1
"Brothers and fathers! Listen to me as I make my defense before you now!"
2
When they heard him speaking to them in Hebrew, they settled down more; so he continued:
3
"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city and trained at the feet of Gamli'el in every detail of the Torah of our forefathers. I was a zealot for God, as all of you are today.
4
I persecuted to death the followers of this Way, arresting both men and women and throwing them in prison.
5
The cohen hagadol and the whole Sanhedrin can also testify to this. Indeed, after receiving letters from them to their colleagues in Dammesek, I was on my way there in order to arrest the ones in that city too and bring them back to Yerushalayim for punishment.
6
"As I was traveling and approaching Dammesek, around noon, suddenly a brilliant light from heaven flashed all around me!
7
I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Sha'ul! Sha'ul! Why do you keep persecuting me?'
8
I answered, 'Sir, who are you?' 'I am Yeshua from Natzeret,' he said to me, 'and you are persecuting me!'
9
Those who were with me did see the light, but they didn't hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.