Bible Strands
Acts 22:21
Then He said to me, ‘Go! I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul delivers this statement during his defense before a Jerusalem crowd, recounting a direct vision where the Lord commands him to leave the city. The text notes that the audience immediately reacts with violent outrage after he mentions the Gentiles.
The words — The Greek imperative πορεύου (poreuou) literally commands "do go," while ὅτι (hoti) introduces the divine guarantee that follows. ἐγώ (egō) emphasizes that God himself will execute the sending.
The thread — This commission echoes the Lord’s earlier charge in Acts 9:15 to carry His name before Gentiles and kings. The theme of Gentile inclusion appears again in Ephesians 3:6 and 1 Timothy 2:7.
Why it lands — The text states that God will actively send the speaker to distant Gentile populations, establishing a clear geographic and ethnic boundary for the mission. Readers must recognize that divine commissions often require leaving familiar contexts to fulfill their stated purpose.
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 he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.
Cross-references
- Acts 9:15 “Go!” said the Lord. “This man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings, and before the people of Israel.
- Ephesians 3:6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus.
- 1 Timothy 2:7 For this reason I was appointed as a preacher, an apostle, and a faithful and true teacher of the Gentiles. I am telling the truth; I am not lying about anything.
- Romans 15:16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
- Galatians 2:7 On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted to preach the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised.
- Acts 13:46 Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “It was necessary to speak the word of God to you first. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.
- Romans 11:13 I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry
- Galatians 1:15 But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased
- 2 Timothy 1:11 to which I was appointed as a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher.
- Acts 18:6 But when they opposed and insulted him, he shook out his garments and told them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”