Acts 8–9

8Saul was there. He had agreed that Stephen should die.

The Church Is Scattered

On that day the church in Jerusalem began to be attacked and treated badly. All except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.

²Godly Jews buried Stephen. They sobbed and sobbed over him.

³But Saul began to destroy the church. He went from house to house. He dragged men and women away and put them in prison.

Philip Goes to Samaria

⁴The believers who had been scattered preached the word everywhere they went. ⁵Philip went down to a city in Samaria. There he preached about the Christ. ⁶The crowds listened to Philip. They saw the miraculous signs he did. They all paid close attention to what he said. ⁷Evil spirits screamed and came out of many people. Many who were disabled or who couldn’t walk were healed. ⁸So there was great joy in that city.

Simon the Evil Magician

⁹A man named Simon lived in the city. For quite a while he had practiced evil magic there. He amazed all the people of Samaria. He claimed to be someone great. ¹⁰All of the people listened to him, from the least important of them to the most important. They exclaimed, “This man is known as the Great Power of God!” ¹¹He had amazed them for a long time with his magic. So they followed him.

¹²But Philip preached the good news of God’s kingdom. He preached the name of Jesus Christ. So men and women believed and were baptized. ¹³Simon himself believed and was baptized. He followed Philip everywhere. He was amazed by the great signs and miracles he saw.

¹⁴The apostles in Jerusalem heard that people in Samaria had accepted God’s word. So they sent Peter and John to them. ¹⁵When they arrived there, they prayed that the believers would receive the Holy Spirit. ¹⁶The Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷Then Peter and John placed their hands on them. And they received the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸Simon watched as the apostles placed their hands on them. He saw that the Spirit was given to them. So he offered money to Peter and John. ¹⁹He said, “Give me this power too. Then everyone I place my hands on will receive the Holy Spirit.”

²⁰Peter answered, “May your money be destroyed with you! Do you think you can buy God’s gift with money? ²¹You have no part or share in this holy work. Your heart is not right with God. ²²Turn away from this evil sin of yours. Pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. ²³I see that you are very bitter. You are a prisoner of sin.”

²⁴Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me. Pray that nothing you have said will happen to me.”

²⁵Peter and John gave witness and preached the Lord’s word. Then they returned to Jerusalem. On the way they preached the good news in many villages in Samaria.

Philip and the Man From Ethiopia

²⁶An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip. “Go south to the desert road,” he said. “It’s the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” ²⁷So Philip started out. On his way he met an Ethiopian official. The man had an important position. He was in charge of all the wealth of Candace. She was the queen of Ethiopia. He had gone to Jerusalem to worship. ²⁸On his way home he was sitting in his chariot. He was reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. ²⁹The Holy Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot. Stay near it.”

³⁰So Philip ran up to the chariot. He heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you’re reading?” Philip asked.

³¹“How can I?” he said. “I need someone to explain it to me.” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

³²Here is the part of Scripture the official was reading. It says,

“He was led like a sheep to be killed.

Just as lambs are silent while their wool is being cut off,

he did not open his mouth.

³³When he was treated badly, he was refused a fair trial.

Who can say anything about his children?

His life was cut off from the earth.”

³⁴The official said to Philip, “Tell me, please. Who is the prophet talking about? Himself, or someone else?” ³⁵Then Philip began with that same part of Scripture. He told him the good news about Jesus.

^36/37As they traveled along the road, they came to some water. The official said, “Look! Here is water! Why shouldn’t I be baptized?” ³⁸He gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the official went down into the water. Philip baptized him. ³⁹When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away. The official did not see him again. He went on his way full of joy. ⁴⁰Philip was seen next at Azotus. From there he traveled all around. He preached the good news in all the towns. Finally he arrived in Caesarea.

Saul Becomes a Believer

9Meanwhile, Saul continued to oppose the Lord’s followers. He said they would be put to death. He went to the high priest. ²He asked the priest for letters to the synagogues in Damascus. He wanted to find men and women who belonged to the Way of Jesus. The letters would allow him to take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

³On his journey, Saul approached Damascus. Suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴He fell to the ground. He heard a voice speak to him. “Saul! Saul!” the voice said. “Why are you opposing me?”

