Acts 26:9-23

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, 1724rescuing you 25from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, 18to 26open their eyes so that they may turn from 27darkness to light, and from the 28power of 29Satan to God, that they may receive 30forgiveness of sins and an 31inheritance among those who have been sanctified by 32faith in Me.’

19“For that reason, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20but continually proclaimed 33to those in Damascus first, and 34in Jerusalem, and then all the region of Judea, and even 35to the Gentiles, that they are to 36repent and turn to God, performing deeds 37consistent with repentance. 21For these reasons some Jews 38seized me in the temple and tried 39to murder me. 22So, having obtained help from God, I stand to this day 40testifying both to small and great, stating nothing but what 41the Prophets and Moses said was going to take place, 23as to 42whether the 43Christ was 44to suffer, and whether, as 45first from the resurrection of the dead, He would proclaim 46light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”