7. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you doing things against me?’
8. I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The voice said, ‘I am Jesus from Nazareth. I am the One you are trying to hurt.’
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 to Damascus. There you will be told about all the things 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. “There a man named Ananias came to me. He was a religious man; he obeyed the law of Moses. All the Jews who lived there respected him.
13. Ananias came to me, stood by me, and said, ‘Brother Saul, see again!’ Immediately I was able to see him.
14. Ananias told me, ‘The God of our fathers chose you long ago. He chose you 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 about the things you have seen and heard.
16. Now, why wait any longer? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away. Do this, trusting in him to save you.’
17. “Later, I returned to Jerusalem. I was praying in the Temple, and I saw a vision.
18. I saw the Lord saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem now! The people here will not accept the truth about me.’
19. But I said, ‘Lord, they know that in every synagogue I put the believers in jail and beat them.
20. They 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!’