Atos 9

ARC · Chapter 9/28

1E Saulo, respirando ainda ameaças e mortes contra os discipulos do Senhor, dirigiu-se ao summo sacerdote,

2E pediu-lhe cartas para Damasco, para as synagogas, para que, se encontrasse alguns d'aquella seita, quer homens quer mulheres, os conduzisse presos a Jerusalem.

3E, indo já no caminho, aconteceu que, chegando perto de Damasco, subitamente o cercou um resplendor de luz do céu.

4E, caindo em terra, ouviu uma voz que lhe dizia: Saulo, Saulo, porque me persegues?

5E elle disse: Quem és, Senhor? E disse o Senhor: Eu sou Jesus, a quem tu persegues. Duro é para ti recalcitrar contra os aguilhões.

6E elle, tremendo e attonito, disse: Senhor, que queres que faça? E disse-lhe o Senhor: Levanta-te, e entra na cidade, e ali te será dito o que te convem fazer.

7E os varões, que iam com elle, pararam attonitos, ouvindo a voz, mas não vendo ninguem.

8E Saulo levantou-se da terra, e, abrindo os olhos, não via a ninguem. E, guiando-o pela mão, o conduziram a Damasco.

9E esteve tres dias sem vêr, e não comeu nem bebeu.

10E havia em Damasco um certo discipulo chamado Ananias; e disse-lhe o Senhor em visão: Ananias! E elle respondeu: Eis-me aqui, Senhor.

11E disse-lhe o Senhor: Levanta-te, e vae á rua chamada Direita, e pergunta em casa de Judas por um chamado Saulo, de Tarso; pois eis que elle ora;

12E tem visto em visão que entrava um homem chamado Ananias, e punha sobre elle a mão, para que tornasse a vêr.

13E respondeu Ananias: Senhor, a muitos ouvi ácerca d'este varão, quantos males tem feito aos teus sanctos em Jerusalem;

14E aqui tem poder dos principaes dos sacerdotes para prender a todos os que invocam o teu nome.

15Disse-lhe, porém, o Senhor: Vae, porque este é para mim vaso escolhido, para levar o meu nome diante dos gentios, e dos reis e dos filhos d'Israel.

16Porque eu lhe mostrarei quanto deve padecer pelo meu nome.

17E Ananias foi, e entrou na casa, e, impondo-lhe as mãos, disse: Irmão Saulo, o Senhor Jesus, que te appareceu no caminho por onde vinhas, me enviou, para que tornes a vêr e sejas cheio do Espirito Sancto.

18E logo lhe cairam dos olhos como que umas escamas, e recebeu logo a vista; e, levantando-se, foi baptizado.

19E, tendo comido, ficou confortado. E esteve Saulo alguns dias com os discipulos que estavam em Damasco.

20E logo nas synagogas prégava a Jesus, que este era o Filho de Deus.

21E todos os que o ouviam estavam attonitos, e diziam: Não é este aquelle que em Jerusalem assolava aos que invocavam esse nome, e para isso veiu aqui, para os levar presos aos principaes dos sacerdotes?

22Porém Saulo se esforçava muito mais, e confundia os judeos que habitavam em Damasco, provando que aquelle era o Christo.

23E, tendo passado muitos dias, os judeos tomaram conselho entre si para o matar.

24Mas as suas ciladas vieram ao conhecimento de Saulo: e elles guardavam as portas, tanto de dia como de noite, para poderem matal-o.

25Porém, tomando-o de noite os discipulos, o arriaram, dentro d'um cesto, pelo muro.

26E, quando Saulo chegou a Jerusalem, procurava ajuntar-se aos discipulos, porém todos se temiam d'elle, não crendo que fosse discipulo.

27Mas Barnabé, tomando-o comsigo, o trouxe aos apostolos, e lhes contou como no caminho elle vira ao Senhor e lhe fallara, e como em Damasco fallara ousadamente no nome de Jesus.

28E andava com elles em Jerusalem, entrando e saindo.

29E fallou ousadamente no nome de Jesus. Fallava e disputava tambem contra os gregos, mas elles procuravam matal-o.

30Sabendo-o, porém, os irmãos, o acompanharam até Cesarea, e o enviaram a Tarso.

31Assim pois, as egrejas em toda a Judea, e Galilea e Samaria tinham paz, e eram edificadas; e se multiplicavam, andando no temor do Senhor e consolação do Espirito Sancto.

32E aconteceu que, passando Pedro por todas as partes, veiu tambem aos sanctos que habitavam em Lydda.

33E achou ali um certo homem, chamado Eneas, jazendo n'uma cama havia oito annos, o qual era paralytico.

