Bible Strands
Acts 22:18
and saw the Lord saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem quickly, because the people here will not accept your testimony about Me.’
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul recounts a vision he experienced while praying at the Jerusalem temple. In this trance, the Lord directly addresses him with a command regarding his future mission.
The words — σπεῦσον (speuson) means “do make haste,” and ἔξελθε (exelthe) means “do go away.” These imperatives frame the Lord’s urgent directive to depart Jerusalem immediately.
The thread — This command echoes the rejection of prophets in Ezekiel 3:6 and the instruction to shake off unresponsive towns in Matthew 10:14. It also parallels the hostility Paul faced in Acts 9:29 when debating Grecian Jews.
Why it lands — The text states that Jerusalem’s people will reject Paul’s testimony. It requires the reader to accept divine redirection when witness meets hostility, rather than insisting on a closed door.
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 saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.
Cross-references
- Acts 9:29 He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him.
- Ezekiel 3:6 not to the many peoples of unfamiliar speech and difficult language whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you.
- Matthew 10:14 And if anyone will not welcome you or heed your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.
- Luke 21:21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country stay out of the city.
- Matthew 10:23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next. Truly I tell you, you will not reach all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
- Acts 3:19 Repent, then, and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped away,