Acts 22:16

Acts 22:16 Arise, and be baptized. Dean Howson ("Acts", p. 501) says that the verb "baptize" in the Greek is in the middle voice, and that a more accurate rendering would be, "Have thyself baptized". Wash away thy sins. This language shows that Ananias thought that the penitent sinner was to be baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38), and that Paul held the same view. Compare Titus 3:5. Hackett says: "This clause states the result of baptism in language derived from the nature of the ordinance. It answers to "eis aphesin hamartion" (Acts 2:38), i.e., submit to the rite in order to be forgiven. . . . There can be no question of the mode of baptism in this case, for if it be held that "be baptized" is uncertain in its meaning, "wash away" is a definition that removes the doubt.' As the final act of conversion, baptism symbolically, is said to wash away sins.