[26:12] “It was for this purpose that I went to Damascus with authority and orders from the chief priests.
[26:13] It was on the road at midday, Your Majesty, that I saw a light much brighter than the sun, coming from the sky and shining around me and the men traveling with me.
[26:14] All of us fell to the ground, and I heard a voice say to me in Hebrew, ‘Saul, Saul! Why are you persecuting me? You are hurting yourself by hitting back, like an ox kicking against its owner's stick.’
[26:15] ‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked. And the Lord answered, ‘I am Jesus, whom you persecute.
[26:16] But get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant. You are to tell others what you have seen of me today and what I will show you in the future.
[26:17] I will rescue you from the people of Israel and from the Gentiles to whom I will send you.
[26:18] You are to open their eyes and turn them from the darkness to the light and from the power of Satan to God, so that through their faith in me they will have their sins forgiven and receive their place among God's chosen people.’