Acts 9
9
1And Saul, yet breathing of threatening and slaughter to the disciples of the Lord, having gone to the chief priest,
2did ask from him letters to Damascus, unto the synagogues, that if he may find any being of the way, both men and women, he may bring them bound to Jerusalem.
3And in the going, he came nigh to Damascus, and suddenly there shone round about him a light from the heaven,
4and having fallen upon the earth, he heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why me dost thou persecute?’
5And he said, ‘Who art thou, Lord?’ and the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom thou dost persecute; hard for thee at the pricks to kick;’
6trembling also, and astonished, he said, ‘Lord, what dost thou wish me to do?’ and the Lord [said] unto him, ‘Arise, and enter into the city, and it shall be told thee what it behoveth thee to do.’
7And the men who are journeying with him stood speechless, hearing indeed the voice but seeing no one,
8and Saul arose from the earth, and his eyes having been opened, he beheld no one, and leading him by the hand they brought him to Damascus,
9and he was three days without seeing, and he did neither eat nor drink.
10And there was a certain disciple in Damascus, by name Ananias, and the Lord said unto him in a vision, ‘Ananias;’ and he said, ‘Behold me, Lord;’
11and the Lord [saith] unto him, ‘Having risen, go on unto the street that is called Straight, and seek in the house of Judas, [one] by name Saul of Tarsus, for, lo, he doth pray,
12and he saw in a vision a man, by name Ananias, coming in, and putting a hand on him, that he may see again.’
13And Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how many evils he did to Thy saints in Jerusalem,
14and here he hath authority from the chief priests, to bind all those calling on Thy name.’
15And the Lord said unto him, ‘Be going on, because a choice vessel to Me is this one, to bear My name before nations and kings — the sons also of Israel;
16for I will shew him how many things it behoveth him for My name to suffer.’
17And Ananias went away, and did enter into the house, and having put upon him [his] hands, said, ‘Saul, brother, the Lord hath sent me — Jesus who did appear to thee in the way in which thou wast coming — that thou mayest see again, and mayest be filled with the Holy Spirit.’
18And immediately there fell from his eyes as it were scales, he saw again also presently, and having risen, was baptized,
19and having received nourishment, was strengthened, and Saul was with the disciples in Damascus certain days,
20and immediately in the synagogues he was preaching the Christ, that he is the Son of God.
21And all those hearing were amazed, and said, ‘Is not this he who laid waist in Jerusalem those calling on this name, and hither to this intent had come, that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?’
22And Saul was still more strengthened, and he was confounding the Jews dwelling in Damascus, proving that this is the Christ.
23And when many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel together to kill him,
24and their counsel against [him] was known to Saul; they were also watching the gates both day and night, that they may kill him,
25and the disciples having taken him, by night did let him down by the wall, letting down in a basket.
26And Saul, having come to Jerusalem, did try to join himself to the disciples, and they were all afraid of him, not believing that he is a disciple,
27and Barnabas having taken him, brought [him] unto the apostles, and did declare to them how in the way he saw the Lord, and that he spake to him, and how in Damascus he was speaking boldly in the name of Jesus.
28And he was with them, coming in and going out in Jerusalem,
29and speaking boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, he was both speaking and disputing with the Hellenists, and they were taking in hand to kill him,
30and the brethren having known, brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus.
31Then, indeed, the assemblies throughout all Judea, and Galilee, and Samaria, had peace, being built up, and, going on in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.
32And it came to pass that Peter passing throughout all [quarters], came down also unto the saints who were dwelling at Lydda,
33and he found there a certain man, Aeneas by name — for eight years laid upon a couch — who was paralytic,
34and Peter said to him, ‘Aeneas, heal thee doth Jesus the Christ; arise and spread for thyself;’ and immediately he rose,
35and all those dwelling at Lydda, and Saron saw him, and did turn to the Lord.
36And in Joppa there was a certain female disciple, by name Tabitha, (which interpreted, is called Dorcas,) this woman was full of good works and kind acts that she was doing;
37and it came to pass in those days she, having ailed, died, and having bathed her, they laid her in an upper chamber,
38and Lydda being nigh to Joppa, the disciples having heard that Peter is in that [place], sent two men unto him, calling on him not to delay to come through unto them.
39And Peter having risen, went with them, whom having come, they brought into the upper chamber, and all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing coats and garments, as many as Dorcas was making while she was with them.
40And Peter having put them all forth without, having bowed the knees, did pray, and having turned unto the body said, ‘Tabitha, arise;’ and she opened her eyes, and having seen Peter, she sat up,
41and having given her [his] hand, he lifted her up, and having called the saints and the widows, he presented her alive,
42and it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord;
43and it came to pass, that he remained many days in Joppa, with a certain one, Simon a tanner.
