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Acts 9 Bible study: Why do you persecute me?
Saul set out after any "who were of the Way, whether men or women" (9:2). But the voice on the road didn't ask him why he persecuted them: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" (9:4), and then, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." (9:5).
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“So the assemblies throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were built up. They were multiplied, walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.”
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“In Acts 9:17, Ananias greets Saul as "Brother Saul".”
Is that in Acts 9, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
"Why do you persecute me?"
The chapter opens: "But Saul, still breathing threats and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked for letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem." (9:1-2) (tap Way). Near Damascus, "suddenly a light from the sky shone around him" (9:3). "He fell on the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”" (9:4) (tap persecute). Here is what almost everyone misses: Saul had set out after any he found "of the Way" (9:2), but the voice doesn't ask him why he persecutes them. It asks, "why do you persecute me?" (9:4). Saul asks, "Who are you, Lord?", and hears, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." (9:5). In both of Paul's own tellings later in Acts, the voice asks it again: "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" (22:7, 26:14). These notes add nothing to the words, and set no other saying beside them.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Acts 9
- The men with Saul "stood speechless, hearing the sound, but seeing no one" (9:7). In Paul's own telling, they "saw the light" but "didn’t understand the voice" (22:9). How do the two fit?
- In 9:10-16 Acts says only "the Lord". Who speaks to Ananias?
- "He was without sight for three days, and neither ate nor drank." (9:9). Why?
That was a taste
The rest of Acts 9 is waiting in Favor
- A vision inside a vision
- Your name, this name, the name of Jesus
- Get up
- The road, told three times
- Peace, and built up
- Lines and questions in other chapters
- 17 questions as you read
- 11 more Greek words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
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The Greek word behind it
διώκωdiokosay dee-O-ko
Strong's: "to pursue (literally or figuratively); by implication, to persecute". Thayer lists 9:4 under "in any way whatever to harass, trouble, molest one; to persecute". "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" (9:4), and "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." (9:5): behind persecute and persecuting is this one verb. Acts has it nine times (counted in RP2018), and six of them are in Paul's own speeches later in the book (22:4, 22:7, 22:8, 26:11, 26:14, 26:15). In both, the voice on the road says again, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" (22:7, 26:14). Favor's Matthew 5 studies the verb in Jesus's words.
For your group
Acts 9 Bible study questions
- 1The Lord said to Ananias, "Go your way" (9:15), and he went to the man of whom he had heard "how much evil he did" (9:13). When have you sensed the Lord asking you to go toward someone you would rather have avoided?
- 2When "they were all afraid of him" (9:26), "Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles" (9:27). Who around you might need someone to bring them in, and could that be you?
- 3Tabitha "was full of good works and acts of mercy which she did" (9:36), and the widows showed "the tunics and other garments which Dorcas had made" (9:39). What small, practical kindness could you do for someone this week?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Acts 9 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
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Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
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Last reviewed October 7, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home