³ As^(A) he traveled and was nearing Damascus, a light from heaven suddenly flashed around him. ⁴ Falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

⁵ “Who are you, Lord?” Saul said.

“I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting,” he replied. 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 him stood speechless, hearing the sound but seeing no one.^{(B) 8} Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing. So they took him by the hand and led him into Damascus.

Paul’s Account of His Conversion and Commission

¹² “I was traveling to Damascus under^(A) these circumstances with authority and a commission from the chief priests. ¹³ King Agrippa, while on the road at midday, I saw a light from heaven brighter than the sun, shining around me and those traveling with me. ¹⁴ We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice speaking to me in Aramaic,^[a] ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’^(B)

¹⁵ “I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’

“And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting. ¹⁶ But get up and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and a witness of what you have seen and will see of me.^{(C) 17} I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them^{(D) 18} to open their eyes^(E) so that they may turn^[b] from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’^(F)