Acts 26:12

12 “On one such journey, I was going to Damascus with the full authority of the chief priests.

Acts 26:12 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 26:12

Whereupon as I went to Damascus
Being intent, upon the above said things, to punish the saints, compel them to blaspheme, imprison them, and even put them to death on account of these things; upon this errand and business he went to Damascus, the chief city of Syria, where he knew there were many that believed in Christ, who had removed from Jerusalem thither, on account of the persecution, or were settled there before:

with authority and commission from the chief priests;
the Jewish sanhedrim, to bring those of them at Damascus bound to Jerusalem, in order to be punished, as in ( Acts 9:2 ) ( 22:5 ) and which the Ethiopic version adds here.

Acts 26:12 In-Context

10 And that's exactly what I did in Jerusalem. I locked up many of God's holy people in prison under the authority of the chief priests. When they were condemned to death, I voted against them.

11 In one synagogue after another—indeed, in all the synagogues—I would often torture them, compelling them to slander God. My rage bordered on the hysterical as I pursued them, even to foreign cities.

12 “On one such journey, I was going to Damascus with the full authority of the chief priests.

13 While on the road at midday, King Agrippa, I saw a light from heaven shining around me and my traveling companions. That light was brighter than the sun.

14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice that said to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you harassing me? It's hard for you to kick against a spear.'