⁵“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus,” he replied. “I am the one you are opposing. ⁶Now get up and go into the city. There you will be told what you must do.”

⁷The men traveling with Saul stood there. They weren’t able to speak. They had heard the sound. But they didn’t see anyone. ⁸Saul got up from the ground. He opened his eyes, but he couldn’t see. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. ⁹For three days he was blind. He didn’t eat or drink anything.

¹⁰In Damascus there was a believer named Ananias. The Lord called out to him in a vision. “Ananias!” he said.

“Yes, Lord,” he answered.

¹¹The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street. Ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying. ¹²In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias. The man has come and placed his hands on him. Now he will be able to see again.”

¹³“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I’ve heard many reports about this man. They say he has done great harm to God’s people in Jerusalem. ¹⁴Now he has come here to arrest all those who worship you. The chief priests have given him authority to do this.”

¹⁵But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! I have chosen this man to work for me. He will carry my name to those who aren’t Jews and to their kings. He will bring my name to the people of Israel. ¹⁶I will show him how much he must suffer for me.”

¹⁷Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. He placed his hands on Saul. “Brother Saul,” he said, “you saw the Lord Jesus. He appeared to you on the road as you were coming here. He has sent me so that you will be able to see again. You will be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

¹⁸Right away something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes. And he could see again. He got up and was baptized. ¹⁹After eating some food, he got his strength back.

Saul in Damascus and Jerusalem

Saul spent several days with the believers in Damascus. ²⁰At once he began to preach in the synagogues. He taught that Jesus is the Son of God. ²¹All who heard him were amazed. They asked, “Isn’t he the man who caused great trouble in Jerusalem for those who worship Jesus? Hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” ²²But Saul grew more and more powerful. The Jews living in Damascus couldn’t believe what was happening. Saul proved to them that Jesus is the Christ.

²³After many days, the Jews had a meeting. They planned to kill Saul. ²⁴But he learned about their plan. Day and night they watched the city gates closely in order to kill him. ²⁵But his followers helped him escape by night. They lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.

²⁶When Saul came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the believers. But they were all afraid of him. They didn’t believe he was really one of Jesus’ followers. ²⁷But Barnabas took him to the apostles. He told them about Saul’s journey. He said that Saul had seen the Lord. He told how the Lord had spoken to Saul. Barnabas also said that Saul had preached without fear in Jesus’ name in Damascus.

²⁸So Saul stayed with the believers. He moved about freely in Jerusalem. He spoke boldly in the Lord’s name. ²⁹He talked and argued with Jews who followed Greek practices. But they tried to kill him. ³⁰The other believers heard about this. They took Saul down to Caesarea. From there they sent him off to Tarsus.

³¹Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. The Holy Spirit gave the church strength and boldness. So they grew in numbers. And they worshiped the Lord.

Peter Goes to Lydda and Joppa

³²As Peter traveled around the country, he went to visit God’s people in Lydda. ³³There he found a disabled man named Aeneas. For eight years the man had spent most of his time in bed. ³⁴“Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up! Take care of your mat!” So Aeneas got up right away. ³⁵Everyone who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him. They turned to the Lord.

³⁶In Joppa there was a believer named Tabitha. Her name in the Greek language was Dorcas. She was always doing good and helping poor people.

³⁷About that time she became sick and died. Her body was washed and placed in a room upstairs. ³⁸Lydda was near Joppa. The believers heard that Peter was in Lydda. So they sent two men to him. They begged him, “Please come at once!”

³⁹Peter went with them. When he arrived, he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him crying. They showed him the robes and other clothes Dorcas had made while she was still alive.

⁴⁰Peter sent them all out of the room. Then he got down on his knees and prayed. He turned toward the dead woman. He said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes. When she saw Peter, she sat up. ⁴¹He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the…