Their disagreement was so sharp that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus,
Parallel translations
- WEB Then the contention grew so sharp that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him, and sailed away to Cyprus,
- KJV And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus;
- NKJV Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus;
- NASB Now it turned into such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.
- NLT Their disagreement was so sharp that they separated. Barnabas took John Mark with him and sailed for Cyprus.
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
The dispute grew so sharp that they parted, Barnabas taking Mark to Cyprus. A painful disagreement divided the partnership, yet God still advanced the gospel.
Overview
Luke records the conflict candidly, without taking sides, presenting these leaders as real, fallible people. Remarkably, God used even this separation to create two mission teams instead of one. Mark was later restored and valued by Paul himself (2 Timothy 4:11), showing God's grace to overcome failure and disagreement.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Col 4:10My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you greetings, as does Mark the cousin of Barnabas. You have already received instructions about him: If he comes to you, welcome him.
- Acts 4:36Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (meaning Son of Encouragement),
- Eccl 7:20Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
- Jas 3:2We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to control his whole body.
- Rom 7:18–21I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh; for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
- Acts 6:1In those days when the disciples were increasing in number, the Grecian Jews among them began to grumble against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
- Acts 13:4–12So Barnabas and Saul, sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.
- Acts 11:20But some of them, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks as well, proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus.
- Acts 15:2And after engaging these men in sharp debate, Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.
- Acts 27:4After putting out from there, we sailed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us.
- Ps 119:96I have seen a limit to all perfection, but Your commandment is without limit.
- Ps 106:33For they rebelled against His Spirit, and Moses spoke rashly with his lips.
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 15:39 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.