King James Version
Acts 22
30 verses with commentary
Paul's Defense Before the Crowd
Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence</strong> (ἀκούσατέ μου τῆς πρὸς ὑμᾶς νυνὶ ἀπολογίας)—Paul's formal address uses three titles showing respect for his hostile Jewish audience. The Greek 'apologia' (ἀπολογία) means a reasoned defense, not an apology—the same term used for Christian witness in 1 Peter 3:15. Paul speaks as a fellow Jew addressing equals (brethren) and honored lea...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
**XXII.**
(1) **Men, brethren, and fathers.**—The apparently triple division is really only two-fold—*Brethren and fathers.* (See Note on Acts 7:2.) It is noticeable that he begins his speech with the self-same formula as Stephen. It was, perhaps, the received formula in addressing an assembly which included the scribes and elders.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5-7. When they heard this--**not the mere words reported in Ac 19:4, but the subject expounded according to the tenor of those words.
**they were baptized--**not however by Paul himself (1Co 1:14).
**in the name of the Lord Jesus--**into the whole fulness of the new economy, as now opened up to their believing minds.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 22
Chapter Outline
Paul's account of his conversion.(1-11)
Paul directed to preach to the Gentiles.(12-21)
The rage of the Jews Paul pleads that he is a Roman citizen.(22-30)
**Verses 1-11**
The apostle addressed the enraged multitude, in the customary style of respect and good-will. Paul relates the history of his early life very particularly; he notices that his con...
Read full commentary →(And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,)
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>He spake in the Hebrew tongue</strong> (τῇ Ἑβραΐδι διαλέκτῳ)—Likely Aramaic, the common language of Palestinian Jews. Paul's linguistic choice was strategic: speaking the people's heart language (not Greek, the empire's lingua franca) immediately established his Jewish credentials and cultural authenticity.<br><br><strong>They kept the more silence</strong> (μᾶλλον παρέσχον ἡσυχίαν)—The ve...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **They kept the more silence.**—The opening words had done the work they were meant to do. One who spoke in Hebrew was not likely to blaspheme the sacred Hebrew books. What follows was conceived in the same spirit of conciliation.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5-7. When they heard this--**not the mere words reported in Ac 19:4, but the subject expounded according to the tenor of those words.
**they were baptized--**not however by Paul himself (1Co 1:14).
**in the name of the Lord Jesus--**into the whole fulness of the new economy, as now opened up to their believing minds.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 22
Chapter Outline
Paul's account of his conversion.(1-11)
Paul directed to preach to the Gentiles.(12-21)
The rage of the Jews Paul pleads that he is a Roman citizen.(22-30)
**Verses 1-11**
The apostle addressed the enraged multitude, in the customary style of respect and good-will. Paul relates the history of his early life very particularly; he notices that his con...
Read full commentary →I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Born in Tarsus</strong>—Paul claims both Jewish purity and Roman citizenship (21:39). Tarsus was a major intellectual center, suggesting elite education. <strong>At the feet of Gamaliel</strong> (παρὰ τοὺς πόδας Γαμαλιήλ)—Studying 'at the feet' indicated formal rabbinic discipleship. Gamaliel I was the most respected Pharisee of his generation (Acts 5:34-39), grandson of Hillel, whose mode...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel.**—His education may have begun shortly after he became a child of the Law, at the age of twelve. (See Note on Luke 2:42.) He, too, had sat in the midst of the doctors, hearing and asking questions. The Rabbis sat in a high chair, and their scholars on the ground, and so they were literally at their master’s feet.
**Taught according to the perf...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5-7. When they heard this--**not the mere words reported in Ac 19:4, but the subject expounded according to the tenor of those words.
**they were baptized--**not however by Paul himself (1Co 1:14).
**in the name of the Lord Jesus--**into the whole fulness of the new economy, as now opened up to their believing minds.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 22
Chapter Outline
Paul's account of his conversion.(1-11)
Paul directed to preach to the Gentiles.(12-21)
The rage of the Jews Paul pleads that he is a Roman citizen.(22-30)
**Verses 1-11**
The apostle addressed the enraged multitude, in the customary style of respect and good-will. Paul relates the history of his early life very particularly; he notices that his con...
