9:1   Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest,

9:2   and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

9:3   As he travelled, it happened that he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him;

9:4   and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?"

9:5   And he said, "Who Do I Speak To, Lord?" And He said, "You know me as Jesus , the one you have persecuted

9:6   but get up and enter the city, and someone will tell you what you must do."

9:7  The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.

9:8   Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes appeared open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus.

9:9   And he endured three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

9:10  Now there lived a disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here You may find me, Lord."

9:11  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 Tarsus named Saul, for he prays,

9:12   and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight."

9:13   But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints at Jerusalem;

9:14   and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name."

9:15   But the Lord said to him, "Go, for I have chosen him as an instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;

9:16  for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name's sake."

9:17  So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, " Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you came, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and become filled with the Holy Spirit."

9:18   And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and received baptism;

9:19   and he took food and received strength. Now for several days he remained with the disciples who lived at Damascus,

9:20   and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, " We acknowledge Him as the Son of God."

9:21  All those hearing him continued to show amazement, and said, "Did this one not, while in Jerusalem destroy those who called on this name, and who had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?"

9:22   But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding the Jews who lived at Damascus by proving Jesus as the Christ.

9:23  When many days had elapsed, the Jews plotted together to do away with him,

9:24   but their plot became known to Saul They watched the gates day and night so that they might put him to death;

9:25   but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a large basket.

9:26   When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to associate with the disciples; but they all showed fear of him, not believing that he had become a disciple.

9:27  But Barnabas took hold of him and brought him to the apostles and described to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had talked to him, and how at Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus.

9:28   And he stayed with them, moving about freely in Jerusalem, speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord.

9:29   And he talked and argued with the Hellenistic Jews; but they attempted to put him to death.

9:30   But when the brethren learned of it, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus.

9:31  So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, becoming built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase.

9:32   Now as Peter travelled through all those regions, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda.

9:33   There he found a man named Aeneas, who had become bedridden eight years, for he had suffered paralysis.

9:34   Peter said to him, "Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed." Immediately he got up.

9:35   And all who lived at Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.

9:36   Now in Joppa there lived a disciple named Tabitha (which we translate in Greek as Dorcas); this woman abounded with deeds of kindness and charity which she continually did.

9:37  And it happened at that time that she fell sick and died; and when they had washed her body, they laid it in an upper room.

9:38   Since Lydda located near Joppa, the disciples, having heard that Peter stayed there, sent two men to him, imploring him, "Do not delay in coming to us."

9:39   So Peter arose and went with them. When he arrived, they brought him into the upper room; and all the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing all the tunics and garments that Dorcas used to make while she stayed with them.

9:40  But Peter sent them all out and knelt down and prayed, and turning to the body, he said, " Tabitha, arise." And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up.

9:41   And he gave her his hand and raised her up; and calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive.

9:42  It became known all over Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.

9:43  And Peter stayed many days in Joppa with a tanner named Simon.