Limitless Word
And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.
Acts 9:20 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Immediately in the synagogues he proclaimed the Christ, that he is the Son of God.
  • BSB Saul promptly began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, declaring, “He is the Son of God.”
  • NKJV Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.
  • NASB and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”
  • NLT And immediately he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is indeed the Son of God!”

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

At once Saul began preaching in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. His transformation produces immediate bold witness.

Overview

Saul wastes no time proclaiming the very faith he had tried to destroy. His message that Jesus is the Son of God strikes at the heart of the gospel and astonishes his hearers. The speed of his preaching testifies to the genuineness and power of the grace that changed him.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 20

  • John 20:28And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God.
  • 1 Jn 4:14–15And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
  • Gal 2:20I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
  • Gal 1:23–24But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed.
  • Ps 2:12Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
  • Ps 2:7I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
  • Acts 9:22But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.
  • Matt 4:3And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
  • Rom 1:4And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
  • John 1:49Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
  • Matt 26:63–66But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.
  • Matt 27:43He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.
  • John 20:31But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
  • Acts 9:27–28But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.
  • Acts 13:5And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.
  • Acts 8:36And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
  • Rev 2:18And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;
  • Acts 13:14But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.
  • John 19:7The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.
  • Matt 27:54Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

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 9:20YouTube · 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 9:20 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.