34E disse-lhe Pedro: Eneas, Jesus Christo te dá saude; levanta-te e faze a tua cama. E logo se levantou.

35E viram-n'o todos os que habitavam em Lydda e Sarona, os quaes se converteram ao Senhor.

36E havia em Joppe uma certa discipula chamada Tabitha, que traduzido se diz Dorcas. Esta estava cheia de boas obras e esmolas que fazia.

37E aconteceu n'aquelles dias, que, enfermando ella, morreu; e, tendo-a lavado, a depositaram n'um quarto alto.

38E, como Lydda era perto de Joppe, ouvindo os discipulos que Pedro estava ali, lhe mandaram dois varões, rogando-lhe que não se demorasse em vir ter com elles.

39E, levantando-se Pedro, foi com elles; e quando chegou o levaram ao quarto alto, e todas as viuvas o rodearam, chorando e mostrando as tunicas e vestidos que Dorcas fizera quando estava com ellas.

40Porém Pedro, fazendo-as sair a todas, poz-se de joelhos e orou: e, voltando-se para o corpo, disse: Tabitha, levanta-te. E ella abriu os olhos, e, vendo a Pedro, assentou-se,

41E elle dando-lhe a mão a levantou, e, chamando os sanctos e as viuvas, apresentou-lh'a viva.

42E foi isto notorio por toda a Joppe, e muitos crêram no Senhor.

43E aconteceu que ficou muitos dias em Joppe, com um certo Simão curtidor.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Saul, a persecutor of Christians, encounters Jesus in a blinding light on the road to Damascus, is struck blind, and is healed by Ananias, who baptizes him. Saul begins preaching Jesus; Peter also heals Aeneas and raises Dorcas from the dead.

Explanation

Saul's conversion is one of the most striking turnarounds in the Bible: the church's greatest persecutor becomes its greatest missionary. Ananias hesitates to go to Saul out of fear, but obeys anyway — an example of courage in spite of risk. Jesus' description of Saul as a 'chosen vessel' shows that God can use even those who seem beyond hope. Peter's miracles at the end of the chapter reinforce that the same power that worked in Jerusalem kept working as the church spread.

