⁶ “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.^{(A) 7} I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’

⁸ “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.

“ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth,^(B) whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. ⁹ My companions saw the light,^(C) but they did not understand the voice^(D) of him who was speaking to me.

¹⁰ “‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.

“ ‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’^{(E) 11} My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.^(F)

¹² “A man named Ananias came to see me.^(G) He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there.^{(H) 13} He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.

¹⁴ “Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors^(I) has chosen you to know his will and to see^(J) the Righteous One^(K) and to hear words from his mouth. ¹⁵ You will be his witness^(L) to all people of what you have seen^(M) and heard. ¹⁶ And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized^(N) and wash your sins away,^(O) calling on his name.’^(P)

¹⁵ The Spirit^(A) you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again;^(B) rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.^[a] And by him we cry, “Abba,^[b] Father.”^{(C) 16} The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit^(D) that we are God’s children.^{(E) 17} Now if we are children, then we are heirs^(F)—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings^(G) in order that we may also share in his glory.^(H)