Acts 9:4

Good News Translation

He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute me?"

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

King James Version (1611)
And he fel to the earth, and heard a voice saying vnto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

King James Version
And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

English Standard Version
And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"

New American Standard Bible
and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"

New Century Version
Saul fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul! Why are you persecuting me?"

Amplified Bible
and he fell to the ground and heard a voice [from heaven] saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting and oppressing Me?"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"

Legacy Standard Bible
and falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"

Berean Standard Bible
He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?"

Contemporary English Version
He fell to the ground and heard a voice that said, "Saul! Saul! Why are you so cruel to me?"

Complete Jewish Bible
Falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, "Sha'ul! Sha'ul! Why do you keep persecuting me?"

Darby Translation
and falling on the earth he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute me?

Easy-to-Read Version
He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul! Why are you persecuting me?"

Geneva Bible (1587)
And hee fell to the earth, and heard a voyce, saying to him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

George Lamsa Translation
And he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? You make it hard for yourself by kicking against the pricks.

Lexham English Bible
And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"

Literal Translation
And falling on the earth he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute Me?

American Standard Version
and he fell upon the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

Bible in Basic English
And he went down on the earth, and a voice said to him, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly?

Hebrew Names Version
He fell on the eretz, and heard a voice saying to him, "Sha'ul, Sha'ul, why do you persecute me?"

International Standard Version
He dropped to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"Matthew 25:40;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
and he fell upon the earth, and heard a voice which said to him, Shaol, Shaol, why persecutest thou me ? It is hard to thee to kick against the pricks.

Murdock Translation
And he fell to the ground; and he heard a voice which said to him: Saul! Saul! why persecutest thou me? It will be hard for thee to kick against the goads.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he fell to the earth, and hearde a voyce saying to him: Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

English Revised Version
and he fell upon the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

World English Bible
He fell on the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And falling to the earth, he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

Weymouth's New Testament
and falling to the ground he heard a voice which said to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and he fallide to the erthe, and herde a vois seiynge to hym, Saul, Saul, what pursuest thou me?

Update Bible Version
and he fell on the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?

Webster's Bible Translation
And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

New English Translation
He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"

New King James Version
Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"

New Living Translation
He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?"

New Life Bible
He fell to the ground. Then he heard a voice say, "Saul, Saul, why are you working so hard against Me?"

New Revised Standard
He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, falling unto the earth, he heard a voice saying unto him - Saul! Saul! why, me, art thou persecuting?

Douay-Rheims Bible
And falling on the ground, he heard a voice saying to him: Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

Revised Standard Version
And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And he fell to ye erth and hearde a voyce sayinge to him: Saul Saul why persecutest thou me?

Young's Literal Translation
and having fallen upon the earth, he heard a voice saying to him, `Saul, Saul, why me dost thou persecute?'

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and he fell to the earth, and herde a voyce, which sayde vnto him: Saul Saul why persecutest thou me?

Mace New Testament (1729)
and he fell to the ground, and heard a voice which said to him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

Simplified Cowboy Version
He hit the ground hard and heard a voice saying, "Saul! Saul! Why are you hell-bent on trying to destroy me?"

Contextual Overview

¹ In the meantime Saul kept up his violent threats of murder against the followers of the Lord. He went to the High Priest ² and asked for letters of introduction to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he should find there any followers of the Way of the Lord, he would be able to arrest them, both men and women, and bring them back to Jerusalem. ³ As Saul was coming near the city of Damascus, suddenly a light from the sky flashed around him. ⁴ He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute me?" ⁵ "Who are you, Lord?" he asked. "I am Jesus, whom you persecute," the voice said. ⁶ "But get up and go into the city, where you will be told what you must do." ⁷ The men who were traveling with Saul had stopped, not saying a word; they heard the voice but could not see anyone. ⁸ Saul got up from the ground and opened his eyes, but could not see a thing. So they took him by the hand and led him into Damascus. ⁹ For three days he was not able to see, and during that time he did not eat or drink anything.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

he fell: Acts 5:10, Numbers 16:45, John 18:6, Romans 11:22, 1 Corinthians 4:7

Saul: Genesis 3:9, Genesis 16:8, Genesis 22:11, Exodus 3:4, Luke 10:41, John 20:16, John 21:15

why: Acts 22:7, Acts 22:8, Acts 26:14, Acts 26:15, Isaiah 63:9, Zechariah 2:8, Matthew 25:40, Matthew 25:45, Matthew 25:46, 1 Corinthians 12:12, Ephesians 5:30

