The Conversion of Saul

9 ^(A)Now ^[a]Saul, still ^(B)breathing ^[b]threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, ² and asked for ^(C)letters from him to ^(D)the synagogues at ^(E)Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to ^(F)the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. ³ As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and ^(G)suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; ⁴ and ^(H)he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” ⁵ And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, ⁶ but get up and enter the city, and ^(I)it will be told you what you must do.” ⁷ The men who traveled with him ^(J)stood speechless, ^(K)hearing the ^[c]voice but seeing no one. ⁸ Saul got up from the ground, and ^(L)though his eyes were open, he ^[d]could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into ^(M)Damascus. ⁹ And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

¹⁰ Now there was a disciple at ^(N)Damascus named ^(O)Ananias; and the Lord said to him in ^(P)a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” ¹¹ And the Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from ^(Q)Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, ¹² and he has seen ^[e]in a vision a man named Ananias come in and ^(R)lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.” ¹³ But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, ^(S)how much harm he did to ^(T)Your ^[f]saints at Jerusalem; ¹⁴ and here he ^(U)has authority from the chief priests to bind all who ^(V)call on Your name.” ¹⁵ But the Lord said to him, “Go, for ^(W)he is a chosen ^[g]instrument of Mine, to bear My name before ^(X)the Gentiles and ^(Y)kings and the sons of Israel; ¹⁶ for ^(Z)I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” ¹⁷ So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after ^(AA)laying his hands on him said, “^(AB)Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be ^(AC)filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸ And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized; ¹⁹ and he took food and was strengthened.

Saul Begins to Preach Christ

Now ^(AD)for several days he was with ^(AE)the disciples who were at Damascus, ²⁰ and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus ^(AF)in the synagogues, ^[h]saying, “He is ^(AG)the Son of God.” ²¹ All those hearing him continued to be amazed, and were saying, “Is this not he who in Jerusalem ^(AH)destroyed those who ^(AI)called on this name, and who had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?” ²² But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding the Jews who lived at Damascus by proving that this Jesus is the ^[i]Christ.

²³ When ^(AJ)many days had elapsed, ^(AK)the Jews plotted together to do away with him, ²⁴ but ^(AL)their plot became known to Saul. ^(AM)They were also watching the gates day and night so that they might put him to death; ²⁵ but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a large basket.

^26 (AN)When he came to Jerusalem, he was trying to associate with the disciples; ^[j]but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. ²⁷ But ^(AO)Barnabas took hold of him and brought him to the apostles and described to them how he had ^(AP)seen the Lord on the road, and that He had talked to him, and how ^(AQ)at Damascus he had ^(AR)spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus. ²⁸ And he was with them, ^[k]moving about freely in Jerusalem, ^(AS)speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord. ²⁹ And he was talking and arguing with the ^[l](AT)Hellenistic Jews; but they were attempting to put him to death. ³⁰ But when ^(AU)the brethren learned of it, they brought him down to ^(AV)Caesarea and ^(AW)sent him away to ^(AX)Tarsus.

³¹ So ^(AY)the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria ^[m]enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase.

Peter’s Ministry

³² Now as Peter was traveling through all those regions, he came down also to ^(AZ)the ^[n]saints who lived at ^[o](BA)Lydda. ³³ There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years, for he was paralyzed. ³⁴ Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed.” Immediately he got up. ³⁵ And all who lived at ^[p](BB)Lydda and ^(BC)Sharon saw him, and they ^(BD)turned to the Lord.

