< Acts 9 >
1 And Saul was still full of threats and deadly hatred against the disciples of our Lord.
2 And he requested that a letter from the high priest might be given him unto Damascus to the synagogues; that if he should find persons pursuing this course, men or women, he might bind and bring them to Jerusalem.
3 And as he was going, and began to approach Damascus, suddenly there was poured upon him a light from heaven.
4 And he fell to the ground; and he heard a voice which said to him: Saul! Saul! why persecutest thou me? It will be hard for thee to kick against the goads.
5 He replied, and said: Who art thou, my Lord? And our Lord said: I am Jesus the Nazarean, whom thou persecutest.
6 But arise and go into the city, and there it will be told thee what thou oughtest to do.
7 And the men who travelled with him in the way, stood amazed; for they heard merely the voice, and no one was visible to them.
8 And Saul arose from the ground; and nothing was visible to him, with his eyes opened. And they took him by the hand, and led him into Damascus.
9 And he had no sight for three days; and he neither ate nor drank.
10 And there was in Damascus a certain disciple, whose name was Ananias. And the Lord said to him, in a vision: Ananias! And he said: Lo, I am here, my Lord.
11 And our Lord said to him: Arise, go to the street which is called Straight; and inquire in the house of Judas, for Saul who is from the city of Tarsus: for, lo, while he prayed,
12 he saw in vision a man named Ananias, who came and laid his hand upon him, that his eyes might be opened.
13 And Ananias said: My Lord, I have heard of this man, from many, how much evil he hath perpetrated towards thy saints at Jerusalem.
14 And, lo, here also, he hath authority from the chief priests, to bind all them that call on thy name.
15 The Lord said to him: Arise and go; for he is to me a chosen vessel, to carry my name to the Gentiles, and to kings, and among the sons of Israel.
16 For I will show him, how much he is to suffer on account of my name.
17 Then Ananias went to the house to him; and he laid his hand upon him, and said to him: Saul, my brother, our Lord Jesus, he who appeared to thee by the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thy eyes might be opened, and thou be filled with the Holy Spirit.
18 And immediately there fell from his eyes something like a scab; and his eyes were opened. And he arose and was baptized.
19 And he took food, and was invigorated. And he was some days with the disciples of Damascus.
20 And forthwith he announced Jesus, in the synagogues of the Jews, that he is the Son of God.
21 And all they that heard him were amazed; and they said: Is not this he, who persecuted all them that call on this name in Jerusalem? And lo, for this very thing also, was he sent hither, that he might bind and carry them to the chief priests.
22 But Saul was the more strengthened; and he confounded those Jews who dwelt at Damascus, while be demonstrated that this is the Messiah.
23 And when he had been there many days, the Jews formed a conspiracy against him, to kill him.
24 And the plot which they sought to execute upon him, was made known to Saul: and they watched the gates of the city by day and by night, in order to kill him.
25 Then the disciples placed him in a basket, and let him down from the wall by night.
26 And he went to Jerusalem; and he wished to join himself with the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple.
27 But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the legates, and related to them how the Lord appeared to him in the way, and how he conversed with him; and how, in Damascus, he had discoursed openly in the name of Jesus.
28 And he went in and out with them, at Jerusalem.
29 And he spoke openly in the name of Jesus and disputed with those Jews who understood Greek. But they wished to kill him:
30 and when the brethren knew it, they conducted him by night to Caesarea, and from there they sent him to Tarsus.
31 Moreover the church, in all Judaea, and in Galilee, and in Samaria, had peace and was edified; and it walked in the fear of God, and abounded in the consolation of the Holy Spirit.
32 And it occurred, that, as Simon travelled about the cities, he came down to the saints also who dwelt in the city of Lydda.
33 And he found a certain man whose name was 'neas, who had lain on a bed and been paralytic eight years.
34 And Simon said to him: 'neas, Jesus the Messiah doth heal thee; arise, and spread thy bed. And he rose up immediately.
35 And all they that dwelt at Lydda and Saron, saw him; and they turned to God.
36 And there was in the city of Joppa, a certain female disciple named Tabitha; and she was rich in good works, and in the alms which she did.
37 And she fell sick in those days, and died; and they washed her, and laid her in an upper room.
38 And the disciples heard that Simon was in the city of Lydda, which is near to Joppa; and they sent two men to him, to request of him that he would not delay to come to them.
39 And Simon arose and went with them. And when he arrived, they conducted him to the chamber; and there were assembled around her all the widows, weeping, and showing him the tunics and the cloaks which Tabitha had given them when alive.
40 And Simon put all the people out, and fell on his knees and prayed; and he turned to the corpse and said: Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes; and when she saw Simon, she sat up.
41 And he reached to her his hand, and raised her up: and he called the saints and the widows, and presented her to them alive.
42 And this became known throughout the city; and many believed on our Lord.
43 And he tarried in Joppa not a few days: and he lodged in the house of Simon a tanner.
