Acts 9:16 Meaning and Explanation
“For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →The commission carries a cost: the Lord himself will show Saul how much he must suffer for the sake of his name.
What Does Acts 9:16 Mean?
This is the Lord’s last word about his new servant before Ananias goes, and it is startlingly frank. The persecutor will become the persecuted. The catalogue comes later from Saul’s own pen — rods, stones, prisons, shipwrecks, hunger (2 Corinthians 11:23–28) — all of it traced back to this sentence.
Jesus hides nothing from those he calls; he tells Saul the price at the start. Yet hear the grace inside the hard word: “I will shew him” — the Lord walks his servants into hardship personally, never sending where he does not accompany. Suffering borne for the name is not the failure of the mission. In this story it is part of the appointment.
Acts 9:16 in the Original Language
dei (δεῖ), 'must' -- a small word of divine necessity, marking what God has appointed.
Frequently Asked Questions About Acts 9:16
What does Acts 9:16 mean?
The commission carries a cost: the Lord himself will show Saul how much he must suffer for the sake of his name.