የሳውል ማመን
9፥1-19 ተጓ ምብ – ሐሥ 22፥3-16፤ 26፥9-18
1ሳውል ግን የጌታን ደቀ መዛሙርት ለመግደል አሁንም እየዛተ ወደ ሊቀ ካህናቱ ሄደ፤ 2የጌታን መንገድ የሚከተሉትን ወንዶችንም ሆነ ሴቶችን በዚያ ካገኘ አስሮ ወደ ኢየሩሳሌም ለመውሰድ እንዲችል፣ በደማስቆ ለነበሩት ምኵራቦች ደብዳቤ እንዲሰጠው ሊቀ ካህናቱን ለመነው። 3ደማስቆ ለመድረስ ጥቂት ሲቀረው፣ ብርሃን ከሰማይ ድንገት በዙሪያው አንጸባረቀበት፤ 4እርሱም በምድር ላይ ወደቀ፤ በዚያ ጊዜም “ሳውል፤ ሳውል፤ ለምን ታሳድደኛለህ?” የሚል ድምፅ ሰማ።
5ሳውልም፣ “ጌታ ሆይ፤ አንተ ማን ነህ?” አለው።
እርሱም እንዲህ አለው፤ “እኔማ አንተ የምታሳድደኝ ኢየሱስ ነኝ። 6አሁንም ተነሥተህ ወደ ከተማዪቱ ግባ፤ ማድረግ የሚገባህም ይነገርሃል።”
7ከሳውል ጋር ይጓዙ የነበሩትም ሰዎች ድምፁን እየሰሙ ማንንም ባላዩ ጊዜ፣ አፋቸውን ይዘው ቆሙ። 8ሳውልም ከወደቀበት ተነሥቶ ዐይኑን ሲገልጥ ምንም ማየት አልቻለም፤ ስለዚህ ሰዎቹ እጁን ይዘው እየመሩ ወደ ደማስቆ አስገቡት። 9ሦስት ቀንም ታወረ፤ እህል ውሃም አልቀመሰም።
10በደማስቆ ሐናንያ የሚባል አንድ ደቀ መዝሙር ነበር፤ ጌታም በራእይ፣ “ሐናንያ” ብሎ ጠራው።
እርሱም፣ “ጌታ ሆይ፤ እነሆኝ” አለ።
11ጌታም እንዲህ አለው፤ “ተነሣና ‘ቀጥተኛ ጐዳና’ በተባለው መንገድ ይሁዳ ወደ ተባለ ሰው ቤት ሂድ፤ እዚያም ሳውል የሚባል አንድ የጠርሴስ ሰው እየጸለየ ነውና ፈልገው፤ 12ምክንያቱም ሐናንያ የሚባል ሰው እርሱ ወዳለበት መጥቶ እጁን እንደሚጭንበትና ዐይኑ እንደሚበራለት በራእይ አይቷል።”
13ሐናንያም መልሶ እንዲህ አለው፤ “ጌታ ሆይ፤ ይህ ሰው እኮ በኢየሩሳሌም ባሉ ቅዱሳንህ ላይ ምን ያህል ጕዳት እንዳደረሰ ከብዙ ሰው ሰምቻለሁ፤ 14ወደዚህም የመጣው ስምህን የሚጠሩትን ሁሉ ለማሰር ከካህናት አለቆች ሥልጣን ተቀብሎ ነው።”
15ጌታም እንዲህ አለው፤ “ሂድ፤ ይህ ሰው በአሕዛብና በነገሥታት ፊት እንዲሁም በእስራኤል ሕዝብ ፊት ስሜን እንዲሸከም የተመረጠ ዕቃዬ ነው፤ 16እኔም ስለ ስሜ ምን ያህል መከራ መቀበል እንዳለበት አሳየዋለሁ።”
17ሐናንያ ሄዶ፣ ወደተባለውም ቤት ገባ፤ በሳውልም ላይ እጁን ጭኖ፣ “ወንድሜ ሳውል ሆይ፤ ወደዚህ ስትመጣ በመንገድ ላይ የተገለጠልህ ጌታ ኢየሱስ፣ ዐይንህ እንዲበራና በመንፈስ ቅዱስም እንድትሞላ እኔን ልኮኛል” አለው። 18ወዲያውም ከሳውል ዐይን ላይ ቅርፊት የመሰለ ነገር ወደቀ፤ እንደ ገና ማየት ቻለ፤ ተነሥቶም ተጠመቀ፤ 19ምግብም በልቶ በረታ።
ሳውል በደማስቆና በኢየሩሳሌም
ሳውል በደማስቆ ከነበሩት ደቀ መዛሙርት ጋር አያሌ ቀን ተቀመጠ። 20ወዲያውም፣ ኢየሱስ የእግዚአብሔር ልጅ መሆኑን በየምኵራቦቹ መስበክ ጀመረ። 21የሰሙትም ሁሉ በመገረም፣ ይህ ሰው “በኢየሩሳሌም ይህን ስም የሚጠሩትን ሲያጠፋ የነበረ አይደለምን? ደግሞም ወደዚህ የመጣው እነርሱን አስሮ ወደ ካህናት አለቆች ሊወስዳቸው አልነበረምን?” አሉ። 22ሳውል ግን እየበረታ ሄደ፤ በደማስቆ ለሚኖሩትም አይሁድ ኢየሱስ እርሱ ክርስቶስ9፥22 ወይም መሲሕ መሆኑን ማስረጃ እያቀረበ አፋቸውን ያስይዛቸው ነበር።
23ከብዙ ቀንም በኋላ፣ አይሁድ ሳውልን ለመግደል አሤሩ፤ 24እርሱ ግን ዕቅዳቸውን ዐውቆ ነበር፤ እነርሱም ሊገድሉት የከተማዋን በር ቀንና ሌሊት ይጠብቁ ነበር፤ 25የእርሱ ተከታዮች ግን በሌሊት በከተማዋ ቅጥር ቀዳዳ አሹልከው በቅርጫት አወረዱት።
