The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless. They heard the voice but did not see anyone.
Parallel translations
- WEB The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the sound, but seeing no one.
- KJV And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.
- NKJV And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one.
- NASB The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.
- NLT The men with Saul stood speechless, for they heard the sound of someone’s voice but saw no one!
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's companions stood speechless, hearing the sound but seeing no one. The encounter was unmistakably real yet uniquely Saul's.
Overview
The bewildered travelers confirm that something objective occurred, even as the personal revelation was directed to Saul alone. Their inability to see the Lord highlights that this was a sovereign appearance of the risen Christ to his chosen instrument. The detail authenticates the event while marking Saul out for a singular commission.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Acts 22:9My companions saw the light, but they could not understand the voice of the One speaking to me.
- Dan 10:7Only I, Daniel, saw the vision; the men with me did not see it, but a great terror fell upon them, and they ran and hid themselves.
- Acts 26:13–14About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions.
- John 12:29The crowd standing there heard it and said that it had thundered. Others said that an angel had spoken to Him.
- Matt 24:40–41Two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left.
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 9:7 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.