Act 22:3-21, 26:10-20 | ESV | STEP | I am a Jew , born in Tarsus in Cilicia , but brought up in this city , educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers , being zealous for God as all of you are this day .

Acts 22:3-21

3 ^a“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated ^bat the feet of ^cGamaliel ^{▼▼Or city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated} ^eaccording to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, ^fbeing zealous for God ^gas all of you are this day. 4 ^hI persecuted ⁱthis Way ^jto the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, 5 as ^kthe high priest and ^lthe whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to ^mthe brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.

6 ⁿ“As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone 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 ^oJesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ 9 ^pNow those who were with me saw the light but did not understand ^{▼▼Or hear with understanding} the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, ^r‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’ 11 And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.

12 “And ^sone Ananias, a devout man ^taccording to the law, ^uwell spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 ^vcame to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And ^wat that very hour I received my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, ^x‘The God of our fathers ^yappointed you to know his will, ^zto see ^aathe Righteous One and ^abto hear a voice from his mouth; 15 for ^acyou will be a witness for him to everyone of what ^adyou have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you wait? ^aeRise and be baptized and ^afwash away your sins, ^agcalling on his name.’

17 ^ah“When I had returned to Jerusalem and ^aiwas praying in the temple, I fell into ^aja trance 18 and saw him saying to me, ^ak‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another ^alI imprisoned and ^ambeat those who believed in you. 20 And when the blood of Stephen ^anyour witness was being shed, ^aoI myself was standing by and ^apapproving and ^aqwatching over the garments of those who killed him.’ 21 And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you ^arfar away to the Gentiles.’”

Acts 26:10-20

10 ^asAnd I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority ^atfrom the chief priests, but ^auwhen they were put to death I cast my vote against them. 11 And ^avI punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them ^awblaspheme, and ^axin raging fury against them I ^aypersecuted them even to foreign cities.

Paul Tells of His Conversion

12 “In this connection ^azI journeyed 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, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. 14 And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me ^bain the Hebrew language, ^{▼▼Or the Hebrew dialect (probably Aramaic)} ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? 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 rise and ^bcstand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, ^bdto appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, 17 ^bedelivering you from your people and from the Gentiles— ^bfto whom I ^bgam sending you 18 ^bhto open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from ^bithe power of Satan to God, that they may receive ^bjforgiveness of sins and ^bka place among those who are sanctified ^blby faith in me.’

19 “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to ^bmthe heavenly vision, 20 but declared first ^bnto those in Damascus, ^bothen in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also ^bpto the Gentiles, that they should ^bqrepent and ^brturn to God, performing deeds ^bsin keeping with their repentance.