1
"Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense before you."
2
When they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even quieter.
3
He continued, "I am a Jewish man, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city[a] at the feet of Gamaliel, and educated according to the strict view of our patriarchal law. Being zealous for God, just as all of you are today,
4
I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women in jail,
5
as both the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. Having received letters from them to the brothers, I was traveling to Damascus to bring those who were prisoners there to be punished in Jerusalem.
Paul's Testimony
6 "As I was traveling and near Damascus, about noon an intense light from heaven suddenly flashed around me.