^13:4So Barnabas and Saul,¹² sent out by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia,¹³ and from there they sailed to Cyprus.¹⁴^13:5When¹⁵ they arrived¹⁶ in Salamis,¹⁷ they began to proclaim¹⁸ the word of God in the Jewish synagogues.¹⁹ (Now they also had John²⁰ as their assistant.)²¹^13:6When they had crossed over²² the whole island as far as Paphos,²³ they found a magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus,²⁴^13:7who was with the proconsul²⁵ Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. The proconsul²⁶ summoned²⁷ Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear²⁸ the word of God. ^13:8But the magician Elymas²⁹ (for that is the way his name is translated)³⁰ opposed them, trying to turn the proconsul³¹ away from the faith. ^13:9But Saul (also known as Paul),³² filled with the Holy Spirit,³³ stared straight³⁴ at him ^13:10and said, “You who are full of all deceit and all wrongdoing,³⁵ you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness—will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?³⁶^13:11Now³⁷ look, the hand of the Lord is against³⁸ you, and you will be blind, unable to see the sun for a time!” Immediately mistiness³⁹ and darkness came over⁴⁰ him, and he went around seeking people⁴¹ to lead him by the hand. ^13:12Then when the proconsul⁴² saw what had happened, he believed,⁴³ because he was greatly astounded⁴⁴ at the teaching about⁴⁵ the Lord.

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Footnotes

12 Grk “they”; the referents (Barnabas and Saul) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
13 Seleucia was the port city of Antioch in Syria.
14 Cyprus was a large island in the Mediterranean off the south coast of Asia Minor.
15 Grk “And when.” 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.
16 The participle γενόμενοι (genomenoi) is taken temporally.
17 Salamis was a city on the southeastern coast of the island of Cyprus. This was a commercial center and a center of Judaism.
18 The imperfect verb κατήγγελλον (katēngellon) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.
19 See the note on synagogue in .
20 John refers here to John Mark (see Acts 12:25).
21 The word ὑπηρέτης (hupēretēs) usually has the meaning “servant,” but it is doubtful John Mark fulfilled that capacity for Barnabas and Saul. He was more likely an apprentice or assistant to them. This is a parenthetical note by the author.
22 Or “had passed through,” “had traveled through.”
23 Paphos. A city on the southwestern coast of the island of Cyprus. It was the seat of the Roman proconsul.
24 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.
25 The proconsul was the Roman official who ruled over a province traditionally under the control of the Roman senate.
26 Grk “This one”; the referent (the proconsul) is specified in the translation for clarity.
27 Grk “summoning Barnabas and Saul, wanted to hear.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesamenos) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
28 The proconsul … wanted to hear the word of God. This description of Sergius Paulus portrays him as a sensitive, secular Gentile leader.
29 On the debate over what the name “Elymas” means, see Ἐλύμας. The magician’s behavior is more directly opposed to the faith than Simon Magus’ was.
30 A parenthetical note by the author.
31 The proconsul was the Roman official who ruled over a province traditionally under the control of the Roman senate.
32 A parenthetical note by the author.
33 This qualifying clause in the narrative indicates who represented God in the dispute.
34 Or “gazed intently.”
35 Or “unscrupulousness.”
36 “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.
37 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.
38 Grk “upon,” but in a negative sense.
39 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.
40 Grk “fell on.”
41 The noun χειραγωγός (cheiragōgos) is plural, so “people” is used rather than singular “someone.”
42 See the note on proconsul in v. .
43 He believed. The faith of the proconsul in the face of Jewish opposition is a theme of the rest of Acts. Paul has indeed become “a light to the Gentiles” (Acts 13:47).
44 The translation “greatly astounded” for ἐκπλησσόμενος (ekplēssomenos) is given by L&N 25.219.
45 Grk “of,” but this could give the impression the Lord himself had done the teaching (a subjective genitive) when actually the Lord was the object of the teaching (an objective genitive).