ActsChapter 9

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¹Meanwhile, Saul was still making threats to kill the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest ²and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus. Then if he found any men or women who belonged to the Way, he could bring them back to Jerusalem as prisoners. ³On his trip, Saul came near Damascus. All at once a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴He fell to the ground. He heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me?" ⁵"Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, the one you are attacking," he answered. ⁶"Now get up and go into the city. There you will be told what you must do." ⁷The men traveling with Saul stood there and couldn't say a word. They heard the voice, but they didn't see anyone. ⁸Saul got up from the ground. But when he opened his eyes, he couldn't see anything. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. ⁹For three days he was blind. He didn't eat or drink anything. ¹⁰In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision. "Ananias!" he said. "Here I am, Lord," Ananias answered. ¹¹The Lord told him, "Get up! Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street. Ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying right now. ¹²In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him. He saw him do this so he could see again." ¹³But Ananias answered, "Lord, many people have told me about this man. They told me about all the harm he has done to your people in Jerusalem. ¹⁴And now he has come here with power from the chief priests. He has come to arrest everyone who calls on your name." ¹⁵But the Lord said, "Go! I have chosen this man to work for me. He will carry my name to the Gentiles and their kings. He will carry it to the people of Israel too. ¹⁶I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." ¹⁷So Ananias went to the house. When he got there, he placed his hands on Saul. "Brother Saul," he said, "the Lord Jesus sent me. He is the one who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here. He sent me so you can see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." ¹⁸Right away, something like fish scales fell from Saul's eyes. He could see again. He got up and was baptized. ¹⁹After he ate some food, he got his strength back. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. ²⁰Right away Saul began to preach about Jesus in the synagogues. He said, "Jesus is the Son of God." ²¹All who heard him were amazed. They asked, "Isn't this the man who caused so much harm in Jerusalem? He attacked those who call on this name. Didn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?" ²²But Saul grew more and more powerful. He proved that Jesus is the Messiah. The Jews living in Damascus couldn't argue back. ²³After many days had gone by, the Jews made a plan to kill Saul. ²⁴But Saul found out about their plan. Day and night they watched the city gates so they could kill him. ²⁵But one night his followers took him. They let him down in a basket through an opening in the city wall. ²⁶When Saul got to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples. But they were all afraid of him. They didn't believe he was really a disciple. ²⁷Then Barnabas took him to the apostles. He told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road to Damascus. He told them the Lord had spoken to Saul. And he told them how Saul had spoken boldly in Damascus in the name of Jesus. ²⁸So Saul stayed with them. He went all around Jerusalem. He spoke boldly in the name of the Lord. ²⁹He talked and argued with the Jews who spoke Greek. But they tried to kill him. ³⁰The believers found out about this. So they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. ³¹Then the church all through Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had a time of peace. It grew stronger, and more people joined it. The believers lived in the fear of the Lord. And the Holy Spirit gave them comfort and courage. ³²Peter traveled all around the area. He went to visit God's people in Lydda. ³³There he found a man named Aeneas. He could not move his body, and he had been stuck in bed for eight years. ³⁴"Aeneas," Peter said to him, "Jesus Christ heals you! Get up and roll up your mat." Right away Aeneas got up. ³⁵All who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him. And they turned to the Lord. ³⁶In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha. In Greek her name is Dorcas. She was always doing good and helping poor people. ³⁷But about that time she got sick and died. Her body was washed and laid in an upstairs room. ³⁸Lydda was near Joppa. The disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda. So they sent two men to him. They begged him, "Please come to us right away!" ³⁹So Peter got up and went with them. When he arrived, they took him to the upstairs room. All the widows stood around him, crying. They showed him the robes and other clothes Dorcas had made while she was still with them. ⁴⁰Then Peter sent them all out of the room. He got down on his knees and prayed. Then he turned toward her body and said, "Tabitha, get up!" She opened her eyes. When she saw Peter, she sat up. ⁴¹Peter took her by the hand and helped her stand up. Then he called God's people and the widows. He showed them that she was alive. ⁴²People all over Joppa heard about this. And many people believed in the Lord. ⁴³Peter stayed in Joppa for several days. He stayed with a man named Simon, who worked with leather.