Barnabas and Saul Are Chosen and Sent
1 In the church at Antioch there were some prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon (called the Black), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (who had been brought up with Governor Herod ), and Saul. 2 While they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said to them, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul, to do the work to which I have called them.”
3 They fasted and prayed, placed their hands on them, and sent them off.
In Cyprus
4 Having been sent by the Holy Spirit, Barnabas and Saul went to Seleucia and sailed from there to the island of Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues. They had John Mark with them to help in the work.
6 They went all the way across the island to Paphos, where they met a certain magician named Bar-Jesus, a Jew who claimed to be a prophet. 7 He was a friend of the governor of the island, Sergius Paulus, who was an intelligent man. The governor called Barnabas and Saul before him because he wanted to hear the word of God. 8 But they were opposed by the magician Elymas (that is his name in Greek), who tried to turn the governor away from the faith. 9 Then Saul—also known as Paul—was filled with the Holy Spirit; he looked straight at the magician 10 and said, “You son of the Devil! You are the enemy of everything that is good. You are full of all kinds of evil tricks, and you always keep trying to turn the Lord's truths into lies! 11 The Lord's hand will come down on you now; you will be blind and will not see the light of day for a time.”
At once Elymas felt a dark mist cover his eyes, and he walked around trying to find someone to lead him by the hand. 12 When the governor saw what had happened, he believed; for he was greatly amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
In Antioch in Pisidia
13 Paul and his companions sailed from Paphos and came to Perga, a city in Pamphylia, where John Mark left them and went back to Jerusalem. 14 They went on from Perga and arrived in Antioch in Pisidia, and on the Sabbath they went into the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading from the Law of Moses and from the writings of the prophets, the officials of the synagogue sent them a message: “Friends, we want you to speak to the people if you have a message of encouragement for them.” 16 Paul stood up, motioned with his hand, and began to speak:
“Fellow Israelites and all Gentiles here who worship God: hear me! 17 The God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors and made the people a great nation during the time they lived as foreigners in Egypt. God brought them out of Egypt by his great power, 18 and for forty years he endured them in the desert. 19 He destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan and made his people the owners of the land. 20 All of this took about 450 years.
“After this he gave them judges until the time of the prophet Samuel. 21 And when they asked for a king, God gave them Saul son of Kish from the tribe of Benjamin, to be their king for forty years. 22 After removing him, God made David their king. This is what God said about him: ‘I have found that David son of Jesse is the kind of man I like, a man who will do all I want him to do.’ 23 It was Jesus, a descendant of David, whom God made the Savior of the people of Israel, as he had promised. 24 Before Jesus began his work, John preached to all the people of Israel that they should turn from their sins and be baptized. 25 And as John was about to finish his mission, he said to the people, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not the one you are waiting for. But listen! He is coming after me, and I am not good enough to take his sandals off his feet.’
26 “My fellow Israelites, descendants of Abraham, and all Gentiles here who worship God: it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent! 27 For the people who live in Jerusalem and their leaders did not know that he is the Savior, nor did they understand the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. Yet they made the prophets' words come true by condemning Jesus. 28 And even though they could find no reason to pass the death sentence on him, they asked Pilate to have him put to death. 29 And after they had done everything that the Scriptures say about him, they took him down from the cross and placed him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from death, 31 and for many days he appeared to those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now witnesses for him to the people of Israel. 32-33 And we are here to bring the Good News to you: what God promised our ancestors he would do, he has now done for us, who are their descendants, by raising Jesus to life. As it is written in the second Psalm,
‘You are my Son;
today I have become your Father.’
34 And this is what God said about raising him from death, never to rot away in the grave:
‘I will give you the sacred and sure blessings
that I promised to David.’
35 As indeed he says in another passage,
‘You will not allow your faithful servant to rot in the grave.’
