²⁵ But one night, Saul's friends helped him to leave the city secretly. They put him in a basket. Then they put him through a hole in the city wall. Then they let the basket go slowly down to the ground outside the city.^[a]

Saul returns to Jerusalem

²⁶ Saul returned to Jerusalem. He wanted to join the group of believers there. But they were all afraid of him. They did not believe that he had really become a disciple of Jesus. ²⁷ But one of the believers who was called Barnabas helped Saul. He took Saul to meet the apostles. Barnabas then explained to the apostles what had happened to Saul. Barnabas said to them, ‘Saul saw the Lord when he was on his way to Damascus. The Lord spoke to him there. Then, while Saul was in Damascus, he bravely told people the message about Jesus.’