Discovery BoxActs 22:6-8 
Context22:6 As 1 I was en route and near Damascus, 2 about noon a very bright 3 light from heaven 4 suddenly flashed 5 around me. 22:7 Then I 6 fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 22:8 I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’
Acts 22:14-21
Context22:14 Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors 7 has already chosen 8 you to know his will, to see 9 the Righteous One, 10 and to hear a command 11 from his mouth, 22:15 because you will be his witness 12 to all people 13 of what you have seen and heard. 22:16 And now what are you waiting for? 14 Get up, 15 be baptized, and have your sins washed away, 16 calling on his name.’ 17 22:17 When 18 I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 19 22:18 and saw the Lord 20 saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 22:19 I replied, 21 ‘Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat those in the various synagogues 22 who believed in you. 22:20 And when the blood of your witness 23 Stephen was shed, 24 I myself was standing nearby, approving, 25 and guarding the cloaks 26 of those who were killing him.’ 27 22:21 Then 28 he said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”
1 tn Grk “It happened that as.” 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 tn Grk “going and nearing Damascus.”
sn En route and near Damascus. This is the first retelling of Paul’s Damascus Road experience in Acts (cf. Acts 9:1-9; the second retelling is in Acts 26:9-20).
3 tn BDAG 472 s.v. ἱκανός 3.b has “φῶς a very bright light Ac 22:6.”
4 tn Or “from the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).
5 tn Or “shone.”
6 tn This is a continuation of the same sentence in Greek using the connective τέ (te), but due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence a new sentence was begun in the translation here. To indicate the logical sequence for the modern English reader, τέ was translated as “then.”
7 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
sn The expression God of our ancestors is a description of the God of Israel. The God of promise was at work again.
8 tn L&N 30.89 has “‘to choose in advance, to select beforehand, to designate in advance’…‘the God of our ancestors has already chosen you to know his will’ Ac 22:14.”
9 tn Grk “and to see.” This καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
10 sn The Righteous One is a reference to Jesus Christ (Acts 3:14).
11 tn Or “a solemn declaration”; Grk “a voice.” BDAG 1071-72 s.v. φωνή 2.c states, “that which the voice gives expression to: call, cry, outcry, loud or solemn declaration (… = order, command)…Cp. 22:14; 24:21.”
12 tn Or “a witness to him.”
sn You will be his witness. See Acts 1:8; 13:31. The following reference to all people stresses all nationalities (Eph 3:7-9; Acts 9:15). Note also v. 21.
13 tn Grk “all men,” but this is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo").
14 tn L&N 67.121 has “to extend time unduly, with the implication of lack of decision – ‘to wait, to delay.’ νῦν τί μέλλεις… ἀναστὰς βάπτισαι ‘what are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized’ Ac 22:16.”
15 tn Grk “getting up.” The participle ἀναστάς (anasta") is an adverbial participle of attendant circumstance and has been translated as a finite verb.
16 sn The expression have your sins washed away means “have your sins purified” (the washing is figurative).
17 sn The expression calling on his name describes the confession of the believer: Acts 2:17-38, esp. v. 38; Rom 10:12-13; 1 Cor 1:2.
18 tn Grk “It happened to me that.” 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.
19 tn BDAG 309 s.v. ἔκστασις 2 has “γενέσθαι ἐν ἐκστάσει fall into a trance Ac 22:17.”
20 tn Or “Jesus”; Grk “him.” The referent (the Lord, cf. v. 19) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
21 tn Grk “And I said.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai, in καγώ [kagw]) has not been translated here.
22 tn For the distributive sense of the expression κατὰ τὰς συναγωγάς (kata ta" sunagwga") BDAG 512 s.v. κατά B.1.d has “of places viewed serially, distributive use w. acc.…κατ᾿ οἶκαν from house to house…Ac 2:46b; 5:42…Likew. the pl.…κ. τὰς συναγωγάς 22:19.” See also L&N 37.114.
sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.
23 sn Now Paul referred to Stephen as your witness, and he himself had also become a witness. The reversal was now complete; the opponent had now become a proponent.
24 sn When the blood of your witness Stephen was shed means “when your witness Stephen was murdered.”
25 tn Grk “and approving.” This καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
26 tn Or “outer garments.”
sn The cloaks. The outer garment, or cloak, was taken off and laid aside to leave the arms free (in this case for throwing stones).
27 tn Or “who were putting him to death.” For the translation of ἀναιρούντων (anairountwn) as “putting to death” see BDAG 64 s.v. ἀναιρέω 2.
28 tn Grk “And.” Since this represents a response to Paul’s reply in v. 19, καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.
