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Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.
Acts 9:20 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Immediately in the synagogues he proclaimed the Christ, that he is the Son of God.
  • KJV And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.
  • BSB Saul promptly began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, declaring, “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 20:28Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
  • 1 Jn 4:14–15We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as the Savior of the world.
  • Gal 2:20I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me. That life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me.
  • Gal 1:23–24but they only heard: “He who once persecuted us now preaches the faith that he once tried to destroy.”
  • Ps 2:12Give sincere homage to the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish on the way, for his wrath will soon be kindled. Blessed are all those who take refuge in him.
  • Ps 2:7I will tell of the decree. Yahweh said to me, “You are my son. Today I have become your father.
  • Acts 9:22But Saul increased more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived at Damascus, proving that this is the Christ.
  • Matt 4:3The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
  • Rom 1:4who was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
  • John 1:49Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are King of Israel!”
  • Matt 26:63–66But Jesus held his peace. The high priest answered him, “I adjure you by the living God, that you tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God.”
  • Matt 27:43He trusts in God. Let God deliver him now, if he wants him; for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
  • John 20:31but these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.
  • Acts 9:27–28But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.
  • Acts 13:5When they were at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. They had also John as their attendant.
  • Acts 8:36As they went on the way, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Behold, here is water. What is keeping me from being baptized?”
  • Rev 2:18“To the angel of the assembly in Thyatira write: “The Son of God, who has his eyes like a flame of fire, and his feet are like burnished brass, says these things:
  • Acts 13:14But they, passing on from Perga, came to Antioch of Pisidia. They 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 the centurion, and those who were with him watching Jesus, when they saw the earthquake, and the things that were done, feared exceedingly, 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.