11. In one synagogue after another—indeed, in all the synagogues—I would often torture them, compelling them to slander God. My rage bordered on the hysterical as I pursued them, even to foreign cities.
12. “On one such journey, I was going to Damascus with the full authority of the chief priests.
13. While on the road at midday, King Agrippa, I saw a light from heaven shining around me and my traveling companions. That light was brighter than the sun.
14. We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice that said to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you harassing me? It’s hard for you to kick against a spear.’
15. Then I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are harassing.
16. Get up! Stand on your feet! I have appeared to you for this purpose: to appoint you as my servant and witness of what you have seen and what I will show you.
17. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you