And began to stone him, the witnesses laying their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

Saul approved of his being put to death. On that very day a great persecution broke out against the Church which was in Jerusalem; and its members, with the exception of the Apostles, were all scattered over the districts of Judea and Samaria.

But Saul began to devastate the Church; he entered house after house, dragged out men and women alike, and threw them into prison.

Meanwhile Saul, still breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord, went to the High Priest,

He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him-- "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"

The men traveling with Saul were meanwhile standing speechless; they heard the sound of the voice, but saw no one.

When Saul got up from the ground, though his eyes were open, he could see nothing. So his men led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus;

"Go at once," said the Lord, "to the 'Straight Street', and ask at Judas's house for a man named Saul, from Tarsus. He is at this moment praying,

So Ananias went, entered the house, and, placing his hands on Saul, said: "Saul, my Brother, I have been sent by the Lord--by Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here--so that you may recover your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."

Instantly it seemed as if a film fell from Saul's eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized,

And, after he had taken food, he felt his strength return. Saul stayed for some days with the disciples who were at Damascus,

Saul's influence, however, kept steadily increasing, and he confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by the proofs that he gave that Jesus was the Christ.

After some time the Jews laid a plot to kill Saul,

On his arrival in Jerusalem, Saul attempted to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, as they did not believe that he was really a disciple.

Barnabas, however, taking him by the hand, brought him to the Apostles, and told them the whole story of how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord, and how the Lord had talked to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken out fearlessly in the Name of Jesus.

After that, Saul remained in Jerusalem, in close intercourse with the Apostles; and he spoke fearlessly in the Name of the Lord,

Afterwards Barnabas left for Tarsus to look for Saul;

And this they did, sending it to the Officers of the Church by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

When Barnabas and Saul had carried out their mission, they returned to Jerusalem, and took with them John, who was also known as Mark.

Among the members of the Church at Antioch there were several Prophets and Teachers--Barnabas, Simeon who was known by the name of 'Black', Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, foster-brother of Prince Herod, and Saul.

While they were engaged in the worship of the Lord and were fasting, the Holy Spirit said: "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul, for the work to which I have called them."

Barnabas and Saul, sent on this mission, as they were, by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia, and from there sailed to Cyprus.

He was at the court of the Governor, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who sent for Barnabas and Saul and asked to be told God's Message.

However, Saul (who is the same as Paul), full of the Holy Spirit, fixed his eyes on him and said:

And, when they demanded a king, God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for forty years.

I fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to me 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?'

Standing close to me, he said 'Saul, my Brother, recover your sight.' And then and there I recovered my sight and looked up at him.

We all fell to the ground, and then I heard a voice saying to me in Hebrew-- 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? By kicking against the goad you are punishing yourself.'