Acts 26:12
in Acts 26In this pursuit I was on my way to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Whereupon as I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests,
KJV
Whereupon as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests,
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This verse in Acts 26
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
with the authority and commission
on Acts 26:12-14
About noon on the Damascus road, a light brighter than the sun shone around Paul. Only this account says all fell to the ground. Here the voice speaks in Hebrew and adds the proverb about kicking against the goads, a figure from Greek literature.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Then again the witnesses, those who were with him: next he shows what just cause he had to be persuaded, both from the light, and from the prophets, and from the results, and from the things which have now taken place. See accordingly, how both from the prophets, and from these particulars, he confirms the proof to them. For that he may not seem to be broaching some novelty, although he had great things to say, yet he again takes refuge with the prophets, and puts this as a question for discussion.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Whereupon as I went to Damascus,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Whereupon as I went to Damascus - See the whole account of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus explained at large, in the notes on Act 9:2 (note), etc.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
See this passage explained in the notes on Act 9:5, etc.
The words behind it
13 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἐν | en | during | G1722 → | 2738 times |
| οἷς | hois | which | G3739 → | 1405 times |
| πορευόμενος | poreuomenos | journeying | G4198 → | 147 times |
| εἰς | eis | to | G1519 → | 1755 times |
| τὴν | ten | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| Δαμασκὸν | damaskon | Damascus | G1154 → | 15 times |
| μετ᾽ | met᾽ | with | G3326 → | 461 times |
| ἐξουσίας | exousias | [the] authority | G1849 → | 102 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἐπιτροπῆς | epitropes | commission | G2011 → | |
| τῆς | tes | which [is] | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| τῶν | ton | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἀρχιερέων | archiereon | chief priests | G749 → | 122 times |
ἐνduring
enG1722 →2738 times
οἷςwhich
hoisG3739 →1405 times
πορευόμενοςjourneying
poreuomenosG4198 →147 times
εἰςto
eisG1519 →1755 times
τὴν<the>
tenG3588 →19766 times
ΔαμασκὸνDamascus
damaskonG1154 →15 times
μετ᾽with
met᾽G3326 →461 times
ἐξουσίας[the] authority
exousiasG1849 →102 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἐπιτροπῆςcommission
epitropesG2011 →
τῆςwhich [is]
tesG3588 →19766 times
τῶνthe
tonG3588 →19766 times
ἀρχιερέωνchief priests
archiereonG749 →122 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Acts 26:10And that is what I did in Jerusalem. With authority from the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were condemned to death, I cast my vote against…
it leads to
- Acts 8:3
But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.
- Acts 9:13–14
But Ananias answered, “Lord, many people have told me about this man and all the harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem.
- Acts 9:21
All who heard him were astounded and asked, “Isn’t this the man who wreaked havoc in Jerusalem on those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners…
- Acts 22:4–5
I persecuted this Way even to the death, detaining both men and women and throwing them into prison,
- Acts 9:1–2
Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord. He approached the high priest
- Acts 8:3
Through
John 11:57But the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that anyone who knew where He was must report it, so that they could arrest Him.
it leads to
- Psalms 109:4
In return for my love they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer.
- John 10:39
At this, they tried again to seize Him, but He escaped their grasp.
- John 9:22
His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. For the Jews had already determined that anyone who confessed Jesus as the Christ would be put out of the synagogue.
- Psalms 109:4
Where this verse is studied
About Acts

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 52; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Lightfoot, Horae Hebraicae et Talmudicae and William Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen.