Read full commentary →And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Paul's Testimony of Persecution:</strong> The phrase "this way" (<em>tēn hodon tautēn</em>) was an early designation for Christianity, emphasizing it as a comprehensive way of life, a path to follow and live by, not merely a belief system or religious philosophy. Paul strategically uses it to identify with his Jerusalem audience—he once shared their zealous hostility toward believers in Je...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **And I persecuted this way.**—The speaker obviously uses the current colloquial term (see Notes on Acts 9:2; Acts 19:23), used by the disciples as indicating that they had found in Christ the way of eternal life; used, it may be, by others with a certain tone of scorn, as of people who had chosen their own way, and must be left to take it.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8-10. he went into the synagogue and spake boldly for ... three months, &c.--**See on Ac 17:2, 3.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 22
Chapter Outline
Paul's account of his conversion.(1-11)
Paul directed to preach to the Gentiles.(12-21)
The rage of the Jews Paul pleads that he is a Roman citizen.(22-30)
**Verses 1-11**
The apostle addressed the enraged multitude, in the customary style of respect and good-will. Paul relates the history of his early life very particularly; he notices that his con...
Read full commentary →As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The high priest doth bear me witness</strong> (μαρτυρεῖ μοι)—Paul invokes living eyewitnesses to verify his past as chief persecutor. This wasn't distant history; some leaders present had personally authorized his Damascus mission. <strong>Letters unto the brethren</strong> (ἐπιστολὰς πρὸς τοὺς ἀδελφούς)—Official extradition documents from the Sanhedrin to Damascus synagogues, granting aut...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **As also the high priest doth bear me witness.**—Annas is named as high priest at the time of St. Paul’s conversion, acting probably with his son-in-law, Caiaphas, as his coadjutor. (See Notes on Luke 3:2; John 18:13.) At the time which we have now reached, the office was filled by Ananias, son of Nebedseus, who owed his appointment to Herod Agrippa II., then King of Chalcis, to whom Claudius...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8-10. he went into the synagogue and spake boldly for ... three months, &c.--**See on Ac 17:2, 3.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 22
Chapter Outline
Paul's account of his conversion.(1-11)
Paul directed to preach to the Gentiles.(12-21)
The rage of the Jews Paul pleads that he is a Roman citizen.(22-30)
**Verses 1-11**
The apostle addressed the enraged multitude, in the customary style of respect and good-will. Paul relates the history of his early life very particularly; he notices that his con...
Read full commentary →And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me.</strong> This verse recounts Paul's dramatic conversion experience, the third detailed account in Acts (also chapters 9 and 26). The specific mention of "about noon" emphasizes the supernatural brilliance of the heavenly light—it outsho...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **About noon.**—The special note of the hour is not given in Acts 9:3, and may fairly be taken as characteristic of a personal recollection of the circumstances of the great event.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8-10. he went into the synagogue and spake boldly for ... three months, &c.--**See on Ac 17:2, 3.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 22
Chapter Outline
Paul's account of his conversion.(1-11)
Paul directed to preach to the Gentiles.(12-21)
The rage of the Jews Paul pleads that he is a Roman citizen.(22-30)
**Verses 1-11**
The apostle addressed the enraged multitude, in the customary style of respect and good-will. Paul relates the history of his early life very particularly; he notices that his con...
Read full commentary →And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>I fell unto the ground</strong> (ἔπεσον εἰς τὸ ἔδαφος)—Physical prostration from divine encounter, echoing Old Testament theophanies (Ezekiel 1:28, Daniel 8:17). <strong>Saul, Saul</strong>—The doubled vocative in Hebrew/Aramaic intensifies urgency and emotion (compare 'Martha, Martha' in Luke 10:41; 'Jerusalem, Jerusalem' in Matthew 23:37). The risen Christ addresses Paul in his Hebrew na...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Saul, Saul . . .**—We have again, as in Acts 9:4, the Hebrew form of the name.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11-12. God wrought special--**no ordinary
**miracles by the hands of Paul--**implying that he had not been accustomed to work such.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 22
Chapter Outline
Paul's account of his conversion.(1-11)
Paul directed to preach to the Gentiles.(12-21)
The rage of the Jews Paul pleads that he is a Roman citizen.(22-30)
**Verses 1-11**
The apostle addressed the enraged multitude, in the customary style of respect and good-will. Paul relates the history of his early life very particularly; he notices that his con...
Read full commentary →And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Who art thou, Lord?</strong> (Τίς εἶ κύριε)—Paul's 'Lord' (κύριε) could mean mere 'sir' or acknowledge deity; the context clarifies. He recognizes supernatural authority but doesn't yet know the speaker's identity. <strong>I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest</strong>—This self-identification shatters Paul's theological framework. The crucified heretic he thought justly executed n...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11-12. God wrought special--**no ordinary
**miracles by the hands of Paul--**implying that he had not been accustomed to work such.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 22
Chapter Outline
Paul's account of his conversion.(1-11)
Paul directed to preach to the Gentiles.(12-21)
The rage of the Jews Paul pleads that he is a Roman citizen.(22-30)
**Verses 1-11**
The apostle addressed the enraged multitude, in the customary style of respect and good-will. Paul relates the history of his early life very particularly; he notices that his con...
