Acts 9 · a question people ask

In 9:10-16 Acts says only "the Lord". Who speaks to Ananias?

In the text

In the vision, Acts calls the one who speaks "the Lord" (9:10, 9:11, 9:15), and Ananias calls him "Lord" (9:10, 9:13). The chapter itself then says more. Ananias tells Saul, "Brother Saul, the Lord, who appeared to you on the road by which you came, has sent me" (9:17). On the road, Saul had asked, "Who are you, Lord?", and heard, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." (9:5). And in Jerusalem, Barnabas declares to the apostles "how he had seen the Lord on the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus" (9:27). These notes say only what these verses say.

The verses

“He said, “Who are you, Lord?” The Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”
Acts 9:5 · World English Bible
“But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles, and declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.”
Acts 9:27 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Acts 9

Acts 9: 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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Last reviewed October 7, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions