Revelation 9:21

9:21 Furthermore, ¹  they did not repent of their murders, of their magic spells, ²  of their sexual immorality, or of their stealing.

Revelation 18:23

18:23 Even the light from a lamp

will never shine in you again!

The voices of the bridegroom and his bride

will never be heard in you again.

For your merchants were the tycoons of the world,

because all the nations ³  were deceived by your magic spells! ⁴ 

Isaiah 47:9

47:9 Both of these will come upon you

suddenly, in one day!

You will lose your children and be widowed. ⁵ 

You will be overwhelmed by these tragedies, ⁶ 

despite ⁷  your many incantations

and your numerous amulets. ⁸ 

Isaiah 47:12

47:12 Persist ⁹  in trusting ¹⁰  your amulets

and your many incantations,

which you have faithfully recited ¹¹  since your youth!

Maybe you will be successful ¹²  –

maybe you will scare away disaster. ¹³ 

Isaiah 57:3

57:3 But approach, you sons of omen readers,

you offspring of adulteresses and prostitutes! ¹⁴ 

Malachi 3:5

3:5 “I ¹⁵  will come to you in judgment. I will be quick to testify against those who practice divination, those who commit adultery, those who break promises, ¹⁶  and those who exploit workers, widows, and orphans, ¹⁷  who refuse to help ¹⁸  the immigrant ¹⁹  and in this way show they do not fear me,” says the Lord who rules over all.

Acts 8:11

8:11 And they paid close attention to him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic.

Acts 13:6-11

13:6 When they had crossed over ²⁰  the whole island as far as Paphos, ²¹  they found a magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus, ²²  13:7 who was with the proconsul ²³  Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. The proconsul ²⁴  summoned ²⁵  Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear ²⁶  the word of God. 13:8 But the magician Elymas ²⁷  (for that is the way his name is translated) ²⁸  opposed them, trying to turn the proconsul ²⁹  away from the faith. 13:9 But Saul (also known as Paul), ³⁰  filled with the Holy Spirit, ³¹  stared straight ³²  at him 13:10 and said, “You who are full of all deceit and all wrongdoing, ³³  you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness – will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? ³⁴  13:11 Now ³⁵  look, the hand of the Lord is against ³⁶  you, and you will be blind, unable to see the sun for a time!” Immediately mistiness ³⁷  and darkness came over ³⁸  him, and he went around seeking people ³⁹  to lead him by the hand.

[9:21]  ¹ tn Grk “and.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation, with “furthermore” used to indicate a continuation of the preceding.

[9:21]  ² tn On the term φαρμακεία (farmakeia, “magic spells”) see L&N 53.100: “the use of magic, often involving drugs and the casting of spells upon people – ‘to practice magic, to cast spells upon, to engage in sorcery, magic, sorcery.’ φαρμακεία: ἐν τῇ φαρμακείᾳ σου ἐπλανήθησαν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ‘with your magic spells you deceived all the peoples (of the world)’ Re 18:23.”

[18:23]  ³ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[18:23]  ⁴ tn On the term φαρμακεία (farmakeia, “magic spells”) see L&N 53.100: “the use of magic, often involving drugs and the casting of spells upon people – ‘to practice magic, to cast spells upon, to engage in sorcery, magic, sorcery.’ φαρμακεία: ἐν τῇ φαρμακείᾳ σου ἐπλανήθησαν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ‘with your magic spells you deceived all the peoples (of the world)’ Re 18:23.”

[47:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “loss of children and widowhood.” In the Hebrew text the phrase is in apposition to “both of these” in line 1.

[47:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “according to their fullness, they will come upon you.”

[47:9]  ⁷ tn For other examples of the preposition bet (בְּ) having the sense of “although, despite,” see BDB 90 s.v. III.7.

[47:9]  ⁸ sn Reference is made to incantations and amulets, both of which were important in Mesopotamian religion. They were used to ward off danger and demons.

[47:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “stand” (so KJV, ASV); NASB, NRSV “Stand fast.”

[47:12]  ¹⁰ tn The word “trusting” is supplied in the translation for clarification. See v. 9.

[47:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in that which you have toiled.”

[47:12]  ¹² tn Heb “maybe you will be able to profit.”

[47:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “maybe you will cause to tremble.” The object “disaster” is supplied in the translation for clarification. See the note at v. 9.

[57:3]  ¹⁴ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “offspring of an adulterer [masculine] and [one who] has committed adultery.” Perhaps the text has suffered from transposition of vav (ו) and tav (ת) and מְנָאֵף וַתִּזְנֶה (mÿna’ef vattizneh) should be emended to מְנָאֶפֶת וְזֹנָה (mÿna’efet vÿzonah, “an adulteress and a prostitute”). Both singular nouns would be understood in a collective sense. Most modern English versions render both forms as nouns.

[3:5]  ¹⁵ tn The first person pronoun (a reference to the Lord) indicates that the Lord himself now speaks (see also v. 1). The prophet speaks in vv. 2-4 (see also 2:17).

[3:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “those who swear [oaths] falsely.” Cf. NIV “perjurers”; TEV “those who give false testimony”; NLT “liars.”

[3:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and against the oppressors of the worker for a wage, [the] widow and orphan.”

[3:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “those who turn aside.”

[3:5]  ¹⁹ tn Or “resident foreigner”; NIV “aliens”; NRSV “the alien.”

[13:6]  ²⁰ tn Or “had passed through,” “had traveled through.”

[13:6]  ²¹ sn Paphos. A city on the southwestern coast of the island of Cyprus. It was the seat of the Roman proconsul.

[13:6]  ²² 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.

[13:7]  ²³ sn The proconsul was the Roman official who ruled over a province traditionally under the control of the Roman senate.

[13:7]  ²⁴ tn Grk “This one”; the referent (the proconsul) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:7]  ²⁵ 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.

[13:7]  ²⁶ sn The proconsul…wanted to hear the word of God. This description of Sergius Paulus portrays him as a sensitive, secular Gentile leader.

[13:8]  ²⁷ 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.

[13:8]  ²⁸ sn A parenthetical note by the author.

[13:8]  ²⁹ sn The proconsul was the Roman official who ruled over a province traditionally under the control of the Roman senate.

[13:9]  ³⁰ sn A parenthetical note by the author.

[13:9]  ³¹ sn This qualifying clause in the narrative indicates who represented God in the dispute.

[13:9]  ³² tn Or “gazed intently.”

[13:10]  ³³ tn Or “unscrupulousness.”

[13:10]  ³⁴ 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.

[13:11]  ³⁵ 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]  ³⁶ tn Grk “upon,” but in a negative sense.

[13:11]  ³⁷ 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]  ³⁸ tn Grk “fell on.”

[13:11]  ³⁹ tn The noun χειραγωγός (ceiragwgo") is plural, so “people” is used rather than singular “someone.”