Acts 9 - 10 — Legacy Standard Bible

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.

Cornelius’ and Peter’s Visions

10Now there was a man at ^aCaesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was ^bcalled the Italian ¹cohort, ²a devout man and ^aone who feared God with all his household, and ^bgave many ¹alms to the people and prayed to God continually. ³About ^athe ¹ninth hour of the day he clearly saw ^bin a vision ^can angel of God who had come in and said to him, “Cornelius!” ⁴And ^alooking intently on him and becoming afraid, he said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and ¹alms ^bhave ascended ^cas a memorial before God. ⁵“Now send some men to ^aJoppa and summon a man named Simon, who is also called Peter; ⁶he is lodging with a tanner named ^aSimon, whose house is by the sea.” ⁷And when the angel who was speaking to him had left, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier of those who were his personal attendants, ⁸and after he explained everything to them, he sent them to ^aJoppa.

⁹And on the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, ^aPeter went up on ^bthe housetop about ^cthe ¹sixth hour to pray. ¹⁰But he became hungry and was desiring to eat. And while they were making preparations, he ^afell into a trance ¹¹and *saw ^aheaven opened up, and ¹an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, ¹²and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the ¹sky. ¹³And a voice came to him, “Rise up, Peter, ¹slaughter and eat!” ¹⁴But Peter said, “By no means, ^aLord, for ^bI have never eaten anything defiled and unclean.” ¹⁵Again a voice came to him a second time, “^aWhat God has cleansed, no longer consider defiled.” ¹⁶And this happened three times and immediately the ¹object was taken up into heaven.

¹⁷Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in ¹mind as to what ^athe vision which he had seen might be, behold, ^bthe men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions for Simon’s house, appeared at the gate; ¹⁸and calling out, they were asking whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was lodging there. ¹⁹And while Peter was reflecting on ^athe vision, ^bthe Spirit said to him, “Behold, ¹three men are looking for you. ²⁰“But rise up, go down and ^aaccompany them without taking issue at all, for I have sent them Myself.” ²¹And Peter went down to the men and said, “Behold, I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for which you have come?” ²²And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and ^aGod-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, ^bwas directed by a ^choly angel to summon you to his house and hear ¹^,^da message from you.” ²³So he invited them in and gave them lodging. Peter at Caesarea And on the next day he rose up and went away with them, and ^asome of ^bthe brothers from ^cJoppa went with him. ²⁴And on the following day he entered ^aCaesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. ²⁵And when Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and ¹^,^aworshiped him. ²⁶But Peter raised him up, saying, “^aStand up; I too am just a man.” ²⁷As he talked with him, he entered and *found ^amany people assembled. ²⁸And he said to them, “You yourselves know how ^aunlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet ^bGod has shown me that I should not call any man defiled or unclean. ²⁹“That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was summoned. So I ask for what reason you have summoned me.”

³⁰And Cornelius said, “^aFour days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during ^bthe ¹ninth hour; and behold, ^ca man stood before me in shining garments, ³¹and he *said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your ¹alms have been remembered before God. ³²‘Therefore send to ^aJoppa and invite Simon, who is also called Peter, to come to you; he is lodging at the house of Simon the tanner by the sea.’ ³³“So I sent for you immediately, and you have ¹been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here present before God to hear all that you have been ordered by the Lord.”

The Holy Spirit Poured Out on the Gentiles

³⁴^aAnd opening his mouth, Peter said: “I most truly comprehend now that ^bGod is not one to show partiality, ³⁵but ^ain every nation the one who ¹^,^bfears Him and does righteousness is welcome to Him. ³⁶“As for the word which He sent to the sons of Israel, ^aproclaiming the good news of ^bpeace through Jesus Christ—He is ^cLord of all— ³⁷you yourselves know the thing which happened throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed. ³⁸“¹You know of ^aJesus of Nazareth, how God ^banointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, ²^,^cand how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for ^dGod was with Him. ³⁹“And we are ^awitnesses of all the things He did both in the ¹land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also ^bput Him to death by hanging Him on a tree. ⁴⁰“^aGod raised Him up on the third day and granted that He appear, ⁴¹^anot to all the people, but to ^bwitnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us ^cwho ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. ⁴²“And He ^acommanded us to ¹preach to the people, and solemnly to ^bbear witness that this is the One who has been ^cdesignated by God as ^dJudge of the living and the dead. ⁴³“Of Him ^aall the prophets bear witness that through ^bHis name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”

⁴⁴While Peter was still speaking these things, ^athe Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the word. ⁴⁵^aAnd all the ¹circumcised believers who came with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been ^bpoured out on the Gentiles also. ⁴⁶For they were hearing them ^aspeaking with tongues and magnifying God. Then Peter answered, ⁴⁷“^aCan anyone refuse water for these to be baptized who ^bhave received the Holy Spirit just as we did?” ⁴⁸And he ^aordered them to be baptized ^bin the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for a few days.