26ሳውልም ወደ ኢየሩሳሌም በመጣ ጊዜ፣ ከደቀ መዛሙርት ጋር ለመቀላቀል ሞከረ፤ እነርሱ ግን በርግጥ ደቀ መዝሙር መሆኑን ስላላመኑ ሁሉም ፈሩት። 27ይሁን እንጂ በርናባስ ወስዶ ወደ ሐዋርያት አመጣው፤ ሳውልም በጕዞው ላይ ሳለ ጌታን እንዴት እንዳየው፣ ጌታም እንዴት እንደ ተናገረው እንዲሁም በደማስቆ የጌታን ስም እንዴት በድፍረት እንደ ሰበከ ነገራቸው። 28ስለዚህ ሳውል አብሯቸው ተቀመጠ፤ በኢየሩሳሌምም በመዘዋወር በጌታ ስም በድፍረት ይናገር ነበር። 29ከግሪክ አገር ከመጡት አይሁድ ጋር እየተነጋገረ ይከራከር ነበር፤ እነርሱ ግን ሊገድሉት ጥረት ያደርጉ ነበር። 30ወንድሞችም ይህን ባወቁ ጊዜ፣ ወደ ቂሳርያ አውርደው ወደ ጠርሴስ ሰደዱት።
31በዚህ ጊዜ በይሁዳ፣ በገሊላና በሰማርያ ያለችው ቤተ ክርስቲያን በሰላም መኖር ጀመረች፤ ተጠናከረችም። ደግሞም እግዚአብሔርን በመፍራት እየተመላለሰችና በመንፈስ ቅዱስ እየተጽናናች በቍጥር እየበዛች ሄደች።
ኤንያና ዶርቃ
32ጴጥሮስም ከአገር ወደ አገር በሚዘዋወርበት ጊዜ፣ በልዳ የሚኖሩትን ቅዱሳን ለመጐብኘት ወረደ። 33በዚያም ኤንያ የተባለ፣ ስምንት ዓመት የዐልጋ ቍራኛ የነበረ አንድ ሽባ ሰው አገኘ። 34ጴጥሮስም፣ “ኤንያ ሆይ፤ ኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ ይፈውስሃል፤ ተነሣና መኝታህን አንጥፍ” አለው። ኤንያም ወዲያውኑ ብድግ አለ። 35በልዳና በሰሮና የሚኖሩትም ሁሉ እርሱን አይተው ወደ ጌታ ተመለሱ።
36በኢዮጴ ጣቢታ የተባለች አንዲት ደቀ መዝሙር ነበረች፤ የስሟም ትርጓሜ ዶርቃ9፥36 ጣቢታ በአረማይክ ሲሆን፣ ዶርቃ ደግሞ በግሪክ ነው፤ ትርጕሙም ፌቆ (ሚዳቋ) ማለት ነው። ማለት ነው። እርሷም ዘወትር በትጋት በጎ ነገር እያደረገችና ድኾችን እየረዳች ትኖር ነበር። 37በዚያ ጊዜም ታምማ ሞተች፤ ሰዎችም አስከሬኗን ዐጥበው በሰገነት ላይ ባለው ክፍል አስቀመጡት። 38ልዳ ለኢዮጴ ቅርብ ስለ ነበረች፣ ደቀ መዛሙርትም ጴጥሮስ በልዳ መሆኑን በሰሙ ጊዜ ሁለት ሰዎች ልከው፣ “እባክህ ፈጥነህ ወደ እኛ ና!” ሲሉ ለመኑት።
39ጴጥሮስም ተነሥቶ ከእነርሱ ጋር ሄደ፤ እዚያ በደረሰ ጊዜም ሰገነት ላይ ወዳለው ክፍል አወጡት። መበለቶቹም ሁሉ ዶርቃ ከእነርሱ ጋር በነበረችበት ጊዜ ያደረገቻቸውን ቀሚሶችና ልብሶች እያሳዩት ዙሪያውን ከብበው ያለቅሱ ነበር።
40ጴጥሮስም ሁሉንም ከክፍሉ አስወጥቶ ተንበርክኮ ጸለየ፤ ወደ ሬሳውም ዘወር ብሎ፣ “ጣቢታ፤ ተነሺ” አለ። እርሷም ዐይኗን ገለጠች፤ ጴጥሮስንም ባየች ጊዜ ቀና ብላ ተቀመጠች፤ 41እርሱም እጇን ይዞ አስነሣት፤ አማኞችንና መበለቶቹንም ጠርቶ ከነሕይወቷ አስረከባቸው። 42ይህም ነገር በመላው ኢዮጴ ታወቀ፤ ብዙ ሰዎችም በጌታ አመኑ። 43ጴጥሮስም ስምዖን ከተባለ ከአንድ ቍርበት ፋቂ ጋር በኢዮጴ ብዙ ቀን ተቀመጠ።
Saul Becomes a Believer
1Meanwhile, Saul continued to oppose the Lord’s followers. He said they would be put to death. He went to the high priest. 2He asked the priest for letters to the synagogues in Damascus. He wanted to find men and women who belonged to the Way of Jesus. The letters would allow him to take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3On his journey, Saul approached Damascus. Suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4He fell to the ground. He heard a voice speak to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you opposing me?”
