Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

² When they heard him speaking in Aramaic they became even quieter.

³ “I am a Jew,” he continued, “and I was born in Tarsus in Cilicia. I received my education here, in this city, and I studied at the feet of Gamaliel. I was trained in the strictest interpretations of our ancestral laws, and became zealous for God, just as all of you are today. ⁴ I persecuted this Way, right to the point of killing people, and I bound and handed over to prison both men and women— ⁵ as the high priest and all the elders can testify. I received letters from them to the Jews of Damascus, where I was going in order to find the heretics who were there, tie them up, and bring them to Jerusalem to face their just deserts.

⁶ “Just as I was on the way, and getting near to Damascus, suddenly a bright light shone from heaven all around me. It was about midday. ⁷ I fell down on the ground and I heard a voice, saying, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ ⁸ I answered, ‘Who are you, Master?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, and you are persecuting me!’

⁹ “The people who were with me saw the light, but they didn’t hear the voice of the person speaking to me. ¹⁰ So I said, ‘What shall I do, Master?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all the things that have been arranged for you to do.’

¹¹ “So, as I couldn’t see because of the brightness of that light, the people with me led me by the hand, and I came to Damascus.”

Out of his own mouth

¹² “There was a man named Ananias,” Paul continued. “He was a devout, law-keeping Jew, and all the Jews living in Damascus would testify to the fact. ¹³ He came and stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ In that very moment I could see, and I looked at him. ¹⁴ This is what he said. ‘The God of our ancestors chose you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the word from his mouth. ¹⁵ This is because you are going to bear witness for him to all people, telling them what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ Now, then, what are you going to do? Get up, be baptized and wash away your sins by calling on his name.’