The man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
Parallel Translations
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The man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
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And the man in who the evyll sprete was ranne on the and overcame the and prevayled agaynst them so that they fledde out of that housse naked and wounded.
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And the man in whome the euil spirit was, ranne on them, and ouercame them, and preuailed against them, so that they fledde out of that house, naked, and wounded.
Cross-references (4)
Passages linked to Acts 19:16 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Mark 5:3-4 He lived in the tombs. Nobody could bind him any more, not even with chains, because he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him, and the fetters broken in pieces. Nobody had the strength to tame him.
- Luke 8:29 For Jesus was commanding the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For the unclean spirit had often seized the man. He was kept under guard, and bound with chains and fetters. Breaking the bonds apart, he was driven by the demon into the desert.
- Mark 5:15 They came to Jesus, and saw him who had been possessed by demons sitting, clothed, and in his right mind, even him who had the legion; and they were afraid.
- Luke 8:35 People went out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 16. The man running upon them. That is attributed…
16. The man running upon them. That is attributed to the man which the devil did by him. For he had not been able to do such an act of himself, as to put to flight seven strong young men being wounded and naked. And to set down for a certainty how the devil doth dwell in men, we cannot, save only that there may be a contrariety between the Spirit of God and the spirit of Satan. For as Paul teacheth that we be the temples of God, because the Spirit of God dwelleth in us; so he saith again that Satan worketh effectually in all unbelievers. Notwithstanding, we must know that Luke speaketh in this place of a particular kind of dwelling; to wit, when Satan hath the bridle so much that he doth possess the whole man.
Furthermore, God meant to show such a token, that he might declare that his power is not included in the sound of the voice, and that it is not lawful superstitiously to abuse the name of his Son. And when he suffereth Satan to deceive us, let us know that we be more sharply punished than if he should wound us in the flesh. For the false show and color of miracles is an horrible enchantment to bewitch and besot the unbelievers, that they may be drowned in deeper darkness, because they refused the light of God.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain He prevailed against them, though they strove never so…
He prevailed against them, though they strove never so much.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 16 And the man in whom the evil spirit…
16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
Ver. 16. So that they fled out, &c.] Non omnia possumus omnes. Albeit the eagle in the fable did bear away a lamb in her talons with full flight, yet a raven endeavouring to do the like was held entangled, and fettered in the fleece. Every exorcist must not think to do as Paul did, nor every preacher as Latimer did. He had my fiddle and my stick, said he of one that preached his sermons, but wanted my resin.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Leaped on them, &c.; by the power of the…
Leaped on them, &c.; by the power of the evil spirit, which by the permission of God did act in him, Mat 8:28; Mar 5:4; Luk 8:29. Satan retains still his natural power, though he hath wholly lost his moral or spiritual power unto any good: and that his violence proceeded no further, is to be ascribed only to the bounds which God had set him, which he, being in chains, could not exceed or go beyond; not for his want of malice, but power.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And many that believed,.... In Jesus Christ, whose name…
And many that believed,.... In Jesus Christ, whose name was spoken of with great respect, and which spread fear in every person:
came; to the apostle:
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and confessed; their sins; and acknowledged what a wicked life they had led:
and showed their deeds; their former evil deeds, which they had been guilty of; one copy reads, "their sins"; see Mat 3:6.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 16. And the man in whom the evil…
Verse 16. And the man in whom the evil spirit was, c.] Thus we find that one man was more powerful than these seven brothers so that he stripped them of their upper garments, and beat and wounded the whole! Was not this a proof that he derived his strength from the evil spirit that dwelt in him?
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Leaped on them - Several such instances are recorded…
Leaped on them - Several such instances are recorded of the extraordinary power and rage of those who were possessed with evil spirits, Mar 5:3; Mar 9:29; Luk 9:42.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain And the man in whom the evil spirit was--Mark…
And the man in whom the evil spirit was--Mark the clear line of demarcation here between "the evil spirit which answered and said" and "the man in whom the evil spirit was." The reality of such possessions could not be more clearly expressed.
leaped on them . . . so that they fled . . . naked and wounded--This was so appalling a testimony at once against those profane impostors and in favor of Paul and the Master whom he preached, that we wonder not that it spread to "all the Jews and Greeks at Ephesus, that fear fell on them," and that "the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 16. Leaped on them—With such demoniac force upon the…
16. Leaped on them—With such demoniac force upon the seven that their loose oriental garments are torn off, and they rush from the house naked and wounded, and glad to save their lives. Yet a well-sustained reading substitutes both for them; indicating that but two of the seven were involved.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 16. And the man in whom the evil spirit…
16. And the man in whom the evil spirit was leapt on them] With that power, more than natural, so often displayed by madmen.
and overcame them] Here we have a singular variation from the texts of the oldest MSS. These read, both of them, a reading which seems to preserve for us the information that only two of the seven sons were present on this occasion. This reading is not likely to have been substituted for the more simple one, but it is easy to see how the simpler pronoun would come in after the mention of the seven, and when there was in the story only this hint that five of them were not there. It is no objection to the acceptance of this old reading, that other words in the verse referring to these brethren are plural, and not dual. Plural verbs and adjectives are not unfrequently used of dual subjects. The verb is more closely translated in the Rev. Ver. mastered.
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and prevailed, &c.] He tare their clothes to shreds, and left marks of the fierce tearing on their bodies.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (16) And the man in whom the evil spirit…
(16) And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them.—The demoniacal possession brought with it, as in the case of the Gadarene, the preternatural strength of frenzy, and the seven impostors (men of that class being commonly more or less cowards) fled in dismay before the violent paroxysms of the man’s passionate rage.
Naked and wounded.—The first word does not necessarily imply more than that the outer garment, or cloak, was torn off from them, and that they were left with nothing but the short tunic. (See Notes on Mat_5:40; Joh_21:7.) It may be noted, as an indication of truthfulness, that the narrative stops here. A writer inventing miracles would no doubt have crowned the story by representing the man who baffled the impostors as healed by the power of the Apostle.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Mastered both of them for overcame them, A.V. and…
Mastered both of them for overcame them, A.V. and T.R.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain 16. “And the man in whom the evil spirit…
16. “And the man in whom the evil spirit was, leaping on them and prevailing against them both, overcame them, so that they fled naked and wounded from the house.” In this notable way the Holy Spirit utilized these unbelieving Jewish exorcists to glorify the Lord Jesus. God has in all ages permitted the devil to demonstrate his personality refutatory of that subtle infidelity which denies the existence of a personal devil, and then soon musters the audacity to deny the existence of a personal God. Here we see a confirmation of the great Bible truth that this world is thronged by disembodied spirits, both angelic and demoniacal. These excarnate spirits see much farther into the spirit world around us than we who dwell in houses of clay. Here we have a confirmation that while Jehovah, the excarnate Christ, cast out the demons in the old dispensation, since His incarnation this work is done by the personal Jesus, to whom the devils are all subject, and even to His ambassadors in His name.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain See notes on verse 13
See notes on verse 13
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain overcame The sons of Sceva sought to imitate a…
overcame The sons of Sceva sought to imitate a power to which they were strangers, only to their own confusion. This striking witness from another side caused fear to fall on all.
prevailed Luk 11:21; Luk 11:22; 1Jn 4:4.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.