2 Kings 6:18

6:18 As they approached him, ¹  Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike these people ²  with blindness.” ³  The Lord ⁴  struck them with blindness as Elisha requested. ⁵ 

Acts 13:11

13:11 Now ⁶  look, the hand of the Lord is against ⁷  you, and you will be blind, unable to see the sun for a time!” Immediately mistiness ⁸  and darkness came over ⁹  him, and he went around seeking people ¹⁰  to lead him by the hand.

[6:18]  ¹ tn Heb “and they came down to him.”

[6:18]  ² tn Or “this nation,” perhaps emphasizing the strength of the Syrian army.

[6:18]  ³ tn On the basis of the Akkadian etymology of the word, M. Cogan and H. Tadmor (II Kings [AB], 74) translate “blinding light.” HALOT 761 s.v. סַנְוֵרִים suggests the glosses “dazzling, deception.”

[6:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “according to the word of Elisha.”

[13:11]  ⁶ 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.

[13:11]  ⁷ tn Grk “upon,” but in a negative sense.

[13:11]  ⁸ 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.

[13:11]  ⁹ tn Grk “fell on.”

[13:11]  ¹⁰ tn The noun χειραγωγός (ceiragwgo") is plural, so “people” is used rather than singular “someone.”