Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Bigotry » Instances of » Of saul, in persecuting the Christians
I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia by birth, but I had my education in this town at the feet of Gamaliel, being trained in the keeping of every detail of the law of our fathers; given up to the cause of God with all my heart, as you are today. And I made attacks on this Way, even to death, taking men and women and putting them in prison.
But Saul, still burning with desire to put to death the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, And made a request for letters from him to the Synagogues of Damascus, so that if there were any of the Way there, men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. And while he was journeying, he came near Damascus; and suddenly he saw a light from heaven shining round him; read more.
And he went down on the earth, and a voice said to him, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly? And he said, Who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are attacking:
And he went down on the earth, and a voice said to him, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly? And he said, Who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are attacking:
For I, truly, was of the opinion that it was right for me to do a number of things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
For news has come to you of my way of life in the past in the Jews' religion, how I was cruel without measure to the church of God, and did great damage to it: And I went farther in the Jews' religion than a number of my generation among my countrymen, having a more burning interest in the beliefs handed down from my fathers.
In bitter hate I was cruel to the church; I kept all the righteousness of the law to the last detail.
Martyrdom » Exemplified
Not being of the Evil One like Cain, who put his brother to death. And why did he put him to death? Because his works were evil and his brother's works were good.
And Cain said to his brother, Let us go into the field: and when they were in the field, Cain made an attack on his brother Abel and put him to death.
For when Jezebel was cutting off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred of them, and kept them secretly in a hole in the rock, fifty at a time, and gave them bread and water.)
But Saul, still burning with desire to put to death the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest,
And he said, I have been burning for the honour of the Lord, the God of armies; for the children of Israel have not kept your agreement; they have made destruction of your altars, and have put your prophets to death with the sword: till I, even I, am the only one living; and now they are attempting to take away my life.
So that punishment may come on this generation for the blood of all the prophets which was given from the earliest days; From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah, who was put to death between the altar and the Temple. Yes, I say to you, It will come on this generation.
And I made attacks on this Way, even to death, taking men and women and putting them in prison.
And this I did in Jerusalem: and numbers of the saints I put in prison, having had authority given to me from the chief priests, and when they were put to death, I gave my decision against them.
Paul » His vision and conversion
Am I not free? am I not an Apostle? have I not seen Jesus our Lord? are you not my work in the Lord?
And last of all, as by one whose birth was out of the right time, he was seen by me.
I give praise to him who gave me power, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he took me to be true, making me his servant, Though I had said violent words against God, and done cruel acts, causing great trouble: but I was given mercy, because I did it without knowledge, not having faith;
For news has come to you of my way of life in the past in the Jews' religion, how I was cruel without measure to the church of God, and did great damage to it:
And while he was journeying, he came near Damascus; and suddenly he saw a light from heaven shining round him; And he went down on the earth, and a voice said to him, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly? And he said, Who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are attacking: read more.
But get up, and go into the town, and it will be made clear to you what you have to do. And the men who were with him were not able to say anything; hearing the voice, but seeing no one. And Saul got up from the earth, and when his eyes were open, he saw nothing; and he was guided by the hand into Damascus. And for three days he was not able to see, and he took no food or drink. Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias! and he said, Here I am, Lord. And the Lord said to him, Get up, and go to the street which is named Straight, and make search at the house of Judas for one named Saul of Tarsus: for he is at prayer; And he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hands on him, so that he may be able to see. But Ananias said, Lord, I have had accounts of this man from a number of people, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem: And here he has authority from the chief priests to make prisoners all who give worship to your name. But the Lord said, Go without fear: for he is a special vessel for me, to give to the Gentiles and kings and to the children of Israel the knowledge of my name: For I will make clear to him what troubles he will have to undergo for me. And Ananias went out and came to the house, and putting his hands on him, said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, whom you saw when you were on your journey, has sent me, so that you may be able to see, and be full of the Holy Spirit. And straight away it seemed as if a veil was taken from his eyes, and he was able to see; and he got up, and had baptism; And when he had taken food his strength came back. And for some days he kept with the disciples who were in Damascus. And straight away, in the Synagogues, he was preaching Jesus as the Son of God. And all those hearing him were full of wonder and said, Is not this the man who in Jerusalem was attacking all the worshippers of this name? and he had come here so that he might take them as prisoners before the chief priests. But Saul went on increasing in power, and the Jews in Damascus were not able to give answers to the arguments by which he made it clear that Jesus was the Christ.
