1 “My fellow Jews, listen to me as I make my defense before you!”
2 When they heard him speaking to them in Hebrew, they became even quieter; and Paul went on:
3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up here in Jerusalem as a student of Gamaliel. I received strict instruction in the Law of our ancestors and was just as dedicated to God as are all of you who are here today.
4 I persecuted to the death the people who followed this Way. I arrested men and women and threw them into prison.
5 The High Priest and the whole Council can prove that I am telling the truth. I received from them letters written to fellow Jews in Damascus, so I went there to arrest these people and bring them back in chains to Jerusalem to be punished.
6 “As I was traveling and coming near Damascus, about midday a bright light from the sky flashed suddenly around me.
7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute me?’