Galatians 1:10-24

10When I say these things, I am not trying to please people. No, it is God that I want to please. If I only wanted to make people happy, then I would not be a servant of Christ.

11The good news that I tell people did not come from any person on earth. I want you to know that, my friends.

12Nobody on earth gave it to me. Nobody taught it to me. No, it was Jesus Christ himself who showed it to me clearly.

13You know about the things that I did before, when I obeyed the Jewish rules. I caused very much trouble against God's church. I tried to destroy those people completely.

14I obeyed the Jewish rules better than many other Jews who were my friends. I tried very much to obey the ideas that our Jewish ancestors taught.

15But God had chosen me to serve him even before I was born. He chose me to be his servant because he is very kind.

16He decided to show his Son clearly to me, so that I could tell the Gentiles about him. When God chose me to do that, I did not talk about it with any person.

17Nor did I go to Jerusalem to see Christ's apostles there. Those men were already his apostles before I was. But I did not go to talk to them. Instead, I went immediately to the region of Arabia. Later, I went back to the city of Damascus.

18Then, three years later, I did go to Jerusalem. I stayed there with Christ's apostle Peter for 15 days, so that he could teach me.

19I did not see any other apostles, except James, who is the Lord's brother.

20God knows that what I am writing to you is completely true!

21Later, I went to different places in Syria and Cilicia.

22The Christians in the churches in Judea had never met me.

23They had only heard people say this about me: ‘This man caused bad trouble against us Christians before. He tried to destroy God's message about Jesus. But now he himself is telling people the good news about Jesus, so that they believe.’

24When the believers in Judea heard that, they praised God because of me.