Discovery BoxActs 13:3-12 
Context13:3 Then, after they had fasted 1 and 2 prayed and placed their hands 3 on them, they sent them off.
13:4 So Barnabas and Saul, 4 sent out by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia, 5 and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 6 13:5 When 7 they arrived 8 in Salamis, 9 they began to proclaim 10 the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. 11 (Now they also had John 12 as their assistant.) 13 13:6 When they had crossed over 14 the whole island as far as Paphos, 15 they found a magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus, 16 13:7 who was with the proconsul 17 Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. The proconsul 18 summoned 19 Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear 20 the word of God. 13:8 But the magician Elymas 21 (for that is the way his name is translated) 22 opposed them, trying to turn the proconsul 23 away from the faith. 13:9 But Saul (also known as Paul), 24 filled with the Holy Spirit, 25 stared straight 26 at him 13:10 and said, “You who are full of all deceit and all wrongdoing, 27 you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness – will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? 28 13:11 Now 29 look, the hand of the Lord is against 30 you, and you will be blind, unable to see the sun for a time!” Immediately mistiness 31 and darkness came over 32 him, and he went around seeking people 33 to lead him by the hand. 13:12 Then when the proconsul 34 saw what had happened, he believed, 35 because he was greatly astounded 36 at the teaching about 37 the Lord.
1 tn The three aorist participles νηστεύσαντες (nhsteusante"), προσευξάμενοι (proseuxamenoi), and ἐπιθέντες (epiqente") are translated as temporal participles. Although they could indicate contemporaneous time when used with an aorist main verb, logically here they are antecedent. On fasting and prayer, see Matt 6:5, 16; Luke 2:37; 5:33; Acts 14:23.
2 tn Normally English style, which uses a coordinating conjunction between only the last two elements of a series of three or more, would call for omission of “and” here. However, since the terms “fasting and prayer” are something of a unit, often linked together, the conjunction has been retained here.
3 sn The placing of hands on Barnabas and Saul (traditionally known as “the laying on of hands”) refers to an act picturing the commission of God and the church for the task at hand.
4 tn Grk “they”; the referents (Barnabas and Saul) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 sn Seleucia was the port city of Antioch in Syria.
6 sn Cyprus was a large island in the Mediterranean off the south coast of Asia Minor.
7 tn 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.
8 tn The participle γενόμενοι (genomenoi) is taken temporally.
9 sn Salamis was a city on the southeastern coast of the island of Cyprus. This was a commercial center and a center of Judaism.
10 tn The imperfect verb κατήγγελλον (kathngellon) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.
11 sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.
12 sn John refers here to John Mark (see Acts 12:25).
13 tn The word ὑπηρέτης (Juphreth") 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.
sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
14 tn Or “had passed through,” “had traveled through.”
15 sn Paphos. A city on the southwestern coast of the island of Cyprus. It was the seat of the Roman proconsul.
16 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.
17 sn The proconsul was the Roman official who ruled over a province traditionally under the control of the Roman senate.
18 tn Grk “This one”; the referent (the proconsul) is specified in the translation for clarity.
19 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.
20 sn The proconsul…wanted to hear the word of God. This description of Sergius Paulus portrays him as a sensitive, secular Gentile leader.
21 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.
22 sn A parenthetical note by the author.
23 sn The proconsul was the Roman official who ruled over a province traditionally under the control of the Roman senate.
24 sn A parenthetical note by the author.
25 sn This qualifying clause in the narrative indicates who represented God in the dispute.
26 tn Or “gazed intently.”
27 tn Or “unscrupulousness.”
28 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.
29 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.
30 tn Grk “upon,” but in a negative sense.
31 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.
32 tn Grk “fell on.”
33 tn The noun χειραγωγός (ceiragwgo") is plural, so “people” is used rather than singular “someone.”
34 sn See the note on proconsul in v. 8.
35 sn 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).
36 tn The translation “greatly astounded” for ἐκπλησσόμενος (ekplhssomeno") is given by L&N 25.219.
37 tn 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).
