³ As Saul was coming near the city of Damascus, suddenly a light from the sky flashed around him. ⁴ He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute me?”

⁵ “Who are you, Lord?” he asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you persecute,” the voice said. ⁶ “But get up and go into the city, where you will be told what you must do.”

⁷ The men who were traveling with Saul had stopped, not saying a word; they heard the voice but could not see anyone. ⁸ Saul got up from the ground and opened his eyes, but could not see a thing. So they took him by the hand and led him into Damascus. ⁹ For three days he was not able to see, and during that time he did not eat or drink anything.

^4 (A)I persecuted to the death the people who followed this Way. I arrested men and women and threw them into prison. ⁵ The High Priest and the whole Council can prove that I am telling the truth. I received from them letters written to fellow Jews in Damascus, so I went there to arrest these people and bring them back in chains to Jerusalem to be punished.

Paul Tells of His Conversion^(B)

⁶ “As I was traveling and coming near Damascus, about midday a bright light from the sky flashed suddenly around me. ⁷ I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute me?’ ⁸ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked. ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you persecute,’ he said to me. ⁹ The men with me saw the light, but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.

¹³ It was on the road at midday, Your Majesty, that I saw a light much brighter than the sun, coming from the sky and shining around me and the men traveling with me. ¹⁴ All of us fell to the ground, and I heard a voice say to me in Hebrew, ‘Saul, Saul! Why are you persecuting me? You are hurting yourself by hitting back, like an ox kicking against its owner's stick.’ ¹⁵ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked. And the Lord answered, ‘I am Jesus, whom you persecute.