9. “I used to believe that I ought to do everything I could to oppose the very name of Jesus the Nazarene.
10. Indeed, I did just that in Jerusalem. Authorized by the leading priests, I caused many believers there to be sent to prison. And I cast my vote against them when they were condemned to death.
11. Many times I had them punished in the synagogues to get them to curse Jesus. I was so violently opposed to them that I even chased them down in foreign cities.
12. “One day I was on such a mission to Damascus, armed with the authority and commission of the leading priests.
13. About noon, Your Majesty, as I was on the road, a light from heaven brighter than the sun shone down on me and my companions.
14. We all fell down, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is useless for you to fight against my will.’
15. “‘Who are you, lord?’ I asked.“And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting.
16. Now get to your feet! For I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant and witness. Tell people that you have seen me, and tell them what I will show you in the future.