Acts 26:9-23

English Standard Version

⁹^(A)“I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of ^(B)Jesus of Nazareth. ¹⁰^(C)And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority ^(D)from the chief priests, but ^(E)when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. ¹¹And ^(F)I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them ^(G)blaspheme, and ^(H)in raging fury against them I ^(I)persecuted them even to foreign cities.

Paul Tells of His Conversion

¹²“In this connection ^(J)I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. ¹³At 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. ¹⁴And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me ^(K)in the Hebrew language,^[a] ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ ¹⁵And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. ¹⁶But rise and ^(L)stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, ^(M)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^(N)delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—^(O)to whom I ^(P)am sending you ¹⁸^(Q)to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from ^(R)the power of Satan to God, that they may receive ^(S)forgiveness of sins and ^(T)a place among those who are sanctified ^(U)by faith in me.’

¹⁹“Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to ^(V)the heavenly vision, ²⁰but declared first ^(W)to those in Damascus, ^(X)then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also ^(Y)to the Gentiles, that they should ^(Z)repent and ^(AA)turn to God, performing deeds ^(AB)in keeping with their repentance. ²¹For this reason ^(AC)the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. ²²^(AD)To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so ^(AE)I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what ^(AF)the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: ²³^(AG)that the Christ ^(AH)must suffer and that, ^(AI)by being the first ^(AJ)to rise from the dead, ^(AK)he would proclaim ^(AL)light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”