And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
Parallel translations
- WEB When we had all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
- KJV And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
- BSB We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice say to me in Hebrew, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
- NASB And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
- NLT We all fell down, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is useless for you to fight against my will.’
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
The risen Christ confronts Saul on the Damascus road, asking why he persecutes Him and warning that resisting God's call is like an ox kicking against the goads—self-destructive.
Overview
As Paul recounts his conversion before Agrippa, he reports that Jesus spoke in Hebrew (Aramaic) and identified persecution of the church as persecution of Himself, revealing the union between Christ and His people. The proverb about 'kicking against the goads' pictures the futility of resisting God's purpose. This moment turned the church's chief enemy into its greatest missionary, displaying the sovereign, transforming grace of the exalted Lord.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Acts 21:40When he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the stairs, beckoned with his hand to the people. When there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, saying,
- Acts 22:2When they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they were even more quiet. He said,
- Acts 9:7The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the sound, but seeing no one.
- Acts 22:7–9I fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’
- 1 Cor 10:22Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
- Zech 12:2“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of reeling to all the surrounding peoples, and it will also be on Judah in the siege against Jerusalem.
- Acts 9:4–5He fell on the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
- Zech 2:8For Yahweh of Armies says: ‘For honor he has sent me to the nations which plundered you; for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye.
- Prov 13:15Good understanding wins favor; but the way of the unfaithful is hard.
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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.
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Original language
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