Revelation 16:14

16:14 For they are the spirits of the demons performing signs who go out to the kings of the earth ¹  to bring them together for the battle that will take place on the great day of God, the All-Powerful. ² 

Revelation 19:20

19:20 Now ³  the beast was seized, and along with him the false prophet who had performed the signs on his behalf ⁴  – signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire burning with sulfur. ⁵ 

Exodus 7:11-12

7:11 Then Pharaoh also summoned wise men and sorcerers, ⁶  and the magicians ⁷  of Egypt by their secret arts ⁸  did the same thing. 7:12 Each man ⁹  threw down his staff, and the staffs became snakes. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.

Exodus 7:22

7:22 But the magicians of Egypt did the same ¹⁰  by their secret arts, and so ¹¹  Pharaoh’s heart remained hard, ¹²  and he refused to listen to Moses and Aaron ¹³  – just as the Lord had predicted.

Exodus 8:7

8:7 The magicians did the same ¹⁴  with their secret arts and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt too. ¹⁵ 

Exodus 8:18-19

8:18 When ¹⁶  the magicians attempted ¹⁷  to bring forth gnats by their secret arts, they could not. So there were gnats on people and on animals. 8:19 The magicians said ¹⁸  to Pharaoh, “It is the finger ¹⁹  of God!” But Pharaoh’s heart remained hard, ²⁰  and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted.

Exodus 9:11

9:11 The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians.

Deuteronomy 13:1-3

13:1 Suppose a prophet or one who foretells by dreams ²¹  should appear among you and show you a sign or wonder, ²²  13:2 and the sign or wonder should come to pass concerning what he said to you, namely, “Let us follow other gods” – gods whom you have not previously known – “and let us serve them.” 13:3 You must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer, ²³  for the Lord your God will be testing you to see if you love him ²⁴  with all your mind and being. ²⁵ 

Matthew 24:24

24:24 For false messiahs ²⁶  and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

Mark 13:22

13:22 For false messiahs ²⁷  and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, the elect.

Acts 8:9-11

8:9 Now in that city was a man named Simon, who had been practicing magic ²⁸  and amazing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great. 8:10 All the people, ²⁹  from the least to the greatest, paid close attention to him, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called ‘Great.’” ³⁰  8:11 And they paid close attention to him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic.

Acts 8:2

8:2 Some ³¹  devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation ³²  over him. ³³ 

Acts 2:9-10

2:9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and the province of Asia, ³⁴  2:10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene, ³⁵  and visitors from Rome, ³⁶ 

[16:14]  ¹ tn BDAG 699 s.v. οἰκουμένη 1 states, “the inhabited earth, the world…ὅλη ἡ οἰκ. the whole inhabited earth…Mt 24:14; Ac 11:28; Rv 3:10; 16:14.”

[16:14]  ² tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”

[19:20]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of an unexpected development in the account: The opposing armies do not come together in battle; rather the leader of one side is captured.

[19:20]  ⁴ tn For this meaning see BDAG 342 s.v. ἐνώπιον 4.b, “by the authority of, on behalf of Rv 13:12, 14; 19:20.”

[19:20]  ⁵ tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”

[7:11]  ⁶ sn For information on this Egyptian material, see D. B. Redford, A Study of the Biblical Story of Joseph (VTSup), 203-4.

[7:11]  ⁷ tn The חַרְטֻּמִּים (kharttummim) seem to have been the keepers of Egypt’s religious and magical texts, the sacred scribes.

[7:11]  ⁸ tn The term בְּלַהֲטֵיהֶם (bÿlahatehem) means “by their secret arts”; it is from לוּט (lut, “to enwrap”). The Greek renders the word “by their magic”; Tg. Onq. uses “murmurings” and “whispers,” and other Jewish sources “dazzling display” or “demons” (see further B. Jacob, Exodus, 253-54). They may have done this by clever tricks, manipulation of the animals, or demonic power. Many have suggested that Aaron and the magicians were familiar with an old trick in which they could temporarily paralyze a serpent and then revive it. But here Aaron’s snake swallows up their snakes.

