ACT 9
9
The Dramatic Conversion of Paul
1 Meanwhile, Saul was still exhaling violent threats and deadly intentions towards the Lord's disciples. He approached the high priest
2 and asked him to write authorisation letters to the Damascus synagogues. This would permit him to find any adherents to the Way—both male and female—and transport them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
3 As he travelled and was nearing Damascus, a brilliant light from heaven suddenly blazed around him.
4 He collapsed to the ground and heard a voice addressing him: "Saul, Saul, why are you pursuing Me with persecution?"
5 He responded, "Who are You, Lord?" The voice said, "I am Jesus, the One you are persecuting.
6 But get up now and proceed into the city, where you will receive instructions about what you must do."
7 The men travelling as his companions stood there unable to speak. They heard the sound of the voice but could see no one.
8 Saul lifted himself from the ground, but when he opened his eyes, he could perceive nothing. They had to take his hand and lead him into Damascus.
9 For three days he remained sightless, consuming neither food nor drink.
10 A disciple named Ananias lived in Damascus. The Lord spoke to him through a vision: "Ananias." He answered, "I am here, Lord."
11 The Lord gave him these instructions: "Get up and go to Straight Street. At Judas’ house, inquire for a man from Tarsus named Saul. At this very moment he is praying,
12 and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias entering and placing hands on him so his sight will be restored."
13 Ananias objected: "Lord, I have heard numerous accounts about this individual—all the harm he has inflicted on Your holy people in Jerusalem.
14 And he has arrived here with authorisation from the chief priests to arrest everyone who calls upon Your name."
15 But the Lord told him, "Go, because I have selected this man as My instrument. He will carry My name before Gentile peoples, before kings, and before the people of Israel.
16 I will reveal to him how extensively he must suffer for My name's sake."
17 So Ananias went and entered the house. He placed his hands on Saul and said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus—the one who appeared to you on the road you were travelling—has sent me so that you may recover your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."
18 Immediately, something resembling scales dropped away from his eyes, and his sight returned. He got up and was baptised.
19 After eating some food, his physical strength came back.
The Beginning of Paul's Preaching of Jesus
Saul remained with the Damascus disciples for several days.
20 Without delay, he began announcing in the synagogues that Jesus is God's Son.
21 Everyone who heard him was shocked. They said, "Is not this the man who devastated the Jerusalem believers who call on this name? Has he not come here specifically to arrest them and bring them to the chief priests?"
22 Yet Saul's strength kept increasing. He was confounding the Jews residing in Damascus by demonstrating proof that Jesus is the Christ.
The Miraculous Escape of Paul
23 After a considerable period had elapsed, the Jews conspired together with plans to kill him.
24 However, Saul learned of their plot. They were monitoring the city gates continuously, day and night, intending to murder him.
25 But his disciples took action during the night. They lowered him down through an opening in the city wall, using a large basket.
Paul in Jerusalem
26 Upon arriving in Jerusalem, Saul made attempts to associate with the disciples. But they were all frightened of him, unable to believe he was genuinely a disciple.
27 Barnabas, however, took responsibility for him. He brought Saul to the apostles and gave them a full account of how Saul had seen the Lord on the road, how the Lord had communicated with him, and how boldly Saul had proclaimed in Damascus using Jesus' name.
28 So Saul remained with them in Jerusalem, moving about freely and speaking with boldness in the Lord's name.
29 He engaged in conversations and debates with the Greek-speaking Jews, but they made attempts to assassinate him.
30 When the believers discovered this, they escorted him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus.
31 The church throughout the entirety of Judea, Galilee, and Samaria then experienced a period of peace. It was being strengthened and expanded in numbers as the believers conducted themselves in reverence towards the Lord and received encouragement from the Holy Spirit.
The Healing of Aeneas
32 As Peter was making a circuit through all the regions, he came down to visit the believers living in Lydda.
33 There he discovered a man named Aeneas who had been confined to a sleeping mat for eight years due to paralysis.
34 Peter addressed him: "Aeneas, Jesus the Christ is healing you. Stand up and arrange your own mat." He immediately stood up.
35 All the inhabitants of Lydda and the Sharon plain saw him, and they turned to the Lord in faith.
Dorcas Restored to Life
36 In Joppa there lived a female disciple named Tabitha—in Greek her name was Dorcas. She devoted herself constantly to good deeds and charitable acts.
37 During that time period, she fell ill and died. After washing her body, they placed her in an upstairs room.
38 Since Lydda was located near Joppa, the disciples heard that Peter was in the area. They sent two men to him with this urgent appeal: "Please come to us immediately without delay."
39 Peter went with them. When he arrived, they brought him upstairs to the room. All the widows gathered around him, weeping and displaying the tunics and other garments that Dorcas had sewn while she was still with them.
40 Peter directed everyone to leave the room. Then he knelt down and prayed. Turning towards the body, he said, "Tabitha, stand up." She opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat upright.
41 He extended his hand to her and helped her to her feet. Then he summoned the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive.
42 Reports of this spread throughout all of Joppa, and many people placed their faith in the Lord.
43 Peter remained in Joppa for a substantial period, staying as a guest with a man named Simon who worked as a leather tanner.
