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1There were prophets and teachers among the sacred family that gathered in Stands Against (Antioch) . There was Son of Comfort (Barnabas) , Creator Hears (Simeon) who was also called Black Man (Niger) , also Bright Light (Lucius) from Land of Power (Cyrene) , Man of Comfort (Manaen) who was taken into the family of Chief Looks Brave (Herod) , and Man Who Questions (Saul) .[#13:1 Lit. Herod the tetrarch , meaning ruler of one of four parts of a territory]
2They were performing their ceremonies to Creator and going without food when the Holy Spirit spoke to them, “Set apart Son of Comfort (Barnabas) and Man Who Questions (Saul) , so they can do what I have chosen them to do.”
3So after they continued to go without food and pray, they laid their hands on them and sent them on their way.
4Then Son of Comfort (Barnabas) and Man Who Questions (Saul) followed the guidance of the Holy Spirit and journeyed to Crashing Waves (Seleucia) . From there they canoed to Island of Flowers (Cyprus) .
5When they came to Village of Salt (Salamis) , they went to the local tribal gathering house. There, with the help of Walks in Kindness (John) , they began to share Creator’s message with them.
6They traveled the whole island as far as Foaming Water (Paphos) . There they met a man named Son of He Sets Free (Bar-Jesus) , a Tribal Member and false prophet who practiced bad medicine.
7He was with the local official of the People of Iron (Romans) , whose name was Small One Who Serves (Sergius Paulus) , a man of understanding, who had sent for Son of Comfort (Barnabas) and Man Who Questions (Saul) because he wanted to hear Creator’s message.
8But the bad medicine man, who was also called Wise One (Elymas) in the local language, opposed them and tried to turn the official from believing their message.
9Then Man Who Questions (Saul) , with the power of the Holy Spirit, looked straight into his eyes.
10“You son of the evil trickster!” he spoke sharply to Wise One (Elymas) . “You who speak with a forked tongue! You are the enemy of all that is good and right. When will you ever stop making Creator’s straight paths crooked?
11Keep your eyes open while you can. Creator’s hand is against you, and for a while your eyes will not see, even the light of the sun.”
As soon as Man Who Questions (Saul) finished speaking, a mist of darkness came upon the man, and he stumbled about looking for someone to take him by the hand.
12When the official saw what happened, he believed and was struck with wonder at the lesson Creator had given.
13At Foaming Water (Paphos) Small Man (Paul) and the ones who were with him set out in their canoes and journeyed to Earth Village (Perga) in the territory of Many Tribes (Pamphylia) . From there Walks in Kindness (John) left them and returned to Village of Peace (Jerusalem) .[#13:13 This is where Saul takes on the name Paul. Paul is the Greek form of Saul.]
14But Small Man (Paul) and the others continued on and went to another village, named Stands Against (Antioch) in the territory of Tree Sap (Pisidia) . On the next Day of Resting they went into the local tribal gathering house and sat down.
15After the people read out loud from the Law and the Prophets, the headmen of the gathering house sent a message to them.
“Fellow Tribal Members,” the message said, “If there is anything you want to say to encourage the people, please speak up.”
16So Small Man (Paul) stood up, motioned with his hands, and said, “Men from the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel) and all who have deep respect for the Great Spirit, listen to me now!
17The Great Spirit of our people chose to make our ancestors into a great nation when they were still slaves in Black Land (Egypt) . He then lifted them up with his strong arm and led them out into the desert wilderness.
18There he put up with their ways for forty winters.
19He then defeated seven nations in the territory of Lowland (Canaan) and gave their land to the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel) for the generations that would follow.
20All this took about four hundred and fifty winters in all.
“After that he gave them spiritual leaders until the days of the prophet Creator Hears Him (Samuel) .
21When they asked for an earthly chief, Creator gave them Man Who Questions (Saul) the son of Sets His Trap (Kish) from the tribe of Son of My Right Hand (Benjamin) , who was their chief for forty winters.
22“After removing him as chief, Creator chose Much Loved One (David) to be the chief of our ancestors. This is what he said about him: ‘I have found one who makes my heart glad, who will do all that I ask of him. He is Much Loved One (David) son of Original Man (Jesse) .’
23“Creator has kept his promise to the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel) and has raised up a descendant of Much Loved One (David) to be the one to set his people free from their bad hearts and wrongdoings . This descendant is Creator Sets Free (Jesus) .
