Atos 13

Men i Antiokia, i den derværende Menighed, var der Profeter og Lærere, nemlig Barnabas og Simeon, med Tilnavn Niger, og Kyrenæeren Lukius og Manaen, en Fosterbroder af Fjerdingsfyrsten Herodes, og Saulus.

Da fastede de og bade og lagde Hænderne på dem og lode dem fare.

Da de nu således vare udsendte af den Helligånd, droge de ned til Seleukia og sejlede derfra til Kypern.

Og da de vare komne til Salamis, forkyndte de Guds Ord i Jødernes Synagoger; men de havde også Johannes til Medhjælper.

Og da de vare dragne igennem hele Øen indtil Pafus, fandt de en Troldkarl, en falsk Profet, en Jøde, hvis Navn var Barjesus.

Han var hos Statholderen Sergius Paulus, en forstandig Mand. Denne kaldte Barnabas og Saulus til sig og attråede at høre Guds Ord.

Men Elimas, Troldkarlen, (thi dette betyder hans Navn), stod dem imod og søgte at vende Statholderen bort fra Troen.

Men Saulus, som også kaldes Paulus, blev fyldt med den Helligånd, så fast på ham og sagde:

Da Statholderen så det, som var sket, troede han, slagen af Forundring over Herrens Lære.

Paulus og de, som vare med ham, sejlede da ud fra Pafus og kom til Perge i Pamfylien. Men Johannes skiltes fra dem og vendte tilbage til Jerusalem.

Men de droge videre fra Perge og kom til Antiokia i Pisidien og gik ind i Synagogen på Sabbatsdagen og satte sig.

Dette Folks, Israels Gud udvalgte vore Fædre og ophøjede Folket i Udlændigheden i Ægyptens Land og førte dem derfra med løftet Arm.

Og omtrent fyrretyve År tålte han deres Færd i Ørkenen.

Og han udryddede syv Folk i Kanåns Land og fordelte disses Land iblandt dem,

og derefter i omtrent fire Hundrede og halvtredsindstyve År gav han dem Dommere indtil Profeten Samuel.

Og derefter bade de om en Konge; og Gud gav dem Saul, Kis's Søn, en Mand af Benjamins Stamme, i fyrretyve År.

Af dennes Sæd bragte Gud efter Forjættelsen Israel en Frelser, Jesus,

efter at Johannes forud for hans Fremtræden havde prædiket Omvendelses-Dåb for hele Israels Folk.

I Mænd, Brødre, Sønner af Abrahams Slægt, og de iblandt eder, som frygte Gud! Til os er Ordet om denne Frelse sendt.

Thi de, som bo i Jerusalem, og deres Rådsherrer kendte ham ikke; de dømte ham og opfyldte derved Profeternes Ord, som forelæses hver Sabbat.

Og om end de ingen Dødsskyld fandt hos ham, bade de dog Pilatus, at han måtte blive slået ihjel.

Men da de havde fuldbragt alle Ting, som ere skrevne om ham, toge de ham ned af Træet og lagde ham i en Grav.

Men Gud oprejste ham fra de døde,

og han blev set i flere Dage af dem, som vare gåede med ham op fra Galilæa til Jerusalem, dem, som nu ere hans Vidner for Folket.

Og vi forkynde eder den Forjættelse, som blev given til Fædrene, at Gud har opfyldt denne for os, deres Børn, idet han oprejste Jesus;

David sov jo hen, da han i sin Livstid havde tjent Guds Rådslutning, og han blev henlagt hos sine Fædre og så Forrådnelse;

men den, som Gud oprejste, så ikke Forrådnelse.

Så være det eder vitterligt, I Mænd, Brødre! at ved ham forkyndes der eder Syndernes Forladelse;

og fra alt, hvorfra I ikke kunde retfærdiggøres ved Mose Lov, retfærdiggøres ved ham enhver, som tror.

Ser nu til, at ikke det, som er sagt ved Profeterne, kommer over eder:

Ser, I Foragtere, og forundrer eder og bliver til intet; thi en Gerning gør jeg i eders Dage, en Gerning, som I ikke vilde tro, dersom nogen fortalte eder den.

Men da de gik ud, bad man dem om, at disse Ord måtte blive talte til dem på den følgende Sabbat.

Men da Forsamlingen var opløst, fulgte mange af Jøderne og af de gudfrygtige Proselyter Paulus og Barnabas, som talte til dem og formanede dem til at blive fast ved Guds Nåde.

Men på den følgende Sabbat forsamledes næsten hele Byen for at høre Guds Ord.

Men da Jøderne så Skarerne, bleve de fulde af Nidkærhed og modsagde det, som blev talt af Paulus, ja, både sagde imod og spottede.

Men da Hedningerne hørte dette, bleve de glade og priste Herrens Ord, og de troede, så mange, som vare bestemte til evigt Liv,

og Herrens Ord udbredtes over hele Landet.

Men Jøderne ophidsede de fornemme gudfrygtige Kvinder og de første Mænd i Byen; og de vakte en Forfølgelse imod Paulus og Barnabas og joge dem ud fra deres Grænser.

Men de rystede Støvet af deres Fødder imod dem og droge til Ikonium.

Men Disciplene bleve fyldte med Glæde og den Helligånd.

Now 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. {which...: or, Herod's foster brother}

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

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

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

And 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.

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

Which 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.

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

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

And 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?

And 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.

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

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

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

And 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.

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

The 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.

And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness. {suffered...: or bore, or fed them as a nurse beareth, or feedeth, her child}

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

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

And 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.

And 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.

Of this man's seed hath God according to {his} promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:

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

And 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.

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

For 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}.

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

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

But God raised him from the dead:

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

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

God 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.

And 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. {mercies: Gr. holy, or just things: which word the Septuagint in many places, uses for that which is in the Hebrew, mercies}

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

For 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: {after...: or, after he had in his own age served the will of God}

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

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

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

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

Behold, 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.

And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath. {the next...: Gr. in the week between, or, in the sabbath between}

Now 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.

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

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

Then 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.

For 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.

And 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.

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

But 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.

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

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