# Acts 26.16

<!-- type: passage | created: 2026-10-28 | updated: 2026-10-28 -->

**Book:** [Acts](/codex/acts/) · NASB95

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> 14. <span class="rl-speech">And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice saying unto me in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the goad.</span> 15. And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, <span class="rl-speech">I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.</span>
>
> **16. <span class="rl-speech">But arise, and stand upon thy feet: for to this end have I appeared unto thee, to appoint thee a minister and a witness both of the things wherein thou hast seen me, and of the things wherein I will appear unto thee;</span>**
>
> 17. <span class="rl-speech">delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom I send thee,</span> 18. <span class="rl-speech">to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in me.</span> (Acts 26:14-18, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> 14. <span class="rl-speech">When we had all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’</span> 15. <span class="rl-speech">“I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ “He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.</span>
>
> **16. <span class="rl-speech">But arise, and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose: to appoint you a servant and a witness both of the things which you have seen, and of the things which I will reveal to you;</span>**
>
> 17. <span class="rl-speech">delivering you from the people, and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you,</span> 18. <span class="rl-speech">to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’</span> (Acts 26:14-18, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> 14. <span class="rl-speech">And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.</span> 15. And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, <span class="rl-speech">I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.</span>
>
> **16. <span class="rl-speech">But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;</span>**
>
> 17. <span class="rl-speech">Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,</span> 18. <span class="rl-speech">To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.</span> (Acts 26:14-18, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> 14. <span class="rl-speech">and we all having fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew dialect, Saul, Saul, why me dost thou persecute? hard for thee against pricks to kick!</span> 15. 'And I said, Who art thou, Lord? and he said, <span class="rl-speech">I am Jesus whom thou dost persecute;</span>
>
> **16. <span class="rl-speech">but rise, and stand upon thy feet, for for this I appeared to thee, to appoint thee an officer and a witness both of the things thou didst see, and of the things [in which] I will appear to thee,</span>**
>
> 17. <span class="rl-speech">delivering thee from the people, and the nations, to whom now I send thee,</span> 18. <span class="rl-speech">to open their eyes, to turn [them] from darkness to light, and [from] the authority of the Adversary unto God, for their receiving forgiveness of sins, and a lot among those having been sanctified, by faith that [is] toward me.</span> (Acts 26:14-18, YLT)

## Setting

- **Speaker:** _TBD_
- **Audience:** _TBD_
- **Location:** _TBD_
- **Time period:** _TBD_

## Theological reading

_Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added._

## Key words

_Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word._

- None of the words in this verse has its own lexicon entry yet.


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## Quoted in

**Arguments and defeaters:**

- [Argument from the Resurrection](/codex/argument-from-the-resurrection/), via [Acts 26.9-23](/codex/acts-26-9-23/)

**Concepts:**

- [Jesus Said](/codex/jesus-said/), via [Acts 26](/codex/acts-26/)

**Lexicon:**

- [G3144 - martys](/codex/g3144-martys/)

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## Notes

_Your annotations._

## Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

- **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.