nkjv Acts:9-10 SEEK
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Then Saul ,
still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord ,
went to the high priest
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and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus ,
so that if he found any who were of the Way ,
whether men or women ,
he might bring them bound to Jerusalem .
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As he journeyed he came near Damascus ,
and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven .
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Then he fell to the ground ,
and heard a voice saying to him , "
Saul ,
Saul ,
why are you persecuting Me ?"
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And he said , "
Who are You ,
Lord ?"
Then the Lord said , "
I am Jesus ,
whom you are persecuting .
It is hard for you to kick against the goads ."
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So he ,
trembling and astonished ,
said , "
Lord ,
what do You want me to do ?"
Then the Lord said to him , "
Arise and go into the city ,
and you will be told what you must do ."
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And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless ,
hearing a voice but seeing no one .
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Then Saul arose from the ground ,
and when his eyes were opened he saw no one .
But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus .
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And he was three days without sight ,
and neither ate nor drank .
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Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias ;
and to him the Lord said in a vision , "
Ananias ."
And he said , "
Here I am ,
Lord ."
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So the Lord said to him , "
Arise and go to the street called Straight ,
and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus ,
for behold ,
he is praying .
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And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him ,
so that he might receive his sight ."
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Then Ananias answered , "
Lord ,
I have heard from many about this man ,
how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem .
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And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name ."
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But the Lord said to him , "
Go ,
for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles ,
kings ,
and the children of Israel .
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For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name '
s sake ."
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And Ananias went his way and entered the house ;
and laying his hands on him he said , "
Brother Saul ,
the Lord Jesus ,
who appeared to you on the road as you came ,
has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit ."
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Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales ,
and he received his sight at once ;
and he arose and was baptized .
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So when he had received food ,
he was strengthened .
Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus .
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Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues ,
that He is the Son of God .
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Then all who heard were amazed ,
and said , "
Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem ,
and has come here for that purpose ,
so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests ?"
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But Saul increased all the more in strength ,
and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus ,
proving that this Jesus is the Christ .
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Now after many days were past ,
the Jews plotted to kill him .
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But their plot became known to Saul .
And they watched the gates day and night ,
to kill him .
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Then the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall in a large basket .
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And when Saul had come to Jerusalem ,
he tried to join the disciples ;
but they were all afraid of him ,
and did not believe that he was a disciple .
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But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles .
And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road ,
and that He had spoken to him ,
and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus .
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So he was with them at Jerusalem ,
coming in and going out .
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And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists ,
but they attempted to kill him .
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When the brethren found out ,
they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus .
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Then the churches throughout all Judea ,
Galilee ,
and Samaria had peace and were edified .
And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit ,
they were multiplied .
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Now it came to pass ,
as Peter went through all parts of the country ,
that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda .
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There he found a certain man named Aeneas ,
who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed .
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And Peter said to him , "
Aeneas ,
Jesus the Christ heals you .
Arise and make your bed ."
Then he arose immediately .
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So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord .
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At Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha ,
which is translated Dorcas .
This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did .
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But it happened in those days that she became sick and died .
When they had washed her ,
they laid her in an upper room .
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And since Lydda was near Joppa ,
and the disciples had heard that Peter was there ,
they sent two men to him ,
imploring him not to delay in coming to them .
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Then Peter arose and went with them .
When he had come ,
they brought him to the upper room .
And all the widows stood by him weeping ,
showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them .
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But Peter put them all out ,
and knelt down and prayed .
And turning to the body he said , "
Tabitha ,
arise ."
And she opened her eyes ,
and when she saw Peter she sat up .
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Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up ;
and when he had called the saints and widows ,
he presented her alive .
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And it became known throughout all Joppa ,
and many believed on the Lord .
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So it was that he stayed many days in Joppa with Simon ,
a tanner .
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There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius ,
a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment ,
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a devout man and one who feared God with all his household ,
who gave alms generously to the people ,
and prayed to God always .
