Acts 22:12-21

¹²“Now a certain Ananias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law and well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, ¹³came to me, and standing nearby he said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I looked up at him. ¹⁴And he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear a message from His mouth. ¹⁵For you will be a witness for Him to all people of what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins by calling on His name.’

¹⁷“It happened when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I fell into a trance, ¹⁸and I saw Him saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’ ¹⁹And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another I used to imprison and beat those who believed in You. ²⁰And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing nearby and approving, and watching over the cloaks of those who were killing him.’ ²¹And He said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ”