Acts 8:3

3 But Saul was attempting to destroy the church. Entering {house after house}, he dragged off both men and women [and] delivered [them] to prison.

Acts 8:3 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 8:3

As for Saul, he made havoc of the church
Did evil to the saints, destroyed them that called upon the name of Christ, ( Acts 9:13 Acts 9:21 ) and persecuted and wasted the church of God, as he himself says, ( 1:13 ) and now did Benjamin, of which tribe Saul was, ravine as a wolf, ( Genesis 49:27 )

Entering into every house;
where the saints dwelt:

and haling men and women:
in a violent manner, without any regard to age or sex:

committed them to prison;
delivered them up into the hands of the chief priests and magistrates, in order to be committed and sent to prison; this he himself confesses, ( Acts 22:4 ) ( 26:10 ) .

Acts 8:3 In-Context

1 And Saul was agreeing with his murder. Now there happened on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

2 And devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation over him.

3 But Saul was attempting to destroy the church. Entering {house after house}, he dragged off both men and women [and] delivered [them] to prison.

4 Now those who had been scattered went about proclaiming the good news [of] the word.

5 And Philip came down to the city of Samaria [and] began proclaiming the Christ to them.

Footnotes

• [a] Literally "from house" [to house]
• [b] *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("dragged off") has been translated as a finite verb
• [c] *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation