and requested letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them to Jerusalem bound in chains.
But when some of them became hardened and refused to believe, slandering the Way in front of the crowd, he left them. He took the disciples and had daily discussions with them in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.
But this I admit to you that, according to the Way which they call a sect, I serve the God of our ancestors, believing everything in accordance with the Law and what is written in the prophets.
But Felix adjourned the hearing, because he had detailed knowledge of the Way. He said, “When Lysias the commander comes down, I will decide y’all’s case.”
He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and with a fervent spirit, he spoke and taught accurately about Jesus, although he knew only the baptism of John.
However, some members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and began to argue with Stephen.
Concerning Damascus: “Hamath and Arpad are confounded, for they have heard evil news. They have melted away. There is sorrow on the sea. It can’t be quiet.
All who heard him were amazed and said, “Isn’t this the man who was ravaging those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and who came here intending to chain them and bring them before the chief priests?”
And I did this in Jerusalem: after receiving authority from the chief priests, I locked up many of the saints in prisons, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.