Saul Becomes a Follower of the Lord

(Acts 22.6-16; 26.12-18)

9 Saul kept on threatening to kill the Lord's followers. He even went to the high priest ² and asked for letters to the leaders of the synagogues in Damascus. He did this because he wanted to arrest and take to Jerusalem any man or woman who had accepted the Lord's Way.^{[a] 3} When Saul had almost reached Damascus, a bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around him. ⁴ He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, “Saul! Saul! Why are you so cruel to me?”

⁵ “Who are you?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus,” the Lord answered. “I am the one you are so cruel to. ⁶ Now get up and go into the city, where you will be told what to do.”

^7 (A) The men with Saul stood there speechless. They had heard the voice, but they had not seen anyone. ⁸ Saul got up from the ground, and when he opened his eyes, he could not see a thing. Someone then led him by the hand to Damascus, ⁹ and for three days he was blind and did not eat or drink.

¹⁰ A follower named Ananias lived in Damascus, and the Lord spoke to him in a vision. Ananias answered, “Lord, here I am.”

¹¹ The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the house of Judas on Straight Street. When you get there, you will find a man named Saul from the city of Tarsus. Saul is praying, ¹² and he has seen a vision. He saw a man named Ananias coming to him and putting his hands on him, so he could see again.”

¹³ Ananias replied, “Lord, a lot of people have told me about the terrible things this man has done to your followers in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ Now the chief priests have given him the power to come here and arrest anyone who worships in your name.”

¹⁵ The Lord said to Ananias, “Go! I have chosen him to tell foreigners, kings, and the people of Israel about me. ¹⁶ I will show him how much he must suffer for worshiping in my name.”