Acts 9:40

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Peter sent them all out of the room. He knelt down, prayed, and turning toward the body said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up.

King James Version (1611)
But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled downe, and prayed, and turning him to the body, said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sate vp.

King James Version
But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up.

English Standard Version
But Peter put them all outside, 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.

New American Standard Bible
But Peter sent 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.

New Century Version
Peter sent everyone out of the room and kneeled and prayed. Then he turned to the body and said, "Tabitha, stand up." She opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up.

Amplified Bible
But Peter sent them all out [of the room] and knelt down and prayed; then turning to the body he said, "Tabitha, arise!" And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
But Peter sent 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.

Legacy Standard Bible
But Peter sent 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.

Berean Standard Bible
Then Peter sent them all out of the room. He knelt down and prayed, and turning toward her body, he said, "Tabitha, get up!" She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up.

Contemporary English Version
After Peter had sent everyone out of the room, he knelt down and prayed. Then he turned to the body of Dorcas and said, "Tabitha, get up!" The woman opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up.

Complete Jewish Bible
But Kefa put them all outside, kneeled down and prayed. Then, turning to the body, he said, "Tavita! Get up!" She opened her eyes; and on seeing Kefa, she sat up.

Darby Translation
But Peter, putting them all out, and kneeling down, prayed. And, turning to the body, he said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes, and, seeing Peter, sat up.

Easy-to-Read Version
Peter sent all the people out of the room. He knelt down and prayed. Then he turned to Tabitha's body and said, "Tabitha, stand up!" She opened her eyes. When she saw Peter, she sat up.

Geneva Bible (1587)
But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled downe, and prayed, and turned him to the body, and sayd, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes, and when she sawe Peter, sate vp.

George Lamsa Translation
But Simon Peter put all the people out and knelt down and prayed; then he turned to the body and said, Tab''i-tha, arise. And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Simon Peter, she sat up.

Good News Translation
Peter put them all out of the room, and knelt down and prayed; then he turned to the body and said, "Tabitha, get up!" She opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up.

Lexham English Bible
But Peter sent them all outside, and, falling to his knees, he prayed. And turning toward the body, he said, "Tabitha, get up!" And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up.

Literal Translation
And putting all out, placing the knees Peter prayed. And turning to the body he said, Tabitha, Arise! And she opened her eyes. And seeing Peter she sat up.

American Standard Version
But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled 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.

Bible in Basic English
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.

Hebrew Names Version
Kefa put them all out, and kneeled down and prayed. Turning to the body, he said, "Tavita, get up!" She opened her eyes, and when she saw Kefa, she sat up.

International Standard Version
But Peter made them all go outside. After he knelt down and prayed, he turned to the body and said, "Tabitha, get up!" She opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up.Matthew 9:25; Mark 5:41-42; John 11:43; Acts 7:60;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
But Shemun put forth all the men without, and fell upon his knees and prayed; and he turned towards the corpse and said Tabitha, arise. [fn] And she opened her eyes;

Murdock Translation
And Simon put all the people out, and fell on his knees and prayed; and he turned to the corpse and said: Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes; and when she saw Simon, she sat up.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Peter put them all foorth, and kneled downe, and prayed, and turned hym to the body, and sayde: Tabitha aryse. And she opened her eyes, and when she sawe Peter, she sate vp.

English Revised Version
But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled 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.

World English Bible
Peter put them all out, and kneeled down and prayed. Turning to the body, he said, "Tabitha, get up!" She opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
But Peter, having put them all out, kneeled down and prayed; and turning to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, sat up.

Weymouth's New Testament
Peter, however, putting every one out of the room, knelt down and prayed, and then turning to the body, he said, "Tabitha, rise." Dorcas at once opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, sat up.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And whanne alle men weren put with out forth, Petre knelide, and preiede. And he turnede to the bodi, and seide, Tabita, rise thou. And sche openyde hir iyen, and whanne sche siy Petre, sche sat vp ayen.

Update Bible Version
But Peter put them all forth, 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.

Webster's Bible Translation
But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning to the body, said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up.

New English Translation
But Peter sent them all outside, knelt down, and prayed. Turning to the body, he said, "Tabitha, get up." Then she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up.

New King James Version
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.

New Living Translation
But Peter asked them all to leave the room; then he knelt and prayed. Turning to the body he said, "Get up, Tabitha." And she opened her eyes! When she saw Peter, she sat up!

New Life Bible
Peter made them all leave the room. Then he got down on his knees and prayed. He turned to her body and said, "Tabitha, get up!" She opened her eyes and looked at Peter and sat up.

New Revised Standard
Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, "Tabitha, get up." Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But Peter, putting them all outside, knelt down and prayed; and, turning towards the body, said - Tabitha, arise! And she, opening her eyes and seeing Peter, sat up.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And they all being put forth, Peter, kneeling down, prayed. And turning to the body, he said: Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes and, seeing Peter, sat up.

