1 Rav Sha'ul said, "Anashim, Achim, Avot, listen now to my hitstaddekut (defense)."
2 And when they heard that Rav Sha'ul was addressing them in the language of the Hebrews, they were even more quiet. And Rav Sha'ul said,
3 "I am an ish Yehudi, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but having been brought up in a yeshiva in this city of Yerushalayim at the feet of Rabban Gamliel, having learned with irreproachable frumkeit according to all machmir chumra strictness the Torah of Avoteinu, and I have a kinat Hashem just as all of you do today; [MELACHIM ALEF 19:10]
4 "I brought redifah on this 'Derech,' even to the point of mavet, binding and delivering both anashim and nashim over to the beis hasohar,
5 "As even the Kohen Gadol and all the Zekenim of the Sanhedrin could give solemn eidus for me. For from them I also was authorized with iggrot to the Achim in Damascus, and I was going there to lead away also the ones who were there in order to bring them bound back to Yerushalayim to have them punished.
6 "And it happened to me while traveling and drawing near to Damascus, lav davka (approximately) noon, suddenly from Shomayim, a very bright ohr (light) shone around me;