Acts 9
1 Now Saul still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, having gone to the chief-priest, 2 requested1 from him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, in order that if he find any being of the Way, both men and women, having been bound he bring [them] to Jerusalem. 3 Now while going, it came to pass he drew near to Damascus, and suddenly light shined around [him] from heaven, 4 and having fallen upon the ground2 he heard [a] voice3 saying to him: Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? 5 So he said: Who are you, Lord? So he [said]: I am Jesus whom you persecute. 6 But arise and go into the city, and it will be spoken to you what you must be doing. 7 Now the men journeying with him stood speechless, on the one hand hearing the voice, but on the other hand seeing nothing. 8 Now Saul was lifted from the ground2, and opening his eyes he was seeing nothing, so having led him by the hand they went into Damascus. 9 And he was three days not seeing, and he neither ate nor drank.10 Now there was a certain disciple in Damascus, Ananaias by name, and the Lord said to him in [a] vision: Ananaia. So he said: Behold [it is] I, Lord. 11 So the Lord [said] to him: Having arisen, go to the alley called Straight and seek, in [the] house of Juda, Saul by name, [of] Tarsus, for behold he prays. 12 And he saw [a] man in [the] vision—Ananaia by name—having entered and having placed on him [his] hands, in order that he regain [his] sight. 13 So Ananais answered: Lord, I have heard from many concerning this man, who did much evil to your holy [ones] in Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief-priests to bind all those calling upon your name. 15 But the Lord said: Be going, because this [one] is [a] chosen instrument4 to me to carry my name before the nations and kings and sons [of] Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer in behalf of my name. 17 So Ananaias departed and went out into the house, and having placed on him his hands he said: Brother Saul, the Lord has sent me, Jesus the [one] seen by you in the road in which you were coming, in order that you regain [your] sight and be filled with [the] Holy Spirit. 18 And straightway there fell away from his eyes like scales, and he regained [his] sight, and having stood he was baptized, 19 and having received food he was strengthened. Now he came to be with the disciples in Damascus several days, 20 and straightway he was proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues, that this is the son of God. 21 Now all those hearing were astonished and were saying: Is this not the [one] pillaging in Jerusalem those calling upon this name, and he is come here for this, that having bound them he lead [them] to the chief-priests? 22 But Saul was rather being strengthened and was confusing [the] Jews dwelling in Damascus, demonstrating5 that this [one] is the Christ.
23 Now as sufficient days were fulfilled, the Jews conspired to do away with him. 24 But their plot was known to Paul. Now they were watching closely both gates day and night in order that they do away with him. 25 But his disciples, having taken [him] by night, they let him down through the wall, having lowered [him] in [a] basket. 26 Now arriving in Jerusalem he was trying to associate with the disciples. And all were fearing him, not believing that he is [a] disciple. 27 But Barnabbas having taken hold of him, brought [him] to the disciples, and described to them how in the road he saw the Lord and that he spoke to him, and how he was speaking openly in Damascus in the name of Jesus. 28 And he was coming in and going out with them in Jerusalem, speaking openly in the name of the Lord. 29 And he spoke and disputed with the Greeks, but they were trying to do away with him. 30 But the brothers having known, they brought him to Caesarea, and sent him out to Tarsus. 31 The assembly6 indeed therefore through all of Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, dwelling and proceeding in the fear of the Lord, and they multiplied in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit.
