1 Meanwhile, Saul angrily continued to say, “I will kill those who believe that Jesus is the Lord!” He went to the supreme priest in Jerusalem 2 and requested him to write letters introducing him to the leaders of [MTY] the Jewish meeting places in Damascus city. The letters asked them to authorize Saul to seize any men or women who followed the way that Jesus had taught, and to take them as prisoners to Jerusalem so that the Jewish leaders could judge and punish them.

3 Saul took those letters, and while he and those with him traveled toward Damascus, as they were approaching the city, suddenly a brilliant light from heaven shone around Saul. 4 Immediately he fell down to the ground. Then he heard the voice of the Lord say to him, “Saul, Saul, ◄stop causing me to suffer!/why are you causing me to suffer?► [RHQ]” 5 Saul asked him, “Lord, who are you?” He replied, “I am Jesus, and you (sg) are causing me to suffer by hurting my followers! 6 Now instead of continuing to do that, stand up and go into the city! Someone there will tell you (sg) what I want you to do.” 7 The men who were traveling with Saul became so frightened that they could not say anything. They just stood there. They only heard the sound when the Lord spoke, but they did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could not see anything. So the men with him took him by the hand and led him into Damascus. 9 For the next three days Saul could not see anything, and he did not eat or drink anything.

10 In Damascus there was a Jew named Ananias who believed in Jesus. While Ananias was seeing a vision, the Lord Jesus said to him, “Ananias!” He replied, “Lord, I am listening.” 11 The Lord Jesus told him, “Go to Straight Street to the house that belongs to Judas. Ask someone there if you(sg) can talk to a man named Saul from Tarsus city, because, surprisingly, at this moment he is praying to me. 12 Saul has seen a vision in which a man named Ananias entered the house where he was staying and put his hands on him in order that he might see again.” 13 But Ananias protested, saying, “But Lord, many people have told me about this man! He has done many evil things to the people in Jerusalem who believe in you! 14 And the chief priests have authorized him to come here to Damascus in order to seize all of us who believe in you (sg) [MTY] and take us to Jerusalem!” 15 But the Lord Jesus told Ananias, “Go to Saul! Do what I say, because I have chosen him to serve me in order that he might speak about me [MTY] both to non-Jewish people and their kings and to the Israeli people. 16 I myself will tell him that he must often suffer greatly because of telling people about me [MTY].” 17 So Ananias went, and after he found the house where Saul was, he entered it. Then, as soon as he met Saul, he put his hands on him, and he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus himself commanded me to come to you. He is the same one who appeared to you (sg) while you were traveling along the road. He sent me to you in order that you might see again and that you might be completely controlled by the Holy Spirit {that the Holy Spirit might completely control you}.” 18 Instantly, things like fish scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he was able to see again. Then he stood up and was baptized {Ananias baptized him} immediately. 19 After Saul ate some food, he felt strong again. Saul stayed with the other believers in Damascus for several days.

20 Right away Saul began to preach to people about Jesus in the Jewish meeting places in Damascus. He told them that Jesus is ◄the Son of/the man who is also► God. 21 And all the people who heard him preach were amazed. Various ones of them were saying, “◄We(inc) can hardly believe that this is the same man who persecuted the believers in Jerusalem!/Is this really the same man who persecuted the believers in Jerusalem?► [RHQ, MTY] And we (inc) know that he has [RHQ] come here to seize us and take us to the chief priests in Jerusalem!” 22 But God enabled Saul to preach to many people even more convincingly. He was proving from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah. So the Jewish leaders in Damascus could not think of anything ◄to refute what he said/to prove that what he said was not true►.

23 Some time later, after Saul had left Damascus and then returned, the Jewish leaders [SYN] there plotted to kill him. 24 During each day and night those Jews were continually watching the people passing through the city gates, in order that when they saw Saul they might kill him. However, someone told Saul what they planned to do. 25 So some of those whom he had helped to believe in Jesus took him one night to the high stone wall that surrounded the city. They used ropes to lower him in a large basket through an opening in the wall. So he escaped from Damascus.

26 When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he began trying to associate with other believers. However, almost all of them continued to be afraid of him, because they did not believe that he had become a believer. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He explained to the apostles how, while Saul was traveling along the road to Damascus, he had seen the Lord Jesus and how the Lord had spoken to him there. He also told them how Saul had preached boldly about Jesus [MTY] to people in Damascus. The apostles believed Barnabas and told the other believers about that. 28 So Saul began to associate with the apostles and other believers throughout Jerusalem, and he spoke boldly to people about [MTY] the Lord Jesus.

29 Saul was also speaking about Jesus with Jews who spoke Greek, and he was debating with them. But they were continually trying to think ◄of a way to kill him/of how they could kill him►. 30 When the other believers heard that those Jews were planning to kill him, some of the believers took Saul down to Caesarea city. There they arranged for him to go by ship to Tarsus, his hometown.

31 So the groups of believers throughout the entire regions of Judea, Galilee, and Samaria lived peacefully because no one was persecuting them any more. The Holy Spirit was strengthening them spiritually and encouraging them. They were continuing to revere/honor the Lord Jesus, and the Holy Spirit was enabling many other people to become believers.

32 While Peter was traveling throughout those regions, once he went to the coastal plain to visit the believers who lived in Lydda town. 33 There he met a man whose name was Aeneas. Aeneas had not been able to get up from his bed for eight years, because he was paralyzed. 34 Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you (sg) right now! Get up and roll up your mat!” Right away Aeneas stood up. 35 Most of the people who lived in Lydda and on Sharon Plain saw Aeneas after the Lord had healed him, so they believed in the Lord Jesus.

36 In Joppa town there was a believer whose name was Tabitha. Her name in the Greek language was Dorcas. Both of these names mean gazelle/deer/antelope. That woman was continually doing good deeds for others. Specifically, she was helping poor people by giving them things that they needed. 37 During the time that Peter was in Lydda, she became sick and died. Some women there washed her body according to the Jewish custom so that the people could bury it. Then they covered her body with cloth and placed it in an upstairs room in her house.

38 Lydda was near Joppa, so when the believers heard that Peter was still in Lydda, they sent two men to go to Peter. When they arrived where Peter was, they repeatedly urged/begged him, “Please come immediately with us to Joppa!” 39 So right away Peter got ready and went with them. When they arrived at the house in Joppa, the two men took Peter to the upstairs room where Dorcas’ body was lying. All the widows therecrowded around Peter. They were crying and showing him the cloaks and other garments that Dorcas had made for people while she was still alive. 40 But Peter sent them all out of the room. Then he got down on his knees and prayed. Then, turning toward Tabitha’s body, he said, “Tabitha, stand up!” Immediately she opened her eyes and, when she saw Peter, she sat up. 41 He grasped one of her hands and helped her to stand up. After he had summoned the believers and especially the widows among them to come back in, he showed them that Tabitha was alive again. 42 Soon people everywhere in Joppa knew about that miracle, and as a result many people believed in the Lord Jesus. 43 Peter stayed in Joppa many days with a man named Simon who made leather from animal skins.