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Acts 26:13-23
New American Bible (Revised Edition)

13 (A)At midday, along the way, O king, I saw a light from the sky, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my traveling companions.(B) 14 We all fell to the ground and I heard a voice saying to me in Hebrew, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?(C) It is hard for you to kick against the goad.’[a] 15 And I said, ‘Who are you, sir?’ And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.(D) 16 Get up now, and stand on your feet.(E) I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness of what you have seen [of me] and what you will be shown.[b] 17 I shall deliver you from this people and from the Gentiles to whom I send you,(F) 18 to open their eyes[c] that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may obtain forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been consecrated by faith in me.’(G)

19 “And so, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. 20 On the contrary, first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem and throughout the whole country of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached the need to repent and turn to God, and to do works giving evidence of repentance. 21 (H)That is why the Jews seized me [when I was] in the temple and tried to kill me. 22 (I)But I have enjoyed God’s help to this very day, and so I stand here testifying to small and great alike, saying nothing different from what the prophets and Moses foretold,[d] 23 that the Messiah must suffer[e] and that, as the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”(J)

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Footnotes

  1. 26:14 In Hebrew: see note on Acts 21:40. It is hard for you to kick against the goad: this proverb is commonly found in Greek literature and in this context signifies the senselessness and ineffectiveness of any opposition to the divine influence in his life.
  2. 26:16 The words of Jesus directed to Paul here reflect the dialogues between Christ and Ananias (Acts 9:15) and between Ananias and Paul (Acts 22:14–15) in the two previous accounts of Paul’s conversion.
  3. 26:18 To open their eyes: though no mention is made of Paul’s blindness in this account (cf. Acts 9:8–9, 12, 18; 22:11–13), the task he is commissioned to perform is the removal of other people’s spiritual blindness.
  4. 26:22 Saying nothing different from what the prophets and Moses foretold: see note on Lk 18:31.
  5. 26:23 That the Messiah must suffer: see note on Lk 24:26.
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Acts 25
Acts 27
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New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.