Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul.
Parallel translations
- WEB Barnabas went out to Tarsus to look for Saul.
- KJV Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul:
- BSB Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for 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 9:11The Lord said to him, “Arise, and go to the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judah for one named Saul, a man of Tarsus. For behold, he is praying,
- Acts 9:27But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.
- Acts 9:30When the brothers knew it, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him off to Tarsus.
- Acts 21:39But Paul said, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city. I beg you, allow me to speak to the people.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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
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