Acts 22:17–22:21, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Acts 22:17–22:21
A temple vision sends Paul far to Gentiles
Paul says that while praying in the Jerusalem temple he fell into a trance, was warned that his testimony would be rejected, protested from his violent past, and was sent far to Gentiles.
What helps us understand it
What prompted this passage
Acts 22:17Acts 22:17–22:21 opens “A temple vision sends Paul far to Gentiles” by naming the speaker, setting, action, question, or conflict that starts this movement. That opening controls what the complete scene or speech answers.
The pinned KJV begins the unit, “And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple,….”
Earlier material that actually helps
Acts 22:12–22:16Acts 22:12–22:16 materially prepares this movement: Paul describes Ananias as Torah-devout and respected by local Jews; Ananias restores his sight, announces divine choice and witness, and urges baptism and calling on the Lord's name.
Later material that clarifies it
Acts 22:22–22:29Acts 22:22–22:29 carries this movement forward: The crowd listens until the Gentile commission, then demands Paul's death; the commander orders examination by scourging, but Paul's question about Roman citizenship stops the procedure and alarms the officers.
How the passage moves
The unit distinguishes narrated event, participant speech, the narrator's framing, material uncertainty, and the ethical boundary: The commission does not declare Jews abandoned, demean the temple, or authorize leaders to use private visions to defeat communal review.
Why this reading fits
Narrator and speech control
Luke's second volume shapes this address within a larger scene. The reported speaker's defense, interpretation, or accusation requires separate review from authorial evaluation.
How this should shape us
What accountable response follows?
Hold mission to Gentiles inside Paul's continued temple prayer and Jewish identity rather than using the vision to erase Israel.
Teach it back
Explain Acts 22:17–22:21 in your own words, naming its movement, speaker or narrator role, one source-controlled detail, one uncertainty, one affected person, and one conclusion the passage does not authorize.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Read it sentence by sentenceEach line inside the larger movement
Narrative or speech movement
Paul says that while praying in the Jerusalem temple he fell into a trance, was warned that his testimony would be rejected, protested from his violent past, and was sent far to Gentiles.
Interpretive control
Luke's second volume shapes this address within a larger scene. The reported speaker's defense, interpretation, or accusation requires separate review from authorial evaluation.
Ethical boundary
The commission does not declare Jews abandoned, demean the temple, or authorize leaders to use private visions to defeat communal review.
What the first readers would have understoodRelevant history and culture
Setting and recoverable limits
The temple is a setting of prayer and commission, not rejected space; Paul's autobiographical protest exposes his past without making persecution a qualification. Geography, chronology, social practice, Roman procedure, and institutional reconstruction are claimed only to the degree supported by the cited sources.
How certain? probableEarlier Scripture and inherited backgroundSupported quotations, allusions, and inherited ideas
Israel's Scriptures and Jewish setting
Acts continues Israel's scriptural story through Jewish witnesses, synagogues, temple worship, Torah practice, diaspora communities, and contested interpretations. Paul says that while praying in the Jerusalem temple he fell into a trance, was warned that his testimony would be rejected, protested from his violent past, and was sent far to Gentiles.
How certain? strongHow this connects with the rest of ScriptureThe passage's own meaning remains primary
Luke-Acts and responsible canonical reading
Luke's first volume is the immediate literary horizon. Later canonical connections must preserve Acts 22:17–22:21's own sequence, Jewish setting, speakers, and unresolved questions.
How certain? strongTheology that emerges from this passageConclusions drawn after reading the complete section
Theological contribution
Acts joins divine initiative, the Spirit, human witness, communal discernment, and accountable action in this movement: Paul says that while praying in the Jerusalem temple he fell into a trance, was warned that his testimony would be rejected, protested from his violent past, and was sent far to Gentiles.
How certain? strongTheological contribution
God's action in Acts 22:17–22:21 is narrated as particular gift, judgment, guidance, or preservation; it is not a technique readers can control or a warrant for the misuse explicitly rejected here.
