Acts 13:4-12

Context

Paul and Barnabas Preach in Cyprus

13:4 So Barnabas and Saul,¹ sent out by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia,² and from there they sailed to Cyprus.³ 13:5 When⁴ they arrived⁵ in Salamis,⁶ they began to proclaim⁷ the word of God in the Jewish synagogues.⁸ (Now they also had John⁹ as their assistant.)¹⁰ 13:6 When they had crossed over¹¹ the whole island as far as Paphos,¹² they found a magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus,¹³ 13:7 who was with the proconsul¹⁴ Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. The proconsul¹⁵ summoned¹⁶ Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear¹⁷ the word of God. 13:8 But the magician Elymas¹⁸ (for that is the way his name is translated)¹⁹ opposed them, trying to turn the proconsul²⁰ away from the faith. 13:9 But Saul (also known as Paul),²¹ filled with the Holy Spirit,²² stared straight²³ at him 13:10 and said, “You who are full of all deceit and all wrongdoing,²⁴ you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness – will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?²⁵ 13:11 Now²⁶ look, the hand of the Lord is against²⁷ you, and you will be blind, unable to see the sun for a time!” Immediately mistiness²⁸ and darkness came over²⁹ him, and he went around seeking people³⁰ to lead him by the hand. 13:12 Then when the proconsul³¹ saw what had happened, he believed,³² because he was greatly astounded³³ at the teaching about³⁴ the Lord.

[13:4] ¹tn Grk “they”; the referents (Barnabas and Saul) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:4] ²sn Seleucia was the port city of Antioch in Syria.

[13:4] ³sn Cyprus was a large island in the Mediterranean off the south coast of Asia Minor.

[13:5] ⁴tn Grk “And when.” 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.

[13:5] ⁵tn The participle γενόμενοι (genomenoi) is taken temporally.

[13:5] ⁶sn Salamis was a city on the southeastern coast of the island of Cyprus. This was a commercial center and a center of Judaism.

[13:5] ⁷tn The imperfect verb κατήγγελλον (kathngellon) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[13:5] ⁸sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[13:5] ⁹sn John refers here to John Mark (see Acts 12:25).

[13:5] ¹⁰tn The word ὑπηρέτης (Juphreth") usually has the meaning “servant,” but it is doubtful John Mark fulfilled that capacity for Barnabas and Saul. He was more likely an apprentice or assistant to them.

[13:6] ¹¹tn Or “had passed through,” “had traveled through.”

[13:6] ¹²sn Paphos. A city on the southwestern coast of the island of Cyprus. It was the seat of the Roman proconsul.

[13:6] ¹³sn 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.

[13:7] ¹⁴sn The proconsul was the Roman official who ruled over a province traditionally under the control of the Roman senate.

[13:7] ¹⁵tn Grk “This one”; the referent (the proconsul) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:7] ¹⁶tn 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.

[13:7] ¹⁷sn The proconsul…wanted to hear the word of God. This description of Sergius Paulus portrays him as a sensitive, secular Gentile leader.

[13:8] ¹⁸tn 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.

[13:8] ¹⁹sn A parenthetical note by the author.

[13:8] ²⁰sn The proconsul was the Roman official who ruled over a province traditionally under the control of the Roman senate.

[13:9] ²¹sn A parenthetical note by the author.

[13:9] ²²sn This qualifying clause in the narrative indicates who represented God in the dispute.

[13:9] ²³tn Or “gazed intently.”

[13:10] ²⁴tn Or “unscrupulousness.”

[13:10] ²⁵sn “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.

[13:11] ²⁶tn 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] ²⁷tn Grk “upon,” but in a negative sense.

[13:11] ²⁸sn 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] ²⁹tn Grk “fell on.”

[13:11] ³⁰tn The noun χειραγωγός (ceiragwgo") is plural, so “people” is used rather than singular “someone.”

[13:12] ³¹sn See the note on proconsul in v. 8.

[13:12] ³²sn He believed. The faith of the proconsul in the face of Jewish opposition is a theme of the rest of Acts. Paul has indeed become “a light to the Gentiles” (Acts 13:47).

[13:12] ³³tn The translation “greatly astounded” for ἐκπλησσόμενος (ekplhssomeno") is given by L&N 25.219.

[13:12] ³⁴tn Grk “of,” but this could give the impression the Lord himself had done the teaching (a subjective genitive) when actually the Lord was the object of the teaching (an objective genitive).