Acts 8:3

8:3 But Saul was trying to destroy ¹  the church; entering one house after another, he dragged off ²  both men and women and put them in prison. ³ 

Acts 9:1-19

The Conversion of Saul

9:1 Meanwhile Saul, still breathing out threats ⁴  to murder ⁵  the Lord’s disciples, went to the high priest 9:2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues ⁶  in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, ⁷  either men or women, he could bring them as prisoners ⁸  to Jerusalem. ⁹  9:3 As he was going along, approaching ¹⁰  Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed ¹¹  around him. 9:4 He ¹²  fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, ¹³  why are you persecuting me?” ¹⁴  9:5 So he said, “Who are you, Lord?” He replied, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting! 9:6 But stand up ¹⁵  and enter the city and you will be told ¹⁶  what you must do.” 9:7 (Now the men ¹⁷  who were traveling with him stood there speechless, ¹⁸  because they heard the voice but saw no one.) ¹⁹  9:8 So Saul got up from the ground, but although his eyes were open, ²⁰  he could see nothing. ²¹  Leading him by the hand, his companions ²²  brought him into Damascus. 9:9 For ²³  three days he could not see, and he neither ate nor drank anything. ²⁴ 

9:10 Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The ²⁵  Lord ²⁶  said to him in a vision, “Ananias,” and he replied, “Here I am, ²⁷  Lord.” 9:11 Then the Lord told him, “Get up and go to the street called ‘Straight,’ ²⁸  and at Judas’ house look for a man from Tarsus named Saul. For he is praying, 9:12 and he has seen in a vision ²⁹  a man named Ananias come in and place his hands on him so that he may see again.” 9:13 But Ananias replied, ³⁰  “Lord, I have heard from many people ³¹  about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem, 9:14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to imprison ³²  all who call on your name!” ³³  9:15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, because this man is my chosen instrument ³⁴  to carry my name before Gentiles and kings and the people of Israel. ³⁵  9:16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” ³⁶  9:17 So Ananias departed and entered the house, placed ³⁷  his hands on Saul ³⁸  and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came here, ³⁹  has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ⁴⁰  9:18 Immediately ⁴¹  something like scales ⁴²  fell from his eyes, and he could see again. He ⁴³  got up and was baptized, 9:19 and after taking some food, his strength returned.

For several days ⁴⁴  he was with the disciples in Damascus,

Acts 22:4-5

22:4 I ⁴⁵  persecuted this Way ⁴⁶  even to the point of death, ⁴⁷  tying up ⁴⁸  both men and women and putting ⁴⁹  them in prison, 22:5 as both the high priest and the whole council of elders ⁵⁰  can testify about me. From them ⁵¹  I also received ⁵²  letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I was on my way ⁵³  to make arrests there and bring ⁵⁴  the prisoners ⁵⁵  to Jerusalem ⁵⁶  to be punished.

Acts 26:9-11

26:9 Of course, ⁵⁷  I myself was convinced ⁵⁸  that it was necessary to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus the Nazarene. 26:10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem: Not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons by the authority I received ⁵⁹  from the chief priests, but I also cast my vote ⁶⁰  against them when they were sentenced to death. ⁶¹  26:11 I punished ⁶²  them often in all the synagogues ⁶³  and tried to force ⁶⁴  them to blaspheme. Because I was so furiously enraged ⁶⁵  at them, I went to persecute ⁶⁶  them even in foreign cities.

Galatians 1:13

1:13 For you have heard of my former way of life ⁶⁷  in Judaism, how I was savagely persecuting the church of God and trying to destroy it.

Galatians 1:23

1:23 They were only hearing, “The one who once persecuted us is now proclaiming the good news ⁶⁸  of the faith he once tried to destroy.”

Philippians 3:6

3:6 In my zeal for God I persecuted the church. According to the righteousness stipulated in the law I was blameless.

Philippians 3:1

True and False Righteousness

3:1 Finally, my brothers and sisters, ⁶⁹  rejoice in the Lord! To write this again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.

Philippians 1:13-14

1:13 The ⁷⁰  whole imperial guard ⁷¹  and everyone else knows ⁷²  that I am in prison ⁷³  for the sake of Christ, 1:14 and most of the brothers and sisters, ⁷⁴  having confidence in the Lord ⁷⁵  because of my imprisonment, now more than ever ⁷⁶  dare to speak the word ⁷⁷  fearlessly.

