Acts 9:5

Modern

“Who are You, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” He replied.

Traditional

And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

Literal

And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

Latin

Qui dixit: Quis es, domine? Et ille: Ego sum Jesus, quem tu persequeris: durum est tibi contra stimulum calcitrare.

Greek

English

“Who are You, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” He replied.

The conversion of Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus road is central to the story in Acts. Luke tells the story three times (also 22:1–21; 26:1–29). Paul (Saul) mentions this experience several times in his letters (1 Corinthians 15:8–10; Galatians 1:11–17; Philippians 3:4–11; see 1 Timothy 1:12–17). Saul’s conversion was his call as a prophet and commission as an apostle (Acts 9:15; 22:15, 21; 26:15–18). No one is beyond God's power to reach, save, and use for holy purposes. Nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37). God prepared Paul through his training, childhood, and experience to play a unique role in proclaiming the gospel to the wider world as the “apostle to the Gentiles” (Romans 11:13; see 1 Corinthians 15:9; 2 Corinthians 12:11–12; Galatians 1:1; Ephesians 3:8).

Theme notes and profiles

1 Timothy 1:13
I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man; yet because I had acted in ignorance and unbelief, I was shown mercy.
1 Samuel 3:4–10
Then the LORD called to Samuel, and he answered, “Here I am.”
Job 9:4
God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has resisted Him and prospered?
Acts 26:9
So then, I too was convinced that I ought to do all I could to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
Job 40:9–10
Do you have an arm like God’s? Can you thunder with a voice like His?
Isaiah 45:9
Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker—one clay pot among many. Does the clay ask the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘He has no hands’?
Deuteronomy 32:15
But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked—becoming fat, bloated, and gorged. He abandoned the God who made him and scorned the Rock of his salvation.
1 Corinthians 10:22
Are we trying to provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?
Acts 5:39
But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God.”
Psalm 2:12
Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and you perish in your rebellion, when His wrath ignites in an instant. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.

Jesus: The Son of God and Savior of the world