Acts 22:4

¹⁹I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue those who believed in you. ²⁰When the blood of Stephen, your witness, was shed, I also was standing by, consenting to his death, and guarding the cloaks of those who killed him.’

⁹“I myself most certainly thought that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. ¹⁰I also did this in Jerusalem. I both shut up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death I gave my vote against them. ¹¹Punishing them often in all the synagogues, I tried to make them blaspheme. Being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.

¹³although I used to be a blasphemer, a persecutor, and insolent. However, I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. ¹⁴The grace of our Lord abounded exceedingly with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵The saying is faithful and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.

¹Saul was consenting to his death. A great persecution arose against the assembly which was in Jerusalem in that day. They were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except for the apostles. ²Devout men buried Stephen and lamented greatly over him. ³But Saul ravaged the assembly, entering into every house and dragged both men and women off to prison. ⁴Therefore those who were scattered abroad went around preaching the word.

⁹For I am the least of the apostles, who is not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the assembly of God.

¹⁷Following Paul and us, she cried out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us a way of salvation!”

⁵⁸They threw him out of the city and stoned him. The witnesses placed their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

²⁶He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside, and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

¹³But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he did to your saints at Jerusalem. ¹⁴Here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.”

¹But Saul, still breathing threats and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest ²and asked for letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.