Revised Standard Version
But Peter put them all outside and knelt down and prayed; then turning to the body he said, "Tabitha, rise." And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And Peter put the all forth and kneled doune and prayde and turned him to ye body and sayde: Tabitha aryse. And she opened her eyes and whe she sawe Peter she sat vp.

Young's Literal Translation
And Peter having put them all forth without, having bowed the knees, did pray, and having turned unto the body said, `Tabitha, arise;' and she opened her eyes, and having seen Peter, she sat up,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And wha Peter had put them all forth, he kneled downe, made his prayer, and turned him vnto the body, and sayde: Tabitha, ryse vp. And she opened hir eyes: and whan she sawe Peter she sat hir downe agayne.

Mace New Testament (1729)
but Peter turn'd them all out, and kneeled down and prayed, then turning towards the body, Tabitha, said he, arise immediately. she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up.

Simplified Cowboy Version
Pete opened the door and asked them all to wait outside. When they were gone, he went to his knees and prayed. Turning his gaze upon Tabitha's body, he said, "Get up, sweetheart." Her eyes opened and she turned toward Pete. When she saw him, she sat up.

Contextual Overview

³⁶Down the road a way in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha, "Gazelle" in our language. She was well-known for doing good and helping out. During the time Peter was in the area she became sick and died. Her friends prepared her body for burial and put her in a cool room. ³⁸Some of the disciples had heard that Peter was visiting in nearby Lydda and sent two men to ask if he would be so kind as to come over. Peter got right up and went with them. They took him into the room where Tabitha's body was laid out. Her old friends, most of them widows, were in the room mourning. They showed Peter pieces of clothing the Gazelle had made while she was with them. Peter put the widows all out of the room. He knelt and prayed. Then he spoke directly to the body: "Tabitha, get up." She opened her eyes. When she saw Peter, she sat up. He took her hand and helped her up. Then he called in the believers and widows, and presented her to them alive. When this became known all over Joppa, many put their trust in the Master. Peter stayed on a long time in Joppa as a guest of Simon the Tanner. ⁴¹The Blinding of Saul All this time Saul was breathing down the necks of the Master's disciples, out for the kill. He went to the Chief Priest and got arrest warrants to take to the meeting places in Damascus so that if he found anyone there belonging to the Way, whether men or women, he could arrest them and bring them to Jerusalem. He set off. When he got to the outskirts of Damascus, he was suddenly dazed by a blinding flash of light. As he fell to the ground, he heard a voice: "Saul, Saul, why are you out to get me?" He said, "Who are you, Master?" "I am Jesus, the One you're hunting down. I want you to get up and enter the city. In the city you'll be told what to do next." His companions stood there dumbstruck—they could hear the sound, but couldn't see anyone—while Saul, picking himself up off the ground, found himself stone-blind. They had to take him by the hand and lead him into Damascus. He continued blind for three days. He ate nothing, drank nothing. There was a disciple in Damascus by the name of Ananias. The Master spoke to him in a vision: "Ananias." "Yes, Master?" he answered. "Get up and go over to Straight Avenue. Ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus. His name is Saul. He's there praying. He has just had a dream in which he saw a man named Ananias enter the house and lay hands on him so he could see again." Ananias protested, "Master, you can't be serious. Everybody's talking about this man and the terrible things he's been doing, his reign of terror against your people in Jerusalem! And now he's shown up here with papers from the Chief Priest that give him license to do the same to us." But the Master said, "Don't argue. Go! I have picked him as my personal representative to non-Jews and kings and Jews. And now I'm about to show him what he's in for—the hard suffering that goes with this job." So Ananias went and found the house, placed his hands on blind Saul, and said, "Brother Saul, the Master sent me, the same Jesus you saw on your way here. He sent me so you could see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." No sooner were the words out of his mouth than something like scales fell from Saul's eyes—he could see again! He got to his feet, was baptized, and sat down with them to a hearty meal. Saul spent a few days getting acquainted with the Damascus disciples, but then went right to work, wasting no time, preaching in the meeting places that this Jesus was the Son of God. They were caught off guard by this and, not at all sure they could trust him, they kept saying, "Isn't this the man who wreaked havoc in Jerusalem among the believers? And didn't he come here to do the same thing—arrest us and drag us off to jail in Jerusalem for sentencing by the high priests?" But their suspicions didn't slow Saul down for even a minute. His momentum was up now and he plowed straight into the opposition, disarming the Damascus Jews and trying to show them that this Jesus was the Messiah. After this had gone on quite a long time, some Jews conspired to kill him, but Saul got wind of it. They were watching the city gates around the clock so they could kill him. Then one night the disciples engineered his escape by lowering him over the wall in a basket. Back in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him. They didn't trust him one bit. Then Barnabas took him under his wing. He introduced him to the apostles and stood up for him, told them how Saul had seen and spoken to the Master on the Damascus Road and how in Damascus itself he had laid his life on the line with his bold preaching in Jesus' name. After that he was accepted as one of them, going in and out of Jerusalem with no questions asked, uninhibited as he preached in the Master's name. But then he ran afoul of a group called Hellenists—he had been engaged in a running argument with them—who plotted his murder. When his friends learned of the plot, they got him out of town, took him to Caesarea, and then shipped him off to Tarsus. Things calmed down after that and the church had smooth sailing for a while. All over the country—Judea, Samaria, Galilee—the church grew. They were permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God. The Holy Spirit was with them, strengthening them. They prospered wonderfully. Peter went off on a mission to visit all the churches. In the course of his travels he arrived in Lydda and met with the believers there. He came across a man—his name was Aeneas—who had been in bed eight years paralyzed. Peter said, "Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed!" And he did it—jumped right out of bed. Everybody who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him walking around and woke up to the fact that God was alive and active among them. Down the road a way in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha, "Gazelle" in our language. She was well-known for doing good and helping out. During the time Peter was in the area she became sick and died. Her friends prepared her body for burial and put her in a cool room. Some of the disciples had heard that Peter was visiting in nearby Lydda and sent two men to ask if he would be so kind as to come over. Peter got right up and went with them. They took him into the room where Tabitha's body was laid out. Her old friends, most of them widows, were in the room mourning. They showed Peter pieces of clothing the Gazelle had made while she was with them. Peter put the widows all out of the room. He knelt and prayed. Then he spoke directly to the body: "Tabitha, get up." She opened her eyes. When she saw Peter, she sat up. He took her hand and helped her up. Then he called in the believers and widows, and presented her to them alive. ⁴²When this became known all over Joppa, many put their trust in the Master. Peter stayed on a long time in Joppa as a guest of Simon the Tanner.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

