Discovery BoxActs 9:3-5 
Context9:3 As he was going along, approaching 1 Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed 2 around him. 9:4 He 3 fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, 4 why are you persecuting me?” 5 9:5 So he said, “Who are you, Lord?” He replied, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting!
1 tn Grk “As he was going along, it happened that when he was approaching.” The 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 Or “shone” (BDAG 799 s.v. περιαστράπτω). The light was more brilliant than the sun according to Acts 26:13.
3 tn Grk “and he.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.
4 tn The double vocative suggests emotion.
5 sn Persecuting me. To persecute the church is to persecute Jesus.
