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.
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From Perga the rest of them traveled on to Antioch in Pisidia.
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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?"
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Paul stood up, paused and took a deep breath, then said, "Fellow Israelites and friends of God, listen.
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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.
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He took good care of them for nearly forty years in that godforsaken wilderness
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and then, having wiped out seven enemies who stood in the way, gave them the land of Canaan for their very own -
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a span in all of about four hundred fifty years.
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But then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul, son of Kish, out of the tribe of Benjamin. After Saul had ruled forty years,
22
God removed him from office and put King David in his place, with this commendation: 'I've searched the land and found this David, son of Jesse. He's a man whose heart beats to my heart, a man who will do what I tell him.'