But get up, and go into the town, and it will be made clear to you what you have to do. And the men who were with him were not able to say anything; hearing the voice, but seeing no one. And Saul got up from the earth, and when his eyes were open, he saw nothing; and he was guided by the hand into Damascus. And for three days he was not able to see, and he took no food or drink. Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias! and he said, Here I am, Lord. And the Lord said to him, Get up, and go to the street which is named Straight, and make search at the house of Judas for one named Saul of Tarsus: for he is at prayer; And he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hands on him, so that he may be able to see. But Ananias said, Lord, I have had accounts of this man from a number of people, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem: And here he has authority from the chief priests to make prisoners all who give worship to your name. But the Lord said, Go without fear: for he is a special vessel for me, to give to the Gentiles and kings and to the children of Israel the knowledge of my name: For I will make clear to him what troubles he will have to undergo for me. And Ananias went out and came to the house, and putting his hands on him, said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, whom you saw when you were on your journey, has sent me, so that you may be able to see, and be full of the Holy Spirit. And straight away it seemed as if a veil was taken from his eyes, and he was able to see; and he got up, and had baptism; And when he had taken food his strength came back. And for some days he kept with the disciples who were in Damascus. And straight away, in the Synagogues, he was preaching Jesus as the Son of God. And all those hearing him were full of wonder and said, Is not this the man who in Jerusalem was attacking all the worshippers of this name? and he had come here so that he might take them as prisoners before the chief priests. But Saul went on increasing in power, and the Jews in Damascus were not able to give answers to the arguments by which he made it clear that Jesus was the Christ.
And I made attacks on this Way, even to death, taking men and women and putting them in prison. Of which the high priest will be a witness, and all the rulers, from whom I had letters to the brothers; and I went into Damascus, to take those who were there as prisoners to Jerusalem for punishment. And it came about that while I was on my journey, coming near to Damascus, about the middle of the day, suddenly I saw a great light from heaven shining round me. read more.
And when I went down on the earth, a voice came to my ears saying to me, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly? And I, answering, said, Who are you; Lord? And he said to me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are attacking. And those who were with me saw the light, but the voice of him who was talking to me came not to their ears. And I said, What have I to do, Lord? And the Lord said to me, Get up, and go into Damascus; and it will be made clear to you what you have to do. And because I was unable to see because of the glory of that light, those who were with me took me by the hand, and so I came to Damascus. And one Ananias, a God-fearing man, who kept the law, and of whom all the Jews in that place had a high opinion, Came to my side and said, Brother Saul, let your eyes be open. And in that very hour I was able to see him. And he said, You have been marked out by the God of our fathers to have knowledge of his purpose, and to see the Upright One and to give ear to the words of his mouth. For you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and of what has come to your ears. And now, why are you waiting? get up, and have baptism, for the washing away of your sins, giving worship to his name. And it came about that when I had come back to Jerusalem, while I was at prayer in the Temple, my senses became more than naturally clear, And I saw him saying to me, Go out of Jerusalem straight away because they will not give hearing to your witness about me. And I said, Lord, they themselves have knowledge that I went through the Synagogues putting in prison and whipping all those who had faith in you:
And when I went down on the earth, a voice came to my ears saying to me, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly? And I, answering, said, Who are you; Lord? And he said to me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are attacking. And those who were with me saw the light, but the voice of him who was talking to me came not to their ears. And I said, What have I to do, Lord? And the Lord said to me, Get up, and go into Damascus; and it will be made clear to you what you have to do. And because I was unable to see because of the glory of that light, those who were with me took me by the hand, and so I came to Damascus. And one Ananias, a God-fearing man, who kept the law, and of whom all the Jews in that place had a high opinion, Came to my side and said, Brother Saul, let your eyes be open. And in that very hour I was able to see him. And he said, You have been marked out by the God of our fathers to have knowledge of his purpose, and to see the Upright One and to give ear to the words of his mouth. For you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and of what has come to your ears. And now, why are you waiting? get up, and have baptism, for the washing away of your sins, giving worship to his name. And it came about that when I had come back to Jerusalem, while I was at prayer in the Temple, my senses became more than naturally clear, And I saw him saying to me, Go out of Jerusalem straight away because they will not give hearing to your witness about me. And I said, Lord, they themselves have knowledge that I went through the Synagogues putting in prison and whipping all those who had faith in you:
For I, truly, was of the opinion that it was right for me to do a number of things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And this I did in Jerusalem: and numbers of the saints I put in prison, having had authority given to me from the chief priests, and when they were put to death, I gave my decision against them. And I gave them punishment frequently, in all the Synagogues, forcing them to say things against God; and burning with passion against them, I went after them even into far-away towns. read more.
