11 Many times I had them punished in the synagogues and tried to make them deny their faith. I was so furious with them that I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.
12 “It was for this purpose that I went to Damascus with authority and orders from the chief priests.
13 It was on the road at midday, Your Majesty, that I saw a light much brighter than the sun, coming from the sky and shining round me and the men travelling with me.
14 All of us fell to the ground, and I heard a voice say to me in Hebrew, ‘Saul, Saul! Why are you persecuting me? You are hurting yourself by hitting back, like an ox kicking against its owner's stick.’
15 ‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked. And the Lord answered, ‘I am Jesus, whom you persecute.
16 But get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant. You are to tell others what you have seen of me today and what I will show you in the future.
17 I will rescue you from the people of Israel and from the Gentiles to whom I will send you.