Acts 13:6-11

13:6 When they had crossed over ¹  the whole island as far as Paphos, ²  they found a magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus, ³  13:7 who was with the proconsul ⁴  Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. The proconsul ⁵  summoned ⁶  Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear ⁷  the word of God. 13:8 But the magician Elymas ⁸  (for that is the way his name is translated) ⁹  opposed them, trying to turn the proconsul ¹⁰  away from the faith. 13:9 But Saul (also known as Paul), ¹¹  filled with the Holy Spirit, ¹²  stared straight ¹³  at him 13:10 and said, “You who are full of all deceit and all wrongdoing, ¹⁴  you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness – will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? ¹⁵  13:11 Now ¹⁶  look, the hand of the Lord is against ¹⁷  you, and you will be blind, unable to see the sun for a time!” Immediately mistiness ¹⁸  and darkness came over ¹⁹  him, and he went around seeking people ²⁰  to lead him by the hand.

¹ tn Or “had passed through,” “had traveled through.”

² sn Paphos. A city on the southwestern coast of the island of Cyprus. It was the seat of the Roman proconsul.

³ sn Named Bar-Jesus. “Jesus” is the Latin form of the name “Joshua.” The Aramaic “bar” means “son of,” so this man was surnamed “son of Joshua.” The scene depicts the conflict between Judaism and the emerging new faith at a cosmic level, much like the Simon Magus incident in Acts 8:9-24. Paul’s ministry looks like Philip’s and Peter’s here.

⁴ sn The proconsul was the Roman official who ruled over a province traditionally under the control of the Roman senate.

⁵ tn Grk “This one”; the referent (the proconsul) is specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn Grk “summoning Barnabas and Saul, wanted to hear.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

⁷ sn The proconsul…wanted to hear the word of God. This description of Sergius Paulus portrays him as a sensitive, secular Gentile leader.

⁸ tn On the debate over what the name “Elymas” means, see BDAG 320 s.v. ᾿Ελύμας. The magician’s behavior is more directly opposed to the faith than Simon Magus’ was.

⁹ sn A parenthetical note by the author.

¹⁰ sn The proconsul was the Roman official who ruled over a province traditionally under the control of the Roman senate.

¹¹ sn A parenthetical note by the author.

¹² sn This qualifying clause in the narrative indicates who represented God in the dispute.

¹³ tn Or “gazed intently.”

¹⁴ tn Or “unscrupulousness.”

¹⁵ sn “You who…paths of the Lord?” This rebuke is like ones from the OT prophets: Jer 5:27; Gen 32:11; Prov 10:7; Hos 14:9. Five separate remarks indicate the magician’s failings. The closing rhetorical question of v. 10 (“will you not stop…?”) shows how opposed he is to the way of God.

¹⁶ tn Grk “And now.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

¹⁷ tn Grk “upon,” but in a negative sense.

¹⁸ sn The term translated mistiness here appears in the writings of the physician Galen as a medical technical description of a person who is blind. The picture of judgment to darkness is symbolic as well. Whatever power Elymas had, it represented darkness. Magic will again be an issue in Acts 19:18-19. This judgment is like that of Ananias and his wife in Acts 5:1-11.

¹⁹ tn Grk “fell on.”

²⁰ tn The noun χειραγωγός (ceiragwgo") is plural, so “people” is used rather than singular “someone.”