Read full commentary →And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>They that were with me saw indeed the light</strong> (τὸ μὲν φῶς ἐθεάσαντο)—Paul's companions witnessed objective phenomena: supernatural brightness at noon. This wasn't subjective hallucination but shared sensory experience verifying the event's reality. <strong>But they heard not the voice</strong> (τὴν δὲ φωνὴν οὐκ ἤκουσαν)—Apparent contradiction with Acts 9:7 ('hearing a voice') resolv...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **They heard not the voice . . .**—*i.e.,* they did not hear it as a voice uttering articulate words. It was for them as though it thundered. (See Notes on Acts 9:7, and John 12:29.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13. vagabond Jews--**simply, "wandering Jews," who went from place to place practicing exorcism, or the art of conjuring evil spirits to depart out of the possessed. That such a power did exist, for some time at least, seems implied in Mt 12:27. But no doubt this would breed imposture; and the present case is very different from that referred to in Lu 9:49, 50.
**We adjure you by Jesus whom Pa...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 22
Chapter Outline
Paul's account of his conversion.(1-11)
Paul directed to preach to the Gentiles.(12-21)
The rage of the Jews Paul pleads that he is a Roman citizen.(22-30)
**Verses 1-11**
The apostle addressed the enraged multitude, in the customary style of respect and good-will. Paul relates the history of his early life very particularly; he notices that his con...
Read full commentary →And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>What shall I do, Lord?</strong> (Τί ποιήσω, κύριε;)—Saul's response shifts from resistance to submission. The question 'what shall I do' (τί ποιήσω) expresses immediate obedience, contrasting sharply with his former persecution. Addressing Jesus as <strong>Lord</strong> (κύριε) acknowledges divine authority, fulfilling what Ananias would later call him: 'Brother Saul' (v.13). The phrase <s...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14-17. seven sons of ... Sceva ... chief of the priests--**head, possibly, of one of the twenty-four courts.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 22
Chapter Outline
Paul's account of his conversion.(1-11)
Paul directed to preach to the Gentiles.(12-21)
The rage of the Jews Paul pleads that he is a Roman citizen.(22-30)
**Verses 1-11**
The apostle addressed the enraged multitude, in the customary style of respect and good-will. Paul relates the history of his early life very particularly; he notices that his con...
Read full commentary →And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>I could not see for the glory of that light</strong>—Physical blindness symbolized Saul's spiritual blindness to Christ's messiahship. The Greek 'doxa' (δόξα, glory) connects this light to the Shekinah glory of God. Being <strong>led by the hand</strong> (χειραγωγούμενος) reverses Saul's authoritative arrival with arrest warrants—the persecutor becomes helpless, dependent. The three-day bl...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **And when I could not see for the glory of that light.**—It is again characteristic of a personal recollection that, while the narrative of Acts 9:8 states only the fact of blindness, St. Paul himself connects it with its cause.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14-17. seven sons of ... Sceva ... chief of the priests--**head, possibly, of one of the twenty-four courts.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 22
Chapter Outline
Paul's account of his conversion.(1-11)
Paul directed to preach to the Gentiles.(12-21)
The rage of the Jews Paul pleads that he is a Roman citizen.(22-30)
**Verses 1-11**
The apostle addressed the enraged multitude, in the customary style of respect and good-will. Paul relates the history of his early life very particularly; he notices that his con...
Read full commentary →And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Ananias, a devout man according to the law</strong> (ἀνὴρ εὐλαβὴς κατὰ τὸν νόμον)—Paul emphasizes Ananias's Jewish credentials to his Jerusalem audience. The term 'devout' (εὐλαβής) means pious, reverent, law-observant. <strong>Having a good report of all the Jews</strong> establishes that Paul's conversion came through a respected Jewish believer, not Gentile Christians. This counters acc...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **A devout man according to the law.**—In Acts 9:10, Ananias is simply described as “a disciple.” The special description here was obviously given with a view to conciliate those who were listening to the speech. One, such as Ananias was, was not likely to have connected himself with a profane blasphemer, nor to have received the converted persecutor except on evidence that the change had com...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14-17. seven sons of ... Sceva ... chief of the priests--**head, possibly, of one of the twenty-four courts.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-21**
The apostle goes on to relate how he was confirmed in the change he had made. The Lord having chosen the sinner, that he should know his will, he is humbled, enlightened, and brought to the knowledge of Christ and his blessed gospel. Christ is here called that Just One; for he is Jesus Christ the righteous. Those whom God has chosen to know his will, must look to Jesus, for by...
