Acts 9:6-9

9:6 But stand up ¹  and enter the city and you will be told ²  what you must do.” 9:7 (Now the men ³  who were traveling with him stood there speechless, ⁴  because they heard the voice but saw no one.) ⁵  9:8 So Saul got up from the ground, but although his eyes were open, ⁶  he could see nothing. ⁷  Leading him by the hand, his companions ⁸  brought him into Damascus. 9:9 For ⁹  three days he could not see, and he neither ate nor drank anything. ¹⁰ 

Acts 22:10

22:10 So I asked, ¹¹  ‘What should I do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Get up ¹²  and go to Damascus; there you will be told about everything ¹³  that you have been designated ¹⁴  to do.’

[9:6]  ¹ tn Or “But arise.”

[9:6]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn That is, unable to speak because of fear or amazement. See BDAG 335 s.v. ἐνεός.

[9:7]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Grk “his eyes being open,” a genitive absolute construction that has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.

[9:8]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Grk “they”; the referents (Saul’s companions) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:9]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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.

[22:10]  ¹¹ tn Grk “So I said.”

[22:10]  ¹² tn Grk “Getting up.” The participle ἀναστάς (anasta") is an adverbial participle of attendant circumstance and has been translated as a finite verb.

[22:10]  ¹³ tn Grk “about all things.”

[22:10]  ¹⁴ tn Or “assigned,” “ordered.” BDAG 991 s.v. τάσσω 2.a has “act. and pass., foll. by acc. w. inf.…περὶ πάντων ὧν τέτακταί σοι ποιῆσαι concerning everything that you have been ordered to do 22:10.” There is an allusion to a divine call and commission here.