Acts 9–10

The Conversion of Saul

9In the meantime Saul kept up his violent threats of murder against the followers of the Lord. He went to the High Priest ²and asked for letters of introduction to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he should find there any followers of the Way of the Lord, he would be able to arrest them, both men and women, and bring them back to Jerusalem.

³As Saul was coming near the city of Damascus, suddenly a light from the sky flashed round him. ⁴He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute me?”

⁵“Who are you, Lord?” he asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you persecute,” the voice said. ⁶“But get up and go into the city, where you will be told what you must do.”

⁷The men who were travelling with Saul had stopped, not saying a word; they heard the voice but could not see anyone. ⁸Saul got up from the ground and opened his eyes, but could not see a thing. So they took him by the hand and led him into Damascus. ⁹For three days he was not able to see, and during that time he did not eat or drink anything.

¹⁰There was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. He had a vision, in which the Lord said to him, “Ananias!”

“Here I am, Lord,” he answered.

¹¹The Lord said to him, “Get ready and go to Straight Street, and at the house of Judas ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying, ¹²and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come in and place his hands on him so that he might see again.”

¹³Ananias answered, “Lord, many people have told me about this man and about all the terrible things he has done to your people in Jerusalem. ¹⁴And he has come to Damascus with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who worship you.”

¹⁵The Lord said to him, “Go, because I have chosen him to serve me, to make my name known to Gentiles and kings and to the people of Israel. ¹⁶And I myself will show him all that he must suffer for my sake.”

¹⁷So Ananias went, entered the house where Saul was, and placed his hands on him. “Brother Saul,” he said, “the Lord has sent me—Jesus himself, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here. He sent me so that you might see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸At once something like fish scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he was able to see again. He stood up and was baptized; ¹⁹and after he had eaten, his strength came back.

Saul Preaches in Damascus

Saul stayed for a few days with the believers in Damascus. ²⁰He went straight to the synagogues and began to preach that Jesus was the Son of God.

²¹All who heard him were amazed and asked, “Isn’t he the one who in Jerusalem was killing those who worship that man Jesus? And didn’t he come here for the very purpose of arresting those people and taking them back to the chief priests?”

²²But Saul’s preaching became even more powerful, and his proofs that Jesus was the Messiah were so convincing that the Jews who lived in Damascus could not answer him.

^23*After many days had gone by, the Jews met together and made plans to kill Saul, ^24*but he was told of their plan. Day and night they watched the city gates in order to kill him. ^25*But one night Saul’s followers took him and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.

Saul in Jerusalem

²⁶Saul went to Jerusalem and tried to join the disciples. But they would not believe that he was a disciple, and they were all afraid of him. ²⁷Then Barnabas came to his help and took him to the apostles. He explained to them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road and that the Lord had spoken to him. He also told them how boldly Saul had preached in the name of Jesus in Damascus. ²⁸And so Saul stayed with them and went all over Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. ²⁹He also talked and disputed with the Greek-speaking Jews, but they tried to kill him. ³⁰When the believers found out about this, they took Saul to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus.

³¹And so it was that the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had a time of peace. Through the help of the Holy Spirit it was strengthened and grew in numbers, as it lived in reverence for the Lord.

Peter in Lydda and Joppa

³²Peter travelled everywhere, and on one occasion he went to visit God’s people who lived in Lydda. ³³There he met a man named Aeneas, who was paralysed and had not been able to get out of bed for eight years. ³⁴“Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ makes you well. Get up and make your bed.” At once Aeneas got up. ³⁵All the people living in Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.

³⁶In Joppa there was a woman named Tabitha, who was a believer. (Her name in Greek is Dorcas, meaning “a deer”.) She spent all her time doing good and helping the poor. ³⁷At that time she became ill and died. Her body was washed and laid in a room upstairs. ³⁸Joppa was not very far from Lydda, and when the believers in Joppa heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him with the message, “Please hurry and come to us.” ³⁹So Peter got ready and went with them. When he arrived, he was taken to the room upstairs, where all the widows crowded round him, crying and showing him all the shirts and coats that Dorcas had made while she was alive. ⁴⁰Peter put them all out of the room, and knelt down and prayed; then he turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up!” She opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. ⁴¹Peter reached over and helped her get up. Then he called all the believers, including the widows, and presented her alive to them. ⁴²The news about this spread all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. ⁴³Peter stayed on in Joppa for many days with a tanner of leather named Simon.

