Bible Strands
Acts 22:8
‘Who are You, Lord?’ I asked. ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ He replied.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul recounts the moment on the Damascus road when a heavenly voice addresses him directly after he falls to the ground. He asks the speaker his identity, and the voice replies that it is Jesus of Nazareth.
The words — The Greek ἐγώ (egō) stresses the speaker’s self-identification as “I myself,” while κύριε (kurie) records Paul’s reverent address to the divine voice as “Lord.”
The thread — The text explicitly names Jesus of Nazareth in Acts 26:9, where Paul notes his prior conviction to oppose him, and follows the biblical pattern of divine voice revelation found in 1 Samuel 8:7 and Exodus 16:7.
Why it lands — The passage states that persecuting the church is equivalent to persecuting Jesus, requiring the reader to acknowledge Christ’s present authority and the futility of opposing his followers.
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 I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.
Cross-references
- Acts 26:9 So then, I too was convinced that I ought to do all I could to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
- 1 Samuel 8:7 And the LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you. For it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me as their king.
- Exodus 16:7 and in the morning you will see the LORD’s glory, because He has heard your grumbling against Him. For who are we, that you should grumble against us?”
- Zechariah 2:8 For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “After His Glory has sent Me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye—
- Matthew 2:23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
- Matthew 10:40 He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives the One who sent Me.
- Matthew 25:45 Then the King will answer, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’
- Acts 3:6 But Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!”
- Acts 4:10 then let this be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.
- Acts 6:14 For we have heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.”