Acts 26:9–26:18, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Acts 26:9–26:18
Paul confesses persecution and retells his commission
Votes for death are confessed before a commission to Israel and the nations
Paul admits he himself thought he must do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth. In Jerusalem he shut up many of the saints in prison by authority from the chief priests, cast his vote against them when they were being put to death, punished them in synagogues, tried to make them blaspheme, and, raging, pursued them even to foreign cities. On the Damascus road at midday a light brighter than the sun surrounds him and his companions. They all fall. A voice in Hebrew asks why he persecutes him and says it is hard to kick against the goads. Jesus identifies himself, tells him to stand, and appoints him servant and witness of what he has seen and of what will yet be shown, delivering him from the people and from the Gentiles, to whom he is now sent to open eyes, turn from darkness to light and from Satan's power to God, that they may receive forgiveness and a place among those sanctified by faith in him.
This version expands the commission and places proverbial language in Jesus' speech. The three Acts accounts are complementary retellings, not verbatim copies. The sending is toward Israel and Gentiles together. A persecutor's past is confessed, not worn as a badge, and "opening eyes" is not colonial permission.
How this should shape us
Confess religious violence plainly. Distinguish a commission from coercion, and let changed conduct carry the testimony. Do not glamorize harm, blame victims, or turn "opening eyes" into a license to dominate other peoples.
Teach it back
Explain Acts 26:9–26:18 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.
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 26:9–26:18, 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 26:9-26:18
Supports: Morphology and lexical cross-check for words explicitly discussed in this unit.
STEP Bible Data, TAGNT rows for Acts 26:9-26:18
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 26:9–26:18
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 Gospel, the Romans, the Jews,' Acts 24-28 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 26:9–26:18
Supports: Abstract-supported control for Jewish continuity and Gentile inclusion in Acts 26:9–26:18, not a settlement of every conflict scene.
Smith, JTS 72.2 (2021), pp. 738-765, official abstract and bibliographic record
Supports: Direct manuscript evidence only where a material Western reading is named; Bezae is not treated as the Western text as a whole.
IGNTP Codex Bezae Acts transcription, verse-addressable witness at 26:9–26:18, checked with SBLGNT and the NET tc note
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 26:9–26:18, 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 26:9-26:18
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 26:9-26:18
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 26:9–26:18
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 Gospel, the Romans, the Jews,' Acts 24-28 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 26:9–26:18
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 26:9–26:18, not a settlement of every conflict scene.
Exact location: Smith, JTS 72.2 (2021), pp. 738-765, official abstract and bibliographic record
Open source ↗primary manuscript transcription
Codex Bezae: Electronic Transcription of Acts
International Greek New Testament Project
Institute for Textual Scholarship and Electronic Editing, University of Birmingham, 2012 transcription; current online edition
Supports: Direct manuscript evidence only where a material Western reading is named; Bezae is not treated as the Western text as a whole.
Exact location: IGNTP Codex Bezae Acts transcription, verse-addressable witness at 26:9–26:18, checked with SBLGNT and the NET tc note
Open source ↗