Acts 9:7 vs. Acts 22:9

Acts 9:7
King James Version
7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.

Acts 22:9
King James Version
9 And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.

Is this a contradiction in the Holy Bible? The ESV translates Acts 22:9 differently: link

Can the original words truly be translated both ways? Is the ESV the correct translation?

I go to Bible hub for reference and Matthew Poole's commentary on these verses seem to be a likely explanation. i.e. Verse 9:7 the voice they hear is Saul's only and that is also in indicated in verse 22:9. i.e. "....heard not the voice of him that spake to me.".......................
link>>>https://biblehub.com/commentaries/poole/acts/9.htm

It's not the only contradiction in the KJV.

There's no need to panic though. A brief study of other translations will bring clarity. You might want to try using BibleGateway.org.

Is this a contradiction in the Holy Bible? The ESV translates Acts 22:9 differently: link

Can the original words truly be translated both ways? Is the ESV the correct translation?
Maybe the ESV translation is not as accurate as the KJV. Probably would need to look at the Greek manuscripts to verify that. Seems the 'standard' in English is the KJV. But the way you phrase the question sounds like the ESV is your preference so the Greek should be referred to. Bible Hub has the Greek listed for most of the NT and of various originals or copies of originals.

It's not a contradiction. It's a contextual issue.

In Acts 9 we read:

Act 9:1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
Act 9:2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
Act 9:3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
Act 9:4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Act 9:5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
Act 9:6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
Act 9:7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.
Act 9:8 And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.

In Acts 22 we read:

Act 22:5 As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished.
Act 22:6 And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me.
Act 22:7 And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Act 22:8 And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.
Act 22:9 And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.
Act 22:10 And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.
Act 22:11 And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus.

In Acts 26, we read:

Act 26:12 Whereupon as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests,
Act 26:13 At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me.
Act 26:14 And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
Act 26:15 And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
Act 26:16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
Act 26:17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,
Act 26:18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

In Acts 9:7, the men who were with Paul,

Act 9:7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.

Act 9:7 οι δε ανδρες οι συνοδευοντες αυτω ειστηκεισαν εννεοι ακουοντες μεν της φωνης μηδενα δε θεωρουντες

In Acts 22:9, we read:

Act 22:9 And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.

Act 22:9 οι δε συν εμοι οντες το μεν φως εθεασαντο και εμφοβοι εγενοντο την δε φωνην ουκ ηκουσαν του λαλουντος μοι

Acts 22:9, is saying that while the men "heard" (ακουοντες) a "voice" (φωνης) (Acts 9:7), meaning spoken words, they did not understand the language ("φωνην ουκ ηκουσαν του λαλουντος μοι", as the words means 'voice/language of the one speaking') being spoken, as it was "in the Hebrew tongue" ("τη εβραιδι διαλεκτω") (Acts 26:14), which they did not understand, but Paul did understand, as he was an "Hebrew of the Heberws" (Php. 3:5), of the tribe of Benjamin, &c.

Thayer's lexicon, even provides the following definition for "φωνην":

"3) speech
3a) of a language, tongue"

See also Psa. 19:3 for the connection of the words themselves, in their connectivity. See also Isa. 36 & 2 Ki. 18 for a place in which a voice is heard, and a language spoken, but not all present understand that language being spoken.

Welcome!
Thank you for that very thorough explanation

There is no contradition.. The second verse adds more details but does not contradict the first..

The first says they saw no man... the second verse states they saw a light ( again they saw no man ) Both state that they heard a voice..

So putting them together for a more clear picture they saw no man but saw a light and heard the voice speaking to Saul / Paul.. Zero problems with these two verses..

You're welcome.

My view
Understanding the meaning of what is being said here is needed and you will see there is no contradiction ----

So in Acts 9 verse 7 --- ----they heard a voice speak but they were unable to understand what was being said so to them it was just an inaudible sound -----they saw a light but -they didn't know it was Jesus who was Speaking to Paul --their ears heard something but they did not hear -----their ears were closed to the message to Paul -----


So in verse acts 22:9 ----- it says this ----- but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.