Peter and Cornelius

10There was a man in Caesarea named Cornelius, who was a captain in the Roman regiment called “The Italian Regiment”. ²He was a religious man; he and his whole family worshipped God. He also did much to help the Jewish poor people and was constantly praying to God. ³It was about three o’clock one afternoon when he had a vision, in which he clearly saw an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius!”

⁴He stared at the angel in fear and said, “What is it, sir?”

The angel answered, “God is pleased with your prayers and works of charity, and is ready to answer you. ⁵And now send some men to Joppa for a certain man whose full name is Simon Peter. ⁶He is a guest in the home of a tanner of leather named Simon, who lives by the sea.” ⁷Then the angel went away, and Cornelius called two of his house servants and a soldier, a religious man who was one of his personal attendants. ⁸He told them what had happened and sent them off to Joppa.

⁹The next day, as they were on their way and coming near Joppa, Peter went up on the roof of the house about noon in order to pray. ¹⁰He became hungry and wanted something to eat; while the food was being prepared, he had a vision. ¹¹He saw heaven opened and something coming down that looked like a large sheet being lowered by its four corners to the earth. ¹²In it were all kinds of animals, reptiles, and wild birds. ¹³A voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat!”

¹⁴But Peter said, “Certainly not, Lord! I have never eaten anything ritually unclean or defiled.”

¹⁵The voice spoke to him again, “Do not consider anything unclean that God has declared clean.” ¹⁶This happened three times, and then the thing was taken back up into heaven.

¹⁷While Peter was wondering about the meaning of this vision, the men sent by Cornelius had learnt where Simon’s house was, and they were now standing in front of the gate. ¹⁸They called out and asked, “Is there a guest here by the name of Simon Peter?”

¹⁹Peter was still trying to understand what the vision meant, when the Spirit said, “Listen! Three^l men are here looking for you. ²⁰So get ready and go down, and do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.” ²¹So Peter went down and said to the men, “I am the man you are looking for. Why have you come?”

²²“Captain Cornelius sent us,” they answered. “He is a good man who worships God and is highly respected by all the Jewish people. An angel of God told him to invite you to his house, so that he could hear what you have to say.” ²³Peter invited the men in and persuaded them to spend the night there.

The next day he got ready and went with them; and some of the believers from Joppa went along with him. ²⁴The following day he arrived in Caesarea, where Cornelius was waiting for him, together with relatives and close friends that he had invited. ²⁵As Peter was about to go in, Cornelius met him, fell at his feet, and bowed down before him. ²⁶But Peter made him rise. “Stand up,” he said; “I myself am only a man.” ²⁷Peter kept on talking to Cornelius as he went into the house, where he found many people gathered. ²⁸He said to them, “You yourselves know very well that a Jew is not allowed by his religion to visit or associate with Gentiles. But God has shown me that I must not consider any person ritually unclean or defiled. ²⁹And so when you sent for me, I came without any objection. I ask you, then, why did you send for me?”

³⁰Cornelius said, “It was about this time three days ago that I was praying^m in my house at three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly a man dressed in shining clothes stood in front of me ³¹and said: ‘Cornelius! God has heard your prayer and has taken notice of your works of charity. ³²Send someone to Joppa for a man whose full name is Simon Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner of leather, who lives by the sea.’ ³³And so I sent for you at once, and you have been good enough to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God, waiting to hear anything that the Lord has instructed you to say.”

Peter’s Speech

^34*Peter began to speak: “I now realize that it is true that God treats everyone on the same basis. ³⁵Those who worship him and do what is right are acceptable to him, no matter what race they belong to. ³⁶You know the message he sent…