¹⁷ But when he came to his senses he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger!

²⁸ Because they considered and turned away from all the transgressions that they had committed, they shall surely live; they shall not die.

⁴ but God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us^{(A) 5} even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ^[a]—by grace you have been saved—

¹⁴ for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

¹⁸ I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.” ’

¹¹ By punishing them often in all the synagogues I tried to force them to blaspheme, and since I was so furiously enraged at them, I pursued them even to foreign cities.^(A)

Paul Tells of His Conversion

¹² “With this in mind, I was traveling to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests,^{(B) 13} when at midday along the road, Your Excellency,^[a] I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions. ¹⁴ When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew^[b] language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It hurts you to kick against the goads.’^{(C) 15} I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The Lord answered, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. ¹⁶ But get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and testify to the things in which you have seen me^[c] and to those in which I will appear to you.^{(D) 17} I will rescue you from your people and from the gentiles—to whom I am sending you^{(E) 18} to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’^(F)

Paul Tells of His Preaching

¹⁹ “After that, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision

²⁹ The jailer^[a] called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. ³⁰ Then he brought them outside and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”^(A)

⁴ But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,^{(A) 5} he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water^[a] of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.^{(B) 6} This Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,