1
1"Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you."
2
And when they heard that he was addressing them in
2the Hebrew language, they became even more quiet. And he said:
3
3"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated
4at the feet of
5Gamaliel
6 according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers,
7being zealous for God
8as all of you are this day.
4
9I persecuted
10this Way
11to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women,
5
as
12the high priest and
13the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to
14the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.
6
15"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 16Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.'
9
17Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me.
10
And I said,
18'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
19one Ananias, a devout man
20according to the law,
21well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there,
13
22came to me, and standing by me said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And
23at that very hour I received my sight and saw him.
14
And he said,
24'The God of our fathers
25appointed you to know his will,
26to see
27the Righteous One and
28to hear a voice from his mouth;
15
for
29you will be a witness for him to everyone of what
30you have seen and heard.
16
And now why do you wait?
31Rise and be baptized and
32wash away your sins,
33calling on his name.'
17
34"When I had returned to Jerusalem and
35was praying in the temple, I fell into
36a trance
18
and saw him saying to me,
37'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
38I imprisoned and
39beat those who believed in you.
20
And when the blood of Stephen
40your witness was being shed,
41I myself was standing by and
42approving and
43watching over the garments of those who killed him.'
21
And he said to me,
'Go, for I will send you 44far away to the Gentiles.'"