² A person who is trusted with something must show that he is worthy of that trust.

Saul Is Converted

9 In Jerusalem Saul was still trying to frighten the followers of the Lord by saying he would kill them. So he went to the high priest ² and asked him to write letters to the synagogues in the city of Damascus. Saul wanted the high priest to give him the authority to find people in Damascus who were followers of Christ’s Way. If he found any there, men or women, he would arrest them and bring them back to Jerusalem.

³ So Saul went to Damascus. As he came near the city, a bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around him. ⁴ Saul fell to the ground. He heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul! Why are you doing things against me?”

⁵ Saul said, “Who are you, Lord?”

The voice answered, “I am Jesus. I am the One you are trying to hurt. ⁶ Get up now and go into the city. Someone there will tell you what you must do.”

⁷ The men traveling with Saul stood there, but they said nothing. They heard the voice, but they saw no one. ⁸ Saul got up from the ground. He opened his eyes, but he could not see. So the men with Saul took his hand and led him into Damascus. ⁹ For three days Saul could not see, and he did not eat or drink.

¹⁰ There was a follower of Jesus in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to Ananias in a vision, “Ananias!”

Ananias answered, “Here I am, Lord.”

¹¹ The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight Street. Find the house of Judas.^[a] Ask for a man named Saul from the city of Tarsus. He is there now, praying. ¹² Saul has seen a vision. In it a man named Ananias comes to him and lays his hands on him. Then he sees again.”

¹³ But Ananias answered, “Lord, many people have told me about this man and the terrible things he did to your people in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ Now he has come here to Damascus. The leading priests have given him the power to arrest everyone who worships you.”

¹⁵ But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! I have chosen Saul for an important work. He must tell about me to non-Jews, to kings, and to the people of Israel. ¹⁶ I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

¹⁷ So Ananias went to the house of Judas. He laid his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus sent me. He is the one you saw on the road on your way here. He sent me so that you can see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸ Immediately, something that looked like fish scales fell from Saul’s eyes. He was able to see again! Then Saul got up and was baptized. ¹⁹ After eating some food, his strength returned.

Saul Preaches in Damascus

Saul stayed with the followers of Jesus in Damascus for a few days. ²⁰ Soon he began to preach about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “Jesus is the Son of God!”

²¹ All the people who heard him were amazed. They said, “This is the man who was in Jerusalem. He was trying to destroy those who trust in this name! He came here to do the same thing. He came here to arrest the followers of Jesus and take them back to the leading priests.”

²² But Saul became more and more powerful. His proofs that Jesus is the Christ were so strong that the Jews in Damascus could not argue with him.

Saul Escapes from Damascus

²³ After many days, the Jews made plans to kill Saul. ²⁴ They were watching the city gates day and night. They wanted to kill him, but Saul learned about their plan. ²⁵ One night some followers of Saul helped him leave the city. They lowered him in a basket through an opening in the city wall.

Saul in Jerusalem

²⁶ Then Saul went to Jerusalem. He tried to join the group of followers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe that he was really a follower. ²⁷ But Barnabas accepted Saul and took him to the apostles. Barnabas told them that Saul had seen the Lord on the road. He explained how the Lord had spoken to Saul. Then he told them how boldly Saul had preached in the name of Jesus in Damascus.

²⁸ And so Saul stayed with the followers. He went everywhere in Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of Jesus. ²⁹ He would often talk and argue with the Jews who spoke Greek. But they were trying to kill him. ³⁰ When the brothers learned about this, they took Saul to Caesarea. From there they sent him to Tarsus.

³¹ The church everywhere in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had a time of peace. With the help of the Holy Spirit, the group became stronger. The believers showed that they respected the Lord by the way they lived. Because of this, the group of believers grew larger and larger.

Peter Heals Aeneas

³² As Peter was traveling through all the area, he visited God’s people who lived in Lydda. ³³ There he met a paralyzed man named Aeneas. Aeneas had not been able to leave his bed for the past eight years. ³⁴ Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Stand up and make your bed!” Aeneas stood up immediately. ³⁵ All the people living in Lydda and on the Plain of Sharon saw him. These people turned to the Lord.

