7
who had worked himself into the confidence of the governor, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man not easily taken in by charlatans. The wizard's name was Bar-Jesus. He was as crooked as a corkscrew.
8
But Dr. Know-It-All (that's the wizard's name in plain English) stirred up a ruckus, trying to divert the governor from becoming a believer.
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.