⁵⁷ At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him,

8 And Saul^(A) approved of their killing him.

The Church Persecuted and Scattered

On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered^(B) throughout Judea and Samaria.^(C)

³ But Saul^(A) began to destroy the church.^(B) Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.

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^(A) in prison,^(B) and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.^(C)

¹¹ Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished,^(A) 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)

¹³ Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor^(A) and a violent man, I was shown mercy^(B) because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.^(C)