All who heard him were astounded and asked, “Isn’t this the man who wreaked havoc in Jerusalem on those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?”
Parallel translations
- WEB All 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!”
- KJV But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests?
- NKJV Then all who heard were amazed, and said, “Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?”
- NASB All those hearing him continued to be amazed, and were saying, “Is this not the one who in Jerusalem destroyed those who called on this name, and had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?”
- NLT All who heard him were amazed. “Isn’t this the same man who caused such devastation among Jesus’ followers in Jerusalem?” they asked. “And didn’t he come here to arrest them and take them in chains to the leading priests?”
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
Hearers were amazed that the persecutor was now proclaiming Christ. His changed life was undeniable proof of God's work.
Overview
The astonishment of the crowds underscores how radical Saul's conversion truly was. The one who came to bind believers now builds them up by his preaching. Such a dramatic reversal points beyond human explanation to the sovereign, transforming grace of God in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Acts 9:13–14But Ananias answered, “Lord, many people have told me about this man and all the harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem.
- Acts 8:3But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.
- 2 Th 1:10on the day He comes to be glorified in His saints and regarded with wonder by all who have believed, including you who have believed our testimony.
- Gal 1:13–24For you have heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how severely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it.
- Matt 13:54–55Coming to His hometown, He taught the people in their synagogue, and they were astonished. “Where did this man get such wisdom and miraculous powers?” they asked.
- Acts 9:1–2Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord. He approached the high priest
- Acts 2:12Astounded and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
- Acts 2:6And when this sound rang out, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking his own language.
- Acts 3:10they recognized him as the man who used to sit begging at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
- Zech 3:8Hear now, O high priest Joshua, you and your companions seated before you, who are indeed a sign. For behold, I am going to bring My servant, the Branch.
- Acts 4:13When they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they marveled and took note that these men had been with Jesus.
- 1 Jn 3:1Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.
- Isa 8:18Here am I, and the children the LORD has given me as signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD of Hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.
- Ps 71:7I have become a portent to many, but You are my strong refuge.
- John 9:8–9At this, his neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging began to ask, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?”
- Mark 5:15–20When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons sitting there, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.
- Num 23:23For there is no spell against Jacob and no divination against Israel. It will now be said of Jacob and Israel, ‘What great things God has done!’
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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 9:21 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.