[Acts 9:5] Who are you Lord / Who are you Sir?

[poptown]

Hi everyone. I recently had a problem understanding Acts 9:5. I don’t understand why in many translations it’s “who are you Lord” while in some others (actually, NAB!!!) it’s “who are you sir”. This bothers me because in the original Greek the word used here is “kyrie”, and in Latin , “Domine”, both of which means “Lord”… So I don’t understand why exactly NAB would translate this word as “Sir” instead of “Lord”. Also, if “Lord” is the right translation, it seems that Paul has no doubt who was speaking to him. Then why did he ask “who are you”?

 

[LilyM]

Hi everyone. I recently had a problem understanding Acts 9:5. I don’t understand why in many translations it’s “who are you Lord” while in some others (actually, NAB!!!) it’s “who are you sir”. This bothers me because in the original Greek the word used here is “kyrie”, and in Latin , “Domine”, both of which means “Lord”… So I don’t understand why exactly NAB would translate this word as “Sir” instead of “Lord”. Also, if “Lord” is the right translation, it seems that Paul has no doubt who was speaking to him. Then why did he ask “who are you”?

Yes, but ‘Lord’, then as now, was not reserved for God or Jesus alone, but was used for earthly people of distinction, as it is still used now among European nobility.

Paul may not have known exactly who was speaking, but anyone who has the power to strike a man blind is certainly a person of distinction and so, in my opinion, would likely be addressed by Paul as such.

 

[patrick457]

Hi everyone. I recently had a problem understanding Acts 9:5. I don’t understand why in many translations it’s “who are you Lord” while in some others (actually, NAB!!!) it’s “who are you sir”. This bothers me because in the original Greek the word used here is “kyrie”, and in Latin , “Domine”, both of which means “Lord”… So I don’t understand why exactly NAB would translate this word as “Sir” instead of “Lord”. Also, if “Lord” is the right translation, it seems that Paul has no doubt who was speaking to him. Then why did he ask “who are you”?

Kyrie and domine could be translated as ‘lord’ or ‘sir’, depending on the context.

 

[aemcpa]

One could address an earthly prince as “my lord”, or alternatively as “Sir” or “Sire”. I think the NAB translated it as “sir” specifically to underscore the fact that Paul did NOT know that it was the Lord Jesus.