¹² “On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests.

Saul’s Conversion^(A)

9 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.^(B) He went to the high priest ² and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus,^(C) so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way,^(D) whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

¹⁴ And he has come here with authority from the chief priests^(A) to arrest all who call on your name.”^(B)

²¹ All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name?^(A) And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?”^(B)

⁴ I persecuted^(A) the followers of this Way^(B) to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison,^{(C) 5} as the high priest and all the Council^(D) can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates^(E) in Damascus,^(F) and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.