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About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him , "
Cornelius !"
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And when he observed him ,
he was afraid ,
and said , "
What is it ,
lord ?"
So he said to him , "
Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God .
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Now send men to Joppa ,
and send for Simon whose surname is Peter .
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He is lodging with Simon ,
a tanner ,
whose house is by the sea .
He will tell you what you must do ."
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And when the angel who spoke to him had departed ,
Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier from among those who waited on him continually .
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So when he had explained all these things to them ,
he sent them to Joppa .
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The next day ,
as they went on their journey and drew near the city ,
Peter went up on the housetop to pray ,
about the sixth hour .
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Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat ;
but while they made ready ,
he fell into a trance
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and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners ,
descending to him and let down to the earth .
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In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth ,
wild beasts ,
creeping things ,
and birds of the air .
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And a voice came to him , "
Rise ,
Peter ;
kill and eat ."
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But Peter said , "
Not so ,
Lord !
For I have never eaten anything common or unclean ."
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And a voice spoke to him again the second time , "
What God has cleansed you must not call common ."
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This was done three times .
And the object was taken up into heaven again .
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Now while Peter wondered within himself what this vision which he had seen meant ,
behold ,
the men who had been sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon '
s house ,
and stood before the gate .
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And they called and asked whether Simon ,
whose surname was Peter ,
was lodging there .
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While Peter thought about the vision ,
the Spirit said to him , "
Behold ,
three men are seeking you .
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Arise therefore ,
go down and go with them ,
doubting nothing ;
for I have sent them ."
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Then Peter went down to the men who had been sent to him from Cornelius ,
and said , "
Yes ,
I am he whom you seek .
For what reason have you come ?"
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And they said , "
Cornelius the centurion ,
a just man ,
one who fears God and has a good reputation among all the nation of the Jews ,
was divinely instructed by a holy angel to summon you to his house ,
and to hear words from you ."
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Then he invited them in and lodged them .
On the next day Peter went away with them ,
and some brethren from Joppa accompanied him .
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And the following day they entered Caesarea .
Now Cornelius was waiting for them ,
and had called together his relatives and close friends .
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As Peter was coming in ,
Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him .
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But Peter lifted him up ,
saying , "
Stand up ;
I myself am also a man ."
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And as he talked with him ,
he went in and found many who had come together .
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Then he said to them , "
You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation .
But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean .
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Therefore I came without objection as soon as I was sent for .
I ask ,
then ,
for what reason have you sent for me ?"
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So Cornelius said , "
Four days ago I was fasting until this hour ;
and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house ,
and behold ,
a man stood before me in bright clothing ,
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and said , "
Cornelius ,
your prayer has been heard ,
and your alms are remembered in the sight of God .
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Send therefore to Joppa and call Simon here ,
whose surname is Peter .
He is lodging in the house of Simon ,
a tanner ,
by the sea .
When he comes ,
he will speak to you .'
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So I sent to you immediately ,
and you have done well to come .
Now therefore ,
we are all present before God ,
to hear all the things commanded you by God ."
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Then Peter opened his mouth and said : "
In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality .
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But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him .
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The word which God sent to the children of Israel ,
preaching peace through Jesus Christ--He is Lord of all --
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that word you know ,
which was proclaimed throughout all Judea ,
and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached :
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how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power ,
who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil ,
for God was with Him .
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And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem ,
whom they killed by hanging on a tree .
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Him God raised up on the third day ,
and showed Him openly ,
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not to all the people ,
but to witnesses chosen before by God ,
even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead .
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And He commanded us to preach to the people ,
and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead .
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To Him all the prophets witness that ,
through His name ,
whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins ."
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While Peter was still speaking these words ,
the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word .
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And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished ,
as many as came with Peter ,
because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also .
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For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God .
Then Peter answered ,
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Can anyone forbid water ,
that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have ?"
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And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord .
Then they asked him to stay a few days .
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Now the apostles and brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God .