So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites. The children of Israel had sworn peace to them, but Saul had sought to kill them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah.)

Then he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for Jehovah. So they made him ride in his chariot.

And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, You see, brother, how many countless Jews there are who believe, and they also are all zealous for the Law;

For I bear witness of them that they have a zeal for God, but not according to full true knowledge.

For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it.

And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.

Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder toward the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest

But as he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from Heaven.

And he said, Who are You, Sir? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you persecute. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.

And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a sound but seeing no one.

And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

So the Lord said to him, Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he prays.

Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem.

But the Lord said to him, Go, for he is a chosen vessel unto Me to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.

And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus.

I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers' Law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today.

I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women,

Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.

This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.

For I am the least of the apostles, who am not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I received mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of Heaven.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.

And he answered and said to Him, Teacher, all these things I have observed from my youth.

Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.

And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless.

They knew me from the first, if they were willing to bear witness, that according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.

I was alive once apart from the Law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.

but Israel, pursuing the Law of righteousness, has not arrived at the Law of righteousness.

Why? Because it was not by faith, but as out of works of the Law. For they stumbled at the stumbling stone.

For I bear witness of them that they have a zeal for God, but not according to full true knowledge.

For Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes.