Acts 22:6

THE MESSAGE

"As I arrived on the outskirts of Damascus about noon, a blinding light blazed out of the skies and I fell to the ground, dazed. I heard a voice: ‘Saul, Saul, why are you out to get me?'

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“As I was traveling and approaching Damascus, about noon an intense light from heaven suddenly flashed around me.

King James Version (1611)
And it came to passe, that as I made my iourney, & was come nigh vnto Damascus about noone, suddenly there shone from heauen a great light round about me.

King 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.

English Standard Version
"As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me.

New American Standard Bible
"But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus at about noon, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me,

New Century Version
"About noon when I came near Damascus, a bright light from heaven suddenly flashed all around me.

Amplified Bible
"But as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a great blaze of light suddenly flashed from heaven and shone around me.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me,

Legacy Standard Bible
"But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me,

Berean Standard Bible
About noon as I was approaching Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.

Contemporary English Version
One day about noon I was getting close to Damascus, when a bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around me.

Complete Jewish Bible
"As I was traveling and approaching Dammesek, around noon, suddenly a brilliant light from heaven flashed all around me!

Darby Translation
And it came to pass, as I was journeying and drawing near to Damascus, that, about mid-day, there suddenly shone out of heaven a great light round about me.

Easy-to-Read Version
"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.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And so it was, as I iourneyed and was come neere vnto Damascus about noone, that suddenly there shone from heauen a great light round about me.

George Lamsa Translation
And it came to pass as I drew near to Damascus, at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone round about me.

Good News Translation
"As I was traveling and coming near Damascus, about midday a bright light from the sky flashed suddenly around me.

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,

Literal Translation
And it happened to me, traveling and drawing near to Damascus: suddenly, about midday, a great light out of the heaven shone around me.

American Standard Version
And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and drew nigh unto Damascus, about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me.

Bible in Basic English
And it came about that while I was on my journey, coming near to Damascus, about the middle of the day, suddenly I saw a great light from heaven shining round me.

Hebrew Names Version
It happened that, as I made my journey, and came close to Dammesek, about noon, suddenly there shone from the sky a great light around me.

International Standard Version
"But while I was on my way and approaching Damascus about noon, a bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around me.Acts 9:3; 26:12-13;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
And as I went, and began to approach Darmsuk in the dividing of the day, suddenly from heaven there shone upon me a great light,

Murdock Translation
And as I travelled and began to approach Damascus, at noonday, from amidst tranquillity, a great light from heaven burst upon me.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And it came to passe, that as I made my iourney, & was come nye vnto Damascus, about noone, sodeinly there shone from heauen a great light rounde about me.

English Revised Version
And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and drew nigh unto Damascus, about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me.

World English Bible
It happened that, as I made my journey, and came close to Damascus, about noon, suddenly there shone from the sky a great light around me.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
But as I journeyed and drew near to Damascus, about noon suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me.

Weymouth's New Testament
"But on my way, when I was now not far from Damascus, about noon a sudden blaze of light from Heaven shone round me.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And it was don, while Y yede, and neiyede to Damask, at myddai sudeynli fro heuene a greet plente of liyt schoon aboute me.

Update Bible Version
And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and drew near to Damascus, about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me.

Webster's Bible Translation
And it came to pass, that as I was passing on my journey, and had come nigh to Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light around me.

New English Translation
As I was en route and near Damascus, about noon a very bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around me.

New King James Version
"Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me.

New Living Translation
"As I was on the road, approaching Damascus about noon, a very bright light from heaven suddenly shone down around me.

New Life Bible
"I was near Damascus. All at once, about noon, I saw a bright light from heaven shining around me.

New Revised Standard
"While I was on my way and approaching Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone about me.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But it befell me, as I was journeying and drawing nigh unto Damascus, that, about mid-day - suddenly - out of heaven, there flashed a great light all around me;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And it came to pass, as I was going and drawing nigh to Damascus, at mid-day, that suddenly from heaven there shone round about me a great light:

Revised Standard Version
"As I made my journey and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone about me.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And it fortuned as I made my iorney and was come nye vnto Damasco aboute none yt sodenly ther shone fro heaven a greate lyght rounde aboute me

Young's Literal Translation
and it came to pass, in my going on and coming nigh to Damascus, about noon, suddenly out of the heaven there shone a great light round about me,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But it fortuned as I made my iourney, and came nye vnto Damascon, aboute noone, sodenly there shone a greate lighte aboute me from heauen,

Mace New Testament (1729)
as I was upon the road, advanc'd near Damascus, about mid-day, all of a sudden a great light from heaven broke all around me.

Simplified Cowboy Version
"As we were getting close to Damascus, the time was around noon if I recollect, a ray of light came down from heaven and hit me square in the chest.

