Acts 19:12-16

19:12 so that when even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his body ¹  were brought ²  to the sick, their diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. ³  19:13 But some itinerant ⁴  Jewish exorcists tried to invoke the name ⁵  of the Lord Jesus over those who were possessed by ⁶  evil spirits, saying, “I sternly warn ⁷  you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 19:14 (Now seven sons of a man named ⁸  Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were doing this.) ⁹  19:15 But the evil spirit replied to them, ¹⁰  “I know about Jesus ¹¹  and I am acquainted with ¹²  Paul, but who are you?” ¹³  19:16 Then the man who was possessed by ¹⁴  the evil spirit jumped on ¹⁵  them and beat them all into submission. ¹⁶  He prevailed ¹⁷  against them so that they fled from that house naked and wounded.

[19:12]  ¹ tn Or “skin” (the outer surface of the body).

[19:12]  ² tn Or “were taken.” It might be that as word went out into the region that since the sick could not come to Paul, healing was brought to them this way. The “handkerchiefs” are probably face cloths for wiping perspiration (see BDAG 934 s.v. σουδάριον) while the “aprons” might be material worn by workmen (BDAG 923-24 s.v. σιμικίνθιον).

[19:12]  ³ tn The words “of them” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[19:13]  ⁴ tn Grk “some Jewish exorcists who traveled about.” The adjectival participle περιερχομένων (periercomenwn) has been translated as “itinerant.”

[19:13]  ⁵ tn Grk “to name the name.”

[19:13]  ⁶ tn Grk “who had.” Here ἔχω (ecw) is used of demon possession, a common usage according to BDAG 421 s.v. ἔχω 7.a.α.

[19:13]  ⁷ sn The expression I sternly warn you means “I charge you as under oath.”

[19:14]  ⁸ tn Grk “a certain Sceva.”

[19:14]  ⁹ sn Within the sequence of the narrative, this amounts to a parenthetical note by the author.

[19:15]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “answered and said to them.” The expression, redundant in English, has been simplified to “replied.”

[19:15]  ¹¹ tn Grk “Jesus I know about.” Here ᾿Ιησοῦν (Ihsoun) is in emphatic position in Greek, but placing the object first is not normal in contemporary English style.

[19:15]  ¹² tn BDAG 380 s.v. ἐπίσταμαι 2 has “know, be acquainted with τινά…τὸν Παῦλον Ac 19:15.” Here the translation “be acquainted with” was used to differentiate from the previous phrase which has γινώσκω (ginwskw).

[19:15]  ¹³ sn But who are you? This account shows how the power of Paul was so distinct that parallel claims to access that power were denied. In fact, such manipulation, by those who did not know Jesus, was judged (v. 16). The indirect way in which the exorcists made the appeal shows their distance from Jesus.

[19:16]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “in whom the evil spirit was.”

[19:16]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “the man in whom the evil spirit was, jumping on them.” The participle ἐφαλόμενος (efalomeno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. L&N 15.239 has “ἐφαλόμενος ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐπ᾿ αὐτούς ‘the man jumped on them’ Ac 19:16.”

[19:16]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “and beating them all into submission.” The participle κατακυριεύσας (katakurieusa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. According to W. Foerster, TDNT 3:1098, the word means “the exercise of dominion against someone, i.e., to one’s own advantage.” These exorcists were shown to be powerless in comparison to Jesus who was working through Paul.

[19:16]  ¹⁷ tn BDAG 484 s.v. ἰσχύω 3 has “win out, prevail…κατά τινος over, against someone Ac 19:16.”