Acts 8 - 9 — Legacy Standard Bible

Saul Persecutes the Church

8^aNow Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution ¹began against ^bthe church in Jerusalem, and they were all ^cscattered throughout the regions of Judea and ^dSamaria, except the apostles. ²And some devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation over him. ³But ^aSaul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and ^bdragging off men and women, he was delivering them into prison.

Philip Preaches in Samaria

⁴Therefore, those ^awho had been scattered went about, ^bproclaiming the good news of the word. ⁵^aNow Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began preaching ¹Christ to them. ⁶And the crowds with one accord were giving attention to what was being said by Philip, as they heard and saw the ¹signs which he was doing. ⁷For in the case of many who had ^aunclean spirits, they were coming out of them shouting with a loud voice; and many who had been ^bparalyzed and lame were healed. ⁸So there was ^agreat joy in that city.

⁹Now there was a man named Simon, who formerly was practicing ^amagic in the city and astounding the people of Samaria, ^bclaiming to be someone great; ¹⁰and they all, from smallest to greatest, were giving attention to him, saying, “^aThis man is what is called the Great Power of God.” ¹¹And they were giving him attention because he had for a long time astounded them with his ^amagic arts. ¹²But when they believed Philip ^aproclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being ^bbaptized, both men and women. ¹³Even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed ^asigns and ^bgreat miracles taking place, he was constantly astounded.

¹⁴Now when ^athe apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them ^bPeter and John, ¹⁵who came down and prayed for them ^athat they might receive the Holy Spirit. ¹⁶For He had ^anot yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been ^bbaptized ¹in the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷Then they ^abegan laying their hands on them, and they were ^breceiving the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸Now when Simon saw that the Spirit had been bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, ¹⁹saying, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” ²⁰But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you supposed you could ^aobtain the gift of God with money! ²¹“You have ^ano part or portion in this ¹matter, for your heart is not ^bright before God. ²²“Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray earnestly to the Lord that, ^aif possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. ²³“For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in ^athe ¹bondage of unrighteousness.” ²⁴But Simon answered and said, “^aPray earnestly to the Lord for me yourselves, so that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”

An Ethiopian Receives Christ

²⁵So, when they had solemnly ^aborne witness and spoken ^bthe word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, and were ^cproclaiming the gospel to many villages of the ^dSamaritans.

²⁶But ^aan angel of the ¹Lord spoke to ^bPhilip saying, “Rise up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to ^cGaza.” (²This is a desert road.) ²⁷So he rose up and went; and behold, ^athere was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he ^bhad come to Jerusalem to worship, ²⁸and he was returning and sitting in his ¹chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. ²⁹Then ^athe Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this ¹chariot.” ³⁰And Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” ³¹And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. ³²Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: “^aAs a sheep is led to slaughter;And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,So He does not open His mouth.

³³“^aIn humiliation His judgment was taken away;Who will ¹recount His ²generation?For His life is removed from the earth.”

³⁴And the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you earnestly, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?” ³⁵Then Philip ^aopened his mouth, and ^bbeginning from this Scripture he ^cproclaimed the good news about Jesus to him. ³⁶And as they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch *said, “Look! Water! ^aWhat prevents me from being baptized?” ³⁷¹[And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”] ³⁸And he ordered the ¹chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. ³⁹When they came up out of the water, ^athe Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away, and the eunuch no longer saw him, ¹but went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰But Philip ¹found himself at ²^,^aAzotus, and as he passed through he ^bkept proclaiming the gospel to all the cities until he came to ^cCaesarea.

The Conversion of Saul

9^aNow ¹Saul, still ^bbreathing ²threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, ²and asked for ^aletters from him to ^bthe synagogues at ^cDamascus, so that if he found any belonging to ^dthe Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. ³And as he was traveling, it happened that when he was approaching Damascus, ^asuddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; ⁴and ^afalling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” ⁵And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, ⁶but rise up and enter the city, and ^ait will be told you what you must do.” ⁷And the men who traveled with him ^astood speechless, ^bhearing the ¹voice but seeing no one. ⁸And Saul got up from the ground, and ^athough his eyes were open, he ¹could see nothing. Leading him by the hand, they brought him into ^bDamascus. ⁹And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

¹⁰Now there was a disciple at ^aDamascus named ^bAnanias, and the Lord said to him in ^ca vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” ¹¹And the Lord said to him, “Rise up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from ^aTarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, ¹²and he has seen ¹in a vision a man named Ananias come in and ^alay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.” ¹³But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, ^ahow much harm he did to ^bYour ¹saints at Jerusalem. ¹⁴“And here he ^ahas authority from the chief priests to bind all who ^bcall on Your name.” ¹⁵But the Lord said to him, “Go, for ^ahe is a chosen ¹instrument of Mine, to bear My name before ^bthe Gentiles and ^ckings and the sons of Israel; ¹⁶for ^aI will show him how much he must suffer for My name.” ¹⁷So Ananias departed and entered the house. And he ^alaid his hands on him and said, “^bBrother Saul, the Lord sent me—that is Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming—so that you may regain your sight and be ^cfilled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he rose up and was baptized; 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.” ²¹And all those hearing him continued to be astounded, and were saying, “Is this not the one who in Jerusalem ^adestroyed those that ^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 One is the ¹Christ.

²³And when ^amany days had elapsed, ^bthe Jews plotted together to put him to death, 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 the wall, lowering him in a large basket.

²⁶^aAnd when 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 him and brought him to the apostles and recounted 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. ²⁸So 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 ¹^,^aHellenistic Jews, but they were attempting to put him to death. ³⁰But when ^athe brothers 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 was having peace, being built up. And going on in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it continued to multiply.

Peter Heals Aeneas

³²Now it happened that as Peter was traveling through all those regions, he came down also to ^athe ¹saints who lived at ²^,^bLydda. ³³And there he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years, for he was paralyzed. ³⁴And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Rise up and make your bed.” Immediately he rose up. ³⁵And all who lived at ¹^,^aLydda and ^bSharon saw him, and they ^cturned to the Lord.

Peter Raises Tabitha to Life

³⁶Now in ^aJoppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translated is called ¹Dorcas). This woman was full of good works 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. ³⁸Now since Lydda was near ^aJoppa, ^bthe disciples, having heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him, pleading with 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, crying 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. ⁴²And it became known all over ^aJoppa, and ^bmany believed in the Lord. ⁴³And it happened that he stayed many days in ^aJoppa with ^ba tanner named Simon.