Galatians 1:11–24

Paul Defends His Apostleship

¹¹Now I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel preached by me is not based on human thought. ^s12For I did not receive it from a human source and I was not taught it, but it came by a revelation ^tfrom Jesus Christ. ^u

¹³For you have heard about my former way of life ^vin Judaism: ^wI persecuted ^xGod’s church to an extreme degree and tried to destroy it. ¹⁴I advanced in Judaism beyond many contemporaries among my people, because I was extremely zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. ^y15But when God, who from my birth set me apart and called ^zme by His grace, was pleased ¹⁶to reveal His Son ^ain me, so that I could preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone. ^b17I did not go up to Jerusalem ^cto those who had become apostles ^dbefore me; instead I went to Arabia ^eand came back to Damascus. ^f

¹⁸Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem ^gto get to know Cephas, ^hiand I stayed with him 15 days. ¹⁹But I didn’t see any of the other apostles except James, ^jthe Lord’s brother. ²⁰Now I am not lying in what I write to you. God is my witness. ^k

²¹Afterward, I went to the regions of Syria ^land Cilicia. ^m22I remained personally unknown to the Judean churches in Christ; ²³they simply kept hearing: “He who formerly persecuted ⁿus now preaches the faith ^ohe once tried to destroy.” ²⁴And they glorified God because of me.