³⁶ Now in ^(BE)Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translated in Greek is called ^[q]Dorcas); this woman was abounding with deeds of kindness and charity which she continually did. ³⁷ And it happened ^[r]at that time that she fell sick and died; and when they had washed her body, they laid it in an ^(BF)upper room. ³⁸ Since Lydda was near ^(BG)Joppa, ^(BH)the disciples, having heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him, imploring him, “Do not delay in coming to us.” ³⁹ So Peter arose and went with them. When he arrived, they brought him into the ^(BI)upper room; and all the ^(BJ)widows stood beside him, weeping and showing all the ^[s]tunics and garments that Dorcas used to make while she was with them. ⁴⁰ But Peter ^(BK)sent them all out and ^(BL)knelt down and prayed, and turning to the body, he said, “^(BM)Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. ⁴¹ And he gave her his hand and raised her up; and calling ^(BN)the ^[t]saints and ^(BO)widows, he presented her alive. ⁴² It became known all over ^(BP)Joppa, and ^(BQ)many believed in the Lord. ⁴³ And Peter stayed many days in ^(BR)Joppa with ^(BS)a tanner named Simon.

Cornelius’s Vision

10 Now there was a man at ^(BT)Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was ^(BU)called the Italian ^[u]cohort, ² a devout man and ^(BV)one who feared God with all his household, and ^(BW)gave many ^[v]alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually. ³ About ^(BX)the ^[w]ninth hour of the day he clearly saw ^(BY)in a vision ^(BZ)an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, “Cornelius!” ⁴ And ^(CA)fixing his gaze on him and being much alarmed, he said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and ^[x]alms ^(CB)have ascended ^(CC)as a memorial before God. ⁵ Now dispatch some men to ^(CD)Joppa and send for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter; ⁶ he is staying with a tanner named ^(CE)Simon, whose house is by the sea.” ⁷ When the angel who was speaking to him had left, he summoned two of his ^[y]servants and a devout soldier of those who were his personal attendants, ⁸ and after he had explained everything to them, he sent them to ^(CF)Joppa.

⁹ On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, ^(CG)Peter went up on ^(CH)the housetop about ^(CI)the ^[z]sixth hour to pray. ¹⁰ But he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he ^(CJ)fell into a trance; ¹¹ and he *saw ^(CK)the ^[aa]sky opened up, and an ^[ab]object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, ¹² and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and ^[ac]crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the ^[ad]air. ¹³ A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, ^[ae]kill and eat!” ¹⁴ But Peter said, “By no means, ^(CL)Lord, for ^(CM)I have never eaten anything ^[af]unholy and unclean.” ¹⁵ Again a voice came to him a second time, “^(CN)What God has cleansed, no longer consider ^[ag]unholy.” ¹⁶ This happened three times, and immediately the ^[ah]object was taken up into the ^[ai]sky.

¹⁷ Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in ^[aj]mind as to what ^(CO)the vision which he had seen might be, behold, ^(CP)the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions for Simon’s house, appeared at the gate; ¹⁸ and calling out, they were asking whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there. ¹⁹ While Peter was reflecting on ^(CQ)the vision, ^(CR)the Spirit said to him, “Behold, ^[ak]three men are looking for you. ²⁰ But get up, go downstairs and ^(CS)accompany them ^[al]without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself.” ²¹ 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?” ²² They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and ^(CT)God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, ^(CU)was divinely directed by a ^(CV)holy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear ^[am](CW)a message from you.” ²³ So he invited them in and gave them lodging.

Peter at Caesarea

And on the next day he got up and went away with them, and ^(CX)some of ^(CY)the brethren from ^(CZ)Joppa accompanied him. ²⁴ On the following day he entered ^(DA)Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. ²⁵ When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and ^[an](DB)worshiped him. ²⁶ But Peter raised him up, saying, “^(DC)Stand up; I too am just a man.” ²⁷ As he talked with him, he entered and *found ^(DD)many people assembled. ²⁸ And he said to them, “You yourselves know how ^(DE)unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet ^(DF)God has shown me that I should not call any man ^[ao]unholy or unclean. ²⁹ That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for. So I ask for what reason you have sent for me.”