24“Before Creator Sets Free (Jesus) came to us, the Great Spirit first sent He Shows Goodwill (John) , who announced a purification ceremony to return our tribes to the right way of thinking and walking.[#13:24 Baptism]
25When the work of He Shows Goodwill (John) was coming to an end, he said many times, ‘Do you think I am the Chosen One? I am not. I am not worthy to untie the moccasins of the one who is coming after I am done.’
26“My fellow members of the sacred family, descendants of Father of Many Nations (Abraham) , and all who have deep respect for the Great Spirit, it is to all of us that this message has been given. This is a message that will set us free and make us whole.
27-28“It was the people who live in Village of Peace (Jerusalem) , and their leaders, who had him put to death because they did not recognize him. Even though they failed to understand the words of the prophets, which are read out loud on every Day of Resting, they fulfilled these words when they had Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) put him to death—even though he had done nothing wrong.
29“Then, when they did all that was foretold about him, they lowered him from the tree and laid him in a burial cave.
30But the Great Spirit brought him back to life,
31and for many days he was seen by the ones who had walked the road with him from Circle of Nations (Galilee) to Village of Peace (Jerusalem) . They are now his truth tellers to the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel) .
32“Today, we are here to tell you this good story that completes the promise that was made to our ancestors.
33The Giver of Life has made his promise come true for us, their descendants, by raising up Creator Sets Free (Jesus) , just as it says in the second Sacred Song (psalm) , ‘You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.’[#13:33 Psalm 2:7]
34“To show that he would raise up Creator Sets Free (Jesus) from the dead, to never die again, he said, ‘I will gift you with the sacred promises spoken to Much Loved One (David) .’[#13:34 Isaiah 55:3]
35“And, here is another verse from the book of Sacred Songs (Psalms) , where it says, ‘You will not let the body of your Holy One return to the ground.’[#13:35 Psalm 16:10]
36“It is clear that Much Loved One (David) , after he served Creator’s purpose for the people of his own day, crossed over into the death-sleep, was buried with his ancestors, and his body returned to the ground.
37But the body of the one that Creator raised up did not return to the ground.
38-39“My fellow Tribal Members, I want you to know that it is through Creator Sets Free (Jesus) that we are released from our bad hearts and broken ways. Whoever trusts in him is set free and put into good standing with Creator. This is something the law given by Drawn from the Water (Moses) could never do.
40“So then,” Small Man (Paul) said as he finished his talk , “make sure that another thing the prophets foretold does not happen to you, for they said,
41‘Watch out, you who laugh and scorn! You will die in your amazement, for I am doing something you will not believe even when you are told that it has happened!’”[#13:41 Habakkuk 1:5]
42As they were leaving, the people begged them to stay and talk with them again on the next Day of Resting.
43After the meeting at the gathering house ended, many of the Tribal Members and others who had been ceremonially taken into the tribe followed after Small Man (Paul) and Son of Comfort (Barnabas) , who urged them to keep walking in Creator’s gift of great kindness.
44Seven days later , on the following Day of Resting, almost the whole village gathered together to hear Creator’s word.
45But the local Tribal Members became jealous when they saw how large the crowd was. They spoke lies against Small Man (Paul) and argued against everything he said. But both Small Man (Paul) and Son of Comfort (Barnabas) stood up to them.
46“It was of great importance,” they said with strong hearts, “that we would bring Creator’s message first to you who are our Tribal Members. But now that you have shown no respect for this message and decided that you are not worthy of the life of the world to come, we will turn to the people from the Outside Nations.
47“For this is what the Great Spirit instructed us to do when he said, ‘I have chosen you to be a light to all nations, so that all who live upon the earth may know Creator’s power to rescue and make them whole.’”[#13:47 Isaiah 49:6]
48When the ones who were from other nations heard this, it made their hearts glad, and they honored Creator’s message. And all who had been chosen from long ago for the life of the world to come that never fades away, put their trust in the message.
49So Creator’s message spread throughout the whole territory.
50But the Tribal Members stirred up the spiritual leaders, both the women and men, against Small Man (Paul) and Son of Comfort (Barnabas) and forced them out of that area.
51So they shook the dust from their moccasins, as a sign against them, and went from there to Spirit Village (Iconium) .
52The followers of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.