For several days 1 he was with the disciples in Damascus, 9:20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, 2 saying, “This man is the Son of God.” 3 9:21 All 4 who heard him were amazed and were saying, “Is this not 5 the man who in Jerusalem was ravaging 6 those who call on this name, and who had come here to bring them as prisoners 7 to the chief priests?” 9:22 But Saul became more and more capable, 8 and was causing consternation 9 among the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving 10 that Jesus 11 is the Christ. 12
1 tn Grk “It happened that for several days.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
2 sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.
3 tn The ὅτι (Joti) is understood to introduce direct (“This man is the Son of God”) rather than indirect discourse (“that this man is the Son of God”) because the pronoun οὗτος (Jouto") combined with the present tense verb ἐστιν (estin) suggests the contents of what was proclaimed are a direct (albeit summarized) quotation.
sn This is the only use of the title Son of God in Acts. The book prefers to allow a variety of descriptions to present Jesus.
4 tn Grk “And all.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
5 tn The Greek interrogative particle used in this verse (οὐχ, ouc) expects a positive reply. They all knew about Saul’s persecutions.
6 tn Normally, “destroying,” but compare 4 Macc 4:23; 11:4 and MM 529 s.v. πορθέω for examples from Koine papyri. See also BDAG 853 s.v. πορθέω.
7 tn Grk “bring them bound”; the translation “bring someone as prisoner” for δεδεμένον ἄγειν τινά (dedemenon agein tina) is given by BDAG 221 s.v. δέω 1.b.
8 tn Grk “was becoming stronger,” but this could be understood in a physical sense, while the text refers to Saul’s growing ability to demonstrate to fellow Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. The translation “to become capable” for ἐνδυναμόω (endunamow) is given in L&N 74.7, with this specific verse as an example.
9 tn Or “was confounding.” For the translation “to cause consternation” for συγχέω (suncew) see L&N 25.221.
10 tn Or “by showing for certain.”
11 tn Grk “that this one”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.” Note again the variation in the titles used.
sn See the note on Christ in 2:31.