³⁶ Joseph, a Levite and a Cypriot by birth, the one the apostles called Barnabas, which is translated Son of Encouragement,^(A)

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?” he 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.”

²⁰ Immediately he began proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues: “He is the Son of God.”^(A)

²² But Saul grew more capable and kept confounding the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that this One is the Messiah.