Acts 26:14

I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying The oldest MSS. have only "a voice saying unto me." Saul alone gathered the import of what was said. His companions only heard the sound, not the words. Cp. Daniel 10:7.

in the Hebrew tongue[R. V.language] Which is therefore represented by a different orthography of the proper name, not "Saulos," the usual Greek form, but "Saoul," a transliteration of the Hebrew.

it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks[goad] This is the only place where the oldest MSS. give these words. See note on Acts 9:5. The figure is from an ox, being driven on in his work. When restive or lazy, the driver pricks him, and in ignorance of the consequences, he kicks back, and so gets another wound. The words would imply that God had been guiding Saul towards the true light for some time before, and that this zeal for persecution was a resistance of the divine urging. It is not unusual for men who are moved to break away from old traditions at such times, by outward acts, to manifest even more zeal than before for their old opinions, as if in fear lest they should be thought to be falling away. This may have been Saul's case, his kicking against the goads.