For several days⁴¹ he was with the disciples in Damascus, ^9:20and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues,⁴² saying, “This man is the Son of God.”⁴³^9:21All⁴⁴ who heard him were amazed and were saying, “Is this not⁴⁵ the man who in Jerusalem was ravaging⁴⁶ those who call on this name, and who had come here to bring them as prisoners⁴⁷ to the chief priests?” ^9:22But Saul became more and more capable,⁴⁸ and was causing consternation⁴⁹ among the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving⁵⁰ that Jesus⁵¹ is the Christ.⁵²

Saul’s Escape from Damascus

^9:23Now after some days had passed, the Jews plotted⁵³ together to kill him, ^9:24but Saul learned of their plot against him.⁵⁴ They were also watching⁵⁵ the city gates⁵⁶ day and night so that they could kill him. ^9:25But his disciples took him at night and let him down through an opening⁵⁷ in the wall by lowering him in a basket.⁵⁸

Saul Returns to Jerusalem

^9:26When he arrived in Jerusalem,⁵⁹ he attempted to associate⁶⁰ with the disciples, and they were all afraid of him, because they did not believe⁶¹ that he was a disciple. ^9:27But Barnabas took⁶² Saul,⁶³ brought⁶⁴ him to the apostles, and related to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, that⁶⁵ the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken out boldly⁶⁶ in the name of Jesus. ^9:28So he was staying with them, associating openly with them⁶⁷ in Jerusalem, speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord. ^9:29He was speaking and debating⁶⁸ with the Greek-speaking Jews,⁶⁹ but they were trying to kill him. ^9:30When the brothers found out about this, they brought him down to Caesarea⁷⁰ and sent him away to Tarsus.

^9:31Then⁷¹ the church throughout Judea, Galilee,⁷² and Samaria experienced⁷³ peace and thus was strengthened.⁷⁴ Living⁷⁵ in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, the church⁷⁶ increased in numbers.

Read in Logos

Acts 9:31: So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

Footnotes

41 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.
42 See the note on synagogue in .
43 The ὅτι (hoti) is understood to introduce direct (“This man is the Son of God”) rather than indirect discourse (“that this man is the Son of God”) because the pronoun οὗτος (houtos) combined with the present tense verb ἐστιν (estin) suggests the contents of what was proclaimed are a direct (albeit summarized) quotation. This is the only use of the title Son of God in Acts. The book prefers to allow a variety of descriptions to present Jesus.
44 Grk “And all.” 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.
45 The Greek interrogative particle used in this verse (οὐχ, ouch) expects a positive reply. They all knew about Saul’s persecutions.
46 Normally, “destroying,” but compare 4 Macc 4:23; 11:4 and πορθέω for examples from Koine papyri. See also πορθέω.
47 Grk “bring them bound”; the translation “bring someone as prisoner” for δεδεμένον ἄγειν τινά (dedemenon agein tina) is given by δέω 1.b.
48 Grk “was becoming stronger,” but this could be understood in a physical sense, while the text refers to Saul’s growing ability to demonstrate to fellow Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. The translation “to become capable” for ἐνδυναμόω (endunamoō) is given in L&N 74.7, with this specific verse as an example.
49 Or “was confounding.” For the translation “to cause consternation” for συγχέω (suncheō) see L&N 25.221.
50 Or “by showing for certain.”
51 Grk “that this one”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
52 Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.” Note again the variation in the titles used. See the note on Christ in .
53 Fitting the pattern emphasized earlier with Stephen and his speech in Acts 7, some Jews plotted to kill God’s messenger (cf. Luke 11:53–54).
54 The words “against him” are implied, as suggested by L&N 30.71.
55 Or “guarding.” This is a negative term in Luke-Acts (Luke 6:7; 14:1; 20:20).
56 The word πύλη (pulē) may refer to a house door or gate, or to the large gates used in a palace, temple, or city wall. Here the context clearly indicates a reference to the latter, so the translation “city gates” is used.
57 The opening in the wall is not specifically mentioned here, but the parallel account in 2 Cor 11:33 mentions a “window” or “opening” (θυρίς, thuris) in the city wall through which Paul was lowered. One alternative to introducing mention of the opening is to translate Acts 9:25 “they let him down over the wall,” as suggested in L&N 7.61. This option is not employed by many translations, however, because for the English reader it creates an (apparent) contradiction between Acts 9:25 and 2 Cor 11:33. In reality the account here is simply more general, omitting the detail about the window.
58 On the term for “basket” used here, see σπυρίς.
59 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
60 Or “join.”
61 The participle πιστεύοντες (pisteuontes) has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.
62 Grk “taking Saul, brought him.” The participle ἐπιλαβόμενος (epilabomenos) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
63 Grk “him”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
64 Grk “and brought,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
65 Grk “and that,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
66 On this verb which is used 7 times in Acts, see παρρησιάζομαι 1. See also v. 28.
67 Grk “he was with them going in and going out in Jerusalem.” The expression “going in and going out” is probably best taken as an idiom for association without hindrance. Some modern translations (, ) translate the phrase “moving about freely in Jerusalem,” although the retains the literal “he went in and out among them in Jerusalem.”
68 Or “arguing.” συζητέω 2 gives “dispute, debate, argue … τινί ‘w. someone’ ” for συνεζήτει (sunezētei).
69 Grk “the Hellenists,” but this descriptive term is largely unknown to the modern English reader. The translation “Greek-speaking Jews” attempts to convey something of who these were, but it was more than a matter of language spoken; it involved a degree of adoption of Greek culture as well.
70 Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine, south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in . For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
71 Or “Therefore.” This verse is another summary text in Acts (cf. 2:41–47; 4:32–37; 5:12–16; 6:7).
72 Grk “and Galilee,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
73 Grk “had.”
74 Or “Built up.” The participle οἰκοδομουμένη (oikodomoumenē) has been translated as a participle of result related to εἶχεν (eichen). It could also be understood as adverbial to ἐπληθύνετο (eplēthuneto): “Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria experienced peace. Strengthened and living in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.” Although some scholars do not regard the participle of result as a legitimate category, it is actually fairly common (see ).
75 Grk “And living.” 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.
76 Grk “it”; the referent (the church) has been specified in the translation for clarity.