Then, when I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and orders of the chief priests, In the middle of the day, on the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining round me and those who were journeying with me. And when we had all gone down on the earth, a voice came to me, saying in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly? It is hard for you to go against the impulse which is driving you. And I said, Who are you, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are attacking.
Then, when I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and orders of the chief priests, In the middle of the day, on the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining round me and those who were journeying with me. And when we had all gone down on the earth, a voice came to me, saying in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly? It is hard for you to go against the impulse which is driving you. And I said, Who are you, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are attacking.
Paul » Persecutes the Christians; present at, and gives consent to, the stoning of stephen
But Saul was burning with hate against the church, going into every house and taking men and women and putting them in prison.
But Saul, still burning with desire to put to death the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest,
And Saul gave approval to his death. Now at that time a violent attack was started against the church in Jerusalem; and all but the Apostles went away into all parts of Judaea and Samaria.
Driving him out of the town and stoning him: and the witnesses put their clothing at the feet of a young man named Saul.
And I made attacks on this Way, even to death, taking men and women and putting them in prison.
Paul » His defense
Then the chief captain came near and took him, and gave orders for him to be put in chains, questioning them as to who he was and what he had done. And some said one thing and some another, among the people: and as he was not able to get a knowledge of the facts because of the noise, he gave orders for Paul to be taken into the army building. And when he came on to the steps, he was lifted up by the armed men, because of the force of the people; read more.
For a great mass of people came after them, crying out, Away with him! And when Paul was about to be taken into the building, he said to the chief captain, May I say something to you? And he said, Have you a knowledge of Greek? Are you by chance the Egyptian who, before this, got the people worked up against the government and took four thousand men of the Assassins out into the waste land? But Paul said, I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia, which is not an unimportant town: I make a request to you to let me say a word to the people. And when he let him do so, Paul, from the steps, made a sign with his hand to the people, and when they were all quiet, he said to them in the Hebrew language,
For a great mass of people came after them, crying out, Away with him! And when Paul was about to be taken into the building, he said to the chief captain, May I say something to you? And he said, Have you a knowledge of Greek? Are you by chance the Egyptian who, before this, got the people worked up against the government and took four thousand men of the Assassins out into the waste land? But Paul said, I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia, which is not an unimportant town: I make a request to you to let me say a word to the people. And when he let him do so, Paul, from the steps, made a sign with his hand to the people, and when they were all quiet, he said to them in the Hebrew language,
My brothers and fathers, give ear to the story of my life which I now put before you. And, hearing him talking in the Hebrew language, they became the more quiet, and he said, I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia by birth, but I had my education in this town at the feet of Gamaliel, being trained in the keeping of every detail of the law of our fathers; given up to the cause of God with all my heart, as you are today. read more.
