Acts 22:16

Easy-to-Read Version

Now, don't wait any longer. Get up, be baptized and wash away your sins, trusting in Jesus to save you.'

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
And now, why are you delaying? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’

King James Version (1611)
And now, why tariest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sinnes, calling on the name of the Lord.

King James Version
And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

English Standard Version
And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.'

New American Standard Bible
'Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins by calling on His name.'

New Century Version
Now, why wait any longer? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away, trusting in him to save you.'

Amplified Bible
'Now, why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins by calling on His name [for salvation].'

New American Standard Bible (1995)
'Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.'

Legacy Standard Bible
Now why do you delay? Rise up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.'

Berean Standard Bible
And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away, calling on His name.'

Contemporary English Version
What are you waiting for? Get up! Be baptized, and wash away your sins by praying to the Lord."

Complete Jewish Bible
So now, what are you waiting for? Get up, immerse yourself and have your sins washed away as you call on his name.'

Darby Translation
And now why lingerest thou? Arise and get baptised, and have thy sins washed away, calling on his name.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Now therefore why tariest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sinnes, in calling on the Name of the Lord.

George Lamsa Translation
And now why do you delay? Arise, and be baptized and wash away your sins calling on the name of the LORD.

Good News Translation
And now, why wait any longer? Get up and be baptized and have your sins washed away by praying to him.'

Lexham English Bible
And now why are you delaying? Get up, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name!'

Literal Translation
And now what do you intend? Rising up, be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

American Standard Version
And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on his name.

Bible in Basic English
And now, why are you waiting? get up, and have baptism, for the washing away of your sins, giving worship to his name.

Hebrew Names Version
Now why do you wait? Arise, be immersed, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.'

International Standard Version
What are you waiting for now? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away as you call on his name.'Acts 2:38; 9:14; Romans 10:13; Hebrews 10:22;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
And now why delayest thou ? Arise, baptize, and be washed from thy sins, while thou callest his Name.

Murdock Translation
And now, why delayest thou? Arise, be baptized, and be cleansed from thy sins, while thou invokest his name.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And nowe why taryest thou? aryse, & be baptized, & wasshe away thy sinnes, in callyng on the name of the Lorde.

English Revised Version
And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on his name.

World English Bible
Now why do you wait? Arise, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.'

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And now, why tarriest thou? Arise and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

Weymouth's New Testament
And now why delay? Rise, get yourself baptized, and wash off your sins, calling upon His name.'

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And now, what dwellist thou? Rise vp, and be baptisid, and waische awei thi synnes, bi the name of hym clepid to help.

Update Bible Version
And now why do you tarry? arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.

Webster's Bible Translation
And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

New English Translation
And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name.'

New King James Version
And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.'

New Living Translation
What are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on the name of the Lord.'

New Life Bible
What are you waiting for? Get up! Be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on His name.'

New Revised Standard
And now why do you delay? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name.'

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, now, what art thou going to do? Arise, and get thyself immersed, and have thy sins bathed away, calling upon his name.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And now why tarriest thou? Rise up and be baptized and wash away thy sins, invoking his name.

Revised Standard Version
And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.'

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And now: why tariest thou? Aryse and be baptised and wesshe awaye thy synnes in callinge on ye name of ye Lorde.

Young's Literal Translation
and now, why tarriest thou? having risen, baptize thyself, and wash away thy sins, calling upon the name of the Lord.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And now why tariest thou? Aryse, and be baptysed, and wasse awaye thy synnes, and call vpon the name of the LORDE.

Mace New Testament (1729)
why should you now delay? arise, be baptized, and cleansed from your sins, by invoking the name of the Lord.

Simplified Cowboy Version
So quit lollygagging around and get to it. It's time to be baptized and get your sins washed away by the Top Hand.'

Contextual Overview

³ "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in the country of Cilicia. I grew up in this city. I was a student of Gamaliel, who carefully taught me everything about the law of our fathers. I was very serious about serving God, the same as all of you here today. ⁴ I persecuted the people who followed the Way. Some of them were killed because of me. I arrested men and women and put them in jail. ⁵ "The high priest and the whole council of older Jewish leaders can tell you that this is true. One time these leaders gave me some letters. The letters were to the Jewish brothers in the city of Damascus. I was going there to arrest the followers of Jesus and bring them back to Jerusalem for punishment. ⁶ "But something happened to me on my way to Damascus. It was about noon when I came close to Damascus. Suddenly a bright light from heaven shined all around me. ⁷ I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' ⁸ "I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?' The voice said, ‘I am Jesus from Nazareth, the one you are persecuting.' ⁹ The men who were with me did not understand the voice, but they saw the light. ¹⁰ "I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?' The Lord answered, ‘Get up and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that I have planned for you to do.' ¹¹ I could not see, because the bright light had made me blind. So the men led me into Damascus. ¹² "In Damascus a man named Ananias came to me. He was a man who was devoted to God and obeyed the Law of Moses. All the Jews who lived there respected him.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

why: Psalms 119:60, Jeremiah 8:14

arise: Acts 2:38, Romans 6:3, Romans 6:4, 1 Corinthians 6:11, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:27, Titus 3:5, Hebrews 10:22, 1 Peter 3:21

calling: Acts 2:21, Acts 9:14, Romans 10:12-14, 1 Corinthians 1:2

Reciprocal: Leviticus 11:25 - and be unclean 2 Kings 5:13 - Wash 1 Chronicles 22:19 - arise Isaiah 1:16 - Wash Ezekiel 36:25 - filthiness Matthew 3:6 - confessing Mark 1:4 - remission Mark 16:16 - is Luke 3:3 - preaching John 13:5 - to wash John 13:8 - If John 19:34 - came Acts 7:59 - calling Acts 9:18 - and was Ephesians 5:26 - with

Cross-References

Genesis 12:2
I will build a great nation from you. I will bless you and make your name famous. People will use your name to bless other people.