Peter in Joppa

³⁶ In the city of Joppa there was a follower named Tabitha. (Her Greek name, Dorcas, means “a deer.”) She was always doing good and helping the poor. ³⁷ While Peter was in Lydda, Tabitha became sick and died. Her body was washed and put in a room upstairs. ³⁸ The followers in Joppa heard that Peter was in Lydda. (Lydda is near Joppa.) So they sent two men to Peter. They begged him, “Hurry, please come to us!” ³⁹ Peter got ready and went with them. When he arrived, they took him to the upstairs room. All the widows stood around Peter, crying. They showed him the shirts and coats that Tabitha had made when she was still alive. ⁴⁰ Peter sent everyone out of the room. He kneeled and prayed. Then he turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, stand up!” She opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. ⁴¹ He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then he called the believers and the widows into the room. He showed them Tabitha; she was alive! ⁴² People everywhere in Joppa learned about this, and many believed in the Lord. ⁴³ Peter stayed in Joppa for many days with a man named Simon who was a leatherworker.

¹⁵ Samuel continued as judge of Israel all his life.

Israel Asks for a King

8 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges for Israel.

⁶ Do not worry about anything. But pray and ask God for everything you need. And when you pray, always give thanks.

Friends and Family Give Strength

John Prepares for Jesus

1 This is the beginning of the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God,^{[a] 2} as the prophet Isaiah wrote:

⁴ John was baptizing people in the desert. He preached a baptism of changed hearts and lives for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ All the people from Judea and Jerusalem were going out to John. They told about the sins they had done. Then they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. ⁶ John wore clothes made from camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷ This is what John preached to the people: “There is one coming later who is greater than I. I am not good enough even to kneel down and untie his sandals. ⁸ I baptize you with water. But the one who is coming will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus Is Baptized

⁹ At that time Jesus came from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to the place where John was. John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. ¹⁰ When Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven open. The Holy Spirit came down on him like a dove. ¹¹ A voice came from heaven and said: “You are my Son and I love you. I am very pleased with you.”

¹² Then the Spirit sent Jesus into the desert alone. ¹³ He was in the desert 40 days and was there with the wild animals. While he was in the desert, he was tempted by Satan. Then angels came and took care of Jesus.

Jesus Chooses Some Followers

¹⁴ After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee and preached the Good News from God. ¹⁵ Jesus said, “The right time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Change your hearts and lives and believe the Good News!”

¹⁶ When Jesus was walking by Lake Galilee, he saw Simon^[b] and Simon’s brother, Andrew. They were fishermen and were throwing a net into the lake to catch fish. ¹⁷ Jesus said to them, “Come and follow me. I will make you fishermen for men.” ¹⁸ So Simon and Andrew immediately left their nets and followed him.

¹⁹ Jesus continued walking by Lake Galilee. He saw two more brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in their boat, preparing their nets to catch fish. ²⁰ Their father Zebedee and the men who worked for him were in the boat with the brothers. When Jesus saw the brothers, he called them to come with him. They left their father and followed Jesus.

Jesus Removes an Evil Spirit

²¹ Jesus and his followers went to Capernaum. On the Sabbath day Jesus went to the synagogue and began to teach. ²² The people there were amazed at his teaching. He did not teach like their teachers of the law. He taught like a person who had authority. ²³ While he was in the synagogue, a man was there who had an evil spirit in him. The man shouted, ²⁴ “Jesus of Nazareth! What do you want with us? Did you come to destroy us? I know who you are—God’s Holy One!”

²⁵ Jesus said strongly, “Be quiet! Come out of the man!” ²⁶ The evil spirit made the man shake violently. Then the spirit gave a loud cry and came out of him.

²⁷ The people were amazed. They asked each other, “What is happening here? This man is teaching something new. And he teaches with authority. He even gives commands to evil spirits, and they obey him.” ²⁸ And the news about Jesus spread quickly everywhere in the area of Galilee.

Jesus Heals Many People

²⁹ Jesus and his followers left the synagogue. They all went at once with James and John to the home of Simon^[c] and Andrew. ³⁰ Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a fever. The people there told Jesus about her. ³¹ So Jesus went to her bed, took her hand, and helped her up. Immediately the fever left her, and she was healed. Then she began serving them.

³² That night, after the sun went down, the people brought to Jesus all who were sick. They also brought those who had demons in them. ³³ The whole town gathered at the door of the house. ³⁴ Jesus healed many who had different kinds of sicknesses. He also forced many demons to leave people. But he would not allow the demons to speak, because they knew who he was.

³⁵ Early the next morning, Jesus woke and left the house while it was still dark. He went to a place to be alone and pray. ³⁶ Later, Simon and his friends went to look for Jesus. ³⁷ They found him and said, “Everyone is looking for you!”

