6
1"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?'
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And I answered, 'Who are you, Lord?' And he said to me,
'I am 2Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.'
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3Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me.
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And I said,
4'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.'
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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.
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"And
5one Ananias, a devout man
6according to the law,
7well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there,
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8came to me, and standing by me said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And
9at that very hour I received my sight and saw him.
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And he said,
10'The God of our fathers
11appointed you to know his will,
12to see
13the Righteous One and
14to hear a voice from his mouth;
15
for
15you will be a witness for him to everyone of what
16you have seen and heard.
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And now why do you wait?
17Rise and be baptized and
18wash away your sins,
19calling on his name.'
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20"When I had returned to Jerusalem and
21was praying in the temple, I fell into
22a trance
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and saw him saying to me,
23'Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.'
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And I said, 'Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another
24I imprisoned and
25beat those who believed in you.
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And when the blood of Stephen
26your witness was being shed,
27I myself was standing by and
28approving and
29watching over the garments of those who killed him.'
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And he said to me,
'Go, for I will send you 30far away to the Gentiles.'"