Acts 8–9

Saul Persecutes the Church

8Now Saul was consenting to his death.

At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and ^athey were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. ²And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and ^bmade great lamentation over him.

³As for Saul, ^che made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.

Christ is Preached in Samaria

⁴Therefore ^dthose who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. ⁵Then ^ePhilip went down to ¹the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. ⁶And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. ⁷For ^funclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. ⁸And there was great joy in that city.

The Sorcerer’s Profession of Faith

⁹But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously ^gpracticed ²sorcery in the city and ^hastonished the ³people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, ¹⁰to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of God.” ¹¹And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his ⁴sorceries for a long time. ¹²But when they believed Philip as he preached the things ⁱconcerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. ¹³Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.

The Sorcerer’s Sin

¹⁴Now when the ^japostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, ¹⁵who, when they had come down, prayed for them ^kthat they might receive the Holy Spirit. ¹⁶For ^las yet He had fallen upon none of them. ^mThey had only been baptized in ⁿthe name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷Then ^othey laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, ¹⁹saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

²⁰But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because ^pyou thought that ^qthe gift of God could be purchased with money! ²¹You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your ^rheart is not right in the sight of God. ²²Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God ^sif perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. ²³For I see that you are ^tpoisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”

²⁴Then Simon answered and said, ^u“Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.”

²⁵So when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.

Christ is Preached to an Ethiopian

²⁶Now an angel of the Lord spoke to ^vPhilip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is ⁵desert. ²⁷So he arose and went. And behold, ^wa man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and ^xhad come to Jerusalem to worship, ²⁸was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. ²⁹Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”

³⁰So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

³¹And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. ³²The place in the Scripture which he read was this:

^y“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;

And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,

^zSo He opened not His mouth.

³³In His humiliation His ^ajustice was taken away,

And who will declare His generation?

For His life is ^btaken from the earth.”

³⁴So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” ³⁵Then Philip opened his mouth, ^cand beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. ³⁶Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. ^dWhat hinders me from being baptized?”

³⁷⁶Then Philip said, ^e“If you believe with all your heart, you may.”

And he answered and said, ^f“I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

³⁸So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. ³⁹Now when they came up out of the water, ^gthe Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰But Philip was found at ⁷Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to ^hCaesarea.

The Damascus Road: Saul Converted

9Then ^aSaul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest ²and asked ^bletters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

^3cAs he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. ⁴Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, ^dwhy are you persecuting Me?”

⁵And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”

Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. ¹It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”

⁶So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?”

Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

⁷And ^ethe men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. ⁸Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. ⁹And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

Ananias Baptizes Saul

¹⁰Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus ^fnamed Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.”

And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”

¹¹So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul ^gof Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. ¹²And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.”

¹³Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, ^hhow much ²harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. ¹⁴And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all ⁱwho call on Your name.”

¹⁵But the Lord said to him, “Go, for ^jhe is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before ^kGentiles, ^lkings, and the ^mchildren ³of Israel. ¹⁶For ⁿI will show him how many things he must suffer for My ^oname’s sake.”

^17pAnd Ananias went his way and entered the house; and ^qlaying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord ⁴Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and ^rbe filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized.

¹⁹So when he had received food, he was strengthened. ^sThen Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus.

Saul Preaches Christ

²⁰Immediately he preached ⁵the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.

²¹Then all who heard were amazed, and said, ^t“Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?”

²²But Saul increased all the more in strength, ^uand confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.

Saul Escapes Death

²³Now after many days were past, ^vthe Jews plotted to kill him. ^24wBut their plot became known to Saul. And they watched the gates day and night, to kill him. ²⁵Then the disciples took him by night and ^xlet him down through the wall in a large basket.

Saul at Jerusalem

²⁶And ^ywhen Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. ^27zBut Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, ^aand how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. ²⁸So ^bhe was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out. ²⁹And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the ^cHellenists, ^6dbut they attempted to kill him. ³⁰When the brethren found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus.

The Church Prospers

^31eThen the ⁷churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were ^fedified. ⁸And walking in the ^gfear of the Lord and in the ^hcomfort of the Holy Spirit, they were ⁱmultiplied.

Aeneas Healed

³²Now it came to pass, as Peter went ^jthrough all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda. ³³There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed. ³⁴And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, ^kJesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.” Then he arose immediately. ³⁵So all who dwelt at Lydda and ^lSharon saw him and ^mturned to the Lord.

Dorcas Restored to Life

³⁶At Joppa there was a certain disciple named ⁹Tabitha, which is translated ¹Dorcas. This woman was full ⁿof good works and charitable deeds which she did. ³⁷But it happened in those days that she became sick and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in ^oan upper room. ³⁸And since Lydda was near Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay in coming to them. ³⁹Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to the upper room. And…