Acts 8–9

Saul Ravages the Church

8And ^bSaul ^capproved of his execution.

And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and ^dthey were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. ²Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. ³But ^eSaul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he ^fdragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

Philip Proclaims Christ in Samaria

⁴Now ^gthose who were scattered went about preaching the word. ^5hPhilip went down to the city¹ of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. ⁶ⁱAnd the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him ^jand saw the signs that he did. ⁷For ^kunclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. ⁸So ^lthere was much joy in that city.

Simon the Magician Believes

⁹But there was a man named Simon, ^mwho had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, ⁿsaying that he himself was somebody great. ¹⁰They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, ^o“This man is the power of God that is called ^pGreat.” ¹¹And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had ^qamazed them with his magic. ¹²But when ^rthey believed Philip as he preached good news ^sabout the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, ^rthey were baptized, both men and women. ¹³Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And ^tseeing signs and ^ugreat miracles² performed, ^vhe was amazed.

¹⁴Now when ^wthe apostles at Jerusalem heard that ^xSamaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, ¹⁵who came down and prayed for them ^ythat they might receive the Holy Spirit, ¹⁶for ^zhe had not yet ^afallen on any of them, but ^bthey had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷Then ^cthey laid their hands on them and ^dthey received the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, ¹⁹saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” ²⁰But Peter said to him, ^e“May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God ^fwith money! ²¹You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for ^gyour heart is not right before God. ²²Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, ^hif possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. ²³For I see that you are in ⁱthe gall³ of bitterness and in ^jthe bond of iniquity.” ²⁴And Simon answered, ^k“Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”

²⁵Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, ^lpreaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.

Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

²⁶Now ^man angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south⁴ to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. ²⁷And he rose and went. And there was an ⁿEthiopian, a ^oeunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, ^pwho was in charge of all her treasure. ^qHe had come to Jerusalem to worship ²⁸and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. ²⁹And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” ³⁰So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” ³¹And he said, ^r“How can I, unless someone ^sguides me?” And ^the invited Philip to come up and sit with him. ³²Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:

^u“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter

and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,

so he opens not his mouth.

³³In his ^vhumiliation justice was denied him.

Who can describe his generation?

For his life is taken away from the earth.”

³⁴And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” ³⁵Then Philip opened his mouth, and ^wbeginning with this Scripture ^xhe told him the good news about Jesus. ³⁶And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! ^yWhat prevents me from being baptized?”^{5 38}And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. ³⁹And when they came up out of the water, ^zthe Spirit of the Lord ^acarried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

The Conversion of Saul

9But Saul, ^bstill ^cbreathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to ^dthe high priest ²and asked him for letters ^eto the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to ^fthe Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. ^3gNow as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. ⁴And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting ^hme?” ⁵And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, ^hwhom you are persecuting. ⁶But ⁱrise and enter the city, and you will be told ^jwhat you are to do.” ^7kThe men who were traveling with him stood speechless, ^lhearing the voice but seeing no one. ⁸Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, ^mhe saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. ⁹And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

¹⁰Now there was a disciple at Damascus named ⁿAnanias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, ^o“Here I am, Lord.” ¹¹And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man ^pof Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, ¹²and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and ^qlay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” ¹³But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, ^rhow much evil he has done to ^syour ^tsaints at Jerusalem. ¹⁴And here he has authority from ^uthe chief priests to bind all who ^vcall on your name.” ¹⁵But the Lord said to him, “Go, for ^whe is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name ^xbefore the Gentiles and ^ykings and the children of Israel. ¹⁶For ^zI will show him how much ^ahe must suffer ^bfor the sake of my name.” ¹⁷So ^cAnanias departed and entered the house. And ^dlaying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and ^ebe filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and ^fhe regained his sight. Then ^ghe rose and was baptized; ¹⁹and ^htaking food, he was strengthened.

Saul Proclaims Jesus in Synagogues

For ⁱsome days he was with the disciples at Damascus. ²⁰And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, ^j“He is the Son of God.” ²¹And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who ^kmade havoc ^lin Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” ²²But Saul ^mincreased all the more in strength, and ⁿconfounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving ^othat Jesus was the Christ.

Saul Escapes from Damascus

^23pWhen many days had passed, the Jews¹ plotted to kill him, ²⁴but their ^qplot became known to Saul. ^rThey were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, ²⁵but his disciples took him by night and ^slet him down through an opening in the wall,² lowering him in a basket.

Saul in Jerusalem

²⁶And ^twhen he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. ²⁷But ^uBarnabas took him and ^vbrought him to the apostles and declared to them ^whow on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and ^xhow at Damascus he had ^ypreached boldly in the name of Jesus. ²⁸So he went ^zin and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. ²⁹And he spoke and disputed against ^athe Hellenists.³ But ^bthey were seeking to kill him. ³⁰And when ^cthe brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off ^dto Tarsus.

³¹So ^ethe church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And ^fwalking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, ^git multiplied.

The Healing of Aeneas

³²Now ^has Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. ³³There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. ³⁴And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, ⁱJesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. ^35jAnd all the residents of Lydda and ^kSharon saw him, and ^lthey turned to the Lord.

Dorcas Restored to Life

³⁶Now there was in ^mJoppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas.⁴ She was full of ⁿgood works and acts of charity. ³⁷In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in ^oan upper room. ³⁸Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, ^p“Please come to us without delay.” ³⁹So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to ^qthe upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics⁵ and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. ⁴⁰But Peter ^rput them all outside, and ^sknelt down and prayed; and turning to the body ^the said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. ⁴¹And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then,…