The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (135 page)

14
 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samar'ia had
received the word
of God, they sent to them Peter and John,
¹⁵
who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit;
¹⁶
for the Spirit had
not yet fallen
on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
¹⁷
Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.
¹⁸
Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he
offered them money
,
¹⁹
saying, "Give me also this power, that any one on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."
²⁰
But Peter said to him, "Your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!
 
 
*
²¹
You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.
²²
Repent therefore of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.
²³
For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity."
²⁴
And Simon answered, "Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me."

25
 Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.

Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

26
 But an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Rise and go toward the south
^g
to
the road
that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." This is a desert road.
²⁷
And he rose and went. And behold, an Ethiopian,
a eunuch
, a minister of Canda'ce the queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of all her treasure, had come to Jerusalem to worship
²⁸
and was returning; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.
²⁹
And the Spirit said to Philip, "Go up and join this chariot."
³⁰
So Philip ran to him, and
heard him
reading Isaiah the prophet, and asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?"
³¹
And he said, "How can I, unless some one guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
³²
Now
the passage
of the Scripture which he was reading was this:

  
"As a sheep led to the slaughter

  
or a lamb before its shearer is silent,

  
so he opens not his mouth.

³³
In his humiliation justice was denied him.

  
Who can describe his generation?

  
For his life is taken up from the earth."

³⁴
And the eunuch said to Philip, "Please, about whom does the prophet say this, about himself or about some one else?"
³⁵
Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news of Jesus.
³⁶
And as they went along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, "See, here is water! What is to prevent my being baptized?"
^h
38
And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.
³⁹
And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord
caught up Philip
; and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.
⁴⁰
But Philip was found at
Azo'tus
, and passing on he preached the gospel to all the towns till he came to Caesare'a.

The Conversion of Saul

9
  
But Saul
, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to
the high priest
²
and asked him for letters to the synagogues at
Damascus
, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
³
Now as he journeyed he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed about him.
⁴
And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "
Saul, Saul
, why do you persecute me?"
⁵
And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting; 
*
⁶
but rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do."
⁷
The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing
the voice
but seeing no one.
⁸
Saul arose from the ground; and when his eyes were opened, he could
see nothing
; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.
⁹
And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

10
 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Anani'as. The Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord."
¹¹
And the Lord said to him, "Rise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for a man of Tarsus named Saul; for behold, he is praying,
¹²
and he has seen a man named Anani'as come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight."
¹³
But Anani'as answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints 
*
at Jerusalem;
¹⁴
and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call upon your name."
¹⁵
But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a
chosen instrument
of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;
¹⁶
for I will show him how much
he must suffer
for the sake of my name."
¹⁷
So Anani'as departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came, has sent me that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."
¹⁸
And immediately something like
scales fell
from his eyes and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized,
¹⁹
and took food and was strengthened.

Saul Preaches in Damascus

For several days he was with the disciples at Damascus.
²⁰
And in the
synagogues
immediately he proclaimed Jesus, saying, "He is the Son of God."
²¹
And all who heard him were amazed, and said, "Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called on this name? And he has come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests."
²²
But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.

Saul Escapes from the Jews

23
 When
many days had passed
, the Jews plotted to kill him,
²⁴
but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night, to kill him;
²⁵
but his disciples took him by night and let him down over the wall, lowering him in a basket.

Saul in Jerusalem

26
 And when he had come to Jerusalem he attempted to join the disciples; and they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple.
²⁷
But
Barnabas
took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.
²⁸
So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem,
²⁹
preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. And he spoke and disputed
against the Hellenists
; but they were seeking to kill him.
³⁰
And when the brethren knew it, they brought him down to Caesare'a, and sent him off to
Tarsus
.

31
 So the Church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samar'ia had peace and was built up; and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit it was multiplied.

Peter Heals Aeneas in Lydda

32
 Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints that lived at
Lydda
.
³³
There he found a man named Aene'as, who had been bedridden for eight years and was paralyzed.
³⁴
And Peter said to him, "Aene'as, Jesus
Christ heals you
; rise and make your bed." And immediately he rose.
³⁵
And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.

Peter in Joppa

36
 Now there was at
Joppa
a disciple named Tabitha, which means Dorcas or Gazelle. She was full of good works and acts of charity.
³⁷
In those days she fell sick and died; and when they had
washed her
, they laid her in an upper room.
³⁸
Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him entreating him, "Please come to us without delay."
³⁹
So Peter rose and went with them. And when he had come, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping, and showing coats and garments which Dorcas made while she was with them.
⁴⁰
But Peter put them all outside and knelt down and prayed; then turning to the body he said, "
Tabitha, rise
." And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up.
⁴¹
And he gave her his hand and lifted her up. Then calling the saints and widows he presented her alive.
⁴²
And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.
⁴³
And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon,
a tanner
.

Peter and Cornelius [
Map
]

10
  
At
Caesare'a
there was a man named
Cornelius
, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort,
²
a devout man who
feared God
with all his household, gave alms liberally to the people, and prayed constantly to God.
³
About
the ninth hour
of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, "Cornelius."
⁴
And he stared at him in terror, and said, "What is it, Lord?" And he said to him, "Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God.
⁵
And now send men to Joppa, and bring one Simon who is called Peter;
⁶
he is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the seaside."
⁷
When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those that waited on him,
⁸
and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

9
 The next day, as they were on their journey and coming near the city, Peter went up
on the housetop
to pray, about the sixth hour.
¹⁰
And he became hungry and desired something to eat; but while they were preparing it, he fell into
a trance
¹¹
and saw the heaven opened, and something descending, like a great sheet, let down by four corners upon the earth.
¹²
In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air.
¹³
And there came a voice to him, "Rise, Peter; kill and eat."
¹⁴
But Peter said, "No, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is
common or unclean
."
¹⁵
And the voice came to him again a second time, "What
God has cleansed
, you must not call common."
¹⁶
This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.
 
*

17
 Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision which he had seen might mean, behold, the men that were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon's house, stood before the gate
¹⁸
and called out to ask whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there.
¹⁹
And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Behold, three men are looking for you.
²⁰
Rise and go down, and accompany them without hesitation; for I have sent them."
²¹
And Peter went down to the men and said, "I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for your coming?"
²²
And they said, "Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house, and to hear what you have to say."
²³
So he called them in to be his guests.