1 Men Saul, som fortsatt var fylt av et brennende ønske om å drepe Herrens disipler, gikk til ypperstepresten,

But Saul, still burning with desire to put to death the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest,

2 og ba om brev fra ham til synagogene i Damaskus, slik at hvis han fant noen av Veien der, menn eller kvinner, kunne han ta dem som fanger til Jerusalem.

And made a request for letters from him to the Synagogues of Damascus, so that if there were any of the Way there, men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

3 Og mens han var på reisen og nærmet seg Damaskus, så han plutselig et lys fra himmelen som skinte rundt ham.

And while he was journeying, he came near Damascus; and suddenly he saw a light from heaven shining round him;

4 Og han falt til jorden, og en stemme sa til ham: Saul, Saul, hvorfor forfølger du meg så grusomt?

And he went down on the earth, and a voice said to him, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly?

5 Og han sa: Hvem er du, Herre? Og han svarte: Jeg er Jesus, han som du forfølger.

And he said, Who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are attacking:

6 Men reis deg opp og gå inn i byen, så skal det bli fortalt deg hva du må gjøre.

But get up, and go into the town, and it will be made clear to you what you have to do.

7 Og mennene som var med ham kunne ikke si noe; de hørte stemmen, men så ingen.

And the men who were with him were not able to say anything; hearing the voice, but seeing no one.

8 Og Saul reiste seg fra jorden, og da han åpnet øynene, kunne han ikke se noe; og han ble ledet ved hånden inn til Damaskus.

And Saul got up from the earth, and when his eyes were open, he saw nothing; and he was guided by the hand into Damascus.

9 Og i tre dager kunne han ikke se, og han verken spiste eller drakk.

And for three days he was not able to see, and he took no food or drink.

10 Nå var det en disippel i Damaskus ved navn Ananias; og Herren sa til ham i et syn: Ananias! Og han sa: Her er jeg, Herre.

Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias! and he said, Here I am, Lord.

11 Og Herren sa til ham: Reis deg og gå til gaten som kalles Rett, og let i Judas' hus etter en som heter Saul fra Tarsus, for han ber.

And the Lord said to him, Get up, and go to the street which is named Straight, and make search at the house of Judas for one named Saul of Tarsus: for he is at prayer;

12 Og han har sett en mann ved navn Ananias komme inn og legge hendene på ham, slik at han kan se igjen.

And he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hands on him, so that he may be able to see.

13 Men Ananias svarte: Herre, jeg har hørt fra mange om denne mannen, hvor mye ondt han har gjort mot dine hellige i Jerusalem.

But Ananias said, Lord, I have had accounts of this man from a number of people, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem:

14 Og her har han myndighet fra yppersteprestene til å arrestere alle som tilber ditt navn.

And here he has authority from the chief priests to make prisoners all who give worship to your name.

15 Men Herren sa: Gå uten frykt; for han er et utvalgt redskap for meg, for å gi hedningene, kongene og Israels barn kunnskap om mitt navn.

But the Lord said, Go without fear: for he is a special vessel for me, to give to the Gentiles and kings and to the children of Israel the knowledge of my name:

16 For jeg vil vise ham hvor mye han må lide for min skyld.

For I will make clear to him what troubles he will have to undergo for me.

17 Og Ananias gikk ut og kom til huset, la hendene på ham og sa: Bror Saul, Herren Jesus, som du møtte på din reise, har sendt meg for at du skal kunne se igjen og bli fylt med Den hellige ånd.

And Ananias went out and came to the house, and putting his hands on him, said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, whom you saw when you were on your journey, has sent me, so that you may be able to see, and be full of the Holy Spirit.

18 Og straks var det som om et slør falt fra øynene hans, og han kunne se; og han reiste seg og ble døpt.

And straight away it seemed as if a veil was taken from his eyes, and he was able to see; and he got up, and had baptism;

19 Og da han hadde spist, fikk han styrken tilbake. Og noen dager var han sammen med disiplene i Damaskus.

And when he had taken food his strength came back. And for some days he kept with the disciples who were in Damascus.

20 Og straks begynte han å forkynne Jesus som Guds sønn i synagogene.

And straight away, in the Synagogues, he was preaching Jesus as the Son of God.

21 Og alle som hørte ham, var forundret og sa: Er ikke dette mannen som i Jerusalem forfulgte alle som tilbad dette navnet? Og han hadde kommet hit for å ta dem som fanger til yppersteprestene.

And all those hearing him were full of wonder and said, Is not this the man who in Jerusalem was attacking all the worshippers of this name? and he had come here so that he might take them as prisoners before the chief priests.

22 Men Saul ble stadig sterkere, og jødene i Damaskus kunne ikke motstå de argumentene han la fram for at Jesus var Kristus.