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Acts 9: YLT98
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Acts 9
9
The Blinding of Saul
1-2All this time Saul was breathing down the necks of the Master’s disciples, out for the kill. He went to the Chief Priest and got arrest warrants to take to the meeting places in Damascus so that if he found anyone there belonging to the Way, whether men or women, he could arrest them and bring them to Jerusalem.
3-4He set off. When he got to the outskirts of Damascus, he was suddenly dazed by a blinding flash of light. As he fell to the ground, he heard a voice: “Saul, Saul, why are you out to get me?”
5-6He said, “Who are you, Master?”
“I am Jesus, the One you’re hunting down. I want you to get up and enter the city. In the city you’ll be told what to do next.”
7-9His companions stood there dumbstruck—they could hear the sound, but couldn’t see anyone—while Saul, picking himself up off the ground, found himself stone-blind. They had to take him by the hand and lead him into Damascus. He continued blind for three days. He ate nothing, drank nothing.
10There was a disciple in Damascus by the name of Ananias. The Master spoke to him in a vision: “Ananias.”
“Yes, Master?” he answered.
11-12“Get up and go over to Straight Avenue. Ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus. His name is Saul. He’s there praying. He has just had a dream in which he saw a man named Ananias enter the house and lay hands on him so he could see again.”
13-14Ananias protested, “Master, you can’t be serious. Everybody’s talking about this man and the terrible things he’s been doing, his reign of terror against your people in Jerusalem! And now he’s shown up here with papers from the Chief Priest that give him license to do the same to us.”
15-16But the Master said, “Don’t argue. Go! I have picked him as my personal representative to non-Jews and kings and Jews. And now I’m about to show him what he’s in for—the hard suffering that goes with this job.”
17-19a So Ananias went and found the house, placed his hands on blind Saul, and said, “Brother Saul, the Master sent me, the same Jesus you saw on your way here. He sent me so you could see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” No sooner were the words out of his mouth than something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes—he could see again! He got to his feet, was baptized, and sat down with them to a hearty meal.
Plots Against Saul
19b-21 Saul spent a few days getting acquainted with the Damascus disciples, but then went right to work, wasting no time, preaching in the meeting places that this Jesus was the Son of God. They were caught off guard by this and, not at all sure they could trust him, they kept saying, “Isn’t this the man who wreaked havoc in Jerusalem among the believers? And didn’t he come here to do the same thing—arrest us and drag us off to jail in Jerusalem for sentencing by the high priests?”
22But their suspicions didn’t slow Saul down for even a minute. His momentum was up now and he plowed straight into the opposition, disarming the Damascus Jews and trying to show them that this Jesus was the Messiah.
23-25After this had gone on quite a long time, some Jews conspired to kill him, but Saul got wind of it. They were watching the city gates around the clock so they could kill him. Then one night the disciples engineered his escape by lowering him over the wall in a basket.
26-27Back in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him. They didn’t trust him one bit. Then Barnabas took him under his wing. He introduced him to the apostles and stood up for him, told them how Saul had seen and spoken to the Master on the Damascus Road and how in Damascus itself he had laid his life on the line with his bold preaching in Jesus’ name.
28-30After that he was accepted as one of them, going in and out of Jerusalem with no questions asked, uninhibited as he preached in the Master’s name. But then he ran afoul of a group called Hellenists—he had been engaged in a running argument with them—who plotted his murder. When his friends learned of the plot, they got him out of town, took him to Caesarea, and then shipped him off to Tarsus.
31Things calmed down after that and the church had smooth sailing for a while. All over the country—Judea, Samaria, Galilee—the church grew. They were permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God. The Holy Spirit was with them, strengthening them. They prospered wonderfully.
Tabitha
32-35Peter went off on a mission to visit all the churches. In the course of his travels he arrived in Lydda and met with the believers there. He came across a man—his name was Aeneas—who had been in bed eight years paralyzed. Peter said, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed!” And he did it—jumped right out of bed. Everybody who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him walking around and woke up to the fact that God was alive and active among them.
36-37Down the road a way in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha, “Gazelle” in our language. She was well-known for doing good and helping out. During the time Peter was in the area she became sick and died. Her friends prepared her body for burial and put her in a cool room.
38-40a Some of the disciples had heard that Peter was visiting in nearby Lydda and sent two men to ask if he would be so kind as to come over. Peter got right up and went with them. They took him into the room where Tabitha’s body was laid out. Her old friends, most of them widows, were in the room mourning. They showed Peter pieces of clothing the Gazelle had made while she was with them. Peter put the widows all out of the room. He knelt and prayed. Then he spoke directly to the body: “Tabitha, get up.”
40b-41 She opened her eyes. When she saw Peter, she sat up. He took her hand and helped her up. Then he called in the believers and widows, and presented her to them alive.
42-43When this became known all over Joppa, many put their trust in the Master. Peter stayed on a long time in Joppa as a guest of Simon the Tanner.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.