Read full commentary →Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Brother Saul, receive thy sight</strong> (Ἀδελφὲ Σαούλ, ἀνάβλεψον)—The address 'brother' (ἀδελφέ) immediately includes the persecutor in the community of faith. <strong>Receive thy sight</strong> (ἀνάβλεψον) uses the aorist imperative of 'anablepō'—both 'look up' and 'receive sight,' combining physical and spiritual restoration. The phrase <strong>the same hour</strong> (αὐτῇ τῇ ὥρᾳ) empha...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14-17. seven sons of ... Sceva ... chief of the priests--**head, possibly, of one of the twenty-four courts.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-21**
The apostle goes on to relate how he was confirmed in the change he had made. The Lord having chosen the sinner, that he should know his will, he is humbled, enlightened, and brought to the knowledge of Christ and his blessed gospel. Christ is here called that Just One; for he is Jesus Christ the righteous. Those whom God has chosen to know his will, must look to Jesus, for by...
Read full commentary →And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The God of our fathers hath chosen thee</strong> (Ὁ θεὸς τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν προεχειρίσατό σε)—The verb 'chosen' (προεχειρίσατο) means 'appointed beforehand,' emphasizing God's sovereign election. Connecting to <strong>the God of our fathers</strong> shows Christianity's continuity with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The threefold purpose: (1) <strong>know his will</strong> (γνῶναι τὸ θέλημα)—int...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **The God of our fathers . . .**—The report of what was said by Ananias is somewhat fuller than in Acts 9:17, and gives in outline what had been spoken to him by the Lord. It is obviously implied in Acts 9:15-16, that those words were to be reproduced to Saul. We note the recurrence of the same formula in speaking of God that had been used by Stephen (Acts 7:32).
**Hath chosen thee.**—The Gre...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18-20. many that believed came and confessed ... their deeds--**the dupes of magicians, &c., acknowledging how shamefully they had been deluded, and how deeply they had allowed themselves to be implicated in such practices.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-21**
The apostle goes on to relate how he was confirmed in the change he had made. The Lord having chosen the sinner, that he should know his will, he is humbled, enlightened, and brought to the knowledge of Christ and his blessed gospel. Christ is here called that Just One; for he is Jesus Christ the righteous. Those whom God has chosen to know his will, must look to Jesus, for by...
Read full commentary →For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.
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KJV Study Commentary
Ananias's prophecy - 'thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard' - commissioned Paul to universal witness based on personal encounter with the risen Christ. The phrase 'all men' (Greek 'pantas anthrōpous') pointed toward Paul's apostleship to Gentiles. Authentic witness flows from personal experience of Christ, not merely academic knowledge about Him.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **Thou shalt be his witness.**—This mission, identical with that which had been assigned to the Twelve (Acts 1:8), virtually placed the persecutor on a level with them, and was equivalent to his appointment as an Apostle.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18-20. many that believed came and confessed ... their deeds--**the dupes of magicians, &c., acknowledging how shamefully they had been deluded, and how deeply they had allowed themselves to be implicated in such practices.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-21**
The apostle goes on to relate how he was confirmed in the change he had made. The Lord having chosen the sinner, that he should know his will, he is humbled, enlightened, and brought to the knowledge of Christ and his blessed gospel. Christ is here called that Just One; for he is Jesus Christ the righteous. Those whom God has chosen to know his will, must look to Jesus, for by...
Read full commentary →And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
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KJV Study Commentary
Ananias commands Paul: 'Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.' This verse requires careful interpretation to avoid baptismal regeneration. The grammar indicates 'calling on the name of the Lord' governs both 'be baptized' and 'wash away thy sins.' Sin's washing happens through faith-filled calling on Christ, baptism testifying to that inward reality. The ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins.**—Here, again, we have words which are not in the narrative of Acts 9. They show that for the Apostle that baptism was no formal or ceremonial act, but was joined with repentance, and, faith being presupposed, brought with it the assurance of a real forgiveness. In St. Paul’s language as to the “washing” (or, *bath*) of regeneration (Titus 3:5...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18-20. many that believed came and confessed ... their deeds--**the dupes of magicians, &c., acknowledging how shamefully they had been deluded, and how deeply they had allowed themselves to be implicated in such practices.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-21**
The apostle goes on to relate how he was confirmed in the change he had made. The Lord having chosen the sinner, that he should know his will, he is humbled, enlightened, and brought to the knowledge of Christ and his blessed gospel. Christ is here called that Just One; for he is Jesus Christ the righteous. Those whom God has chosen to know his will, must look to Jesus, for by...
