from abroad.
Acts 6:9 · Luke 4:16–21 · Acts 13:14–15
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEArchaeological site
Hellenistic–Roman periods
Roman Paphos and the Proconsul’s City
Kato Paphos' urban plan, public monuments, elite houses, mosaics, inscriptions, and administrative status illuminate the provincial capital where Acts places Sergius Paulus, without identifying his residence or confirming the confrontation narrated there.
Acts 13:6–12
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEArchaeological site
First century BC–Roman imperial period
Pisidian Antioch’s Roman Colony and Sanctuary
Pisidian Antioch's veteran colony, Augustan sanctuary, monumental streets, inscriptions, and mixed Anatolian-Roman population reveal the civic and religious environment of Acts 13 without locating Paul's synagogue or proving the events of his sermon.
Acts 13:14–16
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEInscription
Third–fifth centuries AD, disputed
The Aphrodisias Godfearers Inscription
A tall marble block from Aphrodisias preserves separate Jewish donor lists naming Jews, proselytes, and theosebeis, offering important later evidence for gentile association with synagogues while disputed dates and contexts forbid treating it as a direct record of Acts' first-century audiences.
Acts 13:16–26
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEArchitecture
2nd–1st centuries BC with Roman-period use
Ancient Synagogue on Delos
A waterfront assembly building, benches, inscriptions, and dedications on Delos provide important—though debated—evidence for organized Jewish or Israelite life in the Hellenistic and Roman Aegean.
Acts 13:5 · Acts 17:1–2 · Acts 18:4
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEInscription
Roman imperial and late Roman phases, mostly later than Paul's visit
Miletus Synagogue and Theater God-Fearers Inscription
A synagogue complex and a theater seating inscription associated with Jews and theosebioi at Miletus. Provides local material evidence for a Jewish community and the contested category of God-fearers in the city where Paul met the Ephesian elders.
Acts 20:15–38 · Acts 13:16 · Acts 17:4
View all 10 archaeology resources
- Roman Antioch-on-the-Orontes
- Roman Salamis on Cyprus
- The Harbor of Seleucia Pieria
- Uncial 097: Acts beneath a Georgian Palimpsest
Prophecy Events
PROPHECY EVENTFulfilled
30
Psalms 16:8–11The Holy One Does Not See Corruption
The psalmist trusts that God will not abandon him to the grave or allow the Holy One to decay.
RestorationresurrectionHoly OneDavidMessiah
PROPHECY EVENTFulfilled
30
Isaiah 55:1–5The Sure Mercies Promised to David
Isaiah invites the thirsty to God’s free provision and promises an everlasting covenant grounded in the faithful mercies given to David.
CovenantDavideverlasting covenantresurrectionnations
PROPHECY EVENTUnfolding
Psalms 89:3–4 · Psalms 89:26–29David’s Everlasting Royal Covenant
Psalm 89 rehearses God’s sworn covenant with David and promises an enduring offspring, throne, and father-son relationship.
CovenantDavidcovenantthroneroyal Son
PROPHECY EVENTFulfilled
Psalms 2:1–12God's Anointed Son and King
Psalm 2 depicts the nations opposing the Lord and his anointed king, whom God calls his Son.
KingdomanointedSonnationskingdom
PROPHECY EVENTUnfolding
Isaiah 49:1–7The Servant, a Light to the Gentiles
Isaiah’s servant is commissioned as a light beyond Israel. Luke and Acts apply that mission to Jesus and the Gospel, while Tacitus and Pliny independently document the Christ movement’s spread from Judaea to Rome, Asia Minor, cities, villages, and countryside.
KingdomJesus ChristGentilesIsaiahGreat Commission
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RevelationBible ProphecyDoctrine and Discernment
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