1 And Saul yet breathing out threatnings and slaughter against the disciples of ye Lord, went vnto the hie Priest, 2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the Synagogues, that if he found any that were of that way (either men or women) hee might bring them bound vnto Hierusalem. 3 Now as he iourneyed, it came to passe that as he was come neere to Damascus, suddenly there shined rounde about him a light from heauen. 4 And hee fell to the earth, and heard a voyce, saying to him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 5 And he sayd, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord sayd, I am Iesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kicke against pricks. 6 He then both trembling and astonied, sayd, Lord, what wilt thou that I doe? And the Lord sayd vnto him, Arise and goe into the citie, and it shall be tolde thee what thou shalt doe. 7 The men also which iourneyed with him, stood amased, hearing his voyce, but seeing no man. 8 And Saul arose from the ground, and opened his eyes, but sawe no man. Then led they him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus, 9 Where he was three dayes without sight, and neither ate nor dranke. 10 And there was a certaine disciple at Damascus named Ananias, and to him sayd the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he sayd, Beholde, I am here Lord. 11 Then the Lord sayd vnto him, Arise, and goe into the streete which is called Straight, and seeke in the house of Iudas after one called Saul of Tarsus: for beholde, he prayeth. 12 (And he sawe in a vision a man named Ananias comming in to him, and putting his hands on him, that he might receiue his sight.) 13 Then Ananias answered, Lord, I haue heard by many of this man, howe much euill hee hath done to thy saints at Hierusalem. 14 Moreouer here hee hath authoritie of the hie Priestes, to binde all that call on thy Name. 15 Then the Lord said vnto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessell vnto me, to beare my Name before the Gentiles, and Kings, and the children of Israel. 16 For I will shewe him, howe many things he must suffer for my Names sake. 17 Then Ananias went his way, and entred into that house, and put his hands on him, and sayd, Brother Saul, the Lord hath sent me (euen Iesus that appeared vnto thee in the way as thou camest) that thou mightest receiue thy sight, and be filled with the holy Ghost. 18 And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had bene scales, and suddenly he receiued sight, and arose, and was baptized, 19 And receiued meate, and was strengthened. So was Saul certaine dayes with the disciples which were at Damascus. 20 And straightway hee preached Christ in the Synagogues, that he was that Sonne of God, 21 So that all that heard him, were amased, and sayde, Is not this hee, that made hauocke of them which called on this Name in Hierusalem, and came hither for that intent, that hee should bring them bound vnto the hie Priests? 22 But Saul encreased the more in strength, and confounded the Iewes which dwelt at Damascus, confirming, that this was that Christ. 23 And after that many dayes were fulfilled, the Iewes tooke counsell together, to kill him, 24 But their laying awayte was knowen of Saul: nowe they watched the gates day and night, that they might kill him. 25 Then the disciples tooke him by night, and put him through the wall, and let him downe by a rope in a basket. 26 And when Saul was come to Hierusalem, he assayed to ioyne himselfe with the disciples: but they were all afrayd of him, and beleeued not that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas tooke him, and brought him to the Apostles, and declared to them, howe hee had seene the Lord in the way, and that hee had spoken vnto him, and how he had spoken boldly at Damascus in the Name of Iesus. 28 And hee was conuersant with them at Hierusalem, 29 And spake boldly in the Name of the Lord Iesus, and spake and disputed against the Grecians: but they went about to slay him. 30 But when the brethren knewe it, they brought him to Cesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus. 31 Then had the Churches rest through all Iudea, and Galile, and Samaria, and were edified and walked in the feare of the Lord, and were multiplied by the comfort of the holy Ghost. 32 And it came to passe, as Peter walked throughout all quarters, hee came also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda. 33 And there he found a certaine man named Aeneas, which had kept his couch eight yeeres, and was sicke of the palsie. 34 Then said Peter vnto him, Aeneas, Iesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise and trusse thy couch together. And he arose immediately. 35 And all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron, sawe him, and turned to the Lord. 36 There was also at Ioppa a certaine woman, a disciple named Tabitha (which by interpretation is called Dorcas) she was full of good workes and almes which she did. 37 And it came to passe in those dayes, that she was sicke and dyed: and when they had washed her, they layd her in an vpper chamber. 38 Now forasmuch as Lydda was neere to Ioppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent vnto him two men, desiring that he would not delay to come vnto them. 39 Then Peter arose and came with them: and when hee was come, they brought him into the vpper chamber, where all the widowes stoode by him weeping, and shewing the coates and garments, which Dorcas made, while she was with them. 40 But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled downe, and prayed, and turned him to the body, and sayd, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes, and when she sawe Peter, sate vp. 41 Then he gaue her the hand and lift her vp, and called the Saints and widowes, and restored her aliue. 42 And it was knowen throughout all Ioppa, and many beleeued in the Lord. 43 And it came to passe that he taried many dayes in Ioppa with one Simon a Tanner.