How certain? strongCommon ways this passage gets misusedFair explanation, context check, and stronger reading
The commission does not declare Jews abandoned, demean the temple, or authorize leaders to use private visions to defeat communal review.
A vivid event or line in Acts 22:17–22:21 can be detached from its narrator, speaker, first audience, ancient institutions, literary placement, and later Acts parallels.
Paul says that while praying in the Jerusalem temple he fell into a trance, was warned that his testimony would be rejected, protested from his violent past, and was sent far to Gentiles. Luke's second volume shapes this address within a larger scene. The reported speaker's defense, interpretation, or accusation requires separate review from authorial evaluation.
Keep description distinct from command, actor interpretation distinct from authorial evaluation, and original setting distinct from faithful application.
Paul says that while praying in the Jerusalem temple he fell into a trance, was warned that his testimony would be rejected, protested from his violent past, and was sent far to Gentiles.
Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and unit coverage.
Acts 22:17–22:21, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Greek wording and punctuation control, without pretending one edition is a complete apparatus.
SBLGNT official text, Acts 22:17-22:21
Supports: Morphology and lexical cross-check for words explicitly discussed in this unit.
STEP Bible Data, TAGNT rows for Acts 22:17-22:21
Supports: Verse-attached textual, translation, language, geography, chronology, and historical notes actually printed for the unit.
NET Bible First Edition Acts PDF, printed pp. 2104-2205, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to 22:17–22:21
Supports: Introductory critical orientation to the unit's place in Luke-Acts, with contested judgments retained as interpretations.
Yale Bible Study Acts course, course unit 'The Defense of the Gospel,' Acts 21-23 study guide
Supports: One complete confessional commentary reading, independently checked against the text and critical controls.
Thompson, online Acts commentary, heading and paragraphs explicitly covering Acts 22:17–22:21
Supports: Abstract-supported control for Jewish continuity and Gentile inclusion in Acts 22:17–22:21, not a settlement of every conflict scene.
Smith, JTS 72.2 (2021), pp. 738-765, official abstract and bibliographic record
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and unit coverage.
Exact location: Acts 22:17–22:21, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording and punctuation control, without pretending one edition is a complete apparatus.
Exact location: SBLGNT official text, Acts 22:17-22:21
Open the Acts Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Morphology and lexical cross-check for words explicitly discussed in this unit.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data, TAGNT rows for Acts 22:17-22:21
Open source ↗open translation and translator notes
NET Bible First Edition Notes: Acts
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-attached textual, translation, language, geography, chronology, and historical notes actually printed for the unit.
Exact location: NET Bible First Edition Acts PDF, printed pp. 2104-2205, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to 22:17–22:21
Open source ↗open university bible study course
Acts of the Apostles Course and Study Guides
Yale Divinity School faculty
Yale Bible Study, 2019
Supports: Introductory critical orientation to the unit's place in Luke-Acts, with contested judgments retained as interpretations.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study Acts course, course unit 'The Defense of the Gospel,' Acts 21-23 study guide
Open source ↗open confessional commentary
The Acts of the Apostles
Alan J. Thompson
The Gospel Coalition, 2023
Supports: One complete confessional commentary reading, independently checked against the text and critical controls.
Exact location: Thompson, online Acts commentary, heading and paragraphs explicitly covering Acts 22:17–22:21
Open source ↗peer reviewed article abstract and metadata
The Jewishness of Luke-Acts: How Recent Scholarship Has Challenged the View that Luke-Acts Is Pro-Gentile and Anti-Jewish
Joshua Paul Smith
The Journal of Theological Studies 72.2, 2021
Supports: Abstract-supported control for Jewish continuity and Gentile inclusion in Acts 22:17–22:21, not a settlement of every conflict scene.
Exact location: Smith, JTS 72.2 (2021), pp. 738-765, official abstract and bibliographic record
Open source ↗