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And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Acts 9:4 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB He fell on the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
  • BSB He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?”
  • ESV And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
  • NKJV Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul,why are you persecuting Me?”
  • NASB and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
  • NLT He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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

Saul fell to the ground and heard Jesus ask why he persecuted him. Christ identifies himself with his suffering people.

Overview

The piercing question reveals a profound truth: to persecute the church is to persecute Christ himself, so closely is he united to his people. Saul, brought low, must reckon with the living Lord he opposed. This union of Christ and his body becomes central to Paul's later teaching on the church.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 20

  • Zech 2:8For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.
  • 1 Cor 12:12For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
  • Isa 63:9In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.
  • Rom 11:22Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
  • Gen 22:11And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
  • John 21:15So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
  • Acts 26:14–15And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
  • Gen 3:9And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
  • Acts 22:7–8And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
  • Matt 25:40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
  • Gen 16:8And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.
  • Luke 10:41And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
  • Eph 5:30For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
  • Matt 25:45–46Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
  • Exod 3:4And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
  • 1 Cor 4:7For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?
  • Num 16:45Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.
  • John 20:16Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
  • John 18:6As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.
  • Acts 5:10Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (9)

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 9:4YouTube · 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 9:4 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.