^26:13about noon along the road, Your Majesty,⁴⁰ I saw a light from heaven,⁴¹ brighter than the sun, shining everywhere around⁴² me and those traveling with me. ^26:14When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic,⁴³ ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? You are hurting yourself⁴⁴ by kicking against the goads.’⁴⁵^26:15So I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord replied,⁴⁶ ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. ^26:16But get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this reason, to designate you in advance⁴⁷ as a servant and witness⁴⁸ to the things⁴⁹ you have seen⁵⁰ and to the things in which I will appear to you. ^26:17I will rescue⁵¹ you from your own people⁵² and from the Gentiles, to whom⁵³ I am sending you ^26:18to open their eyes so that they turn⁵⁴ from darkness to light and from the power⁵⁵ of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share⁵⁶ among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

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Footnotes

40 Grk “O King.”
41 Or “from the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).
42 The word “everywhere” has been supplied in the translation to clarify the meaning of περιλάμψαν (perilampsan). Otherwise the modern reader might think that each of the individuals were encircled by lights or halos. See also Acts 9:7; 22:6, 9.
43 Grk “in the Hebrew language.” See Acts 22:7 and 9:4.
44 Grk “It is hard for you.”
45 “Goads” are pointed sticks used to direct a draft animal (an idiom for stubborn resistance). See κέντρον 2. Sayings which contain the imagery used here (kicking against the goads) were also found in Greek writings; see Pindar, Pythians 2.94–96; Euripides, Bacchae 795.
46 Grk “said.”
47 L&N 30.89 has “ ‘to choose in advance, to select beforehand, to designate in advance.’ ”
48 As a servant and witness. The commission is similar to Acts 1:8 and Luke 1:2. Paul was now an “eyewitness” of the Lord.
49 ὁράω A.1.b states, “W. attraction of the relative ὧν = τούτων ἅ Lk 9:36; Ac 22:15. The attraction may be due to colloq. breviloquence in μάρτυρα ὧν τε εἶδες με ὧν τε ὀφθήσομαί σοι a witness to the things in which you saw me and to those in which I shall appear to you Ac 26:16b.”
50 Some read “of the things in which you have seen me.” The accusative object με (me, “me”) is found after εἶδές (eides) in B C*vid 614 945 1175 1505 1739 1891 2464 sy sa; it is lacking in 𝔓74 א A C2 E Ψ 096 𝔐 latt bo. The external evidence is relatively evenly divided, though there is a slight preference for the omission. includes the word in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.
51 Grk “rescuing.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the participle ἐξαιρούμενος (exairoumenos) has been translated as a finite verb and a new sentence started in the translation at the beginning of v. 17.
52 That is, from the Jewish people. Grk “the people”; the words “your own” have been supplied to clarify the meaning.
53 The antecedent of the relative pronoun is probably both the Jews (“your own people”) and the Gentiles, indicating the comprehensive commission Paul received.
54 To open their eyes so that they turn … Here is Luke’s most comprehensive report of Paul’s divine calling. His role was to call humanity to change their position before God and experience God’s forgiveness as a part of God’s family. The image of turning is a key one in the NT: Luke 1:79; Rom 2:19; 13:12; 2 Cor 4:6; 6:14; Eph 5:8; Col 1:12; 1 Thess 5:5. See also Luke 1:77–79; 3:3; 24:47.
55 ἐξουσία 2 states, “Also of Satan’s power Ac 26:18.” It is also possible to translate this “the domain of Satan” (cf. 6)
56 Or “and an inheritance.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, 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.’ And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

NIVNew International Version (2011)

About noon, King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

“Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’

“ ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

CSBChristian Standard Bible

King Agrippa, while on the road at midday, I saw a light from heaven brighter than the sun, shining around me and those traveling with me. We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice speaking to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

“I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’

“And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting. But get up and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

NLTNew Living Translation

About noon, Your Majesty, as I was on the road, a light from heaven brighter than the sun shone down on me and my companions. We all fell down, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is useless for you to fight against my will.’

“ ‘Who are you, lord?’ I asked.

“And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting. Now get to your feet! For I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant and witness. Tell people that you have seen me, and tell them what I will show you in the future. And I will rescue you from both your own people and the Gentiles. Yes, I am sending you to the Gentiles to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me.’

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

In the middle of the day along the road, O king, I saw a light from heaven, more than the brightness of the sun, shining around me and those who were traveling with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Aramaic language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads!’ So I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But get up and stand on your feet, because for this reason I have appeared to you, to appoint you a servant and witness both to the things in which you saw me and to the things in which I will appear to you, rescuing you from the people and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

KJV 1900King James Version

At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me. 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. And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. 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; Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, 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.

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