Acts 9:20

9:20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, 1  saying, “This man is the Son of God.” 2 

Acts 9:22

9:22 But Saul became more and more capable, 3  and was causing consternation 4  among the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving 5  that Jesus 6  is the Christ. 7 

1 sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

2 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.

3 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.

4 tn Or “was confounding.” For the translation “to cause consternation” for συγχέω (suncew) see L&N 25.221.

5 tn Or “by showing for certain.”

6 tn Grk “that this one”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

7 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.