[8:3]  ¹ tn Or “began to harm [the church] severely.” If the nuance of this verb is “destroy,” then the imperfect verb ἐλυμαίνετο (elumaineto) is best translated as a conative imperfect as in the translation above. If instead the verb is taken to mean “injure severely” (as L&N 20.24), it should be translated in context as an ingressive imperfect (“began to harm the church severely”). Either option does not significantly alter the overall meaning, since it is clear from the stated actions of Saul in the second half of the verse that he intended to destroy or ravage the church.

[8:3]  ² tn The participle σύρων (surwn) has been translated as an finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[8:3]  ³ tn BDAG 762 s.v. παραδίδωμι 1.b has “εἰς φυλακήν put in prison Ac 8:3.”

[9:1]  ⁴ tn Or “Saul, making dire threats.”

[9:1]  ⁵ tn The expression “breathing out threats and murder” is an idiomatic expression for “making threats to murder” (see L&N 33.293). Although the two terms “threats” and “murder” are syntactically coordinate, the second is semantically subordinate to the first. In other words, the content of the threats is to murder the disciples.

[9:2]  ⁶ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[9:2]  ⁷ sn The expression “the way” in ancient religious literature refers at times to “the whole way of life fr. a moral and spiritual viewpoint” (BDAG 692 s.v. ὁδός 3.c), and it has been so used of Christianity and its teachings in the book of Acts (see also 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). It is a variation of Judaism’s idea of two ways, the true and the false, where “the Way” is the true one (1 En. 91:18; 2 En. 30:15).

[9:2]  ⁸ tn Grk “bring them bound”; the translation “bring someone as prisoner” for δεδεμένον ἄγειν τινά (dedemenon agein tina) is given by BDAG 221 s.v. δέω 1.b.

[9:2]  ⁹ sn From Damascus to Jerusalem was a six-day journey. Christianity had now expanded into Syria.

[9:3]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “As he was going along, it happened that when he was approaching.” The phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[9:3]  ¹¹ tn Or “shone” (BDAG 799 s.v. περιαστράπτω). The light was more brilliant than the sun according to Acts 26:13.

[9:4]  ¹² tn Grk “and he.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.

[9:4]  ¹³ tn The double vocative suggests emotion.

[9:4]  ¹⁴ sn Persecuting me. To persecute the church is to persecute Jesus.

[9:6]  ¹⁵ tn Or “But arise.”

[9:6]  ¹⁶ tn Literally a passive construction, “it will be told to you.” This has been converted to another form of passive construction in the translation.

[9:7]  ¹⁷ 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.

[9:7]  ¹⁸ tn That is, unable to speak because of fear or amazement. See BDAG 335 s.v. ἐνεός.

[9:7]  ¹⁹ 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.

[9:8]  ²⁰ tn Grk “his eyes being open,” a genitive absolute construction that has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.

[9:8]  ²¹ 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.

[9:8]  ²² tn Grk “they”; the referents (Saul’s companions) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:9]  ²³ 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.

[9:9]  ²⁴ 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.

[9:10]  ²⁵ tn Grk “And the.” 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.

[9:10]  ²⁶ sn The Lord is directing all the events leading to the expansion of the gospel as he works on both sides of the meeting between Paul and Ananias. “The Lord” here refers to Jesus (see v. 17).

[9:10]  ²⁷ tn Grk “behold, I,” but this construction often means “here is/there is” (cf. BDAG 468 s.v. ἰδού 2).

[9:11]  ²⁸ sn The noting of the detail of the locale, ironically called ‘Straight’ Street, shows how directive and specific the Lord was.

[9:12]  ²⁹ tc ‡ The words ἐν ὀράματι (en oramati, “in a vision”) are not found in some of the earliest and best mss (Ì⁷⁴ א A 81 pc lat sa bo), but are implied from the context. The phrase is included, although sometimes in a different order with ἄνδρα (andra, “man”) or omitting ἄνδρα altogether, by B C E Ψ 33 1175 1739 Ï. The order of words in NA²⁷, ἄνδρα ἐν ὁράματι, is supported only by B C 1175. Generally speaking, when there are three or more variants, with one an omission and the others involving rearrangements, the longer readings are later scribal additions. Further, the reading looks like a clarifying note, for an earlier vision is explicitly mentioned in v. 10. On the other hand, it is possible that some scribes deleted the words because of perceived repetition, though this is unlikely since it is a different vision two verses back. It is also possible that some scribes could have confused ὁράματι with ὀνόματι (onomati, “name”); TCGNT 319 notes that several mss place ονόματι before ᾿Ανανίαν (Ananian, “Ananias”) while a few others drop ὀνόματι altogether. The Sahidic mss are among those that drop the word, however, and they also lack ἐν ὁράματι; all that is left is one version and father that drops ὀνόματι. Perhaps the best argument for the authenticity of the phrase is that B C 1175 preserve a rare, distinctively Lukan word order, but this is not nearly as harsh or unusual as what Luke does elsewhere. A decision is difficult in this case, but on balance the omission of the phrase seems to be authentic. The words are nevertheless added in the translation because of contextual considerations. NA²⁷ places the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.