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Copyright © 2026 Michael Adeyemi Adegbola. This Scripture text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
ACT 9
9
The Dramatic Conversion of Paul
1 Meanwhile, Saul was still exhaling violent threats and deadly intentions towards the Lord's disciples. He approached the high priest
2 and asked him to write authorisation letters to the Damascus synagogues. This would permit him to find any adherents to the Way—both male and female—and transport them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
3 As he travelled and was nearing Damascus, a brilliant light from heaven suddenly blazed around him.
4 He collapsed to the ground and heard a voice addressing him: "Saul, Saul, why are you pursuing Me with persecution?"
5 He responded, "Who are You, Lord?" The voice said, "I am Jesus, the One you are persecuting.
6 But get up now and proceed into the city, where you will receive instructions about what you must do."
7 The men travelling as his companions stood there unable to speak. They heard the sound of the voice but could see no one.
8 Saul lifted himself from the ground, but when he opened his eyes, he could perceive nothing. They had to take his hand and lead him into Damascus.
9 For three days he remained sightless, consuming neither food nor drink.
10 A disciple named Ananias lived in Damascus. The Lord spoke to him through a vision: "Ananias." He answered, "I am here, Lord."
11 The Lord gave him these instructions: "Get up and go to Straight Street. At Judas’ house, inquire for a man from Tarsus named Saul. At this very moment he is praying,
12 and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias entering and placing hands on him so his sight will be restored."
13 Ananias objected: "Lord, I have heard numerous accounts about this individual—all the harm he has inflicted on Your holy people in Jerusalem.
14 And he has arrived here with authorisation from the chief priests to arrest everyone who calls upon Your name."
15 But the Lord told him, "Go, because I have selected this man as My instrument. He will carry My name before Gentile peoples, before kings, and before the people of Israel.
16 I will reveal to him how extensively he must suffer for My name's sake."
17 So Ananias went and entered the house. He placed his hands on Saul and said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus—the one who appeared to you on the road you were travelling—has sent me so that you may recover your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."
18 Immediately, something resembling scales dropped away from his eyes, and his sight returned. He got up and was baptised.
19 After eating some food, his physical strength came back.
The Beginning of Paul's Preaching of Jesus
Saul remained with the Damascus disciples for several days.
20 Without delay, he began announcing in the synagogues that Jesus is God's Son.
21 Everyone who heard him was shocked. They said, "Is not this the man who devastated the Jerusalem believers who call on this name? Has he not come here specifically to arrest them and bring them to the chief priests?"
22 Yet Saul's strength kept increasing. He was confounding the Jews residing in Damascus by demonstrating proof that Jesus is the Christ.
The Miraculous Escape of Paul
23 After a considerable period had elapsed, the Jews conspired together with plans to kill him.
24 However, Saul learned of their plot. They were monitoring the city gates continuously, day and night, intending to murder him.
25 But his disciples took action during the night. They lowered him down through an opening in the city wall, using a large basket.
Paul in Jerusalem
26 Upon arriving in Jerusalem, Saul made attempts to associate with the disciples. But they were all frightened of him, unable to believe he was genuinely a disciple.
27 Barnabas, however, took responsibility for him. He brought Saul to the apostles and gave them a full account of how Saul had seen the Lord on the road, how the Lord had communicated with him, and how boldly Saul had proclaimed in Damascus using Jesus' name.
28 So Saul remained with them in Jerusalem, moving about freely and speaking with boldness in the Lord's name.
29 He engaged in conversations and debates with the Greek-speaking Jews, but they made attempts to assassinate him.
30 When the believers discovered this, they escorted him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus.
31 The church throughout the entirety of Judea, Galilee, and Samaria then experienced a period of peace. It was being strengthened and expanded in numbers as the believers conducted themselves in reverence towards the Lord and received encouragement from the Holy Spirit.
The Healing of Aeneas
32 As Peter was making a circuit through all the regions, he came down to visit the believers living in Lydda.
33 There he discovered a man named Aeneas who had been confined to a sleeping mat for eight years due to paralysis.
34 Peter addressed him: "Aeneas, Jesus the Christ is healing you. Stand up and arrange your own mat." He immediately stood up.
35 All the inhabitants of Lydda and the Sharon plain saw him, and they turned to the Lord in faith.
Dorcas Restored to Life
36 In Joppa there lived a female disciple named Tabitha—in Greek her name was Dorcas. She devoted herself constantly to good deeds and charitable acts.
37 During that time period, she fell ill and died. After washing her body, they placed her in an upstairs room.
38 Since Lydda was located near Joppa, the disciples heard that Peter was in the area. They sent two men to him with this urgent appeal: "Please come to us immediately without delay."
39 Peter went with them. When he arrived, they brought him upstairs to the room. All the widows gathered around him, weeping and displaying the tunics and other garments that Dorcas had sewn while she was still with them.
40 Peter directed everyone to leave the room. Then he knelt down and prayed. Turning towards the body, he said, "Tabitha, stand up." She opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat upright.
41 He extended his hand to her and helped her to her feet. Then he summoned the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive.
42 Reports of this spread throughout all of Joppa, and many people placed their faith in the Lord.
43 Peter remained in Joppa for a substantial period, staying as a guest with a man named Simon who worked as a leather tanner.
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Copyright © 2026 Michael Adeyemi Adegbola. This Scripture text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).