And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Parallel translations
- WEB I fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’
- BSB I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?’
- NKJV And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’
- NASB and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’
- NLT I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul fell to the ground and heard a voice asking, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' The risen Christ confronts him personally.
Overview
Christ identifies himself so closely with his church that to persecute believers is to persecute him (Matthew 25:40). The repeated name 'Saul, Saul' carries both solemnity and tenderness. This question pierced Paul's conscience and began his turning from enemy to apostle of the very Lord he had opposed.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Jer 2:9Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your children’s children will I plead.
- Matt 25:45Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
- 1 Tim 1:13Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
- Jer 2:5Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?
- 1 Sam 3:10And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.
- Gen 22:11And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
- Gen 3:9And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
- Gen 22:1And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
- Isa 43:22–26But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel.
- Exod 3:4And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
- Gen 16:8And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.
- Matt 27:23And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.
How Acts 22:7 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.