2 Timotius 3:8

3:8 And just as Jannes and Jambres ¹  opposed Moses, so these people – who have warped minds and are disqualified in the faith ²  – also oppose the truth.

Keluaran 7:12

7:12 Each man ³  threw down his staff, and the staffs became snakes. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.

Keluaran 8:18-19

8:18 When ⁴  the magicians attempted ⁵  to bring forth gnats by their secret arts, they could not. So there were gnats on people and on animals. 8:19 The magicians said ⁶  to Pharaoh, “It is the finger ⁷  of God!” But Pharaoh’s heart remained hard, ⁸  and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted.

Keluaran 9:11

9:11 The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians.

Keluaran 9:1

The Fifth Blow: Disease

9:1 ⁹ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Release my people that they may serve me!

Kisah Para Rasul 22:25

22:25 When they had stretched him out for the lash, ¹⁰  Paul said to the centurion ¹¹  standing nearby, “Is it legal for you to lash a man who is a Roman citizen ¹²  without a proper trial?” ¹³ 

Mazmur 76:10

76:10 Certainly ¹⁴  your angry judgment upon men will bring you praise; ¹⁵ 

you reveal your anger in full measure. ¹⁶ 

Yeremia 28:15-17

28:15 Then the prophet Jeremiah told the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord did not send you! You are making these people trust in a lie! ¹⁷  28:16 So the Lord says, ‘I will most assuredly remove ¹⁸  you from the face of the earth. You will die this very year because you have counseled rebellion against the Lord.’” ¹⁹ 

28:17 In the seventh month of that very same year ²⁰  the prophet Hananiah died.

Yeremia 29:21-23

29:21 “The Lord God of Israel who rules over all ²¹  also has something to say about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you and claiming my authority to do so. ²²  ‘I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and he will execute them before your very eyes. 29:22 And all the exiles of Judah who are in Babylon will use them as examples when they put a curse on anyone. They will say, “May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab whom the king of Babylon roasted to death in the fire!” ²³  29:23 This will happen to them because they have done what is shameful ²⁴  in Israel. They have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and have spoken lies while claiming my authority. ²⁵  They have spoken words that I did not command them to speak. I know what they have done. I have been a witness to it,’ says the Lord.” ²⁶ 

Yeremia 29:31-32

29:31 “Send a message to all the exiles in Babylon. Tell them, ‘The Lord has spoken about Shemaiah the Nehelamite. “Shemaiah has spoken to you as a prophet even though I did not send him. He is making you trust in a lie. ²⁷  29:32 Because he has done this,” ²⁸  the Lord says, “I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his whole family. There will not be any of them left to experience the good things that I will do for my people. I, the Lord, affirm it! For he counseled rebellion against the Lord.”’” ²⁹ 

Yeremia 37:19

37:19 Where now are the prophets who prophesied to you that ³⁰  the king of Babylon would not attack you or this land?

Kisah Para Rasul 13:11

13:11 Now ³¹  look, the hand of the Lord is against ³²  you, and you will be blind, unable to see the sun for a time!” Immediately mistiness ³³  and darkness came over ³⁴  him, and he went around seeking people ³⁵  to lead him by the hand.

Kisah Para Rasul 19:15-17

19:15 But the evil spirit replied to them, ³⁶  “I know about Jesus ³⁷  and I am acquainted with ³⁸  Paul, but who are you?” ³⁹  19:16 Then the man who was possessed by ⁴⁰  the evil spirit jumped on ⁴¹  them and beat them all into submission. ⁴²  He prevailed ⁴³  against them so that they fled from that house naked and wounded. 19:17 This became known to all who lived in Ephesus, ⁴⁴  both Jews and Greeks; fear came over ⁴⁵  them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was praised. ⁴⁶ 

[3:8]  ¹ sn Jannes and Jambres were the traditional names of two of Pharaoh’s magicians who opposed Moses at the time of the Exodus.

[3:8]  ² tn Grk “disapproved concerning the faith.”

[7:12]  ³ tn The verb is plural, but the subject is singular, “a man – his staff.” This noun can be given a distributive sense: “each man threw down his staff.”

[8:18]  ⁴ tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated to the main clause as a temporal clause.

[8:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “and the magicians did so.”

[8:18]  sn The report of what the magicians did (or as it turns out, tried to do) begins with the same words as the report about the actions of Moses and Aaron – “and they did so” (vv. 17 and 18). The magicians copy the actions of Moses and Aaron, leading readers to think momentarily that the magicians are again successful, but at the end of the verse comes the news that “they could not.” Compared with the first two plagues, this third plague has an important new feature, the failure of the magicians and their recognition of the source of the plague.

