Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible



I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel and taught according to the truth of the law of the fathers, zealous toward God, as ye all are this day. And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.

And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, came unto the prince of the priests and asked him for letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he proceeded, he came near Damascus; and suddenly there shone round about him a light from heaven; read more.
and falling to the earth, he heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I AM Jesus whom thou dost persecute; it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

I verily had thought that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.

For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in Judaism, how that beyond measure I was persecuting and destroying the congregation of God And profited in Judaism above many of my equals in my own nation, being exceedingly more zealous of the traditions of my fathers.

concerning zeal, a persecutor of the congregation ; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.




for when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah took one hundred prophets and hid them in groups of fifty in caves and sustained them with bread and water.)

And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, came unto the prince of the priests

And he replied, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of the hosts, for the sons of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left, and they seek me to take my life.

that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, who perished between the altar and the temple; verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.


Which things I also did in Jerusalem, and I shut up many of the saints in prison, having received authority from the princes of the priests, and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them.


Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are not ye my work in the Lord?

And last of all he appeared unto me also, as of one born out of due time.

And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has enabled me, for he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, who was before a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious, but I was received unto mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in Judaism, how that beyond measure I was persecuting and destroying the congregation of God

And as he proceeded, he came near Damascus; and suddenly there shone round about him a light from heaven; and falling to the earth, he heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I AM Jesus whom thou dost persecute; it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. read more.
And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what it behooves thee to do. And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing indeed the voice, but seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the earth; and opening his eyes, he saw no one; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus where he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank. And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; to whom the Lord said in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise and go into the street which is called Straight and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus; for, behold, he prays and has seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight. Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, of how much evil he has done to thy saints in Jerusalem, and even here he has authority from the princes of the priests to bind all that call on thy name. But the Lord said unto him, Go; for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much it behooves him to suffer for my name. Then Ananias went and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared unto thee in the way as thou didst come, has sent me, that thou might receive thy sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales; and he received sight immediately and arose and was baptized. And when he had received food, he was comforted. Then Saul was certain days with the disciples who were at Damascus. And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. But all that heard him were amazed and said, Is not this he that destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem and came here for that intent that he might bring them bound unto the princes of the priests? But Saul increased the more in strength and confounded the Jews who dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is the Christ.

And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. As also the prince of the priests bears me witness, and all the estate of the elders, from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring those who were bound there unto Jerusalem to be punished. And it came to pass that, as I made my journey and was come near unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. read more.
And I fell unto the ground and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute me? And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I Am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou dost persecute. And those that were with me saw indeed the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of him that spoke to me. And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise and go into Damascus, and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. And when I could not see for the clarity of that light, being led by the hand of those that were with me, I came into Damascus. And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good witness of all the Jews who dwelt there, came unto me and stood and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him. And he said, The God of our fathers has chosen thee that thou should know his will and see that Just One and should hear the voice of his mouth. For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. And now why tarriest thou? Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. And it came to pass that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a rapture of understanding and saw him saying unto me, Make haste and go quickly out of Jerusalem, for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me. And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and in every synagogue beat those that believed on thee;

I verily had thought that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Which things I also did in Jerusalem, and I shut up many of the saints in prison, having received authority from the princes of the priests, and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them. And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto foreign cities. read more.
Whereupon as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the princes of the priests, at midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and those who journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute me? It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou dost persecute.


As for Saul, he made havoc of the congregation ; entering into the houses and dragging out men and women, he committed them to prison.

And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, came unto the prince of the priests

And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the congregation which was at Jerusalem, and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.

and casting him out of the city, they stoned him; and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.



Then the tribunal came near and took him and commanded him to be bound with two chains and demanded to know who he was and what he had done. And some cried one thing, some another, among the multitude; and when he could not know the certainty for the tumult, he commanded him to be carried into the fortress. And when he came upon the stairs, so it was that he was borne of the soldiers because of the violence of the people. read more.
For the multitude of the people followed after, crying, Away with him. And as Paul was to be led into the fortress, he said unto the tribunal, May I speak unto thee? Who said, Canst thou speak Greek? Art not thou that Egyptian, who before these days made an uproar and led four thousand men out into the wilderness that were murderers? But Paul said, I am certainly a Jew, a citizen of Tarsus, a city known in Cilicia; and, I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people. And when he had given him license, Paul stood on the stairs and beckoned with the hand unto the people. And when there was made a great silence, he spoke unto them in the Hebrew tongue, saying,

Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defense which I make now unto you. (And when they heard that he spoke in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence, and he said,) I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel and taught according to the truth of the law of the fathers, zealous toward God, as ye all are this day. read more.
And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. As also the prince of the priests bears me witness, and all the estate of the elders, from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring those who were bound there unto Jerusalem to be punished. And it came to pass that, as I made my journey and was come near unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. And I fell unto the ground and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute me? And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I Am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou dost persecute. And those that were with me saw indeed the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of him that spoke to me. And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise and go into Damascus, and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. And when I could not see for the clarity of that light, being led by the hand of those that were with me, I came into Damascus. And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good witness of all the Jews who dwelt there, came unto me and stood and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him. And he said, The God of our fathers has chosen thee that thou should know his will and see that Just One and should hear the voice of his mouth. For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. And now why tarriest thou? Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. And it came to pass that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a rapture of understanding and saw him saying unto me, Make haste and go quickly out of Jerusalem, for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me. And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and in every synagogue beat those that believed on thee; and when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by and consenting unto his death and kept the raiment of those that slew him. And he said unto me, Depart, for I will send thee far from here unto the Gentiles.




and asked him for letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.

But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call a sect, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets,

And when Felix heard these things, he deferred them, saying, I shall have more information regarding that way, when Lysias the tribunal shall come down, Then I will know the uttermost of your matter.

And the same time there arose no small stir about the way.



And the king called the Gibeonites and said unto them: (now the Gibeonites were not of the sons of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; and the sons of Israel had sworn unto them, and Saul had sought to slay them in his zeal for the sons of Israel and Judah).

I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel and taught according to the truth of the law of the fathers, zealous toward God, as ye all are this day. And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.