³⁰ Cornelius said, “^(DG)Four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during ^(DH)the ^[ap]ninth hour; and behold, ^(DI)a man stood before me in shining garments, ³¹ and he *said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your ^[aq]alms have been remembered before God. ³² Therefore send to ^(DJ)Joppa and invite Simon, who is also called Peter, to come to you; he is staying at the house of Simon the tanner by the sea.’ ³³ So I sent for you immediately, and you have ^[ar]been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here present before God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”

Gentiles Hear Good News

^34 (DK)Opening his mouth, Peter said:

“I most certainly understand now that ^(DL)God is not one to show partiality, ³⁵ but ^(DM)in every nation the man who ^[as](DN)fears Him and ^[at]does what is right is welcome to Him. ³⁶ The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, ^(DO)preaching ^[au](DP)peace through Jesus Christ (He is ^(DQ)Lord of all)— ³⁷ you yourselves know the thing which took place throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed. ^38 [av]You know of ^(DR)Jesus of Nazareth, how God ^(DS)anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, ^[aw](DT)and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for ^(DU)God was with Him. ³⁹ We are ^(DV)witnesses of all the things He did both in the ^[ax]land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also ^(DW)put Him to death by hanging Him on a ^[ay]cross. ^40 (DX)God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible, ^41 (DY)not to all the people, but to ^(DZ)witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us ^(EA)who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. ⁴² And He ^(EB)ordered us to ^[az]preach to the people, and solemnly to ^(EC)testify that this is the One who has been ^(ED)appointed by God as ^(EE)Judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³ Of Him ^(EF)all the prophets bear witness that through ^(EG)His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”

⁴⁴ While Peter was still speaking these words, ^(EH)the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the ^[ba]message. ^45 (EI)All the ^[bb]circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been ^(EJ)poured out on the Gentiles also. ⁴⁶ For they were hearing them ^(EK)speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter answered, ⁴⁷ “^(EL)Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who ^(EM)have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?” ⁴⁸ And he ^(EN)ordered them to be baptized ^(EO)in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.

Peter Reports at Jerusalem

11 Now the apostles and ^(EP)the brethren who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. ² And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, ^[bc](EQ)those who were circumcised took issue with him, ³ saying, “^(ER)You ^[bd]went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” ⁴ But Peter began speaking ^[be]and proceeded to explain to them ^(ES)in orderly sequence, saying, ⁵ “^(ET)I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw ^(EU)a vision, an ^[bf]object coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from ^[bg]the sky; and it came right down to me, ⁶ and when I had fixed my gaze on it and was observing it ^[bh]I saw the four-footed animals of the earth and the wild beasts and the ^[bi]crawling creatures and the birds of the ^[bj]air. ⁷ I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; ^[bk]kill and eat.’ ⁸ But I said, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing ^[bl]unholy or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ ⁹ But a voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘^(EV)What God has cleansed, no longer ^[bm]consider unholy.’ ¹⁰ This happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into ^[bn]the sky. ¹¹ And behold, at that moment three men appeared at the house in which we were staying, having been sent to me from ^(EW)Caesarea. ^12 (EX)The Spirit told me to go with them ^[bo](EY)without misgivings. ^(EZ)These six brethren also went with me and we entered the man’s house. ¹³ And he reported to us how he had seen the angel ^[bp]standing in his house, and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here; ¹⁴ and he will speak ^(FA)words to you by which you will be saved, you and ^(FB)all your household.’ ¹⁵ And as I began to speak, ^(FC)the Holy Spirit fell upon them just ^(FD)as He did upon us at the beginning. ¹⁶ And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘^(FE)John baptized with water, but you will be baptized ^[bq]with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷ Therefore if ^(FF)God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, ^(FG)who was I that I could ^[br]stand in God’s way?” ¹⁸ When they heard this, they ^[bs]quieted down and ^(FH)glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the ^(FI)repentance that leads to life.”

