Acts 14:9

9 He heard Paul talking, and Paul, looking him in the eye, saw that he was ripe for God's work, ready to believe.

Acts 14:9 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 14:9

The same heard Paul speak
That is, preach the Gospel; he was one of his hearers, and faith came to hint by hearing; the Arabic version adds, "he cried unto him"; that is, to Paul, whom he heard:

who steadfastly beholding him;
not the lame man beholding Paul, but Paul beholding the lame man, as the Syriac and Ethiopic versions both express it, as also Beza's ancient copy and others; so Peter looked on the man he cured, ( Acts 3:4 ) .

And perceiving that he had faith to be healed;
as he might by his looks, his gestures, his attention in hearing, and it may be by somewhat that he said, as well as by revelation, or a spirit of discerning, which he had.

Acts 14:9 In-Context

7 but then were right back at it again, getting out the Message. Gods or Men?
8 There was a man in Lystra who couldn't walk. He sat there, crippled since the day of his birth.
9 He heard Paul talking, and Paul, looking him in the eye, saw that he was ripe for God's work, ready to believe.
10 So he said, loud enough for everyone to hear, "Up on your feet!" The man was up in a flash - jumped up and walked around as if he'd been walking all his life.
11 When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they went wild, calling out in their Lyconian dialect, "The gods have come down! These men are gods!"
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.