36 For David served God's purposes in his own time, and then he died, was buried with his ancestors, and his body rotted in the grave. 37 But this did not happen to the one whom God raised from death. 38-39 All of you, my fellow Israelites, are to know for sure that it is through Jesus that the message about forgiveness of sins is preached to you; you are to know that everyone who believes in him is set free from all the sins from which the Law of Moses could not set you free. 40 Take care, then, so that what the prophets said may not happen to you:
41 ‘Look, you scoffers! Be astonished and die!
For what I am doing today
is something that you will not believe,
even when someone explains it to you!’”
42 As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to come back the next Sabbath and tell them more about these things. 43 After the people had left the meeting, Paul and Barnabas were followed by many Jews and by many Gentiles who had been converted to Judaism. The apostles spoke to them and encouraged them to keep on living in the grace of God.
44 The next Sabbath nearly everyone in the town came to hear the word of the Lord. 45 When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy; they disputed what Paul was saying and insulted him. 46 But Paul and Barnabas spoke out even more boldly: “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we will leave you and go to the Gentiles. 47 For this is the commandment that the Lord has given us:
‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
so that all the world may be saved.’”
48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and praised the Lord's message; and those who had been chosen for eternal life became believers.
49 The word of the Lord spread everywhere in that region. 50 But the Jews stirred up the leading men of the city and the Gentile women of high social standing who worshiped God. They started a persecution against Paul and Barnabas and threw them out of their region. 51 The apostles shook the dust off their feet in protest against them and went on to Iconium. 52 The believers in Antioch were full of joy and the Holy Spirit.
Bhanabhasi na Saulo
1 Ku gubungano liku Antiyoki kwakabe kuna balebesambeli ne badiyi, Bhanabhasi, na Simiyoni wakabe edang'wa Ntema na Lukiyo edwa ku Sirene, na Manaeni iye wakakula na Herode nlauli, na Saulo. 2 Bakati batjanamata She kakale bezwinyima zojiwa, Meya yakayengemala ikati ku bali, “Mundishalulile Bhanabhasi na Saulo kushinga nshingo wandakabadanila.”
3 Bakati bazwinyima zojiwa kakale batembezela, bakababiga maboko ngono bakati bayende.
Mu Sipuro
4 Ndizo bakati batumwa nge Meya yakayengemala, Bhanabhasi na Saulo bakadelukila ku Selusiya, ngono bakayenda nge gungwa kudwa ikoko kunoti ku Sipuro. 5 Bakati beswika ku Salamisi, bakasumikila dama le Ndzimu mu ng'umba dze mitembezelo dze Bajuta. Bakabe bana Johani kubabhatsha mu nshingo.
6 Bakayenda bakapalama tjigwizi bakanoti ku Pafosi kwabakashangana ne nlume we ng'anga wakabe eyi Bharijesu, ali Njuta wakabe ali nlebesambeli we manyepkhwa, 7 wakabe ali mbhatshi we nlauli we tjigwizi itjetjo unoyi Segiyo Paulo, wakabe ali nlume wakatjenjela. Wakadana Bhanabhasi na Saulo, ngobe eshaka kuhwa dama le Ndzimu. 8 Koga Elimasi we ng'anga (ngobe zina lile lotjenesiwa sa ikoko), kanyanyayidzana nabo eshaka pambusa nlauli mu bugalimoyo. 9 Koga Saulo unodang'wabo kuyi Paulo, wakati ali zhele Meya yakayengemala, kanlingisisa, 10 ngono kati, “Iwe nkololo wa Satani, iwe tjita tje ndulamo yose. Uzhele kutjebela ne bubi, apa aungaletje kukombamisa zila dza She dzakatambunuka kene? 11 She banowokuloba, unowobe bhofu, ngono autowobona tjedza tje zhuba kwe tjibaka.”
Tjinyolotjo fulele ne zhalima zwikazwimba mesho awe, ngono kayenda yenda eshaka bangankweba nge luboko. 12 Nlauli kati ebona tjashingikala, kagalamoyo, ngobe wakabe atjenamila kwazo kudiya ngekwa She.
