So Barnabas and Saul were sent out by the Holy Spirit. They went down to the seaport of Seleucia and then sailed for the island of Cyprus.
Parallel translations
- WEB So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia. From there they sailed to Cyprus.
- KJV So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.
- BSB So Barnabas and Saul, sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.
- ESV So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.
- NKJV So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.
- NASB So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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
Sent out by the Holy Spirit, the two go down to Seleucia and sail to Cyprus. The Spirit, not merely the church, is the true sender.
Overview
Luke stresses that it is the Holy Spirit who sends them, though the church laid hands on them; divine call and human commissioning work together. Seleucia was Antioch's seaport, and Cyprus, Barnabas's home region (4:36), is the natural first destination. The journey that will carry the gospel across the Roman world begins under the Spirit's direction.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Acts 4:36Joses, who by the apostles was also called Barnabas (which is, being interpreted, Son of Encouragement), a Levite, a man of Cyprus by race,
- Acts 13:2As they served the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Separate Barnabas and Saul for me, for the work to which I have called them.”
- Acts 11:19They therefore who were scattered abroad by the oppression that arose about Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews only.
- Acts 20:23except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions wait for me.
- Acts 27:4Putting to sea from there, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were contrary.
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 13:4 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.