Acts 26:9-16

9“So 1I thought to myself that I had to act in strong opposition to 2the name of Jesus 3of Nazareth. 10And this is 4just what I 5did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the 6saints in prisons, after 7receiving authority from the chief priests, but I also 8cast my vote against them when they were being put to death. 11And 9as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and since I was 10extremely enraged at them, I kept pursuing them 11even to 12foreign cities.

12“13While so engaged, 14as I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, 13at midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, 15brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who were journeying with me. 14And when we had 16all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the 1718Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? 19It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16But get up and 20stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to 21appoint you as a 22servant and 23a witness not only to the things in which you have seen Me, but also to the things in which I will appear to you,