⁸ Last of all, as to one untimely born, ^(A)he appeared also to me.

Paul Surrenders His Rights

9 ^(A)Am I not free? ^(B)Am I not an apostle? ^(C)Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? ^(D)Are not you my workmanship in the Lord?

¹⁶ But rise and ^(A)stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, ^(B)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,

¹⁸ and saw him saying to me, ^(A)‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’

⁹ And the Lord said to Paul ^(A)one night in ^(B)a vision, ^(C)“Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent,

¹⁴ And he said, ^(A)‘The God of our fathers ^(B)appointed you to know his will, ^(C)to see ^(D)the Righteous One and ^(E)to hear a voice from his mouth;

¹⁷ So ^(A)Ananias departed and entered the house. And ^(B)laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and ^(C)be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

^3 (A)Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. ⁴ And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting ^(B)me?” ⁵ And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, ^(C)whom you are persecuting. ⁶ But ^(D)rise and enter the city, and you will be told ^(E)what you are to do.”

Paul's Visions and His Thorn

12 I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and ^(A)revelations of the Lord. ² I know a man ^(B)in Christ who fourteen years ago was ^(C)caught up to ^(D)the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, ^(E)God knows. ³ And I know that this man was caught up into ^(F)paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, ^(G)God knows— ⁴ and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. ⁵ On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, ^(H)except of my weaknesses— ⁶ though if I should wish to boast, ^(I)I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me.