Acts Chapter 8 verse 3 Holy Bible
But Saul laid waste the church, entering into every house, and dragging men and women committed them to prison.
read chapter 8 in ASV
But Saul was burning with hate against the church, going into every house and taking men and women and putting them in prison.
read chapter 8 in BBE
But Saul ravaged the assembly, entering into the houses one after another, and dragging off both men and women delivered them up to prison.
read chapter 8 in DARBY
As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.
read chapter 8 in KJV
read chapter 8 in WBT
But Saul ravaged the assembly, entering into every house, and dragged both men and women off to prison.
read chapter 8 in WEB
and Saul was making havoc of the assembly, into every house entering, and haling men and women, was giving them up to prison;
read chapter 8 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 3. - But for as for, A.V.; 'laid waste for he made havoc of,' A.V. From the dispersion of the disciples will flow the narrative in this present chapter. It is therefore mentioned first. From the persecution of Saul will flow the narrative in Acts 9 and to the end of the book. Stephen's burial completes the preceding narrative.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(3) As for Saul, he made havock of the church.--The tense in the Greek implies continuous action, and so indicates the severity of the persecution. Further details are given by St. Paul himself. He "persecuted this way unto the death" (Acts 22:4). It does not follow, however, that this points to more than the death of Stephen. Both men and women were imprisoned (ibid). The fact that the latter class were included among the sufferers, implies that they had been more or less prominent in the activity of the new society. Such may have been the devout women of Luke 8:2-3. The victims were punished in every synagogue, most probably with the forty stripes save one (2Corinthians 11:24) which was the common penalty for minor offences against religious order. They were compelled to blaspheme the "worthy name" of the Master whom they owned as the Christ (Acts 26:11; Jas. Ii. 7). They were subject to wanton outrages in addition to judicial severity (1Timothy 1:13). There was, as the persecutor himself afterwards confessed (Acts 26:11), a kind of insane ferocity in his violence. Even the very word "haling" implies a brutality which might well have been spared. . . .
