Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul,
Parallel translations
- WEB Barnabas went out to Tarsus to look for Saul.
- KJV Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul:
- NKJV Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul.
- NASB And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul;
- NLT Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Barnabas went to Tarsus to seek out Saul. He sought a partner to help shepherd the growing church.
Overview
Barnabas remembers Saul, whom he had earlier befriended (Acts 9:27), and goes to find him for the work at Antioch. This step draws the future apostle to the Gentiles into a strategic ministry. Barnabas's willingness to share and even elevate another leader reflects his selfless, encouraging spirit.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Acts 9:11“Get up!” the Lord told him. “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying.
- Acts 9:27Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and described how Saul had seen the Lord, who spoke to him on the road to Damascus, and how Saul had spoken boldly in that city in the name of Jesus.
- Acts 9:30When the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
- Acts 21:39But Paul answered, “I am a Jew from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city. Now I beg you to allow me to speak to the people.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.
How Acts 11:25 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.