5“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus,” he replied. “I am the one you are opposing. 6Now get up and go into the city. There you will be told what you must do.”
7The men traveling with Saul stood there. They weren’t able to speak. They had heard the sound. But they didn’t see anyone. 8Saul got up from the ground. He opened his eyes, but he couldn’t see. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9For three days he was blind. He didn’t eat or drink anything.
10In Damascus there was a believer named Ananias. The Lord called out to him in a vision. “Ananias!” he said.
“Yes, Lord,” he answered.
11The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street. Ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying. 12In a vision Saul has seen a man come and place his hands on him. That man’s name is Ananias. In the vision, Ananias placed his hands on Saul so he could see again.”
13“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I’ve heard many reports about this man. They say he has done great harm to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14Now he has come here to arrest all those who worship you. The chief priests have given him authority to do this.”
15But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! I have chosen this man to work for me. He will announce my name to the Gentiles and to their kings. He will also announce my name to the people of Israel. 16I will show him how much he must suffer for me.”
17Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. He placed his hands on Saul. “Brother Saul,” he said, “you saw the Lord Jesus. He appeared to you on the road as you were coming here. He has sent me so that you will be able to see again. You will be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18Right away something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes. And he could see again. He got up and was baptized. 19After eating some food, he got his strength back.
Saul in Damascus and Jerusalem
Saul spent several days with the believers in Damascus. 20Right away he began to preach in the synagogues. He taught that Jesus is the Son of God. 21All who heard him were amazed. They asked, “Isn’t he the man who caused great trouble in Jerusalem? Didn’t he make trouble for those who worship Jesus? Hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 22But Saul grew more and more powerful. The Jews living in Damascus couldn’t believe what was happening. Saul proved to them that Jesus is the Messiah.
23After many days, the Jews had a meeting. They planned to kill Saul. 24But he learned about their plan. Day and night they watched the city gates closely in order to kill him. 25But his followers helped him escape by night. They lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.
26When Saul came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the believers. But they were all afraid of him. They didn’t believe he was really one of Jesus’ followers. 27But Barnabas took him to the apostles. He told them about Saul’s journey. He said that Saul had seen the Lord. He told how the Lord had spoken to Saul. Barnabas also said that Saul had preached without fear in Jesus’ name in Damascus. 28So Saul stayed with the believers. He moved about freely in Jerusalem. He spoke boldly in the Lord’s name. 29He talked and argued with the Greek Jews. But they tried to kill him. 30The other believers heard about this. They took Saul down to Caesarea. From there they sent him off to Tarsus.
31Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. The church was strengthened and grew larger. That’s because they worshiped the Lord and the Holy Spirit helped them.
Peter Heals Aeneas and Dorcas
32Peter traveled around the country. He went to visit the Lord’s people who lived in Lydda. 33There he found a disabled man named Aeneas. For eight years the man had spent most of his time in bed. 34“Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up! Roll up your mat!” So Aeneas got up right away. 35Everyone who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him. They turned to the Lord.
36In Joppa there was a believer named Tabitha. Her name in the Greek language is Dorcas. She was always doing good and helping poor people. 37About that time she became sick and died. Her body was washed and placed in a room upstairs. 38Lydda was near Joppa. The believers heard that Peter was in Lydda. So they sent two men to him. They begged him, “Please come at once!”
39Peter went with them. When he arrived, he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him crying. They showed him the robes and other clothes Dorcas had made before she died.
40Peter sent them all out of the room. Then he got down on his knees and prayed. He turned toward the dead woman. He said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes. When she saw Peter, she sat up. 41He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and especially the widows. He brought her to them. They saw that she was alive. 42This became known all over Joppa. Many people believed in the Lord. 43Peter stayed in Joppa for some time. He stayed with Simon, a man who worked with leather.
