^22:6As²⁹ I was en route and near Damascus,³⁰ about noon a very bright³¹ light from heaven³² suddenly flashed³³ around me. ^22:7Then I³⁴ fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ ^22:8I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ ^22:9Those who were with me saw the light, but did not understand³⁵ the voice of the one who was speaking to me. ^22:10So I asked,³⁶ ‘What should I do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Get up³⁷ and go to Damascus; there you will be told about everything³⁸ that you have been designated³⁹ to do.’

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Footnotes

29 Grk “It happened that as.” 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.
30 Grk “going and nearing Damascus.” En route and near Damascus. This is the first retelling of Paul’s Damascus Road experience in Acts (cf. Acts 9:1–9; the second retelling is in Acts 26:9–20).
31 ἱκανός 3.b has “φῶς a very bright light Ac 22:6.”
32 Or “from the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).
33 Or “shone.”
34 This is a continuation of the same sentence in Greek using the connective τέ (te), but due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence a new sentence was begun in the translation here. To indicate the logical sequence for the modern English reader, τέ was translated as “then.”
35 Grk “did not hear” (but see Acts 9:7). ἀκούω 7 has “W. τὸν νόμον understand the law Gal 4:21; perh. Ac 22:9; 26:14 … belong here.” If the word has this sense here, then a metonymy is present, since the lack of effect is put for a failure to appreciate what was heard.
36 Grk “So I said.”
37 Grk “Getting up.” The participle ἀναστάς (anastas) is an adverbial participle of attendant circumstance and has been translated as a finite verb.
38 Grk “about all things.”
39 Or “assigned,” “ordered.” τάσσω 2.a has “act. and pass., foll. by 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.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’

“ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.

“ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.

“ ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.

“ ‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“As I was traveling and approaching Damascus, about noon an intense light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’

“I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’

“He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, the one you are persecuting.’ Now those who were with me saw the light, but they did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.

“I said, ‘What should I do, Lord?’

“The Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything that you have been assigned to do.’

NLTNew Living Translation

“As I was on the road, approaching Damascus about noon, a very bright light from heaven suddenly shone down around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’

“ ‘Who are you, lord?’ I asked.

“And the voice replied, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, the one you are persecuting.’ The people with me saw the light but didn’t understand the voice speaking to me.

“I asked, ‘What should I do, Lord?’

“And the Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything you are to do.’

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“And it happened that as I was traveling and approaching Damascus around noon, suddenly a very bright light from heaven flashed around me, and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene whom you are persecuting.’ (Now those who were with me saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.) So I said, ‘What should I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and proceed to Damascus, and there it will be told to you about all the things that have been appointed for you to do.’

KJV 1900King James Version

And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me. And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.

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