Matthew 8:4

8:4 Then Jesus said to him, “See that you do not speak to anyone, ¹  but go, show yourself to a priest, and bring the offering ²  that Moses commanded, ³  as a testimony to them.” ⁴ 

Mark 1:24-25

1:24 “Leave us alone, ⁵  Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One ⁶  of God!” 1:25 But ⁷  Jesus rebuked him: ⁸  “Silence! Come out of him!” ⁹ 

Mark 1:34

1:34 So ¹⁰  he healed many who were sick with various diseases and drove out many demons. ¹¹  But ¹²  he would not permit the demons to speak, ¹³  because they knew him. ¹⁴ 

Acts 16:17-18

16:17 She followed behind Paul and us and kept crying out, ¹⁵  “These men are servants ¹⁶  of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way ¹⁷  of salvation.” ¹⁸  16:18 She continued to do this for many days. But Paul became greatly annoyed, ¹⁹  and turned ²⁰  and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ ²¹  to come out of her!” And it came out of her at once. ²² 

[8:4]  ¹ sn The command for silence was probably meant to last only until the cleansing took place with the priests and sought to prevent Jesus’ healings from becoming the central focus of the people’s reaction to him. See also 9:30, 12:16, 16:20, and 17:9 for other cases where Jesus asks for silence concerning him and his ministry.

[8:4]  ² tn Grk “gift.”

[8:4]  ³ sn On the phrase bring the offering that Moses commanded see Lev 14:1-32.

[8:4]  ⁴ tn Or “as an indictment against them.” The pronoun αὐτοῖς (autoi") may be a dative of disadvantage.

[1:24]  ⁵ tn Grk “What to us and to you?” This is an idiom meaning, “We have nothing to do with one another,” or “Why bother us!” The phrase τί ἡμῖν καὶ σοί (ti Jhmin kai soi) is Semitic in origin, though it made its way into colloquial Greek (BDAG 275 s.v. ἐγώ). The equivalent Hebrew expression in the OT had two basic meanings: (1) When one person was unjustly bothering another, the injured party could say “What to me and to you?” meaning, “What have I done to you that you should do this to me?” (Judg 11:12, 2 Chr 35:21, 1 Kgs 17:18). (2) When someone was asked to get involved in a matter he felt was no business of his own, he could say to the one asking him, “What to me and to you?” meaning, “That is your business, how am I involved?” (2 Kgs 3:13, Hos 14:8). Option (1) implies hostility, while option (2) merely implies disengagement. BDAG suggests the following as glosses for this expression: What have I to do with you? What have we in common? Leave me alone! Never mind! Hostility between Jesus and the demons is certainly to be understood in this context, hence the translation: “Leave me alone….” For a very similar expression see Lk 8:28 and (in a different context) John 2:4.

[1:24]  ⁶ sn The confession of Jesus as the Holy One here is significant, coming from an unclean spirit. Jesus, as the Holy One of God, who bears God’s Spirit and is the expression of holiness, comes to deal with uncleanness and unholiness.

[1:25]  ⁹ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[1:25]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “rebuked him, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[1:25]  ¹¹ sn The command Come out of him! is an example of Jesus’ authority (see v. 32). Unlike other exorcists, Jesus did not use magical incantations nor did he invoke anyone else’s name.

[1:34]  ¹³ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[1:34]  ¹⁴ sn Note how the author distinguishes healing from exorcism here, implying that the two are not identical.

[1:34]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[1:34]  ¹⁶ sn Why Jesus would not permit the demons to speak is much discussed. Two possibilities are (1) the mere source of the testimony (demonic) and (2) that the title, with its political implications, may have had elements that Jesus wished to avoid until the full nature of his mission was clarified.

[1:34]  ¹⁷ tc The mss vary on what is read at the end of v. 34. Some have “they knew him to be the Christ,” with various Greek constructions (ᾔδεισαν αὐτὸν Χριστὸν εἶναι [hdeisan auton Criston einai] in B L W Θ Ë¹ 28 33^vid 565 2427 al; ᾔδεισαν τὸν Χριστὸν αὐτὸν εἶναι [hdeisan ton Criston auton einai] in [א²] C [˹³ 700] 892 1241 [1424] pc); codex D has “they knew him and he healed many who were sick with various diseases and drove out many demons,” reproducing exactly the first half of the verse. These first two longer readings are predictable expansions to an enticingly brief statement; the fact that there are significant variations on the word order and presence or absence of τόν argues against their authenticity as well. D’s reading is a palpable error of sight. The reading adopted in the translation is supported by א* A 0130 Ï lat. This support, though hardly overwhelming in itself, in combination with strong internal evidence, renders the shorter reading fairly certain.

[16:17]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “crying out, saying”; the participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant in English and has not been translated. The imperfect verb ἔκραζεν (ekrazen) has been translated as a progressive imperfect.

[16:17]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “slaves.” See the note on the word “servants” in 2:18. The translation “servants” was used here because in this context there appears to be more emphasis on the activity of Paul and his companions (“proclaiming to you the way of salvation”) than on their status as “slaves of the Most High God.”

[16:17]  ¹⁹ tn Or “a way.” The grammar of this phrase is a bit ambiguous. The phrase in Greek is ὁδὸν σωτηρίας (Jodon swthria"). Neither the head noun nor the genitive noun has the article; this is in keeping with Apollonius’ Canon (see ExSyn 239-40). Since both nouns are anarthrous, this construction also fits Apollonius’ Corollary (see ExSyn 250-54); since the genitive noun is abstract it is most naturally qualitative, so the head noun could either be definite or indefinite without being unusual as far as the grammar is concerned. Luke’s usage of ὁδός elsewhere is indecisive as far as this passage is concerned. However, when one looks at the historical background it is clear that (1) the woman is shut up (via exorcism) not because her testimony is false but because of its source (analogous to Jesus’ treatment of demons perhaps), and (b) “the way” is a par excellence description of the new faith throughout Acts. It thus seems that at least in Luke’s presentation “the way of salvation” is the preferred translation.

[16:17]  ²⁰ sn Proclaiming to you the way of salvation. The remarks were an ironic recognition of Paul’s authority, but he did not desire such a witness, possibly for fear of confusion. Her expression the Most High God might have been understood as Zeus by the audience.

[16:18]  ²¹ 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.

[16:18]  ²² tn Grk “and turning.” The participle ἐπιστρέψας (epistreya") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:18]  ²³ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[16:18]  ²⁴ tn BDAG 1102-3 s.v. ὥρα 2.c has “at that very time, at once, instantly” for the usage in this verse.