The Conversion of Paul in Acts

The Three Versions

Version 1

7:54 When they heard these things, they became enraged and ground their teeth at Stephen. 7:55 But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 7:56 "Look," he said, "I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" 7:57 But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him. 7:58 Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him; and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. 7:59 While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 7:60 Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he died. 8:1 And Saul approved of their killing him. That day a severe persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria. 8:2 Devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation over him. 8:3 But Saul was ravaging the church by entering house after house; dragging off both men and women, he committed them to prison. 8:4 Now those who were scattered went from place to place, proclaiming the word.
9:1 Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 9:2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 9:3 Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 9:4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" 9:5 He asked, "Who are you, Lord?" The reply came, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 9:6 But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do." 9:7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. 9:8 Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9:9 For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. 9:10 Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." He answered, "Here I am, Lord." 9:11 The Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, 9:12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight." 9:13 But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; 9:14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name." 9:15 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; 9:16 I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name." 9:17 So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 9:18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, 9:19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength. For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus, 9:20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of God." 9:21 All who heard him were amazed and said, "Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem among those who invoked this name? And has he not come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?" 9:22 Saul became increasingly more powerful and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Messiah. 9:23 After some time had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, 9:24 but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night so that they might kill him; 9:25 but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket. 9:26 When he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples; and they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. 9:27 But Barnabas took him, brought him to the apostles, and described for them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus. 9:28 So he went in and out among them in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 9:29 He spoke and argued with the Hellenists; but they were attempting to kill him. 9:30 When the believers learned of it, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. 9:31 Meanwhile the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was built up. Living in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.

Version 2

21:37 Just as Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, "May I say something to you?" The tribune replied, "Do you know Greek? 21:38 Then you are not the Egyptian who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand assassins out into the wilderness?" 21:39 Paul replied, "I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city; I beg you, let me speak to the people." 21:40 When he had given him permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the people for silence; and when there was a great hush, he addressed them in the Hebrew language, saying: 22:1 "Brothers and fathers, listen to the defense that I now make before you."22:2 When they heard him addressing them in Hebrew, they became even more quiet. Then he said: 22:3 "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated strictly according to our ancestral law, being zealous for God, just as all of you are today. 22:4 I persecuted this Way up to the point of death by binding both men and women and putting them in prison, 22:5 as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. From them I also received letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I went there in order to bind those who were there and to bring them back to Jerusalem for punishment. 22:6 "While I was on my way and approaching Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone about me. 22:7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' 22:8 I answered, 'Who are you, Lord?' Then he said to me, 'I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting.' 22:9 Now those who were with me saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 22:10 I asked, 'What am I to do, Lord?' The Lord said to me, 'Get up and go to Damascus; there you will be told everything that has been assigned to you to do.' 22:11 Since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, those who were with me took my hand and led me to Damascus. 22:12 "A certain Ananias, who was a devout man according to the law and well spoken of by all the Jews living there, 22:13 came to me; and standing beside me, he said, 'Brother Saul, regain your sight!' In that very hour I regained my sight and saw him. 22:14 Then he said, 'The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear his own voice; 22:15 for you will be his witness to all the world of what you have seen and heard. 22:16 And now why do you delay? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name.' 22:17 "After I had returned to Jerusalem and while I was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 22:18 and saw Jesus saying to me, 'Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.' 22:19 And I said, 'Lord, they themselves know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. 22:20 And while the blood of your witness Stephen was shed, I myself was standing by, approving and keeping the coats of those who killed him.' 22:21 Then he said to me, 'Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'" 22:22 Up to this point they listened to him, but then they shouted, "Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live." 22:23 And while they were shouting, throwing off their cloaks, and tossing dust into the air, 22:24 the tribune directed that he was to be brought into the barracks, and ordered him to be examined by flogging, to find out the reason for this outcry against him.

Version 3

25:13 After several days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to welcome Festus. 25:14 Since they were staying there several days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying, "There is a man here who was left in prison by Felix. 25:15 When I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me about him and asked for a sentence against him. 25:16 I told them that it was not the custom of the Romans to hand over anyone before the accused had met the accusers face to face and had been given an opportunity to make a defense against the charge. 25:17 So when they met here, I lost no time, but on the next day took my seat on the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought. 25:18 When the accusers stood up, they did not charge him with any of the crimes that I was expecting. 25:19 Instead they had certain points of disagreement with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who had died, but whom Paul asserted to be alive. 25:20 Since I was at a loss how to investigate these questions, I asked whether he wished to go to Jerusalem and be tried there on these charges. 25:21 But when Paul had appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of his Imperial Majesty, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to the emperor." 25:22 Agrippa said to Festus, "I would like to hear the man myself." "Tomorrow," he said, "you will hear him." 25:23 So on the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city. Then Festus gave the order and Paul was brought in. 25:24 And Festus said, "King Agrippa and all here present with us, you see this man about whom the whole Jewish community petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. 25:25 But I found that he had done nothing deserving death; and when he appealed to his Imperial Majesty, I decided to send him. 25:26 But I have nothing definite to write to our sovereign about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that, after we have examined him, I may have something to write-- 25:27 for it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner without indicating the charges against him." 26:1 Agrippa said to Paul, "You have permission to speak for yourself." Then Paul stretched out his hand and began to defend himself: 26:2 "I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, 26:3 because you are especially familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews; therefore I beg of you to listen to me patiently. 26:4 "All the Jews know my way of life from my youth, a life spent from the beginning among my own people and in Jerusalem. 26:5 They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I have belonged to the strictest sect of our religion and lived as a Pharisee. 26:6 And now I stand here on trial on account of my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors, 26:7 a promise that our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship day and night. It is for this hope, your Excellency, that I am accused by Jews! 26:8 Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead? 26:9 "Indeed, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 26:10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem; with authority received from the chief priests, I not only locked up many of the saints in prison, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death. 26:11 By punishing them often in all the synagogues I tried to force them to blaspheme; and since I was so furiously enraged at them, I pursued them even to foreign cities. 26:12 "With this in mind, I was traveling to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, 26:13 when at midday along the road, your Excellency, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions. 26:14 When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It hurts you to kick against the goads.' 26:15 I asked, 'Who are you, Lord?' The Lord answered, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 26:16 But get up and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and testify to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you. 26:17 I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles--to whom I am sending you 26:18 to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.' 26:19 "After that, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 26:20 but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout the countryside of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and do deeds consistent with repentance. 26:21 For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. 26:22 To this day I have had help from God, and so I stand here, testifying to both small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would take place: 26:23 that the Messiah must suffer, and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles."