Passage

Acts 9.1-19

Book: Acts · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. But Saul, yet breathing threatening and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 2. and asked of him letters to Damascus unto the synagogues, that if he found any that were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3. And as he journeyed, it came to pass that he drew nigh unto Damascus: and suddenly there shone round about him a light out of heaven: 4. and he fell upon the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 5. And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: 6. but rise, and enter into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. 7. And the men that journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing the voice, but beholding no man. 8. And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw nothing; and they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. 9. And he was three days without sight, and did neither eat nor drink. 10. Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and the Lord said unto him in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. 11. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go to the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one named Saul, a man of Tarsus: for behold, he prayeth; 12. and he hath seen a man named Ananias coming in, and laying his hands on him, that he might receive his sight. 13. But Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many of this man, how much evil he did to thy saints at Jerusalem: 14. and here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call upon thy name. 15. But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings, and the children of Israel: 16. for I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name's sake. 17. And Ananias departed, and entered into the house; and laying his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, who appeared unto thee in the way which thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mayest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Spirit. 18. And straightway there fell from his eyes as it were scales, and he received his sight; and he arose and was baptized; 19. and he took food and was strengthened. And he was certain days with the disciples that were at Damascus."

"20. And straightway in the synagogues he proclaimed Jesus, that he is the Son of God. 21. And all that heard him were amazed, and said, Is not this he that in Jerusalem made havoc of them that called on this name? and he had come hither for this intent, that he might bring them bound before the chief priests." (Acts 9:1-21, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. But Saul, still breathing threats and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, 2. and asked for letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3. As he traveled, he got close to Damascus, and suddenly a light from the sky shone around him. 4. He fell on the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5. He said, “Who are you, Lord?” The Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6. But rise up, and enter into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7. The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the sound, but seeing no one. 8. Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened, he saw no one. They led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. 9. He was without sight for three days, and neither ate nor drank. 10. Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias!” He said, “Behold, it’s me, Lord.” 11. The Lord said to him, “Arise, and go to the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judah for one named Saul, a man of Tarsus. For behold, he is praying, 12. and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in, and laying his hands on him, that he might receive his sight.” 13. But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he did to your saints at Jerusalem. 14. Here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” 15. But the Lord said to him, “Go your way, for he is my chosen vessel to bear my name before the nations and kings, and the children of Israel. 16. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name’s sake.” 17. Ananias departed, and entered into the house. Laying his hands on him, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord, who appeared to you on the road by which you came, has sent me, that you may receive your sight, and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18. Immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he received his sight. He arose and was baptized. 19. He took food and was strengthened. Saul stayed several days with the disciples who were at Damascus."

"20. Immediately in the synagogues he proclaimed the Christ, that he is the Son of God. 21. All who heard him were amazed, and said, “Isn’t this he who in Jerusalem made havoc of those who called on this name? And he had come here intending to bring them bound before the chief priests!”" (Acts 9:1-21, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 2. And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. ^{of this way: Gr. of the way} 3. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 4. And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 5. And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 6. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. 7. And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. 8. And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. 9. And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink. 10. And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. 11. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, 12. And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight. 13. Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: 14. And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. 15. But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: 16. For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake. 17. And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. 18. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. 19. And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus."

"20. And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. 21. But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests?" (Acts 9:1-21, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. And Saul, yet breathing of threatening and slaughter to the disciples of the Lord, having gone to the chief priest, 2. did ask from him letters to Damascus, unto the synagogues, that if he may find any being of the way, both men and women, he may bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3. And in the going, he came nigh to Damascus, and suddenly there shone round about him a light from the heaven, 4. and having fallen upon the earth, he heard a voice saying to him, 'Saul, Saul, why me dost thou persecute?' 5. And he said, 'Who art thou, Lord?' and the Lord said, 'I am Jesus whom thou dost persecute; hard for thee at the pricks to kick;' 6. trembling also, and astonished, he said, 'Lord, what dost thou wish me to do?' and the Lord [said] unto him, 'Arise, and enter into the city, and it shall be told thee what it behoveth thee to do.' 7. And the men who are journeying with him stood speechless, hearing indeed the voice but seeing no one, 8. and Saul arose from the earth, and his eyes having been opened, he beheld no one, and leading him by the hand they brought him to Damascus, 9. and he was three days without seeing, and he did neither eat nor drink. 10. And there was a certain disciple in Damascus, by name Ananias, and the Lord said unto him in a vision, 'Ananias;' and he said, 'Behold me, Lord;' 11. and the Lord [saith] unto him, 'Having risen, go on unto the street that is called Straight, and seek in the house of Judas, [one] by name Saul of Tarsus, for, lo, he doth pray, 12. and he saw in a vision a man, by name Ananias, coming in, and putting a hand on him, that he may see again.' 13. And Ananias answered, 'Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how many evils he did to Thy saints in Jerusalem, 14. and here he hath authority from the chief priests, to bind all those calling on Thy name.' 15. And the Lord said unto him, 'Be going on, because a choice vessel to Me is this one, to bear My name before nations and kings, the sons also of Israel; 16. for I will shew him how many things it behoveth him for My name to suffer.' 17. And Ananias went away, and did enter into the house, and having put upon him [his] hands, said, 'Saul, brother, the Lord hath sent me, Jesus who did appear to thee in the way in which thou wast coming, that thou mayest see again, and mayest be filled with the Holy Spirit.' 18. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it were scales, he saw again also presently, and having risen, was baptized, 19. and having received nourishment, was strengthened, and Saul was with the disciples in Damascus certain days,"

"20. and immediately in the synagogues he was preaching the Christ, that he is the Son of God. 21. And all those hearing were amazed, and said, 'Is not this he who laid waist in Jerusalem those calling on this name, and hither to this intent had come, that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?'" (Acts 9:1-21, 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; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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TBD
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Quoted in

Resurrection of Jesus - Minimal Facts Case

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 (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
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 for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.