Acts 16:18
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.
American King James Version (AKJV)
And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.
American Standard Version (ASV)
And this she did for many days. But Paul, being sore troubled, turned and said to the spirit, I charge thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And it came out that very hour.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
And this she did on a number of days. But Paul was greatly troubled and, turning, said to the spirit, I give you orders in the name of Jesus Christ, to come out of her. And it came out that very hour.
Webster's Revision
And this she did many days. But Paul being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.
World English Bible
She was doing this for many days. But Paul, becoming greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" It came out that very hour.
English Revised Version (ERV)
And this she did for many days. But Paul, being sore troubled, turned and said to the spirit, I charge thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And it came out that very hour.
Clarke's Acts 16:18 Bible Commentary
Paul, being grieved - Probably for the reasons assigned above.
Turned - to the spirit - Not to the woman; she was only the organ by which the spirit acted.
I command thee, in the name of Jesus - Jesus is the Savior; Satan is Abaddon and Apollyon, the destroyer. The sovereign Savior says to the destroyer, Come out of her; and he came out in the same hour. Every circumstance of this case proves it to have been a real possession. We have already had several opportunities of remarking the great accuracy of St. Luke in his accounts of demoniacs: his education as a physician gave him advantages to detect imposture of this kind where it subsisted; but he sees none in this case. He speaks of the spirit and the damsel as distinct persons. The damsel had a spirit of divination. Paul turned to the spirit, and said, I command Thee to come out of Her; and he came out in the same hour. Had not St. Luke considered this as a real case of diabolic possession, he has made use of the most improper language he could choose; language and forms of speech calculated to deceive all his readers, and cause them to believe a lie. But it is impossible that the holy apostle could do so, because he was a good man; and it is not likely he could be deceived by a parcel of charlatans, because he was a wise man; and it would be absurd to suppose that, while he was under the influence of the Holy Spirit, he could be imposed on by the cunning of even the devil himself.
Barnes's Acts 16:18 Bible Commentary
But Paul, being grieved - Being molested, troubled, offended. Paul was grieved, probably:
(1) Because her presence was troublesome to him;
(2) Because it might be said that he was in alliance with her, and that his pretensions were just like hers;
(3) Because what she did was for the sake of gain, and was a base imposition;
(4) Because her state was one of bondage and delusion, and it was proper to free her from this demoniacal possession; and,
(5) Because the system under which she was acting was a part of a scheme of delusion and imposture, which had spread over a large portion of the pagan world, and which was then holding it in bondage.
Throughout the Roman empire the inspiration of the priestesses of Apollo was believed in, and temples were everywhere reared to perpetuate and celebrate the delusion. Against this extensive system of imposture and fraud Christianity must oppose itself; and this was a favorable instance to expose the delusion, and to show the power of the Christian religion over all the arts and powers of imposture. The mere fact that in a very few instances - of which this was one - they spoke the truth, did not make it improper for Paul to interpose. That fact would only tend to perpetuate the delusion, and to make his interposition more proper and necessary. The expulsion of the evil spirit would also afford a signal proof of the fact that the apostles were really from God a far better proof than her noisy and troublesome proclamation of it would furnish.
In the name of Jesus Christ - Or, by the authority of Jesus Christ. See the notes on Acts 3:6.