Read full commentary →And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>I was in a trance</strong> (ἐγενόμην ἐν ἐκστάσει)—The Greek 'ekstasis' (ἔκστασις) means ecstasy, displacement of normal consciousness for divine revelation. This vision occurred during prayer <strong>in the temple</strong>, showing Paul maintained Jewish worship practices even after conversion. The temple setting is significant—God redirects Paul away from Jerusalem, the center of Judaism,...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **When I was come again to Jerusalem.**—This probably refers to the visit of Acts 9:26, and Galatians 1:17-18. The objection that the mission “far hence to the Gentiles” must refer to the subsequent visit of Acts 11:30, has little or no force. When the Apostle went to Tarsus and preached the gospel to the Greeks at Antioch (Acts 11:26), there was a sufficient fulfilment of the promise, “I wil...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**21-22. After these things were ended--**completed, implying something like a natural finish to his long period of labor at Ephesus.
**Paul purposed ... when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem ... After I have been there, I must also see Rome--**Mark here the vastness of the apostle's missionary plans. They were all fulfilled, though he "saw Rome" only as a prisoner.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-21**
The apostle goes on to relate how he was confirmed in the change he had made. The Lord having chosen the sinner, that he should know his will, he is humbled, enlightened, and brought to the knowledge of Christ and his blessed gospel. Christ is here called that Just One; for he is Jesus Christ the righteous. Those whom God has chosen to know his will, must look to Jesus, for by...
Read full commentary →And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem</strong>—The double urgency (σπεῦσον καὶ ἔξελθε ἐν τάχει) emphasizes immediate obedience. Jesus explains: <strong>they will not receive thy testimony</strong> (οὐ παραδέξονται σου τὴν μαρτυρίαν). The verb 'paradechomai' (receive, accept) appears in aorist future—their rejection is certain. Paul's natural inclination would be Jerusalem minis...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18)**Get thee quickly out of Jerusalem.**—It is obvious that this fits in better with the first hurried visit after St. Paul’s conversion than with the second, when he came with Barnabas with alms for the sufferers from the famine. (See Note on Acts 11:30.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**21-22. After these things were ended--**completed, implying something like a natural finish to his long period of labor at Ephesus.
**Paul purposed ... when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem ... After I have been there, I must also see Rome--**Mark here the vastness of the apostle's missionary plans. They were all fulfilled, though he "saw Rome" only as a prisoner.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-21**
The apostle goes on to relate how he was confirmed in the change he had made. The Lord having chosen the sinner, that he should know his will, he is humbled, enlightened, and brought to the knowledge of Christ and his blessed gospel. Christ is here called that Just One; for he is Jesus Christ the righteous. Those whom God has chosen to know his will, must look to Jesus, for by...
Read full commentary →And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat</strong> (ἐφυλάκιζον καὶ ἔδερον)—Paul argues that his dramatic transformation would powerfully testify to Christ. The imperfect tense of both verbs indicates repeated, ongoing action—Paul systematically persecuted believers <strong>in every synagogue</strong> (κατὰ τὰς συναγωγάς). He assumes his notorious past makes him the ideal witness to Jerusa...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **Lord, they know that I imprisoned** **. .**—This was said at the time, and it was repeated now. as with a two-fold bearing. It was partly an extenuation of the unbelief of the people. They were, as he had once been, sinning in ignorance, which, though as yet unconquered, was not invincible. Partly it expressed the hope that they too might listen when they saw him whom they had known as a ve...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**23. the same time--**of Paul's proposed departure.
**about that--**"the"
**way--**So the new religion seemed then to be designated (Ac 9:2; 22:4; 24:14).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-21**
The apostle goes on to relate how he was confirmed in the change he had made. The Lord having chosen the sinner, that he should know his will, he is humbled, enlightened, and brought to the knowledge of Christ and his blessed gospel. Christ is here called that Just One; for he is Jesus Christ the righteous. Those whom God has chosen to know his will, must look to Jesus, for by...
