Book of Common Prayer

The conversion of Saul

9 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out threats and murder on the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest ² and requested from him official letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that he could find people who belonged to the Way, men and women alike, tie them up and bring them back to Jerusalem.

³ While he was on the journey, and was getting near to Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. ⁴ He fell to the ground and heard a voice speaking to him.

“Saul, Saul!” said the voice. “Why are you persecuting me?”

⁵ “Who are you, Lord?” he asked.

“I am Jesus,” he said, “and you are persecuting me. ⁶ But get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

⁷ The men who were traveling with Saul stood speechless. They heard the voice, but couldn’t see anybody. ⁸ Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he couldn’t see anything. So they led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus. ⁹ He went for three days, still unable to see, and he neither ate nor drank.

²⁶ As they led him away, they grabbed a man from Cyrene called Simon, who was coming in to the city from the countryside, and they forced him to carry the crossbeam behind Jesus.

The crucifixion

²⁷ A great crowd of the people followed Jesus, including women who were mourning and wailing for him. ²⁸ Jesus turned and spoke to them.

“Daughters of Jerusalem,” he said, “don’t cry for me. Cry for yourselves instead! Cry for your children! ²⁹ Listen: the time is coming when you will say, ‘A blessing on the barren! A blessing on wombs that never bore children, and breasts that never nursed them!’ ³⁰ At that time people will start to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ ³¹ Yes: if this is what they do with the green tree, what will happen to the dry one?”