put: Mark 5:40, Mark 9:25, Luke 8:54

and kneeled: Acts 7:60, Acts 20:36, Acts 21:5

and prayed: 1 Kings 17:19-23, 2 Kings 4:32-36, Matthew 9:25

she opened: Mark 5:41, Mark 5:42, John 11:43, John 11:44

Reciprocal: 1 Kings 17:21 - O Lord my God 2 Kings 4:4 - thou shalt shut 2 Kings 4:33 - prayed 2 Kings 4:35 - and the child opened 2 Kings 20:11 - cried unto Proverbs 31:13 - worketh Daniel 6:10 - he kneeled Matthew 6:6 - enter Matthew 9:24 - Give Mark 5:37 - he suffered Mark 7:34 - Be opened Mark 9:29 - by prayer Mark 16:18 - they shall lay Luke 5:24 - I say Luke 7:14 - Young Luke 8:51 - he suffered John 14:12 - the Acts 2:43 - many Acts 4:30 - and that Acts 5:12 - by Acts 28:8 - prayed Ephesians 3:14 - I James 5:14 - pray

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But Peter put them all forth,.... As he had seen his Lord and Master do, when he raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead, Luke 8:54

and kneeled down and prayed; it may be, as yet, he had not the mind of God in this matter, and therefore betook himself to prayer, in which he chose to be private and alone:

and turning him to the body; the corpse of Dorcas, after he had prayed, and was well assured that the power of Christ would be exerted in raising of it:

said, Tabitha, arise; which words were spoken in the name and faith of Christ, and were all one as, if Christ himself had spoken them; for to his power, and not to the apostles, is the following miracle to be ascribed: and she opened her eyes; which, upon her death, had been closed by her friends; and perhaps the napkin was not yet bound about her face: or if it was, she must remove it ere she could open her eyes and see Peter:

and when she saw Peter; whom she might know:

she sat up; upon the bed or bier on which she lay.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But Peter put them all forth - From the room. See a similar case in Matthew 9:25. Why this was done is not said. Perhaps it was because he did not wish to appear as if seeking publicity. If done in the presence of many persons, it might seem like ostentation. Others suppose it was that he might offer more fervent prayer to God than he would be willing they should witness Compare 2 Kings 4:33.

Tabitha, arise - Compare Mark 5:41-42.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Acts 9:40. Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down and prayed — It was not even known to Peter that God would work this miracle: therefore he put all the people out, that he might seek the will of God by fervent prayer, and during his supplications be liable neither to distraction nor interruption, which he must have experienced had he permitted this company of weeping widows to remain in the chamber.

And turning - to the body — σωμα, The lifeless body, for the spirit had already departed.

Said, Tabitha, arose. — During his wrestling with God, he had, undoubtedly, received confidence that she would be raised at his word.

And when she saw Peter, she sat up. — As Dorcas was a woman so eminently holy, her happy soul had doubtless gone to the paradise of God. Must she not therefore be filled with regret to find herself thus called back to earth again? And must not the remembrance of the glories she had now lost fill her with dislike to all the goods of earth? No: for,

1. As a saint of God, her Maker's will must be hers; because she knew that this will must be ever best.

2. It is very likely that, in the case of the revivescence of saint or sinner, God mercifully draws a veil over all they have seen or known, so that they have no recollection of what they have either seen or heard. Even St. Paul found it impossible to tell what he had heard in the third heaven, though he was probably not in the state of the dead. Of the economy of the invisible world God will reveal nothing. We walk here by faith, and not by sight.