³ “I am a Jew,^(A) born in Tarsus^(B) of Cilicia,^(C) but brought up in this city. I studied under^(D) Gamaliel^(E) and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors.^(F) I was just as zealous^(G) for God as any of you are today.

⁹ “I too was convinced^(A) that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose^(B) the name of Jesus of Nazareth.^{(C) 10} And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the Lord’s people^(D) in prison,^(E) and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.^{(F) 11} Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished,^(G) and I tried to force them to blaspheme. I was so obsessed with persecuting them that I even hunted them down in foreign cities.

¹³ For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism,^(A) how intensely I persecuted the church of God^(B) and tried to destroy it.^(C)

¹⁴ I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous^(A) for the traditions of my fathers.^(B)