Bible Strands
Acts 22:17
Later, when I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul addresses a Jerusalem crowd, recounting an event that occurs after his baptism but before the vision commanding him to leave the city. The narrative explicitly uses "Later" to mark a distinct time gap between his conversion rites and the subsequent temple encounter.
The words — The text emphasizes ὑποστρεψάντι (hupostrepsanti), literally "having returned," and προσευχομένου (proseuchomenou), literally "praying," to anchor the vision in a specific location and posture. These terms describe the physical and spiritual conditions that precede the trance, rather than implying an unmediated divine interruption.
The thread — This sequence of prayer leading to a trance appears alongside Peter’s rooftop vision in Acts 10:9 and aligns with Paul’s later references to receiving revelations in 2 Corinthians 12:1. The pattern of post-conversion temple activity also echoes the early disciples’ cautious interactions with Saul in Acts 9:26.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to recognize that divine instruction follows a period of return and prayer, not immediate reaction. It directs attention to the disciplined posture of waiting in sacred space as the context for receiving clear commands.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance;
Cross-references
- 2 Corinthians 12:1 I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to gain, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord.
- Acts 9:26 When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.
- Acts 10:9 The next day at about the sixth hour, as the men were approaching the city on their journey, Peter went up on the roof to pray.
- Acts 26:20 First to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, then to everyone in the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I declared that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds worthy of their repentance.
- Galatians 1:18 Only after three years did I go up to Jerusalem to confer with Cephas, and I stayed with him fifteen days.
- Revelation 1:10 On the Lord’s day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,