Discovery BoxActs 26:11-19 
Context26:11 I punished 1 them often in all the synagogues 2 and tried to force 3 them to blaspheme. Because I was so furiously enraged 4 at them, I went to persecute 5 them even in foreign cities.
26:12 “While doing this very thing, 6 as I was going 7 to Damascus with authority and complete power 8 from the chief priests, 26:13 about noon along the road, Your Majesty, 9 I saw a light from heaven, 10 brighter than the sun, shining everywhere around 11 me and those traveling with me. 26:14 When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, 12 ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? You are hurting yourself 13 by kicking against the goads.’ 14 26:15 So I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord replied, 15 ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 26:16 But get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this reason, to designate you in advance 16 as a servant and witness 17 to the things 18 you have seen 19 and to the things in which I will appear to you. 26:17 I will rescue 20 you from your own people 21 and from the Gentiles, to whom 22 I am sending you 26:18 to open their eyes so that they turn 23 from darkness to light and from the power 24 of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share 25 among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
26:19 “Therefore, King Agrippa, 26 I was not disobedient 27 to the heavenly 28 vision,
1 tn Grk “and punishing…I tried.” The participle τιμωρῶν (timwrwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. 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.
2 sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.
3 tn The imperfect verb ἠνάγκαζον (hnankazon) has been translated as a conative imperfect (so BDAG 60 s.v. ἀναγκάζω 1, which has “ἠνάγκαζον βλασφημεῖν I tried to force them to blaspheme Ac 26:11”).
4 tn Or “was so insanely angry with them.” BDAG 322 s.v. ἐμμαίνομαι states, “to be filled with such anger that one appears to be mad, be enraged…περισσῶς ἐμμαινόμενος αὐτοῖς being furiously enraged at them Ac 26:11”; L&N 88.182 s.v. ἐμμαίνομαι, “to be so furiously angry with someone as to be almost out of one’s mind – ‘to be enraged, to be infuriated, to be insanely angry’ …‘I was so infuriated with them that I even went to foreign cities to persecute them’ Ac 26:11.”
5 tn Or “I pursued them even as far as foreign cities.”
6 tn Grk “in which [activity].” Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started at the beginning of v. 12 in the translation. The referent of the relative pronoun (“which”) was specified as “this very thing” for clarity.
7 tn Grk “going.” The participle πορευόμενος (poreuomenos) has been taken temporally.
8 tn L&N 37.40 s.v. ἐπιτροπή states, “the full authority to carry out an assignment or commission – ‘authority, complete power.’ πορευόμενος εἰς τὴν Δαμασκὸν μετ᾿ ἐξουσίας καὶ ἐπιτροπῆς τῶν ἀρχιερέων ‘going to Damascus with authority and complete power from the high priests’ Ac 26:12. In Ac 26:12 the combination of ἐξουσία and ἐπιτροπή serves to reinforce the sense of complete authority.”
9 tn Grk “O King.”
10 tn Or “from the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).
11 tn The word “everywhere” has been supplied in the translation to clarify the meaning of περιλάμψαν (perilamyan). Otherwise the modern reader might think that each of the individuals were encircled by lights or halos. See also Acts 9:7; 22:6, 9.
12 tn Grk “in the Hebrew language.” See Acts 22:7 and 9:4.
13 tn Grk “It is hard for you.”
14 tn “Goads” are pointed sticks used to direct a draft animal (an idiom for stubborn resistance). See BDAG 539-40 s.v. κέντρον 2.
sn Sayings which contain the imagery used here (kicking against the goads) were also found in Greek writings; see Pindar, Pythians 2.94-96; Euripides, Bacchae 795.
15 tn Grk “said.”
16 tn L&N 30.89 has “‘to choose in advance, to select beforehand, to designate in advance.’”
17 sn As a servant and witness. The commission is similar to Acts 1:8 and Luke 1:2. Paul was now an “eyewitness” of the Lord.
18 tn BDAG 719 s.v. ὁράω A.1.b states, “W. attraction of the relative ὧν = τούτων ἅ Lk 9:36; Ac 22:15. The attraction may be due to colloq. breviloquence in μάρτυρα ὧν τε εἶδες με ὧν τε ὀφθήσομαί σοι a witness to the things in which you saw me and to those in which I shall appear to you Ac 26:16b.”
19 tc ‡ Some
20 tn Grk “rescuing.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the participle ἐξαιρούμενος (exairoumeno") has been translated as a finite verb and a new sentence started in the translation at the beginning of v. 17.
21 tn That is, from the Jewish people. Grk “the people”; the words “your own” have been supplied to clarify the meaning.
22 tn The antecedent of the relative pronoun is probably both the Jews (“your own people”) and the Gentiles, indicating the comprehensive commission Paul received.
23 sn To open their eyes so that they turn… Here is Luke’s most comprehensive report of Paul’s divine calling. His role was to call humanity to change their position before God and experience God’s forgiveness as a part of God’s family. The image of turning is a key one in the NT: Luke 1:79; Rom 2:19; 13:12; 2 Cor 4:6; 6:14; Eph 5:8; Col 1:12; 1 Thess 5:5. See also Luke 1:77-79; 3:3; 24:47.
24 tn BDAG 352-53 s.v. ἐξουσία 2 states, “Also of Satan’s power Ac 26:18.” It is also possible to translate this “the domain of Satan” (cf. BDAG 353 s.v. 6)
25 tn Or “and an inheritance.”
26 sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.
27 sn I was not disobedient. Paul’s defense is that he merely obeyed the risen Jesus. He was arrested for obeying heavenly direction and preaching the opportunity to turn to God.
28 tn According to L&N 1.5, “In Ac 26:19 the adjective οὐράνιος could be interpreted as being related simply to the meaning of οὐρανόςa ‘sky,’ but it seems preferable to regard οὐράνιος in this context as meaning simply ‘from heaven’ or ‘heavenly.’”
