Limitless Word
Now get to your feet! For I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant and witness. Tell people that you have seen me, and tell them what I will show you in the future.
Acts 26:16 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB But arise, and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose: to appoint you a servant and a witness both of the things which you have seen, and of the things which I will reveal to you;
  • KJV But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
  • BSB ‘But get up and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen from Me and what I will show you.
  • NKJV But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose,to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you.
  • NASB But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you as a servant and a witness not only to the things in which you have seen Me, but also to the things in which I will appear to you,

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

Christ commissions Paul to rise and serve as a witness of what he has seen and of further revelations Christ will give him.

Overview

Jesus appoints Paul not merely as a convert but as a servant and witness, an apostolic calling grounded in seeing the risen Lord. The promise of future revelation points to the gospel Paul would receive and proclaim. This shows that Paul's message was not man-made but came by direct commission from the exalted Christ, undergirding the authority of his ministry and letters.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 31

  • Acts 22:14–15He said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know his will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice from his mouth.
  • Dan 10:11He said to me, Daniel, you man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright; for am I now sent to you. When he had spoken this word to me, I stood trembling.
  • Ezek 2:1He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.”
  • 1 Tim 1:12And I thank him who enabled me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he counted me faithful, appointing me to service;
  • Gal 1:12For neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ.
  • Rom 15:16that I should be a servant of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, serving as a priest of the Good News of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be made acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
  • Col 1:23if it is so that you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the Good News which you heard, which is being proclaimed in all creation under heaven; of which I, Paul, was made a servant.
  • 2 Cor 4:1Therefore seeing we have this ministry, even as we obtained mercy, we don’t faint.
  • 2 Cor 12:1–7It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast. For I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
  • Col 1:25of which I was made a servant, according to the stewardship of God which was given me toward you, to fulfill the word of God,
  • Rom 1:5through whom we received grace and apostleship, for obedience of faith among all the nations, for his name’s sake;
  • Gal 2:2I went up by revelation, and I laid before them the Good News which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately before those who were respected, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain.
  • Acts 23:11The following night, the Lord stood by him, and said, “Cheer up, Paul, for as you have testified about me at Jerusalem, so you must testify also at Rome.”
  • Eph 3:7–8of which I was made a servant, according to the gift of that grace of God which was given me according to the working of his power.
  • Acts 18:9–10The Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Don’t be afraid, but speak and don’t be silent;
  • Acts 20:24But these things don’t count; nor do I hold my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to fully testify to the Good News of the grace of God.
  • Acts 9:6–9But rise up, and enter into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
  • 2 Cor 5:18But all things are of God, who reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ, and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation;
  • 2 Tim 4:5But you be sober in all things, suffer hardship, do the work of an evangelist, and fulfill your ministry.
  • Acts 13:1–4Now in the assembly that was at Antioch there were some prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen the foster brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
  • Col 1:7even as you learned of Epaphras our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf,
  • Acts 9:15–16But the Lord said to him, “Go your way, for he is my chosen vessel to bear my name before the nations and kings, and the children of Israel.
  • Acts 21:19When he had greeted them, he reported one by one the things which God had worked among the Gentiles through his ministry.
  • Acts 27:23–24For there stood by me this night an angel, belonging to the God whose I am and whom I serve,
  • 1 Th 3:2and sent Timothy, our brother and God’s servant in the Good News of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith;
  • Acts 22:17–21“When I had returned to Jerusalem, and while I prayed in the temple, I fell into a trance,
  • 1 Tim 4:6If you instruct the brothers of these things, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished in the words of the faith, and of the good doctrine which you have followed.
  • Acts 22:10I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Arise, and go into Damascus. There you will be told about all things which are appointed for you to do.’
  • Acts 1:25to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas fell away, that he might go to his own place.”
  • Acts 6:4But we will continue steadfastly in prayer and in the ministry of the word.”
  • Acts 1:17For he was counted with us, and received his portion in this ministry.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (7)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Acts videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Acts 26:16YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ActsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 26:16 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.