Reciprocal: Genesis 46:2 - Jacob Exodus 15:7 - them that Exodus 23:22 - an enemy Deuteronomy 23:4 - Because they met 1 Samuel 2:23 - Why 1 Samuel 3:4 - called Samuel 1 Samuel 17:36 - seeing 2 Samuel 3:8 - do show 1 Kings 13:4 - his hand 2 Chronicles 13:12 - fight ye 2 Chronicles 14:11 - man Job 33:13 - strive Psalms 2:2 - Lord Psalms 40:14 - driven Isaiah 37:29 - rage Isaiah 57:4 - Against Jeremiah 2:3 - all that Jeremiah 51:1 - rise Ezekiel 1:28 - I fell Joel 3:4 - and what Mark 9:42 - it Luke 21:12 - before Luke 22:31 - Simon John 5:16 - persecute Acts 7:32 - Then Acts 9:10 - Ananias Acts 9:17 - the Lord Acts 10:3 - Cornelius Acts 23:9 - if 1 Corinthians 8:12 - ye sin against 2 Corinthians 1:5 - as 2 Corinthians 10:5 - and every Revelation 11:5 - fire Revelation 11:8 - our Lord Revelation 17:14 - shall make

Cross-References

Genesis 9:10
and with all living beings—all birds and all animals—everything that came out of the boat with you.

Genesis 9:14
Whenever I cover the sky with clouds and the rainbow appears,

Leviticus 3:17
No Israelite may eat any fat or any blood; this is a rule to be kept forever by all Israelites wherever they live.

Leviticus 7:26
No matter where the Israelites live, they must never use the blood of birds or animals for food.

Leviticus 19:26
"Do not eat any meat with blood still in it. Do not practice any kind of magic.

Deuteronomy 12:16
But you must not eat their blood; you must pour it out on the ground like water.

Deuteronomy 12:23
Only do not eat meat with blood still in it, for the life is in the blood, and you must not eat the life with the meat.

Deuteronomy 14:21
"Do not eat any animal that dies a natural death. You may let the foreigners who live among you eat it, or you may sell it to other foreigners. But you belong to the Lord your God; you are his people. "Do not cook a young sheep or goat in its mother's milk.

Deuteronomy 15:23
But do not use their blood for food; instead, you must pour it out on the ground like water.

Acts 15:20
Instead, we should write a letter telling them not to eat any food that is ritually unclean because it has been offered to idols; to keep themselves from sexual immorality; and not to eat any animal that has been strangled, or any blood.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he fell to the earth,.... Not being able to bear the light, and still less the divine glory and majesty which he perceived was present; and therefore, in great confusion, amazement, and fear, he fell with his face to the ground, and lay there prostrate and so did also those that were with him, Acts 26:14

and heard a voice, saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? this voice was the real voice of Christ in his human nature, and who visibly and in person appeared, and was seen by the apostle;

Acts 26:16 the language he spoke in was the Hebrew tongue, and he calls him by his Hebrew name Saul, and which is doubled to denote vehemency and affection; Acts 26:16- : he knew him as one of his sheep, though straying, and calls him by name, and expostulates with him, wherefore he should persecute him in his members as he did; for the union between Christ and his people is so close, that what is done to them is done to him. There seems to be a considerable emphasis on the word "me"; "me", who have been they surety from everlasting; "me", who hath loved thee and given myself for thee; "me", who have shed my blood, laid down my life, and died for thee; "me", who am now at my Father's right hand, interceding for thee, that grace might be bestowed upon thee, the set time being now come.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And he fell to the earth - He was astonished and overcome by the sudden flash of light. There is a remarkable similarity between what occurred here, and what is recorded of Daniel in regard to the visions which he saw, Daniel 8:17. Also Daniel 10:8, “Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision; and there remained no strength in me, for my comeliness (vigor) was turned into corruption, and I retained no strength.” The effect was such as to overpower the body.

And heard a voice - The whole company heard a voice Acts 9:7, but did not distinguish it as addressed particularly to Saul. He heard it speaking to himself.

Saying unto him ... - This shows that it was not thunder, as many have supposed. It was a distinct articulation or utterance, addressing him by name.

Saul, Saul - A mode of address that is emphatic. The repetition of the name would fix his attention. Thus, Jesus addresses Martha Luke 10:41, and Simon Luke 22:31, and Jerusalem Matthew 23:37.

Why - For what reason. Jesus had done him no injury; had given him no provocation. All the opposition of sinners to the Lord Jesus and his church is without cause. See the notes on John 15:25, “They hated me without a cause.”

Persecutest - See the notes on Matthew 5:11.

Thou me? - Christ and his people are one, John 15:1-6. To persecute them, therefore, was to persecute him, Matthew 25:40, Matthew 25:45.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Acts 9:4. And he fell to the earth — Being struck down with the lightning: many persons suppose he was on horseback, and painters thus represent him; but this is utterly without foundation. Painters are, in almost every case, wretched commentators.