11 Many times, in synagogue after synagogue, I punished them in an attempt to force them to blaspheme; I was so enraged against them that I pursued them even to foreign cities.
12 “On one such occasion I was traveling to Damascus with the authorization and commission of the chief priests.
13 At midday, along the way, O king, I saw a light from the sky, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my traveling companions.
14 We all fell to the ground and I heard a voice saying to me in Hebrew, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goad.’
15 And I said, ‘Who are you, sir?’ And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.
16 Get up now, and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness of what you have seen [of me] and what you will be shown.
17 I shall deliver you from this people and from the Gentiles to whom I send you,