[7:12]  ⁹ tn The verb is plural, but the subject is singular, “a man – his staff.” This noun can be given a distributive sense: “each man threw down his staff.”

[7:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “thus, so.”

[7:22]  ¹¹ tn The vav consecutive on the preterite introduces the outcome or result of the matter – Pharaoh was hardened.

[7:22]  ¹² tn Heb “and the heart of Pharaoh became hard.” This phrase translates the Hebrew word חָזַק (khazaq; see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 53). In context this represents the continuation of a prior condition.

[7:22]  ¹³ tn Heb “to them”; the referents (Moses and Aaron) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “thus, so.”

[8:7]  ¹⁵ sn In these first two plagues the fact that the Egyptians could and did duplicate them is ironic. By duplicating the experience, they added to the misery of Egypt. One wonders why they did not use their skills to rid the land of the pests instead, and the implication of course is that they could not.

[8:18]  ¹⁶ tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated to the main clause as a temporal clause.

[8:18]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and the magicians did so.”

[8:19]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and the magicians said.”

[8:19]  ¹⁹ tn The word “finger” is a bold anthropomorphism (a figure of speech in which God is described using human characteristics).

[8:19]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and the heart of Pharaoh became hard.” This phrase translates the Hebrew word חָזַק (khazaq; see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 53). In context this represents the continuation of a prior condition.

[13:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “or a dreamer of dreams” (so KJV, ASV, NASB). The difference between a prophet (נָבִיא, navi’) and one who foretells by dreams (חֹלֵם אוֹ, ’o kholem) was not so much one of office – for both received revelation by dreams (cf. Num 12:6) – as it was of function or emphasis. The prophet was more a proclaimer and interpreter of revelation whereas the one who foretold by dreams was a receiver of revelation. In later times the role of the one who foretold by dreams was abused and thus denigrated as compared to that of the prophet (cf. Jer 23:28).

[13:1]  ²² tn The expression אוֹת אוֹ מוֹפֵת (’ot ’o mofet) became a formulaic way of speaking of ways of authenticating prophetic messages or other works of God (cf. Deut 28:46; Isa 20:3). The NT equivalent is the Greek term σημεῖον (shmeion), a sign performed (used frequently in the Gospel of John, cf. 2:11, 18; 20:30-31). They could, however, be counterfeited or (as here) permitted to false prophets by the Lord as a means of testing his people.

[13:3]  ²³ tn Heb “or dreamer of dreams.” See note on this expression in v. 1.

[13:3]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[13:3]  ²⁵ tn Heb “all your heart and soul” (so NRSV, CEV, NLT); or “heart and being” (NCV “your whole being”). See note on the word “being” in Deut 6:5.

[24:24]  ²⁶ tn Or “false christs”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[13:22]  ²⁷ tn Or “false christs”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[8:9]  ²⁸ tn On the idiom προϋπῆρχεν μαγεύων (prouphrcen mageuwn) meaning “had been practicing magic” see BDAG 889 s.v. προϋπάρχω.

[8:10]  ²⁹ tn Grk “all of them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:10]  ³⁰ tn Or “This man is what is called the Great Power of God.” The translation “what is called the Great Power of God” is given by BDAG 263 s.v. δύναμις 5, but the repetition of the article before καλουμένη μεγάλη (kaloumenh megalh) suggests the translation “the power of God that is called ‘Great.’”

[8:2]  ³¹ tn “Some” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[8:2]  ³² sn Made loud lamentation. For someone who was stoned to death, lamentation was normally not allowed (m. Sanhedrin 6:6). The remark points to an unjust death.

[8:2]  ³³ tn Or “mourned greatly for him.”

[2:9]  ³⁴ tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

[2:10]  ³⁵ tn According to BDAG 595 s.v. Λιβύη, the western part of Libya, Libya Cyrenaica, is referred to here (see also Josephus, Ant. 16.6.1 [16.160] for a similar phrase).

[2:10]  ³⁶ map For location see JP4 A1.