Read full commentary →And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>When the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed</strong>—The Greek 'martys' (μάρτυς) means witness, later taking the meaning 'martyr' because witnessing often led to death. Paul admits he was <strong>standing by, and consenting</strong> (ἐφεστὼς καὶ συνευδοκῶν)—both physically present and morally approving. The participle 'suneuedokeō' indicates active agreement, not passive observation. He ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **When the blood of thy martyr Stephen . . . .**—Better, *thy witness.* The English word is, perhaps, a little too definite and technical, and fails to remind us, as the Greek does, that the same word had been used in Acts 22:15 as expressing the office to which St. Paul himself was called. He probably used the Aramaic word *Edh, *of which the Greek *martus *(*witness, *and, in ecclesiastical...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**24-26. silver shrines for--**"of"
**Diana--**small models of the Ephesian temple and of the shrine or chapel of the goddess, or of the shrine and statue alone, which were purchased by visitors as memorials of what they had seen, and were carried about and deposited in houses as a charm. (The models of the chapel of our Lady of Loretto, and such like, which the Church of Rome systematically enc...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-21**
The apostle goes on to relate how he was confirmed in the change he had made. The Lord having chosen the sinner, that he should know his will, he is humbled, enlightened, and brought to the knowledge of Christ and his blessed gospel. Christ is here called that Just One; for he is Jesus Christ the righteous. Those whom God has chosen to know his will, must look to Jesus, for by...
Read full commentary →And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus's direct command - 'Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles' - defined Paul's apostolic mission. The 'far hence' indicated both geographical distance and cultural gulf between Judaism and Gentile nations. This divine sending superseded Paul's natural preference to witness to fellow Jews, showing how God's purposes often redirect our initial inclinations toward His broader pl...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **I will send thee . . .**—It may be noted, in connection with the question discussed in the Note on Acts 22:17, that the words convey the promise of a mission rather than the actual mission itself. The work immediately before him was to depart and wait till the way should be opened to him, and the inward call be confirmed, as in Acts 13:2, by an outward and express command.
**Far hence unto ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**24-26. silver shrines for--**"of"
**Diana--**small models of the Ephesian temple and of the shrine or chapel of the goddess, or of the shrine and statue alone, which were purchased by visitors as memorials of what they had seen, and were carried about and deposited in houses as a charm. (The models of the chapel of our Lady of Loretto, and such like, which the Church of Rome systematically enc...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-21**
The apostle goes on to relate how he was confirmed in the change he had made. The Lord having chosen the sinner, that he should know his will, he is humbled, enlightened, and brought to the knowledge of Christ and his blessed gospel. Christ is here called that Just One; for he is Jesus Christ the righteous. Those whom God has chosen to know his will, must look to Jesus, for by...
Read full commentary →Paul and the Roman Tribune
And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>They gave him audience unto this word</strong>—The mention of Gentile mission triggered immediate rage. The word <strong>lifted up their voices</strong> (ἐπῆραν τὴν φωνὴν αὐτῶν) describes collective shouting, mob hysteria replacing reasoned listening. <strong>Away with such a fellow from the earth</strong> (Αἶρε ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς τὸν τοιοῦτον) echoes the cry against Jesus: 'Away with him, crucif...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **Away with such a fellow from the earth.**—The scene was ominously like that in which St. Stephen’s speech ended. Immediate execution without the formality of a trial—an eager craving for the blood of the blasphemer—this was what their wild cries demanded and expressed. On the words themselves, see Note on Acts 21:36.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**24-26. silver shrines for--**"of"
**Diana--**small models of the Ephesian temple and of the shrine or chapel of the goddess, or of the shrine and statue alone, which were purchased by visitors as memorials of what they had seen, and were carried about and deposited in houses as a charm. (The models of the chapel of our Lady of Loretto, and such like, which the Church of Rome systematically enc...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 22-30**
The Jews listened to Paul's account of his conversion, but the mention of his being sent to the Gentiles, was so contrary to all their national prejudices, that they would hear no more. Their frantic conduct astonished the Roman officer, who supposed that Paul must have committed some great crime. Paul pleaded his privilege as a Roman citizen, by which he was exempted from all...
Read full commentary →And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>They cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air</strong>—The crowd's violent reaction to Paul's testimony shows extreme rage escalating to mob hysteria. The Greek <em>riptounton</em> (cast off) suggests violent throwing, while <em>ballonton koniorton</em> (throwing dust) was an ancient Near Eastern expression of outrage and curse-calling. This physical demonstration...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **Cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air.**—The latter gesture would seem to have been a natural relief, as with other Oriental nations, to the violence of uncontrolled passion. It may be, however, that the handfuls of dust were aimed at the Apostle as a sign of loathing (comp. Notes on Acts 18:6; Matthew 10:14); and if we take the English version, the “casting off” their outer g...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**27. So that not only this our craft is in danger ... but, &c.--**that is, "that indeed is a small matter; but there is something far worse." So the masters of the poor Pythoness put forward the religious revolution which Paul was attempting to effect at Philippi, as the sole cause of their zealous alarm, to cloak the self-interest which they felt to be touched by his success (Ac 16:19-21). I...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 22-30**
The Jews listened to Paul's account of his conversion, but the mention of his being sent to the Gentiles, was so contrary to all their national prejudices, that they would hear no more. Their frantic conduct astonished the Roman officer, who supposed that Paul must have committed some great crime. Paul pleaded his privilege as a Roman citizen, by which he was exempted from all...
