Knox Bible

1

Saul, with every breath he drew, still threatened the disciples of the Lord with massacre; and now he went to the high priest

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and asked him for letters of commendation to the synagogues at Damascus, so that he could arrest all those he found there, men and women, who belonged to the way, and bring them back to Jerusalem.✻

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Then, on his journey, when he was nearly at Damascus, a light from heaven shone suddenly about him.

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He fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute me?

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Who art thou, Lord? he asked. And he said, I am Jesus, whom Saul persecutes. This is a thankless task of thine, kicking against the goad.

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And he, dazed and trembling, asked, Lord, what wilt thou have me do?

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Then the Lord said to him, Rise up, and go into the city, and there thou shalt be told what thy work is. His companions stood in bewilderment, hearing the voice speak, but not seeing anyone.✻

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When he rose from the ground he could see nothing, although his eyes were open, and they had to lead him by the hand, to take him into Damascus.

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Here for three days he remained without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

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There was, in Damascus, a disciple named Ananias; to him the Lord called in a vision, Ananias. Here I am, Lord, he answered.

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And the Lord said to him, Rise up and go to the road called Straight Street; and enquire at the house of Judas for a man of Tarsus, named Saul. Even now he is at his prayers:

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and he has had a vision of a man called Ananias coming in and laying hands on him, to cure him of blindness.

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At this, Ananias answered, Lord, many have told me about this man, and all the hurt he has done to thy saints at Jerusalem;

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and he has come here with authority from the chief priests to imprison all those who call upon thy name.

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But the Lord said to him, Go on thy errand; this is a man I have chosen to be the instrument for bringing my name before the heathen and their rulers, and before the people of Israel too.

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I have yet to tell him, how much suffering he will have to undergo for my name’s sake.

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So Ananias set out; and as soon as he came into the house he laid his hands upon him, and said, Brother Saul, I have been sent by that Lord Jesus who appeared to thee on thy way as thou camest here; thou art to recover thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

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And with that, a kind of film fell away from his eyes, and his sight was recovered. He rose up, and was baptized;

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and now, when he had taken food, his strength returned to him. For some days he lived with the disciples at Damascus,

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and from the first, in the synagogues, he preached that Jesus was the Son of God.

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All those who heard it were amazed; Why, they said, is not this the man who brought ruin on all those who invoked this name, when he was in Jerusalem; the man who came here for the very purpose of arresting such people and presenting them to the chief priests?

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But Saul was inspired with ever greater strength, and silenced the Jews who lived at Damascus by shewing them clearly that this was the Christ.

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So many days passed, and then the Jews plotted against his life.✻

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Saul was aware of the plot; and, since they kept watch over the gates, day and night, to make an end of him,

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the disciples contrived to let him down by night along the face of the wall, lowering him to the ground in a hamper.

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So he reached Jerusalem, where he tried to attach himself to the disciples; but they could not believe he was a true disciple, and all avoided his company.

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Whereupon Barnabas took him by the hand and brought him in to the apostles, telling them how, on his journey, he had seen the Lord and had speech with him, and how at Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus.

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So he came and went in their company at Jerusalem, and spoke boldly in the name of the Lord.

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He preached, besides, to the Jews who talked Greek, and disputed with them, till they set about trying to take his life.✻

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As soon as they heard of this, the brethren took him down to Caesarea, and put him on his way to Tarsus.

31

Meanwhile, all through Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, the church enjoyed peace and became firmly established, guided by the fear of God and filled with encouragement by the Holy Spirit.✻

32

And now Peter, as he visited the saints everywhere, came down to see those who dwelt at Lydda.

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There he found a man called Aeneas, who had not left his bed for eight years, being palsied.

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And Peter said to him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ sends thee healing; rise up, and make thy bed; whereupon he rose up at once.

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All those who dwelt at Lydda and Saron came to see him, and their hearts turned to the Lord.

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And there was a disciple at Joppa called Tabitha, which means the same as Dorcas, a gazelle. She abounded in acts of charity and in almsdeeds;

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and it so happened that at this time she fell sick, and died, and they washed the body and laid it in an upper room.

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Since Lydda was close to Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to find him; Come to us, they urged him, without delay.

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So Peter rose and went with them; and when he came there they took him into the upper room, where all the widows stood round him in tears, shewing him the coats and cloaks which Dorcas used to make while she was among them.

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Peter sent them all out, and went on his knees to pray; then, turning to the body, he said, Tabitha, rise up; and she opened her eyes and looked at Peter, and sat up on the bed.

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So he gave her his hand, and raised her to her feet; and then, calling in the saints and the widows, he shewed her to them alive.

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This became known all over Joppa, and many learned to believe in the Lord.

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He stayed in Joppa a number of days after this, lodging with a tanner whose name was Simon.