[8:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “and the magicians said.”

[8:19]  ⁷ tn The word “finger” is a bold anthropomorphism (a figure of speech in which God is described using human characteristics).

[8:19]  sn The point of the magicians’ words is clear enough. They knew they were beaten and by whom. The reason for their choice of the word “finger” has occasioned many theories, none of which is entirely satisfying. At the least their statement highlights that the plague was accomplished by God with majestic ease and effortlessness. Perhaps the reason that they could not do this was that it involved producing life – from the dust of the ground, as in Genesis 2:7. The creative power of God confounded the magic of the Egyptians and brought on them a loathsome plague.

[8:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “and the heart of Pharaoh became hard.” This phrase translates the Hebrew word חָזַק (khazaq; see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 53). In context this represents the continuation of a prior condition.

[9:1]  ⁹ sn This plague demonstrates that Yahweh has power over the livestock of Egypt. He is able to strike the animals with disease and death, thus delivering a blow to the economic as well as the religious life of the land. By the former plagues many of the Egyptian religious ceremonies would have been interrupted and objects of veneration defiled or destroyed. Now some of the important deities will be attacked. In Goshen, where the cattle are merely cattle, no disease hits, but in the rest of Egypt it is a different matter. Osiris, the savior, cannot even save the brute in which his own soul is supposed to reside. Apis and Mnevis, the ram of Ammon, the sheep of Sais, and the goat of Mendes, perish together. Hence, Moses reminds Israel afterward, “On their gods also Yahweh executed judgments” (Num 33:4). When Jethro heard of all these events, he said, “Now I know that Yahweh is greater than all the gods” (Exod 18:11).

[22:25]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “for the thongs” (of which the lash was made). Although often translated as a dative of means (“with thongs”), referring to thongs used to tie the victim to the whipping post, BDAG 474-75 s.v. ἱμάς states that it “is better taken as a dat. of purpose for the thongs, in which case οἱ ἱμάντες = whips (Posidonius: 87 fgm. 5 Jac.; POxy. 1186, 2 τὴν διὰ τῶν ἱμάντων αἰκείαν. – Antiphanes 74, 8, Demosth. 19, 197 and Artem. 1, 70 use the sing. in this way).”

[22:25]  ¹¹ sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[22:25]  ¹² tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.

[22:25]  ¹³ tn Or “a Roman citizen and uncondemned.” BDAG 35 s.v. ἀκατάκριτος has “uncondemned, without due process” for this usage.

[22:25]  sn The fact that Paul was a Roman citizen protected him from being tortured to extract information; such protections were guaranteed by the Porcian and Julian law codes. In addition, the fact Paul had not been tried exempted him from punishment.

[76:10]  ¹⁴ tn Or “for.”

[76:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the anger of men will praise you.” This could mean that men’s anger (subjective genitive), when punished by God, will bring him praise, but this interpretation does not harmonize well with the next line. The translation assumes that God’s anger is in view here (see v. 7) and that “men” is an objective genitive. God’s angry judgment against men brings him praise because it reveals his power and majesty (see vv. 1-4).

[76:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the rest of anger you put on.” The meaning of the statement is not entirely clear. Perhaps the idea is that God, as he prepares for battle, girds himself with every last ounce of his anger, as if it were a weapon.

[28:15]  ¹⁷ tn Or “You are giving these people false assurances.”

[28:16]  ¹⁸ sn There is a play on words here in Hebrew between “did not send you” and “will…remove you.” The two verbs are from the same root word in Hebrew. The first is the simple active and the second is the intensive.

[28:16]  ¹⁹ sn In giving people false assurances of restoration when the Lord had already told them to submit to Babylon, Hananiah was really counseling rebellion against the Lord. What Hananiah had done was contrary to the law of Deut 13:6 and was punishable by death.

[28:17]  ²⁰ sn Comparison with Jer 28:1 shows that this whole incident took place in the space of two months. Hananiah had prophesied that the captivity would be over before two years had past. However, before two months were past, Hananiah himself died in fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy of his death. His death was a validation of Jeremiah as a true prophet. The subsequent events of 588 b.c. would validate Jeremiah’s prophesies and invalidate those of Hananiah.

[29:21]  ²¹ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”

[29:21]  sn See study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for the explanation of this title.

[29:21]  ²² tn Heb “prophesying lies in my name.” For an explanation of this idiom see the study notes on 14:14 and 23:27.

