Acts 22:4

4 I persecuted to the death the people who followed this Way. I arrested men and women and threw them into prison. ¹

Acts 22:4 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 22:4

And I persecuted this way unto the death
That is, the Christian religion, and the professors of it; whom the apostle breathed out threatenings and slaughter against, haled out of their houses, and committed to prison; consented to their death, as he did to Stephen's; and whenever it was put to the vote, whether they should die or not, he gave his voice against them; so that he was a most bitter enemy, and an implacable persecutor of them; which shows how very averse he was to this way, and how great his prejudices were against it; wherefore it must be a work of divine power, and there must be the singular hand of God in it, to reconcile him to it, and cause him to embrace and profess it:

binding and delivering into prisons, both men and women:
see ( Acts 8:3 ) ( 9:2 ) .

Acts 22:4 In-Context

2 When they heard him speaking to them in Hebrew, they became even quieter; and Paul went on:

3 "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up here in Jerusalem as a student of Gamaliel. I received strict instruction in the Law of our ancestors and was just as dedicated to God as are all of you who are here today.

4 I persecuted to the death the people who followed this Way. I arrested men and women and threw them into prison.

5 The High Priest and the whole Council can prove that I am telling the truth. I received from them letters written to fellow Jews in Damascus, so I went there to arrest these people and bring them back in chains to Jerusalem to be punished.

6 "As I was traveling and coming near Damascus, about midday a bright light from the sky flashed suddenly around me.

Cross References

• 1. 22.4, 5Acts 8.3; 26.9-11.