Acts 26:16

Witness and mission Identity and self-worth

¹⁴ And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

¹⁵ And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.

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;

¹⁷ Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,

¹⁸ To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is 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
And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth.
Read in context
Ezekiel 2:1
And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee.
Read in context
Daniel 10:11
And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.
Read in context
1 Timothy 1:12
And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;
Read in context
Galatians 1:12
For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Read in context
Romans 15:16
That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.
Read in context
Acts 23:11
And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.
Read in context
2 Corinthians 4:1
Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;
Read in context