The Church at Antioch

^19 (FJ)So then those who were scattered because of the ^[bt]persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way ^[bu]to ^(FK)Phoenicia and ^(FL)Cyprus and ^(FM)Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. ²⁰ But there were some of them, men of ^(FN)Cyprus and ^(FO)Cyrene, who came to ^(FP)Antioch and began speaking to the ^[bv](FQ)Greeks also, ^[bw](FR)preaching the Lord Jesus. ²¹ And ^(FS)the hand of the Lord was with them, and ^(FT)a large number who believed turned to the Lord. ²² The ^[bx]news about them ^[by]reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent ^(FU)Barnabas off ^[bz]to ^(FV)Antioch. ²³ Then when he arrived and ^[ca]witnessed ^(FW)the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with ^[cb]resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; ²⁴ for he was a good man, and ^(FX)full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And ^(FY)considerable ^[cc]numbers were ^[cd]brought to the Lord. ²⁵ And he left for ^(FZ)Tarsus to look for Saul; ²⁶ and when he had found him, he brought him to ^(GA)Antioch. And for an entire year they ^[ce]met with the church and taught considerable ^[cf]numbers; and ^(GB)the disciples were first called ^(GC)Christians in ^(GD)Antioch.

²⁷ Now ^[cg]at this time ^(GE)some prophets came down from Jerusalem to ^(GF)Antioch. ²⁸ One of them named ^(GG)Agabus stood up and began to indicate ^[ch]by the Spirit that there would certainly be a great famine ^(GH)all over the ^[ci]world. ^[cj]And this took place in the reign of ^(GI)Claudius. ²⁹ And in the proportion that any of ^(GJ)the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the ^[ck]relief of ^(GK)the brethren living in Judea. ^30 (GL)And this they did, sending it ^[cl]in charge of ^(GM)Barnabas and Saul to the ^(GN)elders.

Peter’s Arrest and Deliverance

12 Now about that time ^[cm]Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to mistreat them. ² And he ^(GO)had James the brother of John ^(GP)put to death with a sword. ³ When he saw that it ^(GQ)pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. Now ^[cn]it was during ^(GR)the days of Unleavened Bread. ⁴ When he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him to four ^[co](GS)squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after ^(GT)the Passover to bring him out before the people. ⁵ So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.

⁶ On ^[cp]the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, ^(GU)bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison. ⁷ And behold, ^(GV)an angel of the Lord suddenly ^(GW)appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly.” And ^(GX)his chains fell off his hands. ⁸ And the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and ^[cq]put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he *said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” ⁹ And he went out and continued to follow, and he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing ^(GY)a vision. ¹⁰ When they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which ^(GZ)opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. ¹¹ When Peter ^(HA)came ^[cr]to himself, he said, “Now I know for sure that ^(HB)the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all ^[cs]that the Jewish people were expecting.” ¹² And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of ^(HC)John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and ^(HD)were praying. ¹³ When he knocked at the door of the gate, ^(HE)a servant-girl named Rhoda came to answer. ¹⁴ When she recognized Peter’s voice, ^(HF)because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate. ¹⁵ They said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. They kept saying, “It is ^(HG)his angel.” ¹⁶ But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were amazed. ¹⁷ But ^(HH)motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to ^[ct](HI)James and ^(HJ)the brethren.” Then he left and went to another place.

¹⁸ Now when day came, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers as to ^[cu]what could have become of Peter. ¹⁹ When Herod had searched for him and had not found him, he examined the guards and ordered that they ^(HK)be led away to execution. Then he went down from Judea to ^(HL)Caesarea and was spending time there.

Death of Herod

²⁰ Now he was very angry with the people of ^(HM)Tyre and Sidon; and with one accord they came to him, and having won over Blastus the king’s chamberlain, they were asking for peace, because ^(HN)their country was fed by the king’s country. ²¹ On an appointed day Herod, having put on his royal apparel, took his seat on the ^[cv]rostrum and began delivering an address to them. ²² The people kept crying out, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” ²³ And immediately ^(HO)an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and ^[cw]died.

²⁴ But ^(HP)the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied.

²⁵ And ^(HQ)Barnabas and ^(HR)Saul returned ^[cx]from Jerusalem ^(HS)when they had fulfilled their ^[cy]mission, taking along with them ^(HT)John, who was also called Mark.