[29:22]  ²³ sn Being roasted to death in the fire appears to have been a common method of execution in Babylon. See Dan 3:6, 19-21. The famous law code of the Babylonian king Hammurabi also mandated this method of execution for various crimes a thousand years earlier. There is a satirical play on words involving their fate, “roasted them to death” (קָלָם, qalam), and the fact that that fate would become a common topic of curse (קְלָלָה, qÿlalah) pronounced on others in Babylon.

[29:23]  ²⁴ tn It is commonly assumed that this word is explained by the two verbal actions that follow. The word (נְבָלָה, nÿvalah) is rather commonly used of sins of unchastity (cf., e.g., Gen 34:7; Judg 19:23; 2 Sam 13:12) which would fit the reference to adultery. However, the word is singular and not likely to cover both actions that follow. The word is also used of the greedy act of Achan (Josh 7:15) which threatened Israel with destruction and the churlish behavior of Nabal (1 Sam 25:25) which threatened him and his household with destruction. The word is also used of foolish talk in Isa 9:17 (9:16 HT) and Isa 32:6. It is possible that this refers to a separate act, one that would have brought the death penalty from Nebuchadnezzar, i.e., the preaching of rebellion in conformity with the message of the false prophets in Jerusalem and other nations (cf. 27:9, 13). Hence it is possible that the translation should read: “This will happen because of their vile conduct. They have propagated rebellion. They have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives. They have spoken words that I did not command them to speak. They have spoken lies while claiming my authority.”

[29:23]  ²⁵ tn Heb “prophesying lies in my name.” For an explanation of this idiom see the study notes on 14:14 and 23:27.

[29:23]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[29:31]  ²⁷ tn Or “is giving you false assurances.”

[29:32]  ²⁸ tn Heb “Therefore.”

[29:32]  ²⁹ sn Compare the same charge against Hananiah in Jer 28:16 and see the note there. In this case, the false prophesy of Shemaiah is not given but it likely had the same tenor since he wants Jeremiah reprimanded for saying that the exile will be long and the people are to settle down in Babylon.

[37:19]  ³⁰ tn Heb “And where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land?’” The indirect quote has been used in the translation because of its simpler, more direct style.

[13:11]  ³¹ 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.

[13:11]  ³² tn Grk “upon,” but in a negative sense.

[13:11]  ³³ 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.

[13:11]  ³⁴ tn Grk “fell on.”

[13:11]  ³⁵ tn The noun χειραγωγός (ceiragwgo") is plural, so “people” is used rather than singular “someone.”

[19:15]  ³⁶ tn Grk “answered and said to them.” The expression, redundant in English, has been simplified to “replied.”

[19:15]  ³⁷ tn Grk “Jesus I know about.” Here ᾿Ιησοῦν (Ihsoun) is in emphatic position in Greek, but placing the object first is not normal in contemporary English style.

[19:15]  ³⁸ tn BDAG 380 s.v. ἐπίσταμαι 2 has “know, be acquainted with τινά…τὸν Παῦλον Ac 19:15.” Here the translation “be acquainted with” was used to differentiate from the previous phrase which has γινώσκω (ginwskw).

[19:15]  ³⁹ sn But who are you? This account shows how the power of Paul was so distinct that parallel claims to access that power were denied. In fact, such manipulation, by those who did not know Jesus, was judged (v. 16). The indirect way in which the exorcists made the appeal shows their distance from Jesus.

[19:16]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “in whom the evil spirit was.”

[19:16]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “the man in whom the evil spirit was, jumping on them.” The participle ἐφαλόμενος (efalomeno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. L&N 15.239 has “ἐφαλόμενος ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐπ᾿ αὐτούς ‘the man jumped on them’ Ac 19:16.”

[19:16]  ⁴² tn Grk “and beating them all into submission.” The participle κατακυριεύσας (katakurieusa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. According to W. Foerster, TDNT 3:1098, the word means “the exercise of dominion against someone, i.e., to one’s own advantage.” These exorcists were shown to be powerless in comparison to Jesus who was working through Paul.

[19:16]  ⁴³ tn BDAG 484 s.v. ἰσχύω 3 has “win out, prevail…κατά τινος over, against someone Ac 19:16.”

[19:17]  ⁴⁴ map For location see JP1 D2; JP2 D2; JP3 D2; JP4 D2.

[19:17]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “fell on.” BDAG 377 s.v. ἐπιπίπτω 2 has “φόβος ἐ. ἐπί τινα fear came upon someone…Ac 19:17.”

[19:17]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “exalted.”