Acts 9-10 (Amplified Bible)

Acts 9

 ¹MEANWHILE SAUL, ^[a]still drawing his breath hard from threatening and murderous desire against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest

    ²And requested of him letters to the synagogues at Damascus [authorizing him], so that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way [of life as determined by faith in Jesus Christ], he might bring them bound [with chains] to Jerusalem.

    ³Now as he traveled on, he came near to Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him,

    ⁴And he fell to the ground. Then he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me [harassing, troubling, and molesting Me]?

    ⁵And Saul said, Who are You, Lord? And He said, I am Jesus, Whom you are persecuting. ^[b]It is dangerous and it will turn out badly for you to keep kicking against the goad [to offer vain and perilous resistance].

    ⁶Trembling and astonished he asked, Lord, what do You desire me to do? The Lord said to him, But arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.

    ⁷The men who were accompanying him were unable to speak [for terror], hearing the voice but seeing no one.

    ⁸Then Saul got up from the ground, but though his eyes were opened, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.

    ⁹And he was unable to see for three days, and he neither ate nor drank [anything].

    ¹⁰Now there was in Damascus a disciple named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias. And he answered, Here am I, Lord.

    ¹¹And the Lord said to him, Get up and go to the street called Straight and ask at the house of Judas for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying [there].

    ¹²And he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias enter and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.

    ¹³But Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard many people tell about this man, especially how much evil and what great suffering he has brought on Your saints at Jerusalem;

    ¹⁴Now he is here and has authority from the high priests to put in chains all who call upon Your name.

    ¹⁵But the Lord said to him, Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of Mine to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the descendants of Israel;

    ¹⁶For I will make clear to him how much he will be afflicted and must endure and suffer for My name's sake.

    ¹⁷So Ananias left and went into the house. And he laid his hands on Saul and said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, Who appeared to you along the way by which you came here, has sent me that you may recover your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

    ¹⁸And instantly something like scales fell from [Saul's] eyes, and he recovered his sight. Then he arose and was baptized,

    ¹⁹And after he took some food, he was strengthened. For several days [afterward] he remained with the disciples at Damascus.

    ²⁰And immediately in the synagogues he proclaimed Jesus, saying, He is the Son of God!

    ²¹And all who heard him were amazed and said, Is not this the very man who harassed and overthrew and destroyed in Jerusalem those who called upon this Name? And he has come here for the express purpose of arresting them and bringing them in chains before the chief priests.

    ²²But Saul increased all the more in strength, and continued to confound and put to confusion the Jews who lived in Damascus by comparing and examining evidence and proving that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah).

    ²³After considerable time had elapsed, the Jews conspired to put Saul out of the way by slaying him,

    ²⁴But [the knowledge of] their plot was made known to Saul. They were guarding the [city's] gates day and night to kill him,

    ²⁵But his disciples took him at night and let him down through the [city's] wall, lowering him in a basket or hamper.

    ²⁶And when he had arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to associate himself with the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe he really was a disciple.

    ²⁷However, Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles, and he explained to them how along the way he had seen the Lord, Who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached freely and confidently and courageously in the name of Jesus.

    ²⁸So he went in and out [as one] among them at Jerusalem,

    ²⁹Preaching freely and confidently and boldly in the name of the Lord. And he spoke and discussed with and disputed against the Hellenists (the Grecian Jews), but they were seeking to slay him.

    ³⁰And when the brethren found it out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus [his home town].

    ³¹So the church throughout the whole of Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was edified [growing in wisdom, virtue, and piety] and walking in the respect and reverential fear of the Lord and in the consolation and exhortation of the Holy Spirit, continued to increase and was multiplied.

    ³²Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he went down also to the saints who lived at Lydda.

    ³³There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedfast for eight years and was paralyzed.

    ³⁴And Peter said to him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ (the Messiah) [now] makes you whole. Get up and make your bed! And immediately [Aeneas] stood up.

    ³⁵Then all the inhabitants of Lydda and the plain of Sharon saw [what had happened to] him and they turned to the Lord.

    ³⁶Now there was at Joppa a disciple [a woman] named [in Aramaic] Tabitha, which [in Greek] means Dorcas. She was abounding in good deeds and acts of charity.

    ³⁷About that time she fell sick and died, and when they had cleansed her, they laid [her] in an upper room.

    ³⁸Since Lydda was near Joppa [however], the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him begging him, Do come to us without delay.

    ³⁹So Peter [immediately] rose and accompanied them. And when he had arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood around him, crying and displaying undershirts (tunics) and [other] garments such as Dorcas was accustomed to make while she was with them.

    ⁴⁰But Peter put them all out [of the room] and knelt down and prayed; then turning to the body he said, Tabitha, get up! And she opened her eyes; and when she saw Peter, she raised herself and sat upright.

    ⁴¹And he gave her his hand and lifted her up. Then calling in God's people and the widows, he presented her to them alive.

    ⁴²And this became known throughout all Joppa, and many came to believe on the Lord [to adhere to and trust in and rely on Him as the Christ and as their Savior].

    ⁴³And Peter remained in Joppa for considerable time with a certain Simon a tanner.

   

Acts 10

 ¹NOW [living] at Caesarea there was a man whose name was Cornelius, a centurion (captain) of what was known as the Italian Regiment,

    ²A devout man who venerated God and treated Him with reverential obedience, as did all his household; and he gave much alms to the people and prayed continually to God.

    ³About the ninth hour (about 3:00 p.m.) of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God entering and saying to him, Cornelius!

    ⁴And he, gazing intently at him, became frightened and said, What is it, Lord? And the angel said to him, Your prayers and your [generous] gifts to the poor have come up [as a sacrifice] to God and have been remembered by Him.

