Saul Persecutes the Church

8 ^(A)Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death.

And on that day a great persecution ^[a]began against ^(B)the church in Jerusalem, and they were all ^(C)scattered throughout the regions of Judea and ^(D)Samaria, except the apostles. ² Some devout men buried Stephen, and made loud lamentation over him. ³ But ^(E)Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and ^(F)dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison.

Philip in Samaria

⁴ Therefore, those ^(G)who had been scattered went about ^[b](H)preaching the word. ^5 (I)Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming ^[c]Christ to them. ⁶ The crowds with one accord were giving attention to what was said by Philip, as they heard and saw the ^[d]signs which he was performing. ⁷ For in the case of many who had ^(J)unclean spirits, they were coming out of them shouting with a loud voice; and many who had been ^(K)paralyzed and lame were healed. ⁸ So there was ^(L)much rejoicing in that city.

⁹ Now there was a man named Simon, who formerly was practicing ^(M)magic in the city and astonishing the people of Samaria, ^(N)claiming to be someone great; ¹⁰ and they all, from smallest to greatest, were giving attention to him, saying, “^(O)This man is what is called the Great Power of God.” ¹¹ And they were giving him attention because he had for a long time astonished them with his ^(P)magic arts. ¹² But when they believed Philip ^(Q)preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being ^(R)baptized, men and women alike. ¹³ Even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed ^(S)signs and ^(T)great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed.

¹⁴ Now when ^(U)the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them ^(V)Peter and John, ¹⁵ who came down and prayed for them ^(W)that they might receive the Holy Spirit. ¹⁶ For He had ^(X)not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been ^(Y)baptized ^[e]in the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷ Then they ^(Z)began laying their hands on them, and they were ^(AA)receiving the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸ Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, ¹⁹ saying, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” ²⁰ But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could ^(AB)obtain the gift of God with money! ²¹ You have ^(AC)no part or portion in this ^[f]matter, for your heart is not ^(AD)right before God. ²² Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, ^(AE)if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. ²³ For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in ^(AF)the ^[g]bondage of iniquity.” ²⁴ But Simon answered and said, “^(AG)Pray to the Lord for me yourselves, so that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”

An Ethiopian Receives Christ

²⁵ So, when they had solemnly ^(AH)testified and spoken ^(AI)the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, and were ^(AJ)preaching the gospel to many villages of the ^(AK)Samaritans.

²⁶ But ^(AL)an angel of the Lord spoke to ^(AM)Philip saying, “Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to ^(AN)Gaza.” (^[h]This is a desert road.) ²⁷ So he got up and went; and ^(AO)there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he ^(AP)had come to Jerusalem to worship, ²⁸ and he was returning and sitting in his ^[i]chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. ²⁹ Then ^(AQ)the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this ^[j]chariot.” ³⁰ Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” ³¹ And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. ³² Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this:

³⁴ The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?” ³⁵ Then Philip ^(AT)opened his mouth, and ^(AU)beginning from this Scripture he ^(AV)preached Jesus to him. ³⁶ As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch *said, “Look! Water! ^(AW)What prevents me from being baptized?” ³⁷ [^[m]And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”] ³⁸ And he ordered the ^[n]chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. ³⁹ When they came up out of the water, ^(AX)the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, ^[o]but went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰ But Philip ^[p]found himself at ^[q](AY)Azotus, and as he passed through he ^(AZ)kept preaching the gospel to all the cities until he came to ^(BA)Caesarea.

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 ^(A)Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was ^(B)called the Italian ^[a]cohort, ² a devout man and ^(C)one who feared God with all his household, and ^(D)gave many ^[b]alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually. ³ About ^(E)the ^[c]ninth hour of the day he clearly saw ^(F)in a vision ^(G)an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, “Cornelius!” ⁴ And ^(H)fixing his gaze on him and being much alarmed, he said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and ^[d]alms ^(I)have ascended ^(J)as a memorial before God. ⁵ Now dispatch some men to ^(K)Joppa and send for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter; ⁶ he is staying with a tanner named ^(L)Simon, whose house is by the sea.” ⁷ When the angel who was speaking to him had left, he summoned two of his ^[e]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 ^(M)Joppa.

⁹ On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, ^(N)Peter went up on ^(O)the housetop about ^(P)the ^[f]sixth hour to pray. ¹⁰ But he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he ^(Q)fell into a trance; ¹¹ and he *saw ^(R)the ^[g]sky opened up, and an ^[h]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 ^[i]crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the ^[j]air. ¹³ A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, ^[k]kill and eat!” ¹⁴ But Peter said, “By no means, ^(S)Lord, for ^(T)I have never eaten anything ^[l]unholy and unclean.” ¹⁵ Again a voice came to him a second time, “^(U)What God has cleansed, no longer consider ^[m]unholy.” ¹⁶ This happened three times, and immediately the ^[n]object was taken up into the ^[o]sky.

¹⁷ Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in ^[p]mind as to what ^(V)the vision which he had seen might be, behold, ^(W)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 ^(X)the vision, ^(Y)the Spirit said to him, “Behold, ^[q]three men are looking for you. ²⁰ But get up, go downstairs and ^(Z)accompany them ^[r]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 ^(AA)God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, ^(AB)was divinely directed by a ^(AC)holy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear ^[s](AD)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 ^(AE)some of ^(AF)the brethren from ^(AG)Joppa accompanied him. ²⁴ On the following day he entered ^(AH)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 ^[t](AI)worshiped him. ²⁶ But Peter raised him up, saying, “^(AJ)Stand up; I too am just a man.” ²⁷ As he talked with him, he entered and *found ^(AK)many people assembled. ²⁸ And he said to them, “You yourselves know how ^(AL)unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet ^(AM)God has shown me that I should not call any man ^[u]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, “^(AN)Four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during ^(AO)the ^[v]ninth hour; and behold, ^(AP)a man stood before me in shining garments, ³¹ and he *said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your ^[w]alms have been remembered before God. ³² Therefore send to ^(AQ)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 ^[x]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 (AR)Opening his mouth, Peter said:

“I most certainly understand now that ^(AS)God is not one to show partiality, ³⁵ but ^(AT)in every nation the man who ^[y](AU)fears Him and ^[z]does what is right is welcome to Him. ³⁶ The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, ^(AV)preaching ^[aa](AW)peace through Jesus Christ (He is ^(AX)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 [ab]You know of ^(AY)Jesus of Nazareth, how God ^(AZ)anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, ^[ac](BA)and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for ^(BB)God was with Him. ³⁹ We are ^(BC)witnesses of all the things He did both in the ^[ad]land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also ^(BD)put Him to death by hanging Him on a ^[ae]cross. ^40 (BE)God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible, ^41 (BF)not to all the people, but to ^(BG)witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us ^(BH)who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. ⁴² And He ^(BI)ordered us to ^[af]preach to the people, and solemnly to ^(BJ)testify that this is the One who has been ^(BK)appointed by God as ^(BL)Judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³ Of Him ^(BM)all the prophets bear witness that through ^(BN)His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”

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