Acts 13:9-19

9 But Saul (or Paul), full of the Holy Spirit and looking him straight in the eye, said,
10 "You bag of wind, you parody of a devil - why, you stay up nights inventing schemes to cheat people out of God.
11 But now you've come up against God himself, and your game is up. You're about to go blind - no sunlight for you for a good long stretch." He was plunged immediately into a shadowy mist and stumbled around, begging people to take his hand and show him the way.
12 When the governor saw what happened, he became a believer, full of enthusiasm over what they were saying about the Master.
13 From Paphos, Paul and company put out to sea, sailing on to Perga in Pamphylia. That's where John called it quits and went back to Jerusalem.
14 From Perga the rest of them traveled on to Antioch in Pisidia.
15 After the reading of the Scriptures - God's Law and the Prophets - the president of the meeting asked them, "Friends, do you have anything you want to say? A word of encouragement, perhaps?"
16 Paul stood up, paused and took a deep breath, then said, "Fellow Israelites and friends of God, listen.
17 God took a special interest in our ancestors, pulled our people who were beaten down in Egyptian exile to their feet, and led them out of there in grand style.
18 He took good care of them for nearly forty years in that godforsaken wilderness
19 and then, having wiped out seven enemies who stood in the way, gave them the land of Canaan for their very own -
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.