7. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’
8. “I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The voice said, ‘I am Jesus from Nazareth, the one you are persecuting.’
9. The men who were with me did not understand the voice, but they saw the light.
10. “I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ The Lord answered, ‘Get up and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that I have planned for you to do.’
11. I could not see, because the bright light had made me blind. So the men led me into Damascus.
12. “In Damascus a man named Ananias came to me. He was a man who was devoted to God and obeyed the Law of Moses. All the Jews who lived there respected him.
13. He came to me and said, ‘Saul, my brother, look up and see again!’ Immediately I was able to see him.
14. “Ananias told me, ‘The God of our fathers chose you long ago to know his plan. He chose you to see the Righteous One and to hear words from him.
15. You will be his witness to all people. You will tell them what you have seen and heard.
16. Now, don’t wait any longer. Get up, be baptized and wash away your sins, trusting in Jesus to save you.’
17. “Later, I came back to Jerusalem. I was praying in the Temple area, and I saw a vision.
18. I saw Jesus, and he said to me, ‘Hurry and leave Jerusalem now! The people here will not accept the truth you tell them about me.’
19. “I said, ‘But, Lord, the people know that I was the one who put the believers in jail and beat them. I went through all the synagogues to find and arrest the people who believe in you.
20. The people also know that I was there when Stephen, your witness, was killed. I stood there and agreed that they should kill him. I even held the coats of the men who were killing him!’