Acts 26:14-16
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
14 We all fell to the ground and I heard a voice saying to me in Hebrew, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?(A) It is hard for you to kick against the goad.’[a] 15 And I said, ‘Who are you, sir?’ And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.(B) 16 Get up now, and stand on your feet.(C) I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness of what you have seen [of me] and what you will be shown.[b]
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- 26:14 In Hebrew: see note on Acts 21:40. It is hard for you to kick against the goad: this proverb is commonly found in Greek literature and in this context signifies the senselessness and ineffectiveness of any opposition to the divine influence in his life.
- 26:16 The words of Jesus directed to Paul here reflect the dialogues between Christ and Ananias (Acts 9:15) and between Ananias and Paul (Acts 22:14–15) in the two previous accounts of Paul’s conversion.
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