³⁸ Jesus answered, “We should go somewhere else, to other towns around here. Then I can preach there too. That is the reason I came.” ³⁹ So he traveled everywhere in Galilee. He preached in the synagogues and forced demons to leave people.

Jesus Heals a Sick Man

⁴⁰ A man who had a harmful skin disease came to Jesus. The man fell to his knees and begged Jesus, “I know that you can heal me if you will.”

⁴¹ Jesus felt sorry for the man. So he touched him and said, “I want to heal you. Be healed!” ⁴² At once the disease left the man, and he was healed.

⁴³ Jesus told the man to go at once. But Jesus warned him strongly, ⁴⁴ “Don’t tell anyone about what I did for you. But go and show yourself to the priest. And offer a gift to God because you have been healed. Offer the gift that Moses commanded.^[d] This will show the people that you are healed.” ⁴⁵ The man left there, but he told everyone he saw that Jesus had healed him. So the news about Jesus spread. That is the reason Jesus could not enter a town if people saw him. He stayed in places where nobody lived. But people came from all the towns to wherever he was.

The Ten Commandments

5 Moses called all the people of Israel together and said: Listen, Israel, to the commands and laws I give you today. Learn them and obey them carefully. ² The Lord our God made an agreement with us at Mount Sinai. ³ He did not make this agreement with our ancestors. He made it with us. He made it with all of us who are alive here today. ⁴ The Lord spoke to you face to face. He spoke from the fire on the mountain. ⁵ (At that time I stood between you and the Lord. I told you what the Lord said. You were afraid of the fire. So you would not go up on the mountain.) The Lord said:

⁶ “I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of the land of Egypt where you were slaves.

⁷ “You must not have any other gods except me.

⁸ “You must not make for yourselves any idols. Don’t make something that looks like anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the water below the land. ⁹ You must not worship or serve any idol. This is because I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. A person may sin against me and hate me. I will punish his children, even his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. ¹⁰ But I will be very kind to thousands who love me and obey my commands.

¹¹ “You must not use the name of the Lord your God thoughtlessly. The Lord will punish anyone who is guilty and misuses his name.

¹² “Keep the Sabbath as a holy day. The Lord your God has commanded you to do this. ¹³ You may work and get everything done during six days each week. ¹⁴ But the seventh day is a day of rest to honor the Lord your God. On that day no one may do any work: not you, your son or daughter, or your men or women slaves. Neither your ox, your donkey nor any of your animals may work. The foreigners living in your cities may not work. That way your servants may rest as you do. ¹⁵ Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. The Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by his great power and strength. So the Lord your God has commanded you to rest on the Sabbath day.

¹⁶ “Honor your father and your mother. The Lord your God has commanded you to do this. Then you will live a long time. And things will go well for you in the land. The Lord your God is going to give you this land.

¹⁷ “You must not murder anyone.

¹⁸ “You must not be guilty of adultery.

¹⁹ “You must not steal.

²⁰ “You must not tell lies about your neighbor in court.

²¹ “You must not want to take your neighbor’s wife. You must not want to take your neighbor’s house or land. You must not want to take his men or women slaves. You must not want to take his ox or his donkey. You must not want to take anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

²² The Lord gave these commands to all of you on the mountain. He spoke them in a loud voice out of the fire. He spoke from the cloud and the deep darkness. He did not say anything else. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets. And he gave them to me.

²³ You heard the voice from the darkness. The mountain was blazing with fire. Then all the leaders of your tribes and your elders came to me. ²⁴ And you said, “The Lord our God has shown us his glory and majesty. We have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a person can live even if God speaks to him. ²⁵ But now, we will die! This great fire will burn us up. And we will die if we hear the Lord our God speak anymore. ²⁶ No human being has ever heard the living God speaking from a fire and still lived. But we have. ²⁷ Moses, you go near and listen to everything the Lord our God says. Then you tell us what the Lord our God tells you. We will listen and obey.”

²⁸ The Lord heard what you said to me. And he said to me, “I have heard what the people said to you. Everything they said was good. ²⁹ I wish their hearts would always respect me. I wish they would always obey my commands. Then things would go well for them and their children forever!

³⁰ “Go and tell the people to return to their tents. ³¹ But you stay here with me. I will give you all the commands, rules and laws. Teach the people to obey them in the land I am giving them to own.”

³² So be careful. Do what the Lord your God has commanded you. You must follow the commands exactly. ³³ Live the way the Lord your God has commanded you. Then you will live and be successful. You will live a long time in the land you will own.