⁸ But you will receive ^(A)power ^(B)when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and ^(C)you will be ^(D)my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and ^(E)Samaria, and ^(F)to the end of the earth.”

⁴⁴ The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. ^45 (A)But ^(B)when the Jews^[a] saw the crowds, they were filled with ^(C)jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, ^(D)reviling him. ⁴⁶ And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God ^(E)be spoken first to you. ^(F)Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves ^(G)unworthy of eternal life, behold, we ^(H)are turning to the Gentiles. ^47 (I)For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,

⁴⁸ And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and ^(M)glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. ⁴⁹ And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region.

Paul Tells of His Conversion

¹² “In this connection ^(A)I journeyed 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, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. ¹⁴ And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me ^(B)in the Hebrew language,^[a] ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? 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 rise and ^(C)stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, ^(D)to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, ^17 (E)delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—^(F)to whom I ^(G)am sending you ^18 (H)to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from ^(I)the power of Satan to God, that they may receive ^(J)forgiveness of sins and ^(K)a place among those who are sanctified ^(L)by faith in me.’

¹⁹ “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to ^(M)the heavenly vision, ²⁰ but declared first ^(N)to those in Damascus, ^(O)then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also ^(P)to the Gentiles, that they should ^(Q)repent and ^(R)turn to God, performing deeds ^(S)in keeping with their repentance. ²¹ For this reason ^(T)the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. ^22 (U)To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so ^(V)I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what ^(W)the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: ^23 (X)that the Christ ^(Y)must suffer and that, ^(Z)by being the first ^(AA)to rise from the dead, ^(AB)he would proclaim ^(AC)light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”