The Conversion of Saul

9 ^(A)Now ^[a]Saul, still ^(B)breathing ^[b]threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, ² and asked for ^(C)letters from him to ^(D)the synagogues in ^(E)Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to ^[c](F)the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them in shackles to Jerusalem. ³ Now as he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and ^(G)suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; ⁴ and ^(H)he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” ⁵ And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, ⁶ but get up and enter the city, and ^(I)it will be told to you what you must do.” ⁷ The men who traveled with him ^(J)stood speechless, ^(K)hearing the ^[d]voice but seeing no one. ⁸ Saul got up from the ground, and ^(L)though his eyes were open, he ^[e]could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into ^(M)Damascus. ⁹ And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

¹⁰ Now there was a disciple in ^(N)Damascus named ^(O)Ananias; and the Lord said to him in ^(P)a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” ¹¹ And the Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from ^(Q)Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, ¹² and he has seen ^[f]in a vision a man named Ananias come in and ^(R)lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.” ¹³ But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many people about this man, ^(S)how much harm he did to ^(T)Your ^[g]saints in Jerusalem; ¹⁴ and here he ^(U)has authority from the chief priests to ^[h]arrest all who ^(V)call on Your name.” ¹⁵ But the Lord said to him, “Go, for ^(W)he is a chosen ^[i]instrument of Mine, to bear My name before ^(X)the Gentiles and ^(Y)kings and the sons of Israel; ¹⁶ for ^(Z)I will show him how much he must suffer in behalf of My name.” ¹⁷ So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after ^(AA)laying his hands on him said, “^(AB)Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be ^(AC)filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸ And immediately something like fish scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized; ¹⁹ and he took food and was strengthened.

Saul Begins to Preach Christ

Now ^(AD)for several days he was with ^(AE)the disciples who were in Damascus, ²⁰ and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus ^(AF)in the synagogues, ^[j]saying, “He is ^(AG)the Son of God.” ²¹ All those hearing him continued to be amazed, and were saying, “Is this not the one who in Jerusalem ^(AH)destroyed those who ^(AI)called on this name, and had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?” ²² But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that this Jesus is the ^[k]Christ.

³ “^(A)I am ^(B)a Jew, born in ^(C)Tarsus of ^(D)Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated ^[a]under ^(E)Gamaliel, ^[b](F)strictly according to the Law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as ^(G)you all are today. ^4 (H)I persecuted this ^(I)Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons, ⁵ as also ^(J)the high priest and all ^(K)the Council of the elders ^[c]can testify. From them I also ^(L)received letters to ^(M)the brothers, and started off for ^(N)Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem ^[d]as prisoners to be punished.

⁶ “^(O)But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus at about noon, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me, ⁷ and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ ⁸ And I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am ^(P)Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ ⁹ And those who were with me ^(Q)saw the light, but ^(R)did not ^[e]understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me. ¹⁰ And I said, ‘^(S)What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told about everything that has been appointed for you to do.’ ¹¹ But since I ^(T)could not see because of the ^[f]brightness of that light, I came into Damascus being led by the hand by those who were with me.

¹² “Now a certain ^(U)Ananias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law and ^(V)well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, ¹³ came to me, and standing nearby he said to me, ‘^(W)Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And ^[g](X)at that very moment I looked up at him. ¹⁴ And he said, ‘^(Y)The God of our fathers has ^(Z)appointed you to know His will and to ^(AA)see the ^(AB)Righteous One and to hear a ^[h]message from His mouth. ¹⁵ For you will be ^(AC)a witness for Him to all people of ^(AD)what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ Now why do you delay? ^(AE)Get up and be baptized, and ^(AF)wash away your sins by ^(AG)calling on His name.’

⁹ “So ^(A)I thought to myself that I had to act in strong opposition to ^(B)the name of Jesus ^[a]of Nazareth. ¹⁰ And this is ^[b]just what I ^(C)did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the ^[c]saints in prisons, after ^(D)receiving authority from the chief priests, but I also ^(E)cast my vote against them when they were being put to death. ¹¹ And ^(F)as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and since I was ^(G)extremely enraged at them, I kept pursuing them ^(H)even to ^[d]foreign cities.

¹² “^[e]While so engaged, ^(I)as I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, ¹³ at midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, ^[f]brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who were journeying with me. ¹⁴ And when we had ^(J)all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the ^[g](K)Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? ^[h]It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ ¹⁵ And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. ¹⁶ But get up and ^(L)stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to ^(M)appoint you as a ^(N)servant and ^(O)a witness not only to the things in which you have seen Me, but also to the things in which I will appear to you, ^17 (P)rescuing you ^(Q)from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, ¹⁸ to ^(R)open their eyes so that they may turn from ^(S)darkness to light, and from the ^[i]power of ^(T)Satan to God, that they may receive ^(U)forgiveness of sins and an ^(V)inheritance among those who have been sanctified by ^(W)faith in Me.’