And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities. Being exceedingly mad against them - Only a madman will persecute another because of his differing from him in religious opinion; and the fiercest persecutor is he who should be deemed the most furious madman.
Unto strange cities - Places out of the jurisdiction of the Jews, such as Damascus, which he immediately mentions.