The Conversion of Saul

9 But Saul, ^(A)still ^(B)breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to ^(C)the high priest ² and asked him for letters ^(D)to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to ^(E)the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. ^3 (F)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 ^(G)me?” ⁵ And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, ^(H)whom you are persecuting. ⁶ But ^(I)rise and enter the city, and you will be told ^(J)what you are to do.” ^7 (K)The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, ^(L)hearing the voice but seeing no one. ⁸ Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, ^(M)he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. ⁹ And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

¹⁰ Now there was a disciple at Damascus named ^(N)Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, ^(O)“Here I am, Lord.” ¹¹ And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man ^(P)of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, ¹² and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and ^(Q)lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” ¹³ But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, ^(R)how much evil he has done to ^(S)your ^(T)saints at Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And here he has authority from ^(U)the chief priests to bind all who ^(V)call on your name.” ¹⁵ But the Lord said to him, “Go, for ^(W)he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name ^(X)before the Gentiles and ^(Y)kings and the children of Israel. ¹⁶ For ^(Z)I will show him how much ^(AA)he must suffer ^(AB)for the sake of my name.” ¹⁷ So ^(AC)Ananias departed and entered the house. And ^(AD)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 ^(AE)be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸ And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and ^(AF)he regained his sight. Then ^(AG)he rose and was baptized; ¹⁹ and ^(AH)taking food, he was strengthened.

Saul Proclaims Jesus in Synagogues

For ^(AI)some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. ²⁰ And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, ^(AJ)“He is the Son of God.” ²¹ And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who ^(AK)made havoc ^(AL)in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” ²² But Saul ^(AM)increased all the more in strength, and ^(AN)confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving ^(AO)that Jesus was the Christ.

²⁶ Then Paul took the men, and the next day ^(A)he purified himself along with them and ^(B)went into the temple, giving notice when the days of purification would be fulfilled and ^(C)the offering presented for each one of them.

Paul Arrested in the Temple

²⁷ When ^(D)the seven days were almost completed, ^(E)the Jews from Asia, ^(F)seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, ²⁸ crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who ^(G)is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and ^(H)the law and ^(I)this place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and ^(J)has defiled ^(K)this holy place.” ²⁹ For they had previously seen ^(L)Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. ³⁰ Then all the city was stirred up, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and ^(M)dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut. ^31 (N)And as they were seeking to kill him, word came to the tribune of ^(O)the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. ^32 (P)He at once took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. And when they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. ³³ Then the tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him ^(Q)to be bound ^(R)with two chains. He inquired who he was and what he had done. ^34 (S)Some in the crowd were shouting one thing, some another. And as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into ^(T)the barracks. ³⁵ And when he came to the steps, he was actually carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd, ³⁶ for the mob of the people followed, crying out, ^(U)“Away with him!”

Paul Speaks to the People

³⁷ As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, “May I say something to you?” And he said, “Do you know Greek? ³⁸ Are you not ^(V)the Egyptian, then, who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out ^(W)into the wilderness?” ³⁹ Paul replied, ^(X)“I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no obscure city. I beg you, permit me to speak to the people.” ⁴⁰ And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the steps, ^(Y)motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great hush, he addressed them in ^(Z)the Hebrew language,^[a] saying:

22 ^(AA)“Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.”

² And when they heard that he was addressing them in ^(AB)the Hebrew language,^[b] they became even more quiet. And he said:

^3 (AC)“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated ^(AD)at the feet of ^(AE)Gamaliel^{[c] (AF)}according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, ^(AG)being zealous for God ^(AH)as all of you are this day. ^4 (AI)I persecuted ^(AJ)this Way ^(AK)to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, ⁵ as ^(AL)the high priest and ^(AM)the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to ^(AN)the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.

^6 (AO)“As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. ⁷ And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ ⁸ And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am ^(AP)Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ ^9 (AQ)Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand^[d] the voice of the one who was speaking to me. ¹⁰ And I said, ^(AR)‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’ ¹¹ And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.

¹² “And ^(AS)one Ananias, a devout man ^(AT)according to the law, ^(AU)well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, ^13 (AV)came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And ^(AW)at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. ¹⁴ And he said, ^(AX)‘The God of our fathers ^(AY)appointed you to know his will, ^(AZ)to see ^(BA)the Righteous One and ^(BB)to hear a voice from his mouth; ¹⁵ for ^(BC)you will be a witness for him to everyone of what ^(BD)you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ And now why do you wait? ^(BE)Rise and be baptized and ^(BF)wash away your sins, ^(BG)calling on his name.’

^17 (BH)“When I had returned to Jerusalem and ^(BI)was praying in the temple, I fell into ^(BJ)a trance ¹⁸ and saw him saying to me, ^(BK)‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ ¹⁹ And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another ^(BL)I imprisoned and ^(BM)beat those who believed in you. ²⁰ And when the blood of Stephen ^(BN)your witness was being shed, ^(BO)I myself was standing by and ^(BP)approving and ^(BQ)watching over the garments of those who killed him.’ ²¹ And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you ^(BR)far away to the Gentiles.’”

Paul and the Roman Tribune

²² Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, ^(BS)“Away with such a fellow from the earth! For ^(BT)he should not be allowed to live.”

Paul's Defense Before Agrippa

26 So ^(A)Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense:

² “I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am going to make my defense today ^(B)against all the accusations of the Jews, ³ especially because you are familiar with all the ^(C)customs and ^(D)controversies of the Jews. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.

^4 (E)“My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning among ^(F)my own nation and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews. ⁵ They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that ^(G)according to the strictest ^(H)party of our ^(I)religion I have lived as ^(J)a Pharisee. ⁶ And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in ^(K)the promise made by God to our fathers, ^7 (L)to which ^(M)our twelve tribes hope to ^(N)attain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope ^(O)I am accused by Jews, O king! ⁸ Why is it thought ^(P)incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?

^9 (Q)“I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of ^(R)Jesus of Nazareth. ^10 (S)And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority ^(T)from the chief priests, but ^(U)when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. ¹¹ And ^(V)I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them ^(W)blaspheme, and ^(X)in raging fury against them I ^(Y)persecuted them even to foreign cities.

Paul Tells of His Conversion

¹² “In this connection ^(Z)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 ^(AA)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 ^(AB)stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, ^(AC)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 (AD)delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—^(AE)to whom I ^(AF)am sending you ^18 (AG)to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from ^(AH)the power of Satan to God, that they may receive ^(AI)forgiveness of sins and ^(AJ)a place among those who are sanctified ^(AK)by faith in me.’

¹⁹ “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to ^(AL)the heavenly vision, ²⁰ but declared first ^(AM)to those in Damascus, ^(AN)then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also ^(AO)to the Gentiles, that they should ^(AP)repent and ^(AQ)turn to God, performing deeds ^(AR)in keeping with their repentance. ²¹ For this reason ^(AS)the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. ^22 (AT)To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so ^(AU)I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what ^(AV)the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: ^23 (AW)that the Christ ^(AX)must suffer and that, ^(AY)by being the first ^(AZ)to rise from the dead, ^(BA)he would proclaim ^(BB)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, ^(BC)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, ^(BD)most excellent Festus, but I am speaking ^(BE)true and ^(BF)rational words. ²⁶ For ^(BG)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 ^(BH)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 ^(BI)might become such as I am—except for ^(BJ)these chains.”

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