[9:13]  ³⁰ sn Ananias replied. Past events might have suggested to Ananias that this was not good counsel, but like Peter in Acts 10, Ananias’ intuitions were wrong.

[9:13]  ³¹ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[9:14]  ³² tn Grk “to bind.”

[9:14]  ³³ sn The expression “those who call on your name” is a frequent description of believers (Acts 2:21; 1 Cor 1:2; Rom 10:13).

[9:15]  ³⁴ tn Or “tool.”

[9:15]  ³⁵ tn Grk “the sons of Israel.” In Acts, Paul is a minister to all nations, including Israel (Rom 1:16-17).

[9:16]  ³⁶ tn Or “because of my name.” BDAG 1031 s.v. ὑπέρ 2 lists Acts 9:16 as an example of ὑπέρ (Juper) used to indicate “the moving cause or reason, because of, for the sake of, for.”

[9:17]  ³⁷ tn Grk “and placing his hands on Saul, he said.” The participle ἐπιθείς (epiqei") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. For the same reason καί (kai) has not been translated before the participle.

[9:17]  ³⁸ tn Grk “on him”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:17]  ³⁹ tn Grk “on the road in which you came,” but the relative clause makes for awkward English style, so it was translated as a temporal clause (“as you came here”).

[9:17]  ⁴⁰ sn Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Here someone who is not an apostle (Ananias) commissions another person with the Spirit.

[9:18]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “And immediately.” 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.

[9:18]  ⁴² tn The comparison to “scales” suggests a crusty covering which peeled away (cf. BDAG 592 s.v. λεπίς 2).

[9:18]  ⁴³ tn Grk “and he.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence was started, with “and” placed before the final element of the previous clause as required by English style.

[9:19]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “It happened that for several days.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[22:4]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“who”) was translated by the first person pronoun (“I”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.

[22:4]  ⁴⁶ sn That is, persecuted the Christian movement (Christianity). The Way is also used as a description of the Christian faith in Acts 9:2; 18:25-26; 19:9, 23; 24:14, 22).

[22:4]  ⁴⁷ tn BDAG 442-43 s.v. θάνατος 1.a has “διώκειν ἄχρι θανάτου persecute even to death Ac 22:4.”

[22:4]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “binding.” See Acts 8:3.

[22:4]  ⁴⁹ tn BDAG 762 s.v. παραδίδωμι 1.b has “W. local εἰς…εἰς φυλακήν put in prison Ac 8:3; cp. 22:4.”

[22:5]  ⁵⁰ tn That is, the whole Sanhedrin. BDAG 861 s.v. πρεσβυτέριον has “an administrative group concerned with the interests of a specific community, council of elders – a. of the highest Judean council in Jerusalem, in our lit. usu. called συνέδριον…ὁ ἀρχιερεύς καὶ πᾶν τὸ πρ. Ac 22:5.”

[22:5]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “from whom.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) was translated by the third person plural pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.

[22:5]  ⁵² tn Grk “receiving.” The participle δεξάμενος (dexameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[22:5]  ⁵³ tn Grk “letters to the brothers, [and] I was going to Damascus.” Such a translation, however, might be confusing since the term “brother” is frequently used of a fellow Christian. In this context, Paul is speaking about fellow Jews.

[22:5]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “even there and bring…” or “there and even bring…” The ascensive καί (kai) shows that Paul was fervent in his zeal against Christians, but it is difficult to translate for it really belongs with the entire idea of arresting and bringing back the prisoners.

[22:5]  ⁵⁵ tn BDAG 221 s.v. δέω 1.b has “δεδεμένον ἄγειν τινά bring someone as prisoner…Ac 9:2, 21; 22:5.”

