Acts 9:7-9

9:7 (Now the men ¹  who were traveling with him stood there speechless, ²  because they heard the voice but saw no one.) ³  9:8 So Saul got up from the ground, but although his eyes were open, ⁴  he could see nothing. ⁵  Leading him by the hand, his companions ⁶  brought him into Damascus. 9:9 For ⁷  three days he could not see, and he neither ate nor drank anything. ⁸ 

¹ tn The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which is used only rarely in a generic sense of both men and women. In the historical setting here, Paul’s traveling companions were almost certainly all males.

² tn That is, unable to speak because of fear or amazement. See BDAG 335 s.v. ἐνεός.

³ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. Acts 22:9 appears to indicate that they saw the light but did not hear a voice. They were “witnesses” that something happened.

⁴ tn Grk “his eyes being open,” a genitive absolute construction that has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.

⁵ sn He could see nothing. This sign of blindness, which was temporary until v. 18, is like the sign of deafness experienced by Zechariah in Luke 1. It allowed some time for Saul (Paul) to reflect on what had happened without distractions.

⁶ tn Grk “they”; the referents (Saul’s companions) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁷ tn Grk “And for.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

⁸ tn The word “anything” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader. The fasting might indicate an initial realization of Luke 5:33-39. Fasting was usually accompanied by reflective thought.