Acts 26:16

Witness and mission Identity and self-worth

¹⁴ We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice say to me in Hebrew, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

¹⁵ ‘Who are You, Lord?’ I asked. ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied.

‘But get up and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen from Me and what I will show you.

¹⁷ I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them

¹⁸ to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Me.’

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: ‘But get up and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen from Me and what I will show you.
KJV: But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
WEB: But arise, and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose: to appoint you a servant and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will reveal to you;
ASV: But arise, and stand upon thy feet: for to this end have I appeared unto thee, to appoint thee a minister and a witness both of the things wherein thou hast seen me, and of the things wherein I will appear unto thee;
DARBY: but rise up and stand on thy feet; for, for this purpose have I appeared to thee, to appoint thee to be a servant and a witness both of what thou hast seen, and of what I shall appear to thee in,
BLB: But rise up and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you for this, to appoint you as a servant and a witness both of that which you have seen of Me and of the things in which I will appear to you,

ÅB: Men reis deg opp og stå på dine føtter! for derfor åpenbarte jeg meg for deg: for å utkåre deg til tjener og vitne både om det som du har sett, og om det for hvis skyld jeg vil åpenbare meg for deg,
OTB: Men reis deg og stå på dine føtter; for jeg har vist meg for deg for å utnevne deg som en tjener og et vitne om det du har sett og det jeg vil vise deg.
B1930: Men reis dig op og stå på dine føtter! for derfor åpenbarte jeg mig for dig: for å utkåre dig til tjener og vidne både om det som du har sett, og om det for hvis skyld jeg vil åpenbare mig for dig,

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Acts 22:14–15
Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear His voice.
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Ezekiel 2:1
“Son of man,” He said to me, “stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.”
Read in context
Daniel 10:11
He said to me, “Daniel, you are a man who is highly precious. Consider carefully the words that I am about to say to you. Stand up, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he had said this to me, I stood up trembling.
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1 Timothy 1:12
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, that He considered me faithful and appointed me to service.
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Galatians 1:12
I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
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Romans 15:16
to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
Read in context
Acts 23:11
The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about Me in Jerusalem, so also you must testify in Rome.”
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2 Corinthians 4:1
Therefore, since God in His mercy has given us this ministry, we do not lose heart.
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