Discovery BoxActs 13:8-10 
Context13:8 But the magician Elymas 1 (for that is the way his name is translated) 2 opposed them, trying to turn the proconsul 3 away from the faith. 13:9 But Saul (also known as Paul), 4 filled with the Holy Spirit, 5 stared straight 6 at him 13:10 and said, “You who are full of all deceit and all wrongdoing, 7 you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness – will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? 8
1 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.
2 sn A parenthetical note by the author.
3 sn The proconsul was the Roman official who ruled over a province traditionally under the control of the Roman senate.
4 sn A parenthetical note by the author.
5 sn This qualifying clause in the narrative indicates who represented God in the dispute.
6 tn Or “gazed intently.”
7 tn Or “unscrupulousness.”
8 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.