Genesis 22:13
Then Abraham noticed a ram whose horns were caught in a bush. So Abraham went and took the ram. He offered it, instead of his son, as a sacrifice to God.

Genesis 22:14
So Abraham gave that place a name, "The Lord Provides." Even today people say, "On the mountain of the Lord , he will give us what we need."

Psalms 105:9
He will keep the agreement he made with Abraham and the promise he made to Isaac.

Isaiah 45:23
"When I make a promise, that promise is true. It will happen. And I swear by my own power that everyone will bow before me and will take an oath to obey me.

Jeremiah 49:13
The Lord says, "By my own power, I make this promise: I promise that the city of Bozrah will be destroyed. It will become a ruined pile of rocks. People will use it as an example when they ask for bad things to happen to other cities. People will insult that city, and all the towns around Bozrah will become ruins forever."

Jeremiah 51:14
The Lord All-Powerful used his name to make this promise: "Babylon, I will fill you with so many enemy soldiers they will be like a cloud of locusts. They will win their war against you. They will stand over you shouting their victory cry."

Amos 6:8
The Lord God used his own name and made an oath. The Lord God All-Powerful said, "I hate what Jacob is proud of. I hate his strong towers. So I will let an enemy take the city and everything in it."

Luke 1:73
This was the promise he made to our father Abraham,

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And now why tarriest thou?.... Though it might not be the apostle's case, yet it is often the case of many, to procrastinate and delay obedience to the commands of Christ, and particularly to the ordinance of baptism: the reasons of which delay are, the strength of their corruptions, and the weakness of their graces, which cause them to question whether they have any interest in Christ; as also fears of falling away, and so of dishonouring Christ, his Gospel, and ordinance: and in some the reproaches of men; and sometimes such a delay is made, waiting for more comfortable frames, or for a greater fitness; but no such delay, nor on such accounts, ought to be; for it is a command of Christ, and ought to be forthwith complied with, as soon as a man believes; and to obey it is a following of Christ, in which no time should be lost: and the consequences of a delay are very bad: it is a prevention of the glory of Christ, as well as shows ingratitude to him, and a bereaving of ourselves of that comfort, which might be hoped to be enjoyed; and it often induces a carelessness about the ordinance, and even a losing the sense of the duty:

arise, and be baptized; this shows that Ananias was a Christian, since he directs to an ordinance of Christ, and that he was a preacher of the word, and had a right to administer baptism; for that it was administered by him, though not in express terms yet seems to be naturally concluded from Acts 9:18 as also this passage shows, that baptism was not administered by sprinkling, since Saul might have sat still, and have had some water brought to him, and sprinkled on him; but by immersion, seeing he is called upon to arise, and go to some place proper and convenient for the administration of it, according to the usage of John, and the apostles of Christ. "And wash away thy sins"; or "be washed from thy sins"; not that it is in the power of man to cleanse himself from his sins; the Ethiopian may as soon change his skin, or the leopard his spots, as a creature do this; nor is there any such efficacy in baptism as to remove the filth of sin; persons may submit unto it, and yet be as Simon Magus was, in the gall of bitterness, and bond of iniquity; but the ordinance of baptism, may be, and sometimes is, a means of leading the faith of God's children to the blood of Christ, which cleanses from all sin;

calling on the name of the Lord; the name of the Lord is not only to be used by the administrator of baptism in the performance of it; but it should be called upon by the person who submits to it, both before and at the administration of it, for the presence of Christ in it; and this invocation of the name of the Lord in baptism, signifies an exercise of faith in Christ at this time, a profession of him, and obedience to him.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And now why tarriest thou? - Why dost thou delay, or wait any longer? These words are not recorded by Luke in Acts 9:0, where he has given an account of the conversion of Paul; but there is nothing here contradictory to his statement.

And wash away thy sins - Receive baptism as emblematic of the washing away of sins. It cannot be intended that the external rite of baptism was sufficient to make the soul pure, but that it was an ordinance divinely appointed as expressive of the washing away of sins, or of purifying the heart. Compare Hebrews 10:22. Sinners are represented in the Scriptures as defiled or polluted by sin. “To wash away the sins” denotes “the purifying of the soul from this polluted influence,” 1 Corinthians 6:11; Revelation 1:5; Revelation 7:14; Isaiah 1:16; Psalms 51:2, Psalms 51:7.

Calling on the name of the Lord - For pardon and sanctification, Romans 10:13, “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” It was proper that this calling on the name of the Lord should be connected with the ordinance of baptism. That ordinance was emblematic of a purifying which the Lord only could produce. It is proper that the rite of baptism should be attended with extraordinary prayer; that he who is to be baptized should make it the occasion of special and very solemn religious exercises. The external rite will avail nothing without the pardoning mercy of God.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Acts 22:16. Arise, and be baptized — Take now the profession of Christ's faith most solemnly upon thee, by being baptized in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Wash away thy sins, &c.] Let this washing of thy body represent to thee the washing away of thy sins: and know that this washing away of sin can be received only by invoking the name of the Lord.