Compelled them to blaspheme. — The verb is in the imperfect tense, which may express either continued or incomplete action. It does not follow, therefore, that any of the believers yielded to the pressure; and the words may be paraphrased, I went on trying to compel them.
Being exceedingly mad against them. — The words express, with a wonderful vividness, St. Paul’s retrospective analysis of his former state. It was not only that he acted in ignorance (1 Timothy 1:13), he might plead also the temporary insanity of fanaticism.
Even unto strange cities. — The words show that the mission to Damascus was not a solitary instance, and the persecution may well have raged in the regions of Samaria and Galilee through which the Apostle passed. (See Note on Acts 9:3.)