Atos 9:1-29 NVIPT

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Acts 9:4

(4) Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?—It is remarkable that here only, in the original Greek, and in Acts 9:17, as in the reproduction of the words in Acts 22:27; Acts 26:14, do we find the Hebrew form of the Benjamite name. It is as though he, who gloried in being above all things a Hebrew of the Hebrews, heard himself claimed as such by Him who spoke from heaven, called as Samuel had been called of old (1 Samuel 3:4-8), and having to decide whether he would resist to the end, or yield,... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Acts 9:5

(5) Who art thou, Lord?—The word “Lord” could not as yet have been used in all the fulness of its meaning. As in many cases in the Gospels, it was the natural utterance of respect and awe (John 5:7; John 9:36; John 20:15), such as would be roused by what the persecutor saw and heard.I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.—Some of the best MSS. give “Jesus of Nazareth”; or better, perhaps, Jesus the Nazarene. It is probable, however, that this was inserted from Acts 22:18, where it occurs in St.... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Acts 9:6

(6) And he trembling and astonished . . .—The words stand, as far as textual authority is concerned, on the same footing as the foregoing, but, for the same reason, will be dealt with here. We note (1) the use of the word “Lord,” now, we must believe, with a new meaning, as applied to the Nazarene whom he had before despised. (2) The entire surrender of his own will to that of Him whom he thus recognised as commanding his allegiance. At that moment Christ was formed in him (Galatians 1:16); the... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Acts 9:7

(7) Hearing a voice, but seeing no man.—We are told by St. Paul himself (Acts 22:9) that they “did not hear the voice.” What is meant is clearly that they did not hear the words—could attach no meaning to the sounds which for Saul himself had so profound a significance. So, in like manner, they saw the light, but did not see the form. In Acts 26:14, they also are said to have fallen on the ground in terror. read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Acts 9:8

(8) He saw no man.—The blindness was that of one who has been dazzled with excess of light (comp. Acts 22:11), the natural result of the vision of the supernatural glory, a witness to the man himself that the vision was not a mere play of imagination. Traces of its permanent effect on his powers of sight have been found in his habit of dictating rather than writing letters (see Note on 2 Thessalonians 3:17), in the large characters traced by him when he did write (see Note on Galatians 6:11),... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Acts 9:9

(9) He was three days without sight.—It is natural to think of this period of seclusion from the visible world as one of spiritual communion with the invisible, and we can hardly be wrong in referring the visions and revelations of the Lord, the soaring as to the third heaven, and the Paradise of God, of which he speaks fourteen or fifteen years later, to this period. (See Notes on 2 Corinthians 12:1-4.) The conditions of outward life were suspended, and he lived as one fallen into a trance—in... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Acts 9:10

(10) A certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias.—In Acts 22:12 St. Paul speaks of him as a “devout man” (the same word as in Acts 2:5; Acts 8:2) “according to the law,” well reported of by all the Jews who dwelt at Damascus. The name was so common that any identification must be in some measure uncertain, but the account which Josephus gives (Ant. xx. 2, § 4) of the conversion of Izates, King of Adiabene, to the faith of Israel by a Jewish merchant who bore the name of Ananias, and who... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Acts 9:11

(11) The street which is called Straight.—A street answering to this description still runs from the Eastern Gate to the palace of the Pacha, and is known locally as the “Street of Bazaars.” Somewhat curiously, the house shown by guides as that of Judas is not in it. A piece of ground surrounded by trees, and used as a Christian burial-place, is pointed out as the scene of the Conversion; but this is on the east side of the city, and St. Paul must have approached from the south or... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Acts 9:12

(12) And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias.—The coincidence of the two visions has seemed to some critics, as afterwards in the history of Cornelius, to betray something like the skill of the artistic historian. To those who reject the supernatural altogether, this may, of course, seem a short and easy explanation. To those who have not brought themselves to that point of denial, it will not seem strange that there should be in the work of the highest Designer the same unity of purpose... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Acts 9:13

(13) Lord, I have heard by many of this man.—The words are of interest as showing both the duration and the character of the persecution in which Saul had been the leader. The report of it had spread far and wide. The refugees at Damascus told of the sufferings of the brethren at Jerusalem.Thy saints at Jerusalem.—This is noticeable as the first application of the term “saints” to the disciples. The primary idea of the word was that of men who consecrated themselves, and led, in the strictest... read more

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Acts 9:4

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Acts 9:5

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Acts 9:6

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Acts 9:7

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Acts 9:8

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Acts 9:9

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Acts 9:10

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Acts 9:11

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Acts 9:12

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Acts 9:13

Grupo de Marcas