Contextual Overview

³ The next day, determined to get to the root of the trouble and know for sure what was behind the Jewish accusation, the captain released Paul and ordered a meeting of the high priests and the High Council to see what they could make of it. Paul was led in and took his place before them. ⁴"I went after anyone connected with this ‘Way,' went at them hammer and tongs, ready to kill for God. I rounded up men and women right and left and had them thrown in prison. You can ask the Chief Priest or anyone in the High Council to verify this; they all knew me well. Then I went off to our brothers in Damascus, armed with official documents authorizing me to hunt down the followers of Jesus there, arrest them, and bring them back to Jerusalem for sentencing. ⁶"As I arrived on the outskirts of Damascus about noon, a blinding light blazed out of the skies and I fell to the ground, dazed. I heard a voice: ‘Saul, Saul, why are you out to get me?' ⁸"‘Who are you, Master?' I asked. "He said, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, the One you're hunting down.' My companions saw the light, but they didn't hear the conversation. ¹⁰"Then I said, ‘What do I do now, Master?' "He said, ‘Get to your feet and enter Damascus. There you'll be told everything that's been set out for you to do.' And so we entered Damascus, but nothing like the entrance I had planned—I was blind as a bat and my companions had to lead me in by the hand. ¹²"And that's when I met Ananias, a man with a sterling reputation in observing our laws—the Jewish community in Damascus is unanimous on that score. He came and put his arm on my shoulder. ‘Look up,' he said. I looked, and found myself looking right into his eyes—I could see again! ¹⁴"Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has handpicked you to be briefed on his plan of action. You've actually seen the Righteous Innocent and heard him speak. You are to be a key witness to everyone you meet of what you've seen and heard. So what are you waiting for? Get up and get yourself baptized, scrubbed clean of those sins and personally acquainted with God.' ¹⁷"Well, it happened just as Ananias said. After I was back in Jerusalem and praying one day in the Temple, lost in the presence of God, I saw him, saw God's Righteous Innocent, and heard him say to me, ‘Hurry up! Get out of here as quickly as you can. None of the Jews here in Jerusalem are going to accept what you say about me.' ¹⁹"At first I objected: ‘Who has better credentials? They all know how obsessed I was with hunting out those who believed in you, beating them up in the meeting places and throwing them in jail. And when your witness Stephen was murdered, I was right there, holding the coats of the murderers and cheering them on. And now they see me totally converted. What better qualification could I have?' ²¹ "But he said, ‘Don't argue. Go. I'm sending you on a long journey to outsider non-Jews.'"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

that: It is evident that the apostle considered his extraordinary conversion as a most complete demonstration of the truth of Christianity; and when all the particulars of his education, his previous religious principles, his zeal, his enmity against Christians, and his prospects of secular honours and preferments by persecuting them, are compared with the subsequent part of his life, and the sudden transition from a furious persecutor to a zealous preacher of the gospel, in which he laboured and suffered to the end of his life, and for which he died a martyr, it must convince every candid and impartial person that no rational account can be given of this change, except what he himself assigns; and consequently, if that be true, that Christianity is Divine.

that: Acts 9:3-5, Acts 26:12

Damascus: Genesis 14:15, Genesis 15:2, 2 Samuel 8:6

about: Acts 26:13, Isaiah 24:23, Matthew 17:2, Revelation 1:16

Reciprocal: Luke 2:9 - and they 1 Corinthians 9:1 - have

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And it came to pass, that as I made my journey,.... And had almost made an end of it:

and was come nigh unto Damascus; about a mile from it, as some say,

about noon; this circumstance is omitted in the account in Acts 9:3 and is mentioned here, not so much to inform what time of day it was, that Saul came to Damascus, as to observe how extraordinary that light must be, which then appeared, as follows:

suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me; and not only about him, but those that were with him, Acts 26:13. This must be a great light indeed, to be distinguished at noon, and to be above the brightness of the sun, and to have such effect upon the apostle and his company as it had; Acts 9:3.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See the notes on Acts 9:3-7.

Acts 22:6

As I made my journey - As I was on my journey.

About noon - Acts 26:13, “at mid-day.” This circumstance is omitted by Luke in his account in Acts 9:0: Paul mentions it as being the more remarkable since it occurred at mid-day, to show that he was not deluded by any meteoric or natural appearances, which usually occur at night.

Acts 22:11

The glory of that light - The splendor, the intense brilliancy of the light. See this and its effects explained in the notes on Acts 9:8.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 6. - 13. As I made my journey, &c.] See the whole of this account, and all the particular circumstances, considered at large in Clarke's notes on "Acts 9:1", &c., and the observations at the conclusion of that chapter. Acts 9:1- :