Read full commentary →The chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging; that he might know wherefore they cried so against him.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging.</strong> This verse reveals the brutal Roman practice of extracting confessions through torture. The Greek word <em>mastixin</em> (μάστιξιν) refers to scourging with a flagellum—a whip with leather thongs often embedded with bone or metal fragments designed to tear flesh. This w...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **Bade that he should be examined by scourging.**—The matter-of-course way in which this is narrated illustrates the ordinary process of Roman provincial administration. The chiliarch had probably only partially understood St. Paul’s Aramaic speech, and his first impulse was to have him scourged, so as to elicit from his own lips that which he could not gather from the confused and contradict...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**28-29. Great is Diana of the Ephesians--**the civic cry of a populace so proud of their temple that they refused to inscribe on it the name of Alexander the Great, though he offered them the whole spoil of his Eastern campaign if they would do it [Strabo in Howson].
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 22-30**
The Jews listened to Paul's account of his conversion, but the mention of his being sent to the Gentiles, was so contrary to all their national prejudices, that they would hear no more. Their frantic conduct astonished the Roman officer, who supposed that Paul must have committed some great crime. Paul pleaded his privilege as a Roman citizen, by which he was exempted from all...
Read full commentary →And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And as they bound him with thongs</strong>—Paul is being stretched for flogging (μαστιγώσωσιν, <em>mastigōsōsin</em>, v. 24) with leather straps (ἱμᾶσιν, <em>himasin</em>, 'thongs, lashes'). Roman scourging was brutal—leather whips embedded with bone or metal designed to flay flesh. Men died from this punishment. The preparatory binding stretched the victim's arms forward, exposing the bac...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **And as they bound him with thongs.**—The words have sometimes been rendered, “they stretched him forward for the straps”—*i.e., *put him into the attitude which was required for the use of the scourge; and grammatically the words admit this sense. The Authorised version is, however, it is believed, right. The Greek word for “thong” is always used in the New Testament in connection with the ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**28-29. Great is Diana of the Ephesians--**the civic cry of a populace so proud of their temple that they refused to inscribe on it the name of Alexander the Great, though he offered them the whole spoil of his Eastern campaign if they would do it [Strabo in Howson].
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 22-30**
The Jews listened to Paul's account of his conversion, but the mention of his being sent to the Gentiles, was so contrary to all their national prejudices, that they would hear no more. Their frantic conduct astonished the Roman officer, who supposed that Paul must have committed some great crime. Paul pleaded his privilege as a Roman citizen, by which he was exempted from all...
Read full commentary →When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest : for this man is a Roman.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain</strong>—The centurion's immediate response (ἀκούσας, <em>akousas</em>, 'having heard') shows the seriousness of Paul's claim. He doesn't proceed with the flogging but runs to report to the χιλιάρχῳ (<em>chiliarchō</em>, 'commander of a thousand,' the tribune Claudius Lysias, 23:26). The urgency reflects the grave consequenc...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(26) **Take heed what thou doest.**—The better MSS. give the words simply as a question: “What art thou about to do?”
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**30-34. when Paul would have entered in--**with noble forgetfulness of self.
**unto the people--**the demos, that is, the people met in public assembly.
**the disciples suffered him not--**The tense used implies only that they were using their efforts to restrain him; which might have been unavailing but for what follows.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 22-30**
The Jews listened to Paul's account of his conversion, but the mention of his being sent to the Gentiles, was so contrary to all their national prejudices, that they would hear no more. Their frantic conduct astonished the Roman officer, who supposed that Paul must have committed some great crime. Paul pleaded his privilege as a Roman citizen, by which he was exempted from all...
Read full commentary →Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman?</strong>—The tribune comes personally (προσελθὼν, <em>proselthōn</em>, 'having come to') to verify the claim. His question Λέγε μοι, σὺ Ῥωμαῖος εἶ (<em>Lege moi, sy Rōmaios ei</em>, 'Tell me, you—are you a Roman?') is direct, using the emphatic σύ (<em>sy</em>, 'you'). He must confirm before proceeding, as flogging ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(27) **Art thou a Roman**?—The pronoun is emphatic: “*Thou, *the Jew speaking both Greek and Hebrew, art *thou* a citizen of Rome?” The combination of so many more or less discordant elements was so exceptional as to be almost incredible.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**30-34. when Paul would have entered in--**with noble forgetfulness of self.