Mu Antiyoki mu Pisidiya
13 Ndizo Paulo ne baakabe anabo bakayenda nge gungwa kudwa mu Pafosi kunoti mu Pega, nzi umu Pamufiliya, Johani wakabasiya kabgwilila ku Jerusalema. 14 Bakabhuda mu Pega bakanoswika ku Antiyoki mu Pisidiya, ngono nge nsi we Sabata bakangina mu ng'umba ye mitembezelo bakagala pasi. 15 Shule kwe kubagwa kwe nlayo ne hwalo dze balebesambeli, balauli be ng'umba ye mitembezelo bakayisa dama ku bali linoti “Zwikamu, amuna dama le gulumbidzo ku bathu mulilebe.” 16 Paulo kamilika, kalakidza nge luboko gugwe, ngono katangisa kulebeleka eti:
“Balume be Iziraela namwi banotja Ndzimu bhulutanani. 17 Ndzimu we bathu ibaba be Iziraela wakashalula bobatategulu bedu ngono ukabathama itjaba tjikulu kulu mu tjibaka tjabakabe bali gele mu shango ye Egipiti. Ndzimu wakabadusa mu Egipiti nge simba lawo gulu, 18 ngono mu makole angabe makumi manna wakabe ne moyonlefu nabo mu tjilambanyika. 19 Wakalobesa tjaba dzili kutendeka mu shango ye Kanana, ngono ukapa bathu bawo shango iyeyo se thaka. 20 Kose ikoku kwakatola makole ali mazana manna ana makole ali makumi mashanu (450).
“Shule kwa ikoku ukabapa basumikilisi kunoti mu tjibaka tja Samuele nlebesambeli. 21 Ndizo bakakumbila kupiwa mambo ngono Ndzimu ukabapa Saulo nkololo wa Kishi we ludzi gwa Bhenjamini, kabe mambo wabo makole ali makumi manna. 22 Shule kwe wan'dusa, Ndzimu ukabiga Dafite kube mambo wabo. Etji nditjo Ndzimu tjawakaleba nge kukwe uti, ‘Ndawana Dafite nkololo wa Jesi ali iye nthu upa moyo wangu, iye unowoshinga kose kuda kwangu.’ 23 Kudwa mu ludzi gwa Dafite, Ndzimu wakathama Jesu Ntjidzi we bathu be Iziraela sekwa wakagadzabgwe. 24 Jesu wakati asathu kazha, Johani kasumikila ku bathu bose be Iziraela kuti bashandukile matjinyo abo badubikwe. 25 Johani kati wowidza nshingo uwe, kati ku bathu, ‘Mokumbula kuti ndiani kene? Ate ndili iye wamakalindila. Koga shule kwangu kuna unowozha wandisakalizana kusunungula mitjili ye khwebana dzidze.’
26 “Zwikamu, bana be nsha wa Abhurahama, na bose pakati kwenyu banotja Ndzimu, thumo ye jidzo ileli yakatumigwa ku tili! 27 Ngobe bathu banogala mu Jerusalema ne balauli babo abazoziba kuti iye Ntjidzi, kene kuli kuhwisisa matama e balebesambeli iyawa anobagwa Sabata limwe ne limwe. Koga bakazhadzisa matama e balebesambeli nge kulasha Jesu. 28 Nenguba bakasheta tjabangansumikilisila lufu, bakakumbila Pilato kuti ambulaye. 29 Bakati bazhadzisa tjimwe ne tjimwe tjakakwagwa nge kukwe bakantulula mu nti bakanlonga mu ikumbu. 30 Koga Ndzimu wakammusa mu bafi, 31 ngono mu mazhuba manjinji wakaboneka kuna ibabo bakabe bayenda naye kudwa ku Galili kunoti ku Jerusalema. Ndibo ngwenu batendeki babe ku bathu. 32 Ndizo tomuzhisila ndebo mbuya kumuli inoti, Ndzimu tjawakagadzabgwe bobatategulu bedu kuti unowotjithama, 33 wakatjithamila iswi ngwenu, iswi bana babo, nge kumusa Jesu. Sekwa kwakakwagwa mu lukwalo gwe bubili gwe Njimbo kuyi,
“ ‘U Nkololo wangu,
nasi ndabe tate babo.’