But Saul went on increasing in power, and the Jews in Damascus were not able to give answers to the arguments by which he made it clear that Jesus was the Christ.

23 Så, etter noen dager, inngikk jødene en avtale om å drepe ham.

Then, after some days, the Jews made an agreement together to put him to death:

24 Men Saul fikk kjennskap til deres plan. De holdt vakt dag og natt ved byens porter for å kunne drepe ham.

But Saul got knowledge of their design. And they kept watch day and night on the roads out of the town, so that they might put him to death:

25 Men disiplene hans tok ham om natten og firte ham ned fra bymuren i en kurv.

But his disciples took him by night and let him down from the wall in a basket.

26 Da han kom til Jerusalem, prøvde han å bli med disiplene, men de var alle redde for ham, for de trodde ikke at han var en disippel.

And when he came to Jerusalem, he made an attempt to be joined to the disciples, but they were all in fear of him, not taking him for a disciple.

27 Men Barnabas tok ham med til apostlene og fortalte dem hvordan han hadde sett Herren på veien, og hvordan han hadde hørt hans ord, og hvordan han i Damaskus hadde forkynt i Jesu navn uten frykt.

But Barnabas took him to the Apostles and gave them an account of how he had seen the Lord on the road, and had given hearing to his words, and how at Damascus he had been preaching in the name of Jesus without fear.

28 Og han var med dem, gikk inn og ut i Jerusalem,

And he was with them, going in and out at Jerusalem,

29 og han forkynte uten frykt i Herrens navn; og han diskuterte med de gresktalende jødene; men de planla å ta livet av ham.

Preaching in the name of the Lord without fear; and he had discussions with the Greek Jews; but they were working for his death.

30 Og da brødrene fikk vite det, tok de ham til Cæsarea og sendte ham til Tarsus.

And when the brothers had knowledge of it, they took him to Caesarea and sent him to Tarsus.

31 Og slik fikk menigheten i hele Judea, Galilea og Samaria fred, og ble styrket; og i frykt for Herren og i Den hellige ånds trøst vokste den stort.

And so the church through all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was made strong; and, living in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, was increased greatly.

32 Og det skjedde mens Peter reiste gjennom alle delene av landet, at han kom til de hellige som bodde i Lydda.

And it came about that while Peter was going through all parts of the country he came to the saints who were living at Lydda.

33 Og der var en mann ved navn Aeneas, som i åtte år hadde ligget til sengs uten å kunne bevege seg.

And there was a certain man there, named Aeneas, who for eight years had been in bed, without power of moving.

34 Og Peter sa til ham: Aeneas, Jesus Kristus gjør deg frisk: reis deg og red din seng. Og straks reiste han seg.

And Peter said to him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ makes you well: get up and make your bed. And straight away he got up.

35 Og alle som bodde i Lydda og Sharon så ham, og de vendte seg til Herren.

And all those living in Lydda and Sharon saw him, and were turned to the Lord.

36 Nå var det i Joppa en disippel ved navn Tabita, det vil si Dorkas. Denne kvinnen var alltid i gode gjerninger og barmhjertighetsarbeid.

Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, that is, Dorcas: this woman was given to good works and acts of mercy at all times.

37 Og det skjedde i de dager at hun ble syk og døde; og da hun var vasket, la de henne i et rom ovenpå.

And it came about, in those days, that she got ill and came to her death: and when she had been washed, they put her in a room which was high up.

38 Og fordi Lydda var nær Joppa, sendte disiplene, da de fikk vite at Peter var der, to menn til ham med en anmodning om at han straks skulle komme til dem.

And because Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, having knowledge that Peter was there, sent two men to him, requesting him to come to them straight away.

39 Og Peter gikk med dem. Da han kom, førte de ham opp til rommet; og alle enkene var der, gråtende og viste ham kappene og klærne Dorkas hadde laget mens hun var hos dem.

And Peter went with them. And when he had come, they took him into the room: and all the widows were there, weeping and putting before him the coats and clothing which Dorcas had made while she was with them.

40 Men Peter sendte dem alle ut, knelte ned og ba; og vendte seg mot kroppen, sa han: Tabita, stå opp. Og hun åpnet øynene, og da hun så Peter, satte hun seg opp.

But Peter made them all go outside, and went down on his knees in prayer; and turning to the body, he said, Tabitha, get up. And, opening her eyes, she saw Peter and got up.

41 Og han tok henne i hånden og reiste henne opp; og han kalte på de hellige og enkene, og presenterte henne levende for dem.

And he took her hand, lifting her up; and, sending for the saints and widows, he gave her to them, living.

42 Og nyheten om dette spredte seg gjennom hele Joppa, og mange kom til tro på Herren.

And news of it went all through Joppa, and a number of people had faith in the Lord.

43 Og han ble en tid i Joppa hos en garver som het Simon.

And he was living in Joppa for some time with Simon, a leather-worker.