**unto the people--**the demos, that is, the people met in public assembly.
**the disciples suffered him not--**The tense used implies only that they were using their efforts to restrain him; which might have been unavailing but for what follows.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 22-30**
The Jews listened to Paul's account of his conversion, but the mention of his being sent to the Gentiles, was so contrary to all their national prejudices, that they would hear no more. Their frantic conduct astonished the Roman officer, who supposed that Paul must have committed some great crime. Paul pleaded his privilege as a Roman citizen, by which he was exempted from all...
Read full commentary →And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom</strong>—The tribune reveals he purchased citizenship (πολλοῦ κεφαλαίου, <em>pollou kephalaiou</em>, 'with much capital') during the reign of Claudius, when citizenship was notoriously for sale through bribes. He likely bought it through freedman Marcus Antonius Felix's corrupt connections. The tribune's use of τὴν πο...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(28) **With a great sum obtained I this freedom.**—Better, *this citizenship, *the word expressing, not the transition from bondage to freedom, but from the position of an alien to that of a citizen. Probably the translators used the word in the sense in which we still speak of the “freedom “of a city. The chiliarch was himself, apparently, an alien by birth, and, as was customary at the time, had...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**30-34. when Paul would have entered in--**with noble forgetfulness of self.
**unto the people--**the demos, that is, the people met in public assembly.
**the disciples suffered him not--**The tense used implies only that they were using their efforts to restrain him; which might have been unavailing but for what follows.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 22-30**
The Jews listened to Paul's account of his conversion, but the mention of his being sent to the Gentiles, was so contrary to all their national prejudices, that they would hear no more. Their frantic conduct astonished the Roman officer, who supposed that Paul must have committed some great crime. Paul pleaded his privilege as a Roman citizen, by which he was exempted from all...
Read full commentary →Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him. examined him: or, tortured him
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him</strong>—The men who were about to torture Paul immediately withdrew (ἀπέστησαν, <em>apestēsan</em>, 'stood away from'). Those who were μέλλοντες αὐτὸν ἀνετάζειν (<em>mellontes auton anetazein</em>, 'about to examine him by torture')—using ἀνετάζω, referring specifically to judicial torture to extract confessions—instan...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(29) **Which should have examined him.**—The verb had acquired the secondary sense (just as “putting to the question” did in mediæval administration of justice) of examining by torture.
**Because he had bound him.**—The words seem to refer to the second act of binding (Acts 22:25) rather than the first (Acts 21:33). The chains fastened to the arms were thought of, as we see afterwards, when St. Pa...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**30-34. when Paul would have entered in--**with noble forgetfulness of self.
**unto the people--**the demos, that is, the people met in public assembly.
**the disciples suffered him not--**The tense used implies only that they were using their efforts to restrain him; which might have been unavailing but for what follows.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 22-30**
The Jews listened to Paul's account of his conversion, but the mention of his being sent to the Gentiles, was so contrary to all their national prejudices, that they would hear no more. Their frantic conduct astonished the Roman officer, who supposed that Paul must have committed some great crime. Paul pleaded his privilege as a Roman citizen, by which he was exempted from all...
Read full commentary →On the morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down, and set him before them.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>On the morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews</strong>—Unable to torture Paul, the tribune seeks θὸ ἀσφαλὲς (<em>to asphales</em>, 'the certainty, reliable information') about the Jewish accusations (κατηγορεῖται, <em>katēgoreitai</em>, 'he is accused'). The phrase βουλόμενος γνῶναι (<em>boulomenos gnōnai</em>, 'wanting to know') shows genuin...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(30) **Because he would have known the certainty . . .**—Better, *wishing to know the certain fact, namely, why he was accused.* Failing to get the information by the process of torturing the prisoner, the chiliarch now has recourse to the other alternative of getting a formal declaration from the Sanhedrin, as the chief representative body of the Jews. As yet, it will be remembered, they had take...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**30-34. when Paul would have entered in--**with noble forgetfulness of self.
**unto the people--**the demos, that is, the people met in public assembly.
**the disciples suffered him not--**The tense used implies only that they were using their efforts to restrain him; which might have been unavailing but for what follows.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 22-30**
The Jews listened to Paul's account of his conversion, but the mention of his being sent to the Gentiles, was so contrary to all their national prejudices, that they would hear no more. Their frantic conduct astonished the Roman officer, who supposed that Paul must have committed some great crime. Paul pleaded his privilege as a Roman citizen, by which he was exempted from all...
Read full commentary →