Acts 9:4

Acts 9:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
• New International Version (NIV)He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”

Context of Acts 9:4

2Saul asked him, ‘Please will you write some letters for me? Then I can give one of these letters to the leader of each Jewish group in Damascus. That will give me authority to take hold of any believers that I find there.’ Saul wanted to find anyone who agreed with the Way of the Lord Jesus. Then he would tie them and bring them back to Jerusalem, whether they were men or they were women. 3He travelled towards Damascus. He was very near the city when a bright light suddenly appeared. The light came from the sky, and it shone all around him. Saul fell down onto the ground. He heard a voice which said to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you fight against me?’ 5Saul asked, ‘Lord, who are you?’ He said, ‘I am Jesus. And you are fighting against me. 6Now you must get up and go into the city. Someone there will tell you what you must do.’

Acts 9:4 word by word

καὶ πεσὼν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἤκουσεν φωνὴν λέγουσαν αὐτῷ· Σαοὺλ Σαούλ, τί με διώκεις;Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• he fellπίπτωpiptō petō · to collapseG4098
• toἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
• the earthὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the earthγῆgē · earth: soilG1093
• and heardἀκούωakouō · to hearG191
• a voiceφωνήphōnē · voice/sound: voiceG5456
• sayingλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• unto himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• SaulΣαούλSaoul · SaulG4549
• whyτίςtis · which?G5101
• persecutest thouδιώκωdiōkō · to pursueG1377
• meἐγώegō · I/weG1473

Cross-references for Acts 9:4

• Acts 5:10Immediately, Sapphira fell down in front of Peter and she died. Then the young men came into the room. They saw that Sapphira was dead. So they carried her outside and they buried her body next to her husband.
• Numbers 16:45‘Get away from the people so that I can destroy them immediately!’ Moses and Aaron threw themselves down so that their faces touched the ground.
• John 18:6When Jesus said the words, ‘I am,’ the soldiers quickly moved away from him. They fell down to the ground.
• Romans 11:22So you should think about what God is like. He is kind, but he also punishes people. He has punished Israel's people, because they turned away from him. He has been kind to you. But you must continue to accept his kind gift. If you do not do that, he will break you off from his tree as well.
• 1 Corinthians 4:7Do not think that any of you are better than anyone else. You received from God everything that you have. So you have no reason to be proud of what you have. It is all a gift!
• Genesis 3:9The Lord God called out to the man. He said to him, ‘Where are you?’
• Genesis 16:8The angel said, ‘Sarai's servant, Hagar, where have you come from? Where are you going?’ Hagar replied, ‘I am running away from Sarai. I am her servant.’
• Genesis 22:11But then the angel of the Lord spoke to Abraham from heaven. He said, ‘Abraham! Abraham!’ Abraham replied, ‘Here I am.’
• Exodus 3:4The Lord saw that Moses came near to look at the bush. God spoke to Moses from inside the bush. He said, ‘Moses! Moses!’ Moses answered, ‘Here I am.’
• Luke 10:41The Lord Jesus replied, ‘Martha, Martha, you have troubles in your mind about many things.
• John 20:16Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned towards him and she said in the Jewish language, ‘Rabboni!’ (This means ‘Teacher’.)
• John 21:15When they had finished eating, Jesus spoke to Simon Peter. He said, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these other disciples love me?’ Peter answered, ‘Yes Lord, you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’
• Acts 22:7I fell down to the ground. Then I heard a voice that said to me, “Saul, Saul, why do you fight against me?”
• Acts 26:14All of us fell down to the ground. I heard a voice that spoke to me in my own language, Hebrew. He said “Saul, Saul, why do you fight against me? You are like an ox that kicks against its master's stick. So you are hurting yourself.”
• Isaiah 63:9When his people suffered, he also had pain. He sent his own angel to go and save them. Because he loved them and he was kind to them, he redeemed them. He lifted them up and he carried them, through all the years long ago.
• Zechariah 2:8Return because the Lord says, ‘Anyone that attacks you is attacking the Lord's people. He is attacking the people that the Lord loves.’ So the Lord Almighty sent me, Zechariah, with this message about the countries that have robbed his people.

Commentaries on Acts 9:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4And 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.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4And 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…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-19The conversion of Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus road is central to the story in Acts. Luke tells the story three times (also 22:1–21; 26:1–29). Paul (Saul) mentions this experience several times in his letters (1 Corinthians 15:8–10; Galatians 1:11–17; Philippians 3:4–11; see 1 Timothy 1:12–17). Saul’s conversion was his call as a prophet and commission as an apostle (Acts 9:15; 22:15, 21; 26:15–18). No one is beyond God's power to reach, save, and use…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 4-64-6. he fell to the earth--and his companions with him (Ac 26:14), who "saw the light" (Ac 22:9). and heard a voice saying unto him--"in the Hebrew tongue" (Ac 26:14). Saul, Saul--a reduplication full of tenderness [De Wette]. Though his name was soon changed into "Paul," we find him, in both his own narratives of the scene, after the lapse of so many years, retaining the original form, as not daring to alter, in the smallest detail, the overpowering…Read the comment

Topics related to Acts 9:4

• Bigotry
• Call
• Converts
• Heart
• Jesus, the Christ
• Miracles
• Paul
• Persecution
• Regeneration
• Syria
• Vision
• Voice

In the dictionaries

• Saul
• Paul, Saul
• Apostle
• Authority
• Confound
• Damascus
• Forthwith
• Kick
• Resurrection of Christ
• Acts of the Apostles

Commentaries on Acts 9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings