and here he has authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on Your name.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.”
- KJV And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.
- BSB And now he is here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on Your name.”
- NKJV And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.”
- NLT And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.”
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
Ananias noted that Saul came with authority to arrest all who called on Jesus' name. The danger was real and well known.
Overview
To call on the name of the Lord is a mark of true believers, and Saul had come to imprison them. Ananias rightly understood the threat, yet God's purpose would overturn it entirely. The phrase highlights that Christians are defined by their devotion to Christ, the very people Saul will soon join.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Acts 9:21All who heard him were amazed, and said, “Isn’t this he who in Jerusalem made havoc of those who called on this name? And he had come here intending to bring them bound before the chief priests!”
- Acts 7:59They stoned Stephen as he called out, saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!”
- 2 Tim 2:22Flee from youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
- 1 Cor 1:2to the assembly of God which is at Corinth; those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, both theirs and ours:
- Acts 22:16Now why do you wait? Arise, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’
- Acts 9:2–3and asked for letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
- Rom 10:12–14For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich to all who call on him.
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 9:14 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.