34 “Oku ndiko Ndzimu kwaunoleba nge kummusa mu bafi, kuti aatjowobgwilila mu kubola uti,
“ ‘Ndowomupa makombolelo akayengemala e malebeswa
andakagadzabgwe Dafite.’
35 “Ndizo mu gumwe Lumbo nkwali eti,
“ ‘Amutowoletja N'yengemali wenyu ebola.’
36 “Nge kuti Dafite wakashinga tjakabe tjalongolosiwa nge Ndzimu mu tjibaka tjitje kafa, kabiganyiwa na bobatategulu babe, ngono kabola. 37 Koga iye wakamusiwa nge Ndzimu mu bafi aazobola. 38 Ndizo zibani zwikamu kuti ndebo ye kuzwiibhatigwa zwibi inosumikigwa kumuli ndi Jesu 39 kakale munli mmwe ne mmwe unogalamoyo unosunungugwa mu tjimwe ne tjimwe tjaakabe asingake kasunungugwa mutjili nge nlayo wa Mushe. 40 Ndizo ibeni ne njele, kuti tjakalebgwa nge balebesambeli tjisimushingikalile,
41 “ ‘Bonani, imwi badadi! Kaabalani mufe!
Ngobe ndoshinga nshingo mu misi yenyu,
nshingo wamusingawogalamoyo muuli,
ha mmwe emubudza iwo!’ ”
42 Paulo na Bhanabhasi bakati bedwa mu ng'umba ye mitembezelo, bathu bakabakumbila kuti zwithu izwezwi bazwibudziwe kakale mu Sabata linobuya. 43 Bathu bakati bapalala pa nshangano, Paulo na Bhanabhasi bakatobegwa nge Bajuta banjinji nenge bathu bakasima mu bugalimoyo gwe Tjijuta. Bakalebeleka nabo bakabakulumbidza kutjilila mu ngoni dze Ndzimu.
44 Sabata linotobela nzi wose kuzhe kwe bathu basibangana bakazha kuhwilila dama la She. 45 Bajuta bakati bebona bunji gwe bathu bakabe ne ndandala, bakanyanyayidza tjakabe tjilebgwa ndi Paulo, kakale bakan'gongobola. 46 Koga Paulo na Bhanabhasi bakaleba ngosimamoyo beti, “Kwakabe kwakafanila kuti dama le Ndzimu lilebgwe kumuli kutanga. Koga se makalilamba muzwibona musakafanigwa nge butjilo gusingapele, bonani tolinga kuna Bezwitjaba. 47 Ngobe She wakatidwa eti,
“ ‘Ndamuthama tjedza tje Bezwitjaba,
kuti muyise jidzo ku bupelo gwe shango.’ ”
48 Bezwitjaba bakati behwa ikoku, bakashatha bakakudza dama le Ndzimu ngono ibabo bakashaluligwa butjilo gusingapele bakabe bagalimoyo.
49 Dama la She likaandama mu ntuthu wose. 50 Koga Bajuta bakadzonga bakadzi bakashandukila mu bugalimoyo gwe Tjijuta kakale banokudziwa kose ne balume bana mamo mu nzi bakadzonga bathu kudziyidza Paulo na Bhanabhasi, ngono bakabatata mu ntuthu wabo. 51 Batumwa bakashashamula hwuluba mu makumbo abo kubalamba, ngono bakayenda ku Ikoniyo. 52 Bagalimoyo bakazhala kushatha nenge Meya yakayengemala.