When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.
Parallel translations
- WEB When Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join himself to the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.
- KJV And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple.
- NKJV And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple.
- NASB When he came to Jerusalem, he tried repeatedly to associate with the disciples; and yet they were all afraid of him, as they did not believe that he was a disciple.
- NLT When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe he had truly become a believer!
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
In Jerusalem the disciples feared Saul, doubting his conversion. His past reputation made trust difficult.
Overview
The believers' wariness is understandable, given Saul's history of violence against the church. Their hesitation shows the real challenge of accepting a former enemy as a brother. It sets the stage for Barnabas's intervention and reminds us that genuine reconciliation sometimes requires a trusted mediator.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Acts 26:20First to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, then to everyone in the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I declared that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds worthy of their repentance.
- Gal 1:17–19nor did I go up to Jerusalem to the apostles who came before me, but I went into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.
- Acts 4:23On their release, Peter and John returned to their own people and reported everything that the chief priests and elders had said to them.
- Acts 9:19and after taking some food, he regained his strength. And he spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.
- Acts 22:17–20Later, when I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance
- Matt 10:17–19But beware of men; for they will hand you over to their councils and flog you in their synagogues.
- Gal 2:4This issue arose because some false brothers had come in under false pretenses to spy on our freedom in Christ Jesus, in order to enslave us.
- Matt 24:10At that time many will fall away and will betray and hate one another,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 9:26 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.