1:13a

I was formerly: Paul was referring to the time before he committed his life to Christ. In some languages it may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:

before I believed in Christ, I was…

formerly: This means that the following things were things that Paul used to do in the past, before he became a Christian.

a blasphemer: Paul was not saying here that he cursed God. Instead, he was saying that he spoke evil about Jesus and said that Jesus was not the Messiah sent by God. You may need to make this clear in your translation.

1:13b

a persecutor: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as persecutor in this situation refers to a person who uses physical abuse. See Acts 8:3 for details of how Paul (then called Saul) persecuted Christians.

In your language it may be necessary to say whom Paul persecuted. There are two possible objects for this verb:

(1) Paul persecuted believers. Paul said in Acts 22:4 that he persecuted believers by searching for them and arresting them. Then, he took them to the people in authority who put them in prison or punished them in other ways. For example, the New Living Translation (2004 Revision) says:

I hunted down his people.

(2) Paul persecuted Christ. For example, the New Century Version says:

I spoke against Christ and persecuted him.

(New Century Version, Good News Translation, Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, Contemporary English Version, God’s Word)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) and say that Paul persecuted believers.

1:13c

a violent man: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as violent man describes a person who behaves violently and speaks insolently and without respect. This word is also found in Romans 1:30 (third word in the list). Here in 1:13b, it implies that Paul acted cruelly and violently against the Christians whom he was persecuting.

1:13d

yet: This phrase shows the contrast between the sort of person Paul was and the way that God treated him. You should express this contrast in the way that is most natural in your language.

because: Paul was not implying that, because he had “acted in ignorance and unbelief,” his actions were not sinful. Instead, Paul was explaining the reason that Christ had shown him mercy, that is, because he “acted in ignorance and unbelief.”

I had acted in ignorance: Paul had not been sinning against God deliberately. In some languages it may be necessary to specify what Paul was ignorant of. If this is true in your language, choose something very general. For example, the Good News Translation says:

I…did not know what I was doing

1:13e

unbelief: When Paul said that he had acted in unbelief, he did not mean that before he became a Christian he did not believe in God. Rather, he was saying that he did not yet believe that Christ was the Savior whom God had sent. When he persecuted Christians, Paul actually believed that he was pleasing God.

1:13f

I was shown mercy: When Paul said that he was shown mercy, he meant that he was not judged or punished as he deserved.

Paul did not say who showed him mercy. However in some languages, it will be necessary to specify this. Scholars do not agree about whom Paul meant:

(1) He meant Christ. For example, the Contemporary English Version says:

But he [Christ Jesus] had mercy on me…

(2) He meant God. For example, the Good News Translation says:

But God was merciful to me

(Good News Translation, New Century Version, New Living Translation (2004 Revision))

Christ is called “our Lord” in 1:12a. Also the phrase I was shown mercy seems to mean almost the same thing as “the grace of our Lord was poured out on me” in 1:14a. For these reasons, if it is necessary for you to specify who had shown mercy to Paul, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) and say that it was Jesus who showed him mercy.

mercy: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as mercy also refers to God’s kindness and compassion toward people. But mercy emphasizes that God is kind and does not punish someone who deserves it.

General Comment on 1:13d–f

In the Greek text, the order is: (1:13f) Christ was merciful because (1:13d) Paul acted in ignorance and (1:13e) unbelief. In some languages it may be better to reorder these parts of the verse. Another way to do this would be:

^13eI did not yet believe in Christ ^13dand so I did not understand that what I was doing was wrong. ^13cBecause of this Christ was merciful to me.

© 2003 by SIL International®

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.