[DouglasKC]

If the Lord Jesus Christ could say to Saul the Persecutor, "Saul, Saul... I am your Lord and your God... why are you behaving as if you want to kick me in the balls?"... then it is fitting enough language for me, as a Protestant Servant of the Lord Christ, to likewise use when it is appropriate.

kentron, the word translated "pricks or goads":

Thayer Definition:
1) a sting, as that of bees, scorpions, locusts. Since animals wound by their sting and even cause death, Paul attributes death, personified as a sting, i.e. a deadly weapon
2) an iron goad, for urging on oxen, horses and other beasts of burden
2a) hence the proverb, “to kick against the goad”, i.e. to offer vain and perilous or ruinous resistance

The sense of the verse seems to be that God's will is much stronger than Pauls and Paul is only hurting himself like an ox kicking against the goad of the master.

[OrthodoxPresbyterian]

kentron, the word translated "pricks or goads": Thayer Definition: 1) a sting, as that of bees, scorpions, locusts. Since animals wound by their sting and even cause death, Paul attributes death, personified as a sting, i.e. a deadly weapon 2) an iron goad, for urging on oxen, horses and other beasts of burden 2a) hence the proverb, “to kick against the goad”, i.e. to offer vain and perilous or ruinous resistance The sense of the verse seems to be that God's will is much stronger than Pauls and Paul is only hurting himself like an ox kicking against the goad of the master.

Yes, I am already aware of that.

As St. Chuck said in his #782, The KJV Study Guide published by Zoverian(?)attributes,"kicking against the pricks" to a Greek proverb that means useless resistance

I understand that the Greek Proverb means "useless resistance". Sheesh, I feel like I am re-treading old grounds here. The issue is not (only) that the Greek Expression means "useless resistance", the issue is that Luke specifically tells us that Jesus was not speaking in Greek -- rather, Luke specifically states that he is providing us with a Greek translation of the original Hebrew.

When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me in the Hebrew language, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'

Meaning no offense, y'all can insist till you are blue in the face that the Greek Expression means "useless resistance", and I have already admitted that the translated Greek expression, provided for us by Luke in infallible Scripture, certainly carries that Implication.

I'm not asking what the Greek Expression means. I already understand that it means "useless resistance". I'm asking, "what is the implication in the Hebrew?"

The Hebrew word for testicle is stone, and wood is also a rod, or the male organ.
(ttp://www.kingdomlife.com/kingdom/woodandstone.htm)
• Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, hath his stones broken; no man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the Lord made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God. (Leviticus 21:20-21)
• He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord. (Deuteronomy 23:1)
• When men strive together one with another, and the wife of the one draweth near for to deliver her husband out of the hand of him that smiteth him, and putteth forth her hand, and taketh him by the secrets: Then thou shalt cut off her hand, thine eye shall not pity {her} (Deuteronomy 25:11-12)

As far as I am concerned, it still looks to me as though the Hebrew implication of Jesus' imprecatory admonition against Paul (remember, Jesus was speaking in Hebrew) had the Moral Force of accusing him of a violation of Levitical Law against his own God. I am prepared to be wrong -- but I haven't YET seen any arguments germane to THAT point.

In short, don't just bombard me with the implication of the Greek Colloquial, I've already admitted the point. I'm talking about the fact that Luke specifically tells us that Jesus was speaking in Hebrew. And, as I said before, I would also reserve that, given that it is a colloquial expression, I don't think that you can rule out the possibility that both colloquial meanings (Greek "futility" and Hebrew "greivous wounding") were implied.

I'm charitably willing to be proved wrong; but until somebody addresses that point ("I heard a voice speaking to me in the Hebrew language,"), this whole argument is rapidly turning into Ships Passing in the Night.

Egads.

Best, OP