    ⁵And now send men to Joppa and have them call for and invite here a certain Simon whose surname is Peter;

    ⁶He is lodging with Simon a tanner, whose house is by the seaside.

    ⁷When the angel who spoke to him had left, Cornelius called two of his servants and a God-fearing soldier from among his own personal attendants.

    ⁸And having rehearsed everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

    ⁹The next day as they were still on their way and were approaching the town, Peter went up to the roof of the house to pray, about the sixth hour (noon).

    ¹⁰But he became very hungry, and wanted something to eat; and while the meal was being prepared a trance came over him,

    ¹¹And he saw the sky opened and something like a great sheet lowered by the four corners, descending to the earth.

    ¹²It contained all kinds of quadrupeds and wild beasts and creeping things of the earth and birds of the air.

    ¹³And there came a voice to him, saying, Rise up, Peter, kill and eat.

    ¹⁴But Peter said, No, by no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common and unhallowed or [ceremonially] unclean.

    ¹⁵And the voice came to him again a second time, What God has cleansed and pronounced clean, do not you defile and profane by regarding and calling common and unhallowed or unclean.

    ¹⁶This occurred three times; then immediately the sheet was taken up to heaven.

    ¹⁷Now Peter was still inwardly perplexed and doubted as to what the vision which he had seen could mean, when [just then] behold the messengers that were sent by Cornelius, who had made inquiry for Simon's house, stopped and stood before the gate.

    ¹⁸And they called out to inquire whether Simon who was surnamed Peter was staying there.

    ¹⁹And while Peter was ^[c]earnestly revolving the vision in his mind and meditating on it, the [Holy] Spirit said to him, Behold, three men are looking for you!

    ²⁰Get up and go below and accompany them without any doubt [about its legality] or any discrimination or hesitation, for I have sent them.

    ²¹Then Peter went down to the men and said, I am the man you seek; what is the purpose of your coming?

    ²²And they said, Cornelius, a centurion (captain) who is just and upright and in right standing with God, being God-fearing and obedient and well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, has been instructed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house; and he ^[d]has received in answer [to prayer] a warning to listen to and act upon what you have to say.

    ²³So Peter invited them in to be his guests [for the night]. The next day he arose and went away with them, and some of the brethren from Joppa accompanied him.

    ²⁴And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was waiting for and expecting them, and he had invited together his relatives and his intimate friends.

    ²⁵As Peter arrived, Cornelius met him, and falling down at his feet he made obeisance and paid worshipful reverence to him.

    ²⁶But Peter raised him up, saying, Get up; I myself am also a man.

    ²⁷And as [Peter] spoke with him, he entered the house and found a large group of persons assembled;

    ²⁸And he said to them, You yourselves are aware how it is not lawful or permissible for a Jew to keep company with or to visit or [even] to come near or to speak first to anyone of another nationality, but God has shown and taught me by words that I should not call any human being common or unhallowed or [ceremonially] unclean.

    ²⁹Therefore when I was sent for, I came without hesitation or objection or misgivings. So now I ask for what reason you sent for me.

    ³⁰And Cornelius said, This is now the fourth day since about this time I was observing the ninth hour (three o'clock in the afternoon) of prayer in my lodging place; [suddenly] a man stood before me in dazzling apparel,

    ³¹And he said, Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and harkened to, and your donations to the poor have been known and ^[e]preserved before God [so that He heeds and is about to help you].

    ³²Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is surnamed Peter; he is staying in the house of Simon the tanner by the seaside.

    ³³So at once I sent for you, and you [being a Jew] have done a kind and ^[f]courteous and handsome thing in coming. Now then, we are all present in the sight of God to listen to all that you have been instructed by the Lord to say.

    ³⁴And Peter opened his mouth and said: Most certainly and thoroughly I now perceive and understand that God shows no partiality and is no respecter of persons,

    ³⁵But in every nation he who venerates and has a reverential fear for God, treating Him with worshipful obedience and living uprightly, is acceptable to Him and ^[g]sure of being received and welcomed [by Him].

    ³⁶You know the contents of the message which He sent to Israel, announcing the good news (Gospel) of peace by Jesus Christ, Who is Lord of all--

    ³⁷The [same] message which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee after the baptism preached by John--

    ³⁸How God anointed and consecrated Jesus of Nazareth with the [Holy] Spirit and with strength and ability and power; how He went about doing good and, ^[h]in particular, curing all who were harassed and oppressed by [the power of] the devil, for God was with Him.

    ³⁹And we are [eye and ear] witnesses of everything that He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. And [yet] they put Him out of the way (murdered Him) by hanging Him on a tree;

    ⁴⁰But God raised Him to life on the third day and caused Him to be manifest (to be plainly seen),

    ⁴¹Not by all the people but to us who were chosen (designated) beforehand by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.

    ⁴²And He charged us to preach to the people and to bear solemn testimony that He is the God-appointed and God-ordained Judge of the living and the dead.

    ⁴³To Him all the prophets testify (bear witness) that everyone who believes in Him [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him, giving himself up to Him] receives forgiveness of sins through His name.

    ⁴⁴While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all who were listening to the message.

    ⁴⁵And the believers from among the circumcised [the Jews] who came with Peter were surprised and amazed, because the free gift of the Holy Spirit had been bestowed and poured out largely even on the Gentiles.

    ⁴⁶For they heard them talking in [unknown] tongues (languages) and extolling and magnifying God. Then Peter asked,

    ⁴⁷Can anyone forbid or refuse water for baptizing these people, seeing that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?

    ⁴⁸And he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ (the Messiah). Then they begged him to stay on there for some days.