Greeting

1 Paul, ^(A)an apostle of Christ Jesus ^(B)by the will of God,

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and ^(C)are faithful^[a] in Christ Jesus:

^2 (D)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

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 ^(A)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 ^(B)stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, ^(C)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 (D)delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—^(E)to whom I ^(F)am sending you ^18 (G)to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from ^(H)the power of Satan to God, that they may receive ^(I)forgiveness of sins and ^(J)a place among those who are sanctified ^(K)by faith in me.’

⁹ For ^(A)I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because ^(B)I persecuted the church of God.

¹³ For you have heard of ^(A)my former life in Judaism, how ^(B)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 ^(C)zealous was I for ^(D)the traditions of my fathers. ¹⁵ But when he ^(E)who had set me apart ^(F)before I was born,^[a] and who ^(G)called me by his grace, ¹⁶ was pleased to reveal his Son to^[b] me, in order ^(H)that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone;^[c]

¹⁵ The saying is ^(A)trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus ^(B)came into the world to save sinners, ^(C)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 ^(D)the King of the ages, ^(E)immortal, ^(F)invisible, ^(G)the only God, ^(H)be honor and glory forever and ever.^[a] Amen.

¹⁸ This charge ^(I)I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with ^(J)the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may ^(K)wage the good warfare,