^6 (A)“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 ^(B)Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ ^9 (C)Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand^[a] the voice of the one who was speaking to me. ¹⁰ And I said, ^(D)‘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 ^(E)one Ananias, a devout man ^(F)according to the law, ^(G)well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, ^13 (H)came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And ^(I)at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. ¹⁴ And he said, ^(J)‘The God of our fathers ^(K)appointed you to know his will, ^(L)to see ^(M)the Righteous One and ^(N)to hear a voice from his mouth; ¹⁵ for ^(O)you will be a witness for him to everyone of what ^(P)you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ And now why do you wait? ^(Q)Rise and be baptized and ^(R)wash away your sins, ^(S)calling on his name.’

^17 (T)“When I had returned to Jerusalem and ^(U)was praying in the temple, I fell into ^(V)a trance ¹⁸ and saw him saying to me, ^(W)‘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 ^(X)I imprisoned and ^(Y)beat those who believed in you. ²⁰ And when the blood of Stephen ^(Z)your witness was being shed, ^(AA)I myself was standing by and ^(AB)approving and ^(AC)watching over the garments of those who killed him.’ ²¹ And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you ^(AD)far away to the Gentiles.’”