Acts 8–9

8And ^aSaul was ^bconsenting unto his death.

^*And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and ^cthey were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and ^dSamaria, except the apostles. ²And ^edevout men ^fcarried Stephen to his burial, and ^gmade great lamentation over him. ³As for Saul, ^hhe made havock of the church, entering into every house, and ⁱhaling men and women committed them to prison. ⁴Therefore ^jthey that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.

⁵Then ^kPhilip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. ⁶And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. ⁷For ^lunclean spirits, ^mcrying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. ⁸And there was ⁿgreat joy in that city. ⁹But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city ^oused sorcery, and ^pbewitched the people of Samaria, ^qgiving out that himself was some great one: ¹⁰To whom they all gave heed, ^rfrom the least to the greatest, saying, ^sThis man is the great power of God. ¹¹And to him they ^thad regard, because that of long time he had ^pbewitched them with ^osorceries. ¹²But when they believed Philip preaching ^uthe things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. ¹³Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he ^vcontinued with Philip, and ^pwondered, beholding the ^†miracles and signs which were done.

¹⁴Now when ^wthe apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them ^xPeter and John: ¹⁵Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, ^ycthat they might receive the Holy Ghost: ¹⁶(For ^zas yet he was fallen upon none of them: only ^yathey were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) ¹⁷Then ^blaid they their hands on them, and ^cthey received the Holy Ghost. ¹⁸And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands ^cthe Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, ¹⁹Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. ²⁰But Peter said unto him, ^dThy money perish with thee, because ^ethou hast thought that ^fthe gift of God may be purchased with money. ²¹Thou hast neither ^gpart nor lot in this ^hmatter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. ²²Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, ⁱif perhaps the ^kthought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. ²³For I perceive that thou art in ^lthe gall of bitterness, and in ^mthe bond of iniquity. ²⁴Then answered Simon, and said, ⁿPray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me. ²⁵And they, when they had ^otestified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and ^ppreached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.

²⁶And ^qthe angel of the Lord spake unto ^rPhilip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto ^sGaza, which is desert. ²⁷And he arose and went: and, behold, ^ta man of Ethiopia, ^uan eunuch ^wof great authority under Candace queen of the ^xEthiopians, who had ^ythe charge of all her treasure, and ^zhad come to Jerusalem for to worship, ²⁸Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. ²⁹Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. ³⁰And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, ^aUnderstandest thou what thou readest? ³¹And he said, How can I, except some man should ^bguide me? And ^che desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. ³²The place of the scripture which he read was this, ^dHe was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: ³³In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. ³⁴And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? ³⁵Then Philip ^eopened his mouth, and ^fbegan at the same ^gscripture, and ^hpreached unto him Jesus. ³⁶And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth ⁱhinder me to be baptized? ³⁷And Philip said, ^jIf thou believest with all thine heart, ^kthou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that ^lJesus Christ is ^mthe Son of God. ³⁸And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. ³⁹And when they were come up out of the water, ⁿthe Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way ^orejoicing. ⁴⁰But Philip was found at ^pAzotus: and passing through he ^qpreached in all the cities, till he came to ^rCaesarea.

9^*And ^aSaul, yet ^bbreathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto ^cthe high priest, ²And desired of him letters to ^dDamascus to the synagogues, that if he found any ^†of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. ^3eAnd as he journeyed, he came near ^dDamascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: ⁴And he fell to the earth, ^fand heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou ^gme? ⁵And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus ^gwhom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. ⁶And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, ^hwhat wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, ⁱArise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. ⁷And ⁱⁱthe men which journeyed with him stood speechless, ^jhearing a voice, but seeing no man. ⁸And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, ^khe saw no man: but ^lthey led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. ⁹And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.

^10mAnd there was a certain disciple at ^dDamascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in ⁿa vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. ¹¹And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of ^oTarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, ¹²And hath seen in ⁿa vision a man named Ananias coming in, and ^pputting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight. ¹³Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, ^qhow much evil he hath done to thy ^rsaints at Jerusalem: ¹⁴And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all ^sthat call on thy name. ¹⁵But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is ^ta chosen vessel unto me, ^uto bear my name before ^xthe Gentiles, and ^ykings, and the children of Israel: ¹⁶For ^zI will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake. ^17aAnd Ananias went his way, and entered into ^bthe house; and ^cputting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and ^dbe filled with the Holy Ghost. ¹⁸And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been ^escales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and ^fwas baptized. ¹⁹And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. ^gThen was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. ²⁰And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is ^hthe Son of God. ²¹But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that ⁱdestroyed them ^kwhich called on this name in Jerusalem, ^land came hither for that intent, ^mthat he might bring them bound unto the chief priests? ²²But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, ⁿproving that this is very Christ.

^23*And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him: ²⁴But their ^olaying await was known of Saul. ^pAnd they watched the gates day and night to kill him. ²⁵Then the disciples took him by night, and ^qlet him down by the wall in a ^rbasket. ²⁶And ^swhen Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. ²⁷But ^tBarnabas took him, and brought him ^uto the apostles, and declared unto them ^xhow he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and ^yhow he had ^zpreached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. ²⁸And ^uhe was with them ^acoming in and going out at Jerusalem. ²⁹And he ^zspake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the ^bGrecians: but ^cthey went about to slay him. ³⁰Which when ^dthe brethren knew, they brought him down to ^eCaesarea, and sent him forth to ^fTarsus. ³¹Then had ^gthe churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and ^hSamaria, and were ⁱedified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the ^kcomfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.

^32*And it came to pass, as ^lPeter passed throughout all quarters, he came down also to ^mthe saints which dwelt at ⁿLydda. ³³And there he found a certain man named Æneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy. ³⁴And Peter said unto him, Æneas, ^oJesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately. ³⁵And all that dwelt at ⁿLydda and ^pSaron saw him, and ^qturned to the Lord.

³⁶Now there was at ^rJoppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called ^||Dorcas: this woman was full of ^sgood works and almsdeeds which she did. ³⁷And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: whom when they had washed, they laid her in an ^tupper chamber. ³⁸And forasmuch as ⁿLydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he would not ^||udelay to come to…