The Conversion of Saul

9 ^(A)Now ^[a]Saul, still ^(B)breathing ^[b]threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest,

¹³ But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many people about this man, ^(A)how much harm he did to ^(B)Your ^[a]saints in Jerusalem;

²¹ All those hearing him continued to be amazed, and were saying, “Is this not the one who in Jerusalem ^(A)destroyed those who ^(B)called on this name, and had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?”

^4 (A)I persecuted this ^(B)Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons,

¹⁹ And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another ^(A)I used to imprison and ^(B)beat those who believed in You.

¹⁰ And this is ^[a]just what I ^(A)did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the ^[b]saints in prisons, after ^(B)receiving authority from the chief priests, but I also ^(C)cast my vote against them when they were being put to death. ¹¹ And ^(D)as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and since I was ^(E)extremely enraged at them, I kept pursuing them ^(F)even to ^[c]foreign cities.

¹² “^[d]While so engaged, ^(G)as I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, ¹³ at midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, ^[e]brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who were journeying with me. ¹⁴ And when we had ^(H)all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the ^[f](I)Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? ^[g]It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ ¹⁵ And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. ¹⁶ But get up and ^(J)stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to ^(K)appoint you as a ^(L)servant and ^(M)a witness not only to the things in which you have seen Me, but also to the things in which I will appear to you, ^17 (N)rescuing you ^(O)from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, ¹⁸ to ^(P)open their eyes so that they may turn from ^(Q)darkness to light, and from the ^[h]power of ^(R)Satan to God, that they may receive ^(S)forgiveness of sins and an ^(T)inheritance among those who have been sanctified by ^(U)faith in Me.’

¹⁹ “For that reason, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, ²⁰ but continually proclaimed ^(V)to those in Damascus first, and ^(W)in Jerusalem, and then all the region of Judea, and even ^(X)to the Gentiles, that they are to ^(Y)repent and turn to God, performing deeds ^(Z)consistent with repentance. ²¹ For these reasons some Jews ^(AA)seized me in the temple and tried ^(AB)to murder me. ²² So, having obtained help from God, I stand to this day ^(AC)testifying both to small and great, stating nothing but what ^(AD)the Prophets and Moses said was going to take place, ²³ as to ^(AE)whether the ^[i]Christ was ^[j]to suffer, and whether, as ^(AF)first from the resurrection of the dead, He would proclaim ^(AG)light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”

²⁴ While ^[k]Paul was stating these things in his defense, Festus *said in a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind! ^[l]Your great ^(AH)learning is ^[m]driving you insane.” ²⁵ But Paul *said, “I am not insane, ^(AI)most excellent Festus; on the contrary, I am speaking out with ^[n]truthful and rational words. ²⁶ For the king ^[o](AJ)knows about these matters, and I also speak to him with confidence, since I am persuaded that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a ^[p]corner. ²⁷ King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets? I know that you believe.” ²⁸ Agrippa replied to Paul, “^[q]In a short time you are going to persuade me to ^[r]make a ^(AK)Christian of myself.” ²⁹ And Paul said, “I would ^[s]wish to God that even ^[t]in a short or long time not only you, but also all who hear me this day would become such as I myself am, except for these ^(AL)chains.”

^30 (AM)The king stood up and the governor and Bernice, and those who were sitting with them, ³¹ and when they had gone out, they began talking to one another, saying, “^(AN)This man is not doing anything deserving death or ^[u]imprisonment.” ³² And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been ^(AO)set free if he had not ^(AP)appealed to Caesar.”

⁹ For I am ^(A)the least of the apostles, ^[a]and not fit to be called an apostle, because I ^(B)persecuted the church of God.

¹³ For you have heard of ^(A)my former way of life in Judaism, how I ^(B)used to persecute ^(C)the church of God beyond measure and ^(D)tried to destroy it;

⁶ as to zeal, ^(A)a persecutor of the church; as to the ^(B)righteousness which is in the Law, found ^(C)blameless.