Acts 13:1-8 ▼

1 Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

2 As they were worshiping 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, prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them off.

4 So being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.

5 Arriving in Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John as their assistant.

6 When they had traveled the whole island as far as Paphos, they came across a sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus.

7 He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God.

8 But Elymas the sorcerer (that is the meaning of his name) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith.