But Saul, still breathing threatening and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest

And asked for letters from him to Damascus for the synagogues, so that if he found any who were of the  ¹Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

And as he went, he drew near to Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.

And he fell on the ground and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting  ¹Me?

And he said, Who are You,  ¹Lord? And He said, I am Jesus, whom you persecute.

But rise up and enter into the city, and it  ¹will be told to you what you must do.

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

And Saul rose from the ground; and though his eyes were open, he could see  ¹nothing. And they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.

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

And there was a certain disciple in Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.

And the Lord said to him, Rise up and  ¹go to the lane called Straight, and seek in the house of Judas a man from Tarsus named Saul; for behold, he is praying;

And he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in and laying his hands on him so that he may  ¹receive his sight.

But Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many concerning this man, how many evil things he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem;

And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who  ¹call upon Your name.

But the Lord said to him, Go, for this man is a  ¹chosen vessel to Me, to bear My name before both the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;

For I will show him how many things he must suffer on behalf of My name.

And Ananias went away and entered into the house; and  ¹laying his hands on him, he said, Saul, brother, the Lord has sent me — Jesus, who appeared to you on the road on which you were coming — so that you may receive your sight and be  ²filled with the Holy Spirit.

And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he  ¹received his sight and rose up and was  ²baptized.

And once he had taken food, he was strengthened. And he was with the disciples in Damascus for some days.

And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the  ¹synagogues, that this One is the Son of God.

And all who heard him were amazed and said, Is this not the one who ravaged those who call upon this name in Jerusalem and came here for this, that he might bring them bound before the chief priests?

But Saul was all the more empowered, and he confounded the Jews dwelling in Damascus by proving that this One is the Christ.

And as a considerable number of days were being fulfilled, the Jews took counsel together to do away with him;

But their plot was made known to Saul. And they also watched the gates closely, both day and night, so that they might do away with him.

But his disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall, lowering him in a basket.

And when he arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join himself to the disciples; yet all feared him, not believing that he was a disciple.

But Barnabas took hold of him and led him to the apostles, and he related to them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus.

And he was with them, going in and going out in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.

And he spoke and disputed with the Hellenists, but they attempted to do away with him.

But when the brothers realized it, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him forth to Tarsus.

And Jehoram his son reigned in his place.

And he had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah and Jehiel and Zechariah and Azariahu and Michael and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat the king of  ¹Judah.

And their father gave them many gifts of silver and gold and precious things, along with fortified cities in Judah; but the kingdom he gave to Jehoram, for he was the firstborn.

And when Jehoram rose up over the kingdom of his father and strengthened himself, he slew all his brothers with the sword as well as the princes of Israel.

Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.

And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel and as the house of Ahab had done, for Ahab's daughter was his wife; and he did what was evil in the sight of Jehovah.

But Jehovah would not destroy the house of David, because of the  ¹covenant He had made with David and since He had promised him that He would provide a lamp for him and for his children always.

In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and they installed a king over themselves.

So Jehoram crossed over with his captains and all his chariots with him. And he rose up at night and struck the Edomites all around him and the captains of the chariots.

So Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, as it is to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time from under his hand, for he had forsaken Jehovah, the God of his fathers.

He also made high places in the hill country of Judah and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit harlotries and led Judah astray.

And a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus says Jehovah, the God of David your father, Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father and in the ways of Asa the king of Judah

But have walked in the way of the kings of Israel and caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit harlotries, as the house of Ahab committed harlotries, and also have slain your brothers, those of your father's house, who were better than you,

Jehovah is now striking your people and your children and your wives and all your possessions with a great plague;

And you yourself will be severely ill with a disease of your bowels, to the point that your bowels will come out day by day because of the illness.

And Jehovah stirred up the spirit of the Philistines and Arabians who are next to the Cushites against Jehoram.

And they came up against Judah and broke through into it and carried away all the possessions that were found in the king's house as well as his sons and his wives; and no son was left to him except Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.

And after all this, Jehovah struck him in his bowels with the incurable illness.

And in the course of time, at the end of two years, his bowels came out because of the illness, and he died with severe illnesses. And his people did not make a burning for him, like the burning they had made for his fathers.

He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he departed with no one's regret; and they buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made  ¹Ahaziah, his youngest son, king in his place, for the band of men who had come up to the camp with the Arabians had slain all the older sons; so Ahaziah the son of Jehoram the king of Judah reigned.

Ahaziah was  ¹twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Athaliah, the  ²daughter of Omri.

He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counselor in acting wickedly.

And he did what was evil in the sight of Jehovah, like the house of Ahab; for they were his counselors after the death of his father, to his own destruction.

He walked also in their counsel and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab the king of Israel to battle against Hazael the king of Syria at Ramoth-gilead. And the Syrians struck  ¹Joram,

And he returned to heal in Jezreel because of the wounds that they had inflicted on him in Ramah when he fought with Hazael the king of Syria. And  ¹Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, the king of Judah, went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, for he was sick.

Now the downfall of Ahaziah was of God, because he went to Joram. And when he arrived, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom Jehovah had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab.

And when Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, he found the captains of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah's brothers serving Ahaziah; and he slew them.

And he sought for Ahaziah, and they caught him; for he had been hiding in Samaria. And they brought him to Jehu and killed him. And they buried him, for they said, He is the son of Jehoshaphat, who pursued Jehovah with all his heart. And the house of Ahaziah did not have the strength to retain the kingdom.