Fun facts

  • Damascus, in Syria, is considered one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and the 'street called Straight' mentioned in the text still exists today as a main road in the old city.
  • 'Tabitha' (Aramaic) and 'Dorcas' (Greek) mean the same thing: 'gazelle' — Luke gives both names because he was writing for an audience that included both Jews and Greeks.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Atos 9:1The chapter picks Saul up exactly where he left off, still an active and violent persecutor of Christians, going straight to the high priest to request formal authorization.
  2. Atos 9:2Saul asks the high priest in Jerusalem for formal authorization to arrest Christians who had fled to Damascus, a city outside Judea. This shows that local synagogues recognized some authority of the Jerusalem council even beyond its own territory.
  3. Atos 9:3Midway through the journey, near Damascus, a bright light from heaven suddenly surrounds Saul, abruptly interrupting his mission of persecution.
  4. Atos 9:4Fallen to the ground, Saul hears a voice asking why he is persecuting Him, revealing that persecuting Christians was, in practice, persecuting Jesus Himself.
  5. Atos 9:5When Saul asks who is speaking, he discovers it is Jesus. The word “pricks” refers to the goad used to drive oxen, and the phrase is a way of saying that resisting Jesus only hurt Saul himself.
  6. Atos 9:6Trembling, Saul asks what he must do, and receives a simple instruction: enter the city and wait there to learn the next steps, with no details given yet.
  7. Atos 9:7Saul’s traveling companions are left standing speechless: they hear the sound of the voice but see no one, a partial and confusing experience of the same event.
  8. Atos 9:8Saul rises up blind, unable to see anything even with his eyes open, and has to be led by the hand into Damascus, a physical reversal that mirrors his spiritual change.
  9. Atos 9:9For three days Saul remains without sight and without eating or drinking anything, a period of forced fasting and reflection before his meeting with Ananias.
  10. Atos 9:10Ananias, an ordinary Christian disciple living in Damascus, receives a vision of the Lord calling his name, and responds readily, showing willingness even before knowing what would be asked of him.
  11. Atos 9:11The street called “Straight” was a real, main street in ancient Damascus, one that archaeologists can still identify today. It is a concrete geographic detail that helps place the episode in a real city.
  12. Atos 9:12The Lord tells Ananias that Saul, in his own vision, had already seen a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him to restore his sight — the two sides of the vision fit together.
  13. Atos 9:13Ananias hesitates and argues with the Lord, bringing up Saul’s violent reputation against the Christians of Jerusalem, a very understandable human reaction of fear.
  14. Atos 9:14Ananias even knew that Saul had come to Damascus with official authorization from the chief priests specifically to arrest anyone who followed Jesus.
  15. Atos 9:15God explains to Ananias why he must help the very man who was persecuting the church: Saul would become chiefly responsible for carrying the Christian message beyond the Jewish world, to the Gentiles.
  16. Atos 9:16The Lord does not deny Saul’s violent past, but reveals something new: now Saul himself would suffer a great deal for the name of Jesus, completely reversing his role.
  17. Atos 9:17Ananias obeys despite his fear, enters the house, lays his hands on Saul, and calls him “brother,” a surprisingly welcoming gesture from someone who had so much reason to fear him.
  18. Atos 9:18The healing is immediate and described almost like scales falling from his eyes; Saul regains his sight and is baptized right afterward, without delay.
  19. Atos 9:19After eating, Saul regains his strength and spends several days with the disciples in Damascus, the very people he had originally gone there to persecute.
  20. Atos 9:20Without wasting any time, Saul immediately begins preaching in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God, a complete turnaround from his previous mission.
  21. Atos 9:21The reaction of those who hear him is one of total shock: they recognize that this is the same man who had come specifically to arrest the Christians of Damascus.
  22. Atos 9:22Saul grows ever stronger in his preaching, confounding the local Jews by proving, using the Scriptures themselves, that Jesus was the promised Messiah.
  23. Atos 9:23After some time, the Jews of Damascus, unsettled by this reversal, begin plotting to kill Saul, the former persecutor now becoming the persecuted.
  24. Atos 9:24The plot against Saul leaks out and reaches him; his enemies begin watching the city gates day and night, waiting for the chance to kill him.
  25. Atos 9:25Paul escapes Damascus by being lowered in a large basket through an opening in the city wall, probably at night, to flee guards watching the gates in hopes of killing him.
  26. Atos 9:26Arriving in Jerusalem, Saul tries to join the disciples, but meets widespread distrust: no one believed that he had truly converted.
  27. Atos 9:27Barnabas is the one who breaks the impasse, personally taking Saul to the apostles and telling them what had happened on the road to Damascus, serving as a bridge of trust.
  28. Atos 9:28With Barnabas’s backing, Saul begins moving freely among the disciples in Jerusalem, now accepted as part of the group.
  29. Atos 9:29Saul keeps preaching openly and debating with Greek-speaking Jews (Hellenists), the same kind of group that had earlier turned against Stephen; they too try to kill him.
  30. Atos 9:30Realizing the danger, the brethren take Saul out of Jerusalem, bringing him down to Caesarea and sending him from there to Tarsus, his hometown, getting him out of the line of fire.
  31. Atos 9:31This is a period of calm for the churches of Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, right after the conversion of Saul, who had been their chief persecutor. The text marks this pause before new conflicts appear in the following chapters.
  32. Atos 9:32Peter appears again in the narrative on a kind of pastoral journey, visiting already-established Christian communities, and reaching the city of Lydda.
  33. Atos 9:33In Lydda, Peter finds Aeneas, a man paralyzed for eight years, bedridden for so long that the condition seemed permanent.
  34. Atos 9:34Peter heals Aeneas with a direct command in the name of Jesus Christ, and the man gets up that very hour, with no gradual process of recovery.
  35. Atos 9:35The impact of the healing is great enough to lead all the residents of Lydda and the nearby region of Sharon to turn to the Lord when they see the result.
  36. Atos 9:36“Tabitha” is the Aramaic name and “Dorcas” the Greek translation, both meaning gazelle. The text translates it because the book of Acts circulated among Greek-speaking readers who would not have understood the original name.
  37. Atos 9:37Shortly after being introduced as someone full of good works, Tabitha falls sick and dies; her body is washed, a common Jewish funeral ritual, and laid in an upper room.
  38. Atos 9:38Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples send for Peter as soon as they hear he is nearby, asking him to come without delay.
  39. Atos 9:39When he arrives, Peter finds the community’s widows weeping around the body, showing him garments Tabitha had sewn for them while she was still alive.
  40. Atos 9:40Peter asks everyone to leave the room, prays alone, and then turns directly to the body, calling her by name; she opens her eyes and sits up.
  41. Atos 9:41Peter helps her up by the hand, then calls the other Christians and widows back in to present her alive before them.
  42. Atos 9:42News of Tabitha’s resurrection spreads throughout the city of Joppa, and the direct result is that many people come to believe in Jesus.
  43. Atos 9:43Peter stays in Joppa at the house of Simon, a tanner — a trade Jews considered ritually unclean because it involved handling animal carcasses, a detail that sets the stage for the following episode with Cornelius.

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