Acts 9:19–43

¹⁹and he took food and was strengthened.

Saul Begins to Preach Christ

Now ^afor several days he was with ^bthe disciples who were at Damascus,

²⁰and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus ^ain the synagogues, ¹saying, “He is ^bthe Son of God.”

²¹All those hearing him continued to be amazed, and were saying, “Is this not he who in Jerusalem ^adestroyed those who ^bcalled on this name, and who had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?”

²²But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding the Jews who lived at Damascus by proving that this Jesus is the ¹Christ.

²³When ^amany days had elapsed, ^bthe Jews plotted together to do away with him,

²⁴but ^atheir plot became known to Saul. ^bThey were also watching the gates day and night so that they might put him to death;

²⁵but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a large basket.

^26aWhen he came to Jerusalem, he was trying to associate with the disciples; ¹but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.

²⁷But ^aBarnabas took hold of him and brought him to the apostles and described to them how he had ^bseen the Lord on the road, and that He had talked to him, and how ^cat Damascus he had ^dspoken out boldly in the name of Jesus.

²⁸And he was with them, ¹moving about freely in Jerusalem, ^aspeaking out boldly in the name of the Lord.

²⁹And he was talking and arguing with the ^1aHellenistic Jews; but they were attempting to put him to death.

³⁰But when ^athe brethren learned of it, they brought him down to ^bCaesarea and ^csent him away to ^dTarsus.

³¹So ^athe church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria ¹enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase.

Peter’s Ministry

³²Now as Peter was traveling through all those regions, he came down also to ^athe ¹saints who lived at ^2bLydda.

³³There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years, for he was paralyzed.

³⁴Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed.” Immediately he got up.

³⁵And all who lived at ^1aLydda and ^bSharon saw him, and they ^cturned to the Lord.

³⁶Now in ^aJoppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translated in Greek is called ¹Dorcas); this woman was abounding with deeds of kindness and charity which she continually did.

³⁷And it happened ¹at that time that she fell sick and died; and when they had washed her body, they laid it in an ^aupper room.

³⁸Since Lydda was near ^aJoppa, ^bthe disciples, having heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him, imploring him, “Do not delay in coming to us.”

³⁹So Peter arose and went with them. When he arrived, they brought him into the ^aupper room; and all the ^bwidows stood beside him, weeping and showing all the ¹tunics and garments that Dorcas used to make while she was with them.

⁴⁰But Peter ^asent them all out and ^bknelt down and prayed, and turning to the body, he said, “^cTabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up.

⁴¹And he gave her his hand and raised her up; and calling ^athe ¹saints and ^bwidows, he presented her alive.

⁴²It became known all over ^aJoppa, and ^bmany believed in the Lord.

⁴³And Peter stayed many days in ^aJoppa with ^ba tanner named Simon.