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.

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

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

^3 (C)“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated ^(D)at the feet of ^(E)Gamaliel^{[b] (F)}according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, ^(G)being zealous for God ^(H)as all of you are this day. ^4 (I)I persecuted ^(J)this Way ^(K)to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, ⁵ as ^(L)the high priest and ^(M)the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to ^(N)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 (O)“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 ^(P)Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ ^9 (Q)Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand^[c] the voice of the one who was speaking to me. ¹⁰ And I said, ^(R)‘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 ^(S)one Ananias, a devout man ^(T)according to the law, ^(U)well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, ^13 (V)came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And ^(W)at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. ¹⁴ And he said, ^(X)‘The God of our fathers ^(Y)appointed you to know his will, ^(Z)to see ^(AA)the Righteous One and ^(AB)to hear a voice from his mouth; ¹⁵ for ^(AC)you will be a witness for him to everyone of what ^(AD)you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ And now why do you wait? ^(AE)Rise and be baptized and ^(AF)wash away your sins, ^(AG)calling on his name.’

^17 (AH)“When I had returned to Jerusalem and ^(AI)was praying in the temple, I fell into ^(AJ)a trance ¹⁸ and saw him saying to me, ^(AK)‘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 ^(AL)I imprisoned and ^(AM)beat those who believed in you. ²⁰ And when the blood of Stephen ^(AN)your witness was being shed, ^(AO)I myself was standing by and ^(AP)approving and ^(AQ)watching over the garments of those who killed him.’ ²¹ And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you ^(AR)far away to the Gentiles.’”

² And the chief priests and the principal men of the Jews ^(A)laid out their case against Paul, and they urged him, ³ asking as a favor against Paul^[a] that he summon him to Jerusalem—because ^(B)they were planning an ambush to kill him on the way. ⁴ Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea and that he himself intended to go there shortly. ⁵ “So,” said he, “let the men of authority among you go down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them bring charges against him.”

⁶ After he stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day he took his seat on ^(C)the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. ⁷ When he had arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and serious charges against him ^(D)that they could not prove. ⁸ Paul argued in his defense, “Neither ^(E)against ^(F)the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor ^(G)against Caesar have I committed any offense.” ⁹ But Festus, ^(H)wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and there be tried on these charges before me?” ¹⁰ But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar's ^(I)tribunal, where I ought to be tried. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you yourself know very well. ¹¹ If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. ^(J)I appeal to Caesar.” ¹² Then Festus, when he had conferred with his council, answered, “To Caesar you have appealed; to Caesar you shall go.”

Paul Before Agrippa and Bernice

¹³ Now when some days had passed, Agrippa the king and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and greeted Festus. ¹⁴ And as they stayed there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying, ^(K)“There is a man left prisoner by Felix, ¹⁵ and when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews laid out their case ^(L)against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him. ^16 (M)I answered them that it was not the custom of the Romans to give up anyone ^(N)before the accused met the accusers face to face and had opportunity to make his defense concerning the charge laid against him. ^17 (O)So when they came together here, I made no delay, but on the next day took my seat on ^(P)the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought. ¹⁸ When the accusers stood up, they brought no charge in his case of such evils as I supposed. ¹⁹ Rather they ^(Q)had certain points of dispute with him about their own religion and about ^(R)a certain Jesus, who was dead, but whom Paul asserted to be alive. ²⁰ Being at a loss how to investigate these questions, I ^(S)asked whether he wanted to go to Jerusalem and be tried there regarding them. ²¹ But ^(T)when Paul had appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of ^(U)the emperor, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to Caesar.” ²² Then ^(V)Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” said he, “you will hear him.”

²³ So on the next day ^(W)Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city. Then, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in.

Paul Called by God

¹¹ For ^(A)I would have you know, brothers, that ^(B)the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel.^{[a] 12 (C)}For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it ^(D)through a revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹³ For you have heard of ^(E)my former life in Judaism, how ^(F)I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. ¹⁴ And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely ^(G)zealous was I for ^(H)the traditions of my fathers. ¹⁵ But when he ^(I)who had set me apart ^(J)before I was born,^[b] and who ^(K)called me by his grace, ¹⁶ was pleased to reveal his Son to^[c] me, in order ^(L)that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone;^{[d] 17} nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.

Christ Jesus Came to Save Sinners

¹² I thank him ^(A)who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, ^(B)appointing me to his service, ¹³ though formerly I was a blasphemer, ^(C)persecutor, and insolent opponent. But ^(D)I received mercy ^(E)because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, ¹⁴ and ^(F)the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the ^(G)faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ The saying is ^(H)trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus ^(I)came into the world to save sinners, ^(J)of whom I am the foremost. ¹⁶ But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. ¹⁷ To ^(K)the King of the ages, ^(L)immortal, ^(M)invisible, ^(N)the only God, ^(O)be honor and glory forever and ever.^[a] Amen.