Saul Becomes a Follower of the Lord
(Acts 22.6-16Acts 26.12-18)1 Saul kept on threatening to kill the Lord's followers. He even went to the high priest 2 and asked for letters to the leaders of the synagogues in Damascus. He did this because he wanted to arrest and take to Jerusalem any man or woman who had accepted the Lord's Way. 3 When Saul had almost reached Damascus, a bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, “Saul! Saul! Why are you so cruel to me?”
5 “Who are you?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus,” the Lord answered. “I am the one you are so cruel to. 6 Now get up and go into the city, where you will be told what to do.”
7 The men with Saul stood there speechless. They had heard the voice, but they had not seen anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, and when he opened his eyes, he could not see a thing. Someone then led him by the hand to Damascus, 9 and for three days he was blind and did not eat or drink.
10 A follower named Ananias lived in Damascus, and the Lord spoke to him in a vision. Ananias answered, “Lord, here I am.”
11 The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the house of Judas on Straight Street. When you get there, you will find a man named Saul from the city of Tarsus. Saul is praying, 12 and he has seen a vision. He saw a man named Ananias coming to him and putting his hands on him, so he could see again.”
13 Ananias replied, “Lord, a lot of people have told me about the terrible things this man has done to your followers in Jerusalem. 14 Now the chief priests have given him the power to come here and arrest anyone who worships in your name.”
15 The Lord said to Ananias, “Go! I have chosen him to tell foreigners, kings, and the people of Israel about me. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for worshiping in my name.”
17 Ananias left and went into the house where Saul was staying. Ananias placed his hands on him and said, “Saul, the Lord Jesus has sent me. He is the same one who appeared to you along the road. He wants you to be able to see and to be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
18 Suddenly something like fish scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see. He got up and was baptized. 19 Then he ate and felt much better.
Saul Preaches in Damascus
For several days Saul stayed with the Lord's followers in Damascus. 20 Soon he went to the synagogues and started telling people that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 Everyone who heard Saul was amazed and said, “Isn't this the man who caused so much trouble for those people in Jerusalem who worship in the name of Jesus? Didn't he come here to arrest them and take them to the chief priests?”
22 Saul preached with such power that he completely confused the Jewish people in Damascus, as he tried to show them that Jesus is the Messiah.
23 Later some of them made plans to kill Saul, 24 but he found out about it. He learned that they were guarding the gates of the city day and night in order to kill him. 25 Then one night his followers let him down over the city wall in a large basket.
Saul in Jerusalem
26 When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the followers. But they were all afraid of him, because they did not believe he was a true follower. 27 Then Barnabas helped him by taking him to the apostles. He explained how Saul had seen the Lord and how the Lord had spoken to him. Barnabas also said when Saul was in Damascus, he had spoken bravely in the name of Jesus.
28 Saul moved about freely with the followers in Jerusalem and told everyone about the Lord. 29 He was always arguing with the Jews who spoke Greek, and so they tried to kill him. 30 But the followers found out about this and took Saul to Caesarea. From there they sent him to the city of Tarsus.
31 The church in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria now had a time of peace and kept on worshiping the Lord. The church became stronger, as the Holy Spirit encouraged it and helped it grow.
Peter Heals Aeneas
32 While Peter was traveling from place to place, he visited the Lord's followers who lived in the town of Lydda. 33 There he met a man named Aeneas, who for eight years had been sick in bed and could not move. 34 Peter said to Aeneas, “Jesus Christ has healed you! Get up and make up your bed.” At once he stood up.
35 Many people in the towns of Lydda and Sharon saw Aeneas and became followers of the Lord.
Peter Brings Dorcas Back to Life
36 In Joppa there was a follower named Tabitha. Her Greek name was Dorcas, which means “deer.” She was always doing good things for people and had given much to the poor. 37 But she got sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38 Joppa wasn't far from Lydda, and the followers heard that Peter was there. They sent two men to say to him, “Please come with us as quickly as you can!” 39 At once, Peter went with them.
The men took Peter upstairs into the room. Many widows were there crying. They showed him the coats and clothes that Dorcas had made while she was still alive.
40 After Peter had sent everyone out of the room, he knelt down and prayed. Then he turned to the body of Dorcas and said, “Tabitha, get up!” The woman opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. 41 He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet.
Peter called in the widows and the other followers and showed them that Dorcas had been raised from death. 42 Everyone in Joppa heard what had happened, and many of them put their faith in the Lord. 43 Peter stayed on for a while in Joppa in the house of a man named Simon, who made leather.