Acts 19:15
13 Now there were some itinerant Jewish exorcists who tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those with evil spirits. They would say, “I bind you by Jesus, whom Paul proclaims.”
14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.
Eventually, one of the evil spirits answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?”
16 Then the man with the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. The attack was so violent that they ran out of the house naked and wounded.
17 This became known to all the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, and fear came over all of them. So the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.
Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- Eventually, one of the evil spirits answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?”
- KJV
- And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
- WEB
- The evil spirit answered, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?”
- ASV
- And the evil spirit answered and said unto them, Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are ye?
- DARBY
- But the wicked spirit answering said to them, Jesus I know, and Paul I am acquainted with; but *ye*, who are ye?
- BLB
- But the evil spirit, answering, said to them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about; but you⁺, who are you⁺?”
- ÅB
- Men den onde ånd svarte dem: Jesus kjenner jeg, og Paulus vet jeg om; men dere, hvem er dere?
- OTB
- Men den onde ånden svarte: «Jesus kjenner jeg, og Paulus er jeg kjent med, men hvem er dere?»
- B1930
- Men den onde ånd svarte dem: Jesus kjenner jeg, og Paulus vet jeg om; men I, hvem er I?
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Acts 16:17–18
This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation!”
Read in contextMark 1:34
And He healed many who were ill with various diseases and drove out many demons. But He would not allow the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.
Read in contextLuke 4:33–35
In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon. He cried out in a loud voice,
Read in contextMark 5:9–13
“What is your name?” Jesus asked. “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.”
Read in contextMark 1:24
“What do You want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”
Read in contextMatthew 8:29–31
“What do You want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have You come here to torture us before the appointed time?”
Read in contextLuke 8:28–32
When the man saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before Him, shouting in a loud voice, “What do You want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You not to torture me!”
Read in contextGenesis 3:1–5
Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’”
Read in context