[22:5]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “I was going…to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem as prisoners that they might be punished.”

[26:9]  ⁵⁷ tn BDAG 737 s.v. οὖν 3 states, “It has been proposed that some traces of older Gk. usage in which οὖν is emphatic, = certainly, really, to be sure etc. (s. L-S-J-M s.v. 1) remain in the pap…and in the NT…indeed, of course Ac 26:9.”

[26:9]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “I thought to myself.” BDAG 255 s.v. δοκέω 2.a has “ἔδοξα ἐμαυτῷ δεῖν πρᾶξαι = Lat. mihi videbar I was convinced that it was necessary to do Ac 26:9.”

[26:10]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “by receiving authority.” The participle λαβών (labwn) has been taken instrumentally.

[26:10]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “cast down a pebble against them.” L&N 30.103 states, “(an idiom, Grk ‘to bring a pebble against someone,’ a reference to a white or black pebble used in voting for or against someone) to make known one’s choice against someone – ‘to vote against.’ …‘when they were sentenced to death, I also voted against them’ Ac 26:10.”

[26:10]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “when they were being executed”; but the context supports the sentencing rather than the execution itself (cf. L&N 30.103).

[26:11]  ⁶² tn Grk “and punishing…I tried.” The participle τιμωρῶν (timwrwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. 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.

[26:11]  ⁶³ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[26:11]  ⁶⁴ tn The imperfect verb ἠνάγκαζον (hnankazon) has been translated as a conative imperfect (so BDAG 60 s.v. ἀναγκάζω 1, which has “ἠνάγκαζον βλασφημεῖν I tried to force them to blaspheme Ac 26:11”).

[26:11]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “was so insanely angry with them.” BDAG 322 s.v. ἐμμαίνομαι states, “to be filled with such anger that one appears to be mad, be enraged…περισσῶς ἐμμαινόμενος αὐτοῖς being furiously enraged at them Ac 26:11”; L&N 88.182 s.v. ἐμμαίνομαι, “to be so furiously angry with someone as to be almost out of one’s mind – ‘to be enraged, to be infuriated, to be insanely angry’ …‘I was so infuriated with them that I even went to foreign cities to persecute them’ Ac 26:11.”

[26:11]  ⁶⁶ tn Or “I pursued them even as far as foreign cities.”

[1:13]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “lifestyle,” “behavior.”

[1:23]  ⁶⁸ tn The Greek verb here is εὐαγγελίζεται (euangelizetai).

[3:1]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.

[1:13]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “so that the whole imperial guard.” The ὥστε (Jwste) clause that begins v. 13 indicates two results of the spread of the gospel: Outsiders know why Paul is imprisoned (v. 13) and believers are emboldened by his imprisonment (v. 14).

[1:13]  ⁷¹ sn The whole imperial guard (Grk “praetorium”) can refer to the elite troops stationed in Rome or the headquarters of administrators in the provinces (cf. Matt 27:27; Mark 15:16; John 18:28, 33; 19:9; Acts 23:35). In either case a metonymy is involved, with the place (the praetorium) put for those (soldiers or government officials) who were connected with it or stationed in it.

[1:13]  ⁷² tn Grk “it has become known by the whole imperial guard and all the rest.”

[1:13]  ⁷³ tn Grk “my bonds [are].”

[1:14]  ⁷⁴ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.

[1:14]  ⁷⁵ tn Or “most of the brothers and sisters in the Lord, having confidence.”

[1:14]  ⁷⁶ tn Grk “even more so.”

[1:14]  ⁷⁷ tc A number of significant mss have “of God” after “word.” Although τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou) is amply supported in the Alexandrian and Western texts (א A B [D*] P Ψ 048^vid 075 0278 33 81 1175 al lat co), the omission is difficult to explain as either an intentional deletion or unintentional oversight. To be sure, the pedigree of the witnesses is not nearly as great for the shorter reading (Ì⁴⁶ D² 1739 1881 Ï), but it explains well the rise of the other reading. Further, it explains the rise of κυρίου (kuriou, “of the Lord”), the reading of F and G (for if these mss had followed a Vorlage with τοῦ θεοῦ, κυρίου would not have been expected). Further, τοῦ θεοῦ is in different locations among the mss; such dislocations are usually signs of scribal additions to the text. Thus, the Byzantine text and a few other witnesses here have the superior reading, and it should be accepted as the original.