And I made attacks on this Way, even to death, taking men and women and putting them in prison. Of which the high priest will be a witness, and all the rulers, from whom I had letters to the brothers; and I went into Damascus, to take those who were there as prisoners to Jerusalem for punishment. And it came about that while I was on my journey, coming near to Damascus, about the middle of the day, suddenly I saw a great light from heaven shining round me. And when I went down on the earth, a voice came to my ears saying to me, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly? And I, answering, said, Who are you; Lord? And he said to me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are attacking. And those who were with me saw the light, but the voice of him who was talking to me came not to their ears. And I said, What have I to do, Lord? And the Lord said to me, Get up, and go into Damascus; and it will be made clear to you what you have to do. And because I was unable to see because of the glory of that light, those who were with me took me by the hand, and so I came to Damascus. And one Ananias, a God-fearing man, who kept the law, and of whom all the Jews in that place had a high opinion, Came to my side and said, Brother Saul, let your eyes be open. And in that very hour I was able to see him. And he said, You have been marked out by the God of our fathers to have knowledge of his purpose, and to see the Upright One and to give ear to the words of his mouth. For you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and of what has come to your ears. And now, why are you waiting? get up, and have baptism, for the washing away of your sins, giving worship to his name. And it came about that when I had come back to Jerusalem, while I was at prayer in the Temple, my senses became more than naturally clear, And I saw him saying to me, Go out of Jerusalem straight away because they will not give hearing to your witness about me. And I said, Lord, they themselves have knowledge that I went through the Synagogues putting in prison and whipping all those who had faith in you: And when Stephen your witness was put to death, I was there, giving approval, and looking after the clothing of those who put him to death. And he said to me, Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.
And I made attacks on this Way, even to death, taking men and women and putting them in prison. Of which the high priest will be a witness, and all the rulers, from whom I had letters to the brothers; and I went into Damascus, to take those who were there as prisoners to Jerusalem for punishment. And it came about that while I was on my journey, coming near to Damascus, about the middle of the day, suddenly I saw a great light from heaven shining round me. And when I went down on the earth, a voice came to my ears saying to me, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly? And I, answering, said, Who are you; Lord? And he said to me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are attacking. And those who were with me saw the light, but the voice of him who was talking to me came not to their ears. And I said, What have I to do, Lord? And the Lord said to me, Get up, and go into Damascus; and it will be made clear to you what you have to do. And because I was unable to see because of the glory of that light, those who were with me took me by the hand, and so I came to Damascus. And one Ananias, a God-fearing man, who kept the law, and of whom all the Jews in that place had a high opinion, Came to my side and said, Brother Saul, let your eyes be open. And in that very hour I was able to see him. And he said, You have been marked out by the God of our fathers to have knowledge of his purpose, and to see the Upright One and to give ear to the words of his mouth. For you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and of what has come to your ears. And now, why are you waiting? get up, and have baptism, for the washing away of your sins, giving worship to his name. And it came about that when I had come back to Jerusalem, while I was at prayer in the Temple, my senses became more than naturally clear, And I saw him saying to me, Go out of Jerusalem straight away because they will not give hearing to your witness about me. And I said, Lord, they themselves have knowledge that I went through the Synagogues putting in prison and whipping all those who had faith in you: And when Stephen your witness was put to death, I was there, giving approval, and looking after the clothing of those who put him to death. And he said to me, Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.
Persecution » Is sometimes unto death
And I made attacks on this Way, even to death, taking men and women and putting them in prison.
Way » Figurative » Doctrines taught by Christ
And made a request for letters from him to the Synagogues of Damascus, so that if there were any of the Way there, men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
But this I will say openly to you, that I do give worship to the God of our fathers after that Way, which to them is not the true religion: but I have belief in all the things which are in the law and in the books of the prophets:
But Felix, who had a more detailed knowledge of the Way, put them off, saying, When Lysias, the chief captain, comes down, I will give attention to your business.
And about that time a great outcry took place about the Way.
And I made attacks on this Way, even to death, taking men and women and putting them in prison.
Zeal » Sometimes wrongly directed
Then the king sent for the Gibeonites; (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but were the last of the Amorites, to whom the children of Israel had given an oath; but Saul, in his passion for the children of Israel and Judah, had made an attempt on their lives:)
I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia by birth, but I had my education in this town at the feet of Gamaliel, being trained in the keeping of every detail of the law of our fathers; given up to the cause of God with all my heart, as you are today. And I made attacks on this Way, even to death, taking men and women and putting them in prison.