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Acts 9:1-3
New Catholic Bible
Acts 9:1-3
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 9
Conversion of Saul on the Road to Damascus.[a] 1 Now, Saul,[b] still breathing threats and violence against the Lord’s disciples, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus,[c] authorizing him to arrest any men or women there who were followers of the Way and bring them back to Jerusalem.
3 While he was drawing near Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from the sky flashed around him.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Acts 9:1 The story of Paul’s conversion is repeated twice more in this Book, with some variations in details (Acts 22:4-21; 26:9-18).
The heart of the story is the identification of Jesus with the persecuted community of believers: The Lord can no longer be separated from his Church. Saul is given the mission of carrying the name of Jesus to Israel and the rulers of the nations. - Acts 9:1 Saul: present at the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:58), he was born in Tarsus and had studied under Gamaliel (Acts 22:3).
- Acts 9:2 Damascus: an important city of the Roman province of Syria with a large Jewish population; it was some 150 miles from Jerusalem and a four-to-six-day journey. Way: behavior, a concept of life, the teaching of the Lord, teaching about salvation; in short, Christianity (see Acts 16:17; 18:25-26). The Romans granted the high priest authority in religious matters, even over Jews outside of Palestine.