So here they did not hear the actual words spoken to Paul ---they heard something but did not understand the words being said from Jesus to Paul -----their ears were closed to the message -----so both are saying the same thing ----

and The ESV versions ---Clears that up -----in acts 22"9

English Standard Version
Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me.


Jesus always said ---those who have ears to hear ----hear ----that is --those who God has drawn to open their ears to hear the message of Faith will hear -----the others will hear the message but not understand it and therefor have not the right Faith inbirthed in them to grasp the understanding of the message -----

I say -----and that that is the way it is still today ------many hear a noise of the message only ----but cannot grasp the meaning ----they have dead ears to hear -----

.
The Greek word translated "voice" is somewhat ambiguous; for example:

At Matt 24:31 it's the toot of a horn.

At John 3:8 it's the whoosh of air movements.

At Rev 9:9 it's the flapping of wings and the rumbling of chariots.

Unfortunately there are no 100% correct translations available because it is
virtually impossible to move thoughts from one language to another
verbatim. And then there's always ambiguity to reckon with: not to mention
problems associated with punctuation.

I rather suspect that all new arrivals in Heaven are whisked off to a sort of
Bible camp where everyone undergoes intense indoctrination to correct their
mistakes and to fill in the blanks so there's no debating amongst the general
population when the newbies are released.
_

Huh? "but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me. "

I find this interesting

“then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: his body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.

And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.

Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.”
‭‭Daniel‬ ‭10:5-8‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭9:3-7‬ ‭

“And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭22:6-9‬ ‭

personally I believe the difference in acts can be attributed to Paul’s account , and Luke’s recording of what happened through hearing the story from Paul and is rather insignificant but the fact that t times Christ appears to certain chosen people to reveal significant things to the world through them and the similarities and consistency of these events being hundreds of years apart lends to our faith in their truth

even johns encounter is similar but he was alone and johns is more revealed of who it is that keeps appearing and giving visions to man regarding his kingdom first daniel then the apostles Paul and John all have the same experience or at least with the same person about the same subject his kingdom

“I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last:

… And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; and his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. ( the brightness Paul saw and was blinded by )

And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭1:10-18‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Daniel responded the same way and Jesus didn’t thy same thing touching and reassuring him

“Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength. Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground.

And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent.

And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb. And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my Lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength. For how can the servant of this my Lord talk with this my Lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me. Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me, and said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my Lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.”
‭‭Daniel‬ ‭10:8-11, 15-19‬ ‭

The point being of we don’t worry about the small Insignificant issues like whether there’s a contradiction in acts we can look at what God was telling mankind consistently bout his kingdom in those visions and prophecies and really begin understanding what he wants us to know and believe

Is this just a bad translation in the KJV? Is that why it's translated differently in the ESV?

I might have just been reading Acts 22:9 on another website and when I read it it might have sounded like they did hear the voice (if I got that right). I guess it might depend on how you read it.

The difference between the KJV and the ESV is quite simple: the two draw from different Greek wordings. For the internal inconsistency in the KJV, it may be that two different sub-committees translated those passages and did not cross-reference them. The same issue is believed to be behind the difference between "Thou shalt not kill" in Matthew 5:21 and "Thou shalt do no murder" in Mattew 19:18, despite the Greek being identical.

The KJV can be quite murky. It's an inherent problem with reading archaic English. Couple that with the fact that
the source languages are much older, have different word order, grammer & employ many metaphors & idioms.

The 2 verses you have cited do appear to contradict in the KJV. You aren't imagining it.

I think the people with Paul heard the noise of a voice but did not understand it. Paul saying they heard not the voice probably means they didn't understand what the noise said.
.

Well maybe the ones who where close heard the voice, but the ones who where further away did not hear the voice.. Two reports from two different people who where there..

Maybe the men with Saul heard something that was different than what Saul heard.

THE LINK GIVES THE "EASY" ANSWER.>https://biblehub.com/commentaries/poole/acts/9.htm