# Acts 9.1-9

<!-- type: passage | created: 2026-08-18 | updated: 2026-08-18 -->

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

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/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, <span class="rl-speech">Who art thou, Lord?</span> And he said, <span class="rl-speech">I am Jesus whom thou persecutest:</span> 6. <span class="rl-speech">but rise, and enter into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.</span> 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, <span class="rl-speech">Ananias.</span> And he said, <span class="rl-speech">Behold, I am here, Lord.</span> 11. And the Lord said unto him, <span class="rl-speech">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;</span> (Acts 9:1-11, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/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, <span class="rl-speech">“Who are you, Lord?”</span> The Lord said, <span class="rl-speech">“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.</span> 6. <span class="rl-speech">But rise up, and enter into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”</span> 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, <span class="rl-speech">“Ananias!”</span> He said, <span class="rl-speech">“Behold, it’s me, Lord.”</span> 11. The Lord said to him, <span class="rl-speech">“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,</span> (Acts 9:1-11, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/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. <sup>of this way: Gr. of the way</sup> 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, <span class="rl-speech">Who art thou, Lord? And the</span> Lord said, <span class="rl-speech">I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.</span> 6. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, <span class="rl-speech">Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.</span> 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, <span class="rl-speech">Behold, I am here, Lord.</span> 11. And the Lord said unto him, <span class="rl-speech">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,</span> (Acts 9:1-11, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/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, <span class="rl-speech">'Who art thou, Lord?'</span> and the Lord said, <span class="rl-speech">'I am Jesus whom thou dost persecute; hard for thee at the pricks to kick;'</span> 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, <span class="rl-speech">'Ananias;'</span> and he said, <span class="rl-speech">'Behold me, Lord;'</span> 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, (Acts 9:1-11, 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._

- [G1453 - egeiro](/codex/g1453-egeiro/), *egeiro*, Strong's G1453
- [G1510 - eimi](/codex/g1510-eimi/), *eimi*, Strong's G1510
- [G1096 - ginomai](/codex/g1096-ginomai/), *ginomai*, Strong's G1096
- [G4314 - pros](/codex/g4314-pros/), *pros*, Strong's G4314
- [G2962 - kyrios](/codex/g2962-kyrios/), *kyrios*, Strong's G2962
- [G2424 - Iesous](/codex/g2424-iesous/), *Iesous*, Strong's G2424

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## Quoted in

**Arguments and defeaters:**

- [Argument from the Resurrection](/codex/argument-from-the-resurrection/), via [Acts 9.1-22](/codex/acts-9-1-22/)
- [Argument from Transformed Lives](/codex/argument-from-transformed-lives/), via [Acts 9.1-19](/codex/acts-9-1-19/)
- [Argument from Vocation](/codex/argument-from-vocation/), via [Acts 9.1-19](/codex/acts-9-1-19/)
- [Causal Adequacy Argument](/codex/causal-adequacy-argument/), via [Acts 9.1-22](/codex/acts-9-1-22/)
- [God Created Me Knowing I Would Reject Him Objection Defeater](/codex/god-created-me-knowing-i-would-reject-him-objection-defeater/), via [Acts 9.1-19](/codex/acts-9-1-19/)

**Concepts:**

- [Jesus Said](/codex/jesus-said/), via [Acts 9](/codex/acts-9/)
- [Light of Day 1, Christological Reading](/codex/light-of-day-1-christological-reading/), via [Acts 9.3](/codex/acts-9-3/)
- [Prayers Against Scoffing and Mockery](/codex/prayers-against-scoffing-and-mockery/), via [Acts 9.3-6](/codex/acts-9-3-6/)
- [Resurrection of Jesus - Minimal Facts Case](/codex/resurrection-of-jesus-minimal-facts-case/), via [Acts 9.1-19](/codex/acts-9-1-19/)

**People:**

- [Paul the Apostle](/codex/paul-the-apostle/), via [Acts 9.4-5](/codex/acts-9-4-5/)

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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.