32 Now it came to pass Peter, having been going around through all, also went to the holy [ones] dwelling [in] Lydda. 33 Now he found there a certain man, Ainea by name, from eight years [old] lying on [a] bed, who was paralyzed. 34 And Peter said to him: Ainea, Jesus Christ heals you. Arise and make [your bed] yourself. 35 And all those dwelling [in] Lydda and Sarona saw, who turned to the Lord. 36 Now in Joppa there was [a] certain disciple, Tabitha by name, which being translated is said Dorcas7; she was full of good works and mercies which she did. 37 Now it came to pass in those days she became sick to dying. So having washed [her] they placed [her] in [an] upper chamber. 38 Now Lydda being near to Joppa, the disciples having heard that Peter is in it, they sent two men to him commanding: You should not hesitate to come to us. 39 So Peter having arisen came to them; who having arrived, they brought him to the upper chamber. And there stood by him all the widows weeping and showing tunics and garments, as many as Dorcas made while being with them. 40 So Peter, having put [them] all outside and having knelt, he prayed, and having turned to the body he said: Tabitha, arise. So she opened her eyes, and having seen Peter she sat up. 41 So having given to her [his] hand he raised her, and having called the holy [ones] and the widows, he presented her zoe-living8 . 42 And it became known through the whole of Joppa, and many believed upon the Lord. 42 But he came to be abiding [for] several days in Joppa with a certain Simon [the] tanner.
1AITEO "ay-TEH-oh" (αιτεω) "request", "demand", "beg" something for oneself. Far from humbly requesting—it's more like 'demanding'. Jesus uses AITEO only of the prayer of others, not of His own (cf. John.16:26)—and not requesting things for Himself, only for others. AITEO seems to suppose a lesser degree of intimacy than EROTAO (ερωταω), hence AITEO is used of the requests of the disciples to God, but EROTAO of the requests of the disciples to Jesus, and of those of Jesus to the Father ( John.14:16). AITEO is demanding/begging/pleading, EROTAO is polite and friendlier. Both AITEO and EROTAO occur in John.16:26.
2GE "GAY" (γη) "earth", "land" (remember that they didn't understand about the Earth being a planet floating in space yet), sometimes "ground" or "dirt".
3See Acts.22:9
4or "vessel"
5or "proving"
6EKKLESIA (εκκλησια) from "called out". Appears 114 times in the N.T., but only in two places in the Gospels ( Matt.16:18 (twice) and Matt.18:17 (twice)). It's worth noting that when Jesus uses the term EKKLESIA, Christian community as we know it didn't yet exist—there were only the disciples. EKKLESIA is apparently different from 'synagogue' (SYNAGOGE (συναγωγη) which occurs 56 times in the N.T.) EKKLESIA is used in secular Greek literature of a popular assembly 'called to assemble', and also of those 'called' to a cult. EKKLESIA is used frequently in the N.T. outside of the Gospels to refer to Christian communities, but in Acts.7:38 it is used of the people of Israel led through the desert by Moses, and in Acts.19:32 ff. of a secular assembly. Thus, all told, the common translation of EKKLESIA as 'church' doesn't really reflect 1st century usage—it seems to mean more like 'a group of people assembled for some specific purpose'.
7both "Tabitha" (Aramaic) and "Dorcas" (Greek) mean "Gazelle"
8from ZOE "ZOH-ay" (ζωη)—Life 'collectively', interdependent, interconnected. Although it means 'life' in the conventional sense (for example: Matt.9:18, Matt.27:63, Luke.2:36, Acts.25:24, Rom.7:2, 2Cor.1:8, 1Thes.4:17, 1Tim.5:10, Rev.19:20), Jesus uses ZOE exclusively of 'life eternal' (with the possible exceptions of Luke.15:13, Luke.16:25). The other N.T. writers use ZOE in both senses—temporal and eternal, generally clear from the context. The Father is the 'zoe-living God' (see Matt.16:16). The Septuagint (LXX) in Gen.2:7 has "...[God] breathed into his nostrils the breath of zoe-life, and the man became a zoe-living psyche-life" (and see 1Cor.15:45); and Gen.3:20 (LXX) "And Adam called his wife's name ZOE, because she was the mother of all zoe-living." Contrast PSYCHE (ψυχη): an individual manifestation of life/consciousness. See John.12:25 where both ZOE and PSYCHE occur. Greek also has the word BIOS (βιoς ) for 'life' in the sense of biological processes.