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.”

²⁴ And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, ^(AD)you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind.” ²⁵ But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, ^(AE)most excellent Festus, but I am speaking ^(AF)true and ^(AG)rational words. ²⁶ For ^(AH)the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner. ²⁷ King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.” ²⁸ And Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be ^(AI)a Christian?”^{[b] 29} And Paul said, “Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day ^(AJ)might become such as I am—except for ^(AK)these chains.”

³⁰ Then the king rose, and ^(AL)the governor and Bernice and those who were sitting with them. ³¹ And when they had withdrawn, they said to one another, ^(AM)“This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment.” ³² And Agrippa said to Festus, ^(AN)“This man could have been set ^(AO)free if he had not appealed ^(AP)to Caesar.”