³⁶ Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus by birth, the one the apostles called Barnabas (which is translated Son of Encouragement),^(A)

³ As^(A) he travelled and was nearing Damascus, a light from heaven suddenly flashed around him. ⁴ Falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? ’

⁵ ‘Who are you, Lord? ’ Saul said.

‘I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting,’ he replied. ⁶ ‘But get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’

²⁰ Immediately he began proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues: ‘He is the Son of God.’^(A)

²² But Saul grew stronger and kept confounding the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.