Acts 5:16

5:16 A crowd of people from the towns around Jerusalem ¹  also came together, bringing the sick and those troubled by unclean spirits. ²  They ³  were all ⁴  being healed.

Acts 8:7

8:7 For unclean spirits, ⁵  crying with loud shrieks, were coming out of many who were possessed, ⁶  and many paralyzed and lame people were healed.

Acts 16:18

16:18 She continued to do this for many days. But Paul became greatly annoyed, ⁷  and turned ⁸  and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ ⁹  to come out of her!” And it came out of her at once. ¹⁰ 

Acts 19:12-16

19:12 so that when even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his body ¹¹  were brought ¹²  to the sick, their diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. ¹³  19:13 But some itinerant ¹⁴  Jewish exorcists tried to invoke the name ¹⁵  of the Lord Jesus over those who were possessed by ¹⁶  evil spirits, saying, “I sternly warn ¹⁷  you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 19:14 (Now seven sons of a man named ¹⁸  Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were doing this.) ¹⁹  19:15 But the evil spirit replied to them, ²⁰  “I know about Jesus ²¹  and I am acquainted with ²²  Paul, but who are you?” ²³  19:16 Then the man who was possessed by ²⁴  the evil spirit jumped on ²⁵  them and beat them all into submission. ²⁶  He prevailed ²⁷  against them so that they fled from that house naked and wounded.

¹ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

² sn Unclean spirits refers to evil spirits.

³ tn Literally a relative pronoun, “who.” In English, however, a relative clause (“bringing the sick and those troubled by unclean spirits, who were all being healed”) could be understood to refer only to the second group (meaning only those troubled by unclean spirits were being healed) or even that the unclean spirits were being healed. To avoid this ambiguity the pronoun “they” was used to begin a new English sentence.

⁴ sn They were all being healed. Note how the healings that the apostles provided were comprehensive in their consistency.

⁵ sn The expression unclean spirits refers to evil supernatural spirits which were ceremonially unclean, and which caused the persons possessed by them to be ceremonially unclean.

⁶ tn Grk “For [in the case of] many who had unclean spirits, they were coming out, crying in a loud voice.”

⁷ tn Grk “becoming greatly annoyed.” The participle διαπονηθείς (diaponhqei") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. The aorist has been translated as an ingressive aorist (entry into a state or condition). See BDAG 235 s.v. διαπονέομαι.

⁸ tn Grk “and turning.” The participle ἐπιστρέψας (epistreya") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

⁹ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

¹⁰ tn BDAG 1102-3 s.v. ὥρα 2.c has “at that very time, at once, instantly” for the usage in this verse.

¹¹ tn Or “skin” (the outer surface of the body).

¹² 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).

¹³ tn The words “of them” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

¹⁴ tn Grk “some Jewish exorcists who traveled about.” The adjectival participle περιερχομένων (periercomenwn) has been translated as “itinerant.”

¹⁵ tn Grk “to name the name.”

¹⁶ 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.

¹⁷ sn The expression I sternly warn you means “I charge you as under oath.”

¹⁸ tn Grk “a certain Sceva.”

¹⁹ sn Within the sequence of the narrative, this amounts to a parenthetical note by the author.

²⁰ tn Grk “answered and said to them.” The expression, redundant in English, has been simplified to “replied.”

²¹ 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.

²² 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).

²³ 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.

²⁴ tn Grk “in whom the evil spirit was.”

²⁵ 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.”

²⁶ 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.

²⁷ tn BDAG 484 s.v. ἰσχύω 3 has “win out, prevail…κατά τινος over, against someone Ac 19:16.”