the Week of Proper 21 / Ordinary 26
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Acts 13:10
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"You no-account, devil-riddled, son of a gun! You think you can ride in and scatter this gathering?
and said, "You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?
and said, "You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?
O you, who are full of false tricks and evil ways, a son of the Evil One, hating all righteousness, will you for ever be turning people from the right ways of the Lord?
said, O full of all deceit and all craft: son of [the] devil, enemy of all righteousness; wilt thou not cease perverting the right paths of [the] Lord?
and said, "O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord?
and said, "You son of the Devil, full of all deceit and all fraud, enemy of all righteousness! Won't you ever stop perverting the straight paths of the Lord?
and said, "Full of all deceit and all cunning, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
and fixing his eyes upon him, said, O full of all guile and all mischief, thou son of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
said, "You who are full of every kind of craftiness and unscrupulous cunning--you son of the Devil and foe to all that is right--will you never cease to misrepresent the straight paths of the Lord?
And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischiefe, thou child of the deuil, thou enemie of all righteousnesse, wilt thou not cease to peruert the right wayes of the Lord?
he said, O son of the devil, full of all guile and of all cunning, hostile to all righteousness, will you not stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?
and sayde: O thou childe of the deuell, full of all futtyltie and all disceatfulnesse, and enemye of all righteousnes, thou ceassest not to peruerte the straight wayes of ye LORDE.
Barnabas, Saul, and Doctor Know-It-All The congregation in Antioch was blessed with a number of prophet-preachers and teachers: Barnabas, Simon, nicknamed Niger, Lucius the Cyrenian, Manaen, an advisor to the ruler Herod, Saul. One day as they were worshiping God—they were also fasting as they waited for guidance—the Holy Spirit spoke: "Take Barnabas and Saul and commission them for the work I have called them to do." So they commissioned them. In that circle of intensity and obedience, of fasting and praying, they laid hands on their heads and sent them off. Sent off on their new assignment by the Holy Spirit, Barnabas and Saul went down to Seleucia and caught a ship for Cyprus. The first thing they did when they put in at Salamis was preach God's Word in the Jewish meeting places. They had John along to help out as needed. They traveled the length of the island, and at Paphos came upon a Jewish wizard who had worked himself into the confidence of the governor, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man not easily taken in by charlatans. The wizard's name was Bar-Jesus. He was as crooked as a corkscrew. The governor invited Barnabas and Saul in, wanting to hear God's Word firsthand from them. But Dr. Know-It-All (that's the wizard's name in plain English) stirred up a ruckus, trying to divert the governor from becoming a believer. But Saul (or Paul), full of the Holy Spirit and looking him straight in the eye, said, "You bag of wind, you parody of a devil—why, you stay up nights inventing schemes to cheat people out of God. But now you've come up against God himself, and your game is up. You're about to go blind—no sunlight for you for a good long stretch." He was plunged immediately into a shadowy mist and stumbled around, begging people to take his hand and show him the way. When the governor saw what happened, he became a believer, full of enthusiasm over what they were saying about the Master. From Paphos, Paul and company put out to sea, sailing on to Perga in Pamphylia. That's where John called it quits and went back to Jerusalem. From Perga the rest of them traveled on to Antioch in Pisidia. On the Sabbath they went to the meeting place and took their places. After the reading of the Scriptures—God's Law and the Prophets—the president of the meeting asked them, "Friends, do you have anything you want to say? A word of encouragement, perhaps?" Paul stood up, paused and took a deep breath, then said, "Fellow Israelites and friends of God, listen. God took a special interest in our ancestors, pulled our people who were beaten down in Egyptian exile to their feet, and led them out of there in grand style. He took good care of them for nearly forty years in that godforsaken wilderness and then, having wiped out seven enemies who stood in the way, gave them the land of Canaan for their very own—a span in all of about 450 years. "Up to the time of Samuel the prophet, God provided judges to lead them. But then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul, son of Kish, out of the tribe of Benjamin. After Saul had ruled forty years, God removed him from office and put King David in his place, with this commendation: ‘I've searched the land and found this David, son of Jesse. He's a man whose heart beats to my heart, a man who will do what I tell him.' "From out of David's descendants God produced a Savior for Israel, Jesus, exactly as he promised—but only after John had thoroughly alerted the people to his arrival by preparing them for a total life-change. As John was finishing up his work, he said, ‘Did you think I was the One? No, I'm not the One. But the One you've been waiting for all these years is just around the corner, about to appear. And I'm about to disappear.' "Dear brothers and sisters, children of Abraham, and friends of God, this message of salvation has been precisely targeted to you. The citizens and rulers in Jