1. “Brothers and fathers, hear my defense which I now make to you.”
2. When they heard that he addressed them in the Hebrew language, they became even more quiet. Then he said,
3. “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. At the feet of Gamaliel I was trained in the strict tradition of the law of the fathers, being zealous toward God as you all are today.
4. I persecuted this Way to the death, arresting and imprisoning both men and women,
5. as even the high priest and the council of elders bear witness of me. From them I received letters to the brothers in Damascus, where I went to take even those who were there and lead them in chains to Jerusalem to be punished.
6. “As I journeyed and came near Damascus, about noon suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me.
7. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?’