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And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one.
Acts 9:7 · New King James Version
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.
  • BSB The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless. They heard the voice but did not see anyone.
  • 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 22:9“Those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they didn’t understand the voice of him who spoke to me.
  • Dan 10:7I, Daniel, alone saw the vision; for the men who were with me didn’t see the vision; but a great quaking fell on them, and they fled to hide themselves.
  • Acts 26:13–14at noon, O king, I saw on the way a light from the sky, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who traveled with me.
  • John 12:29The multitude therefore, who stood by and heard it, said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
  • Matt 24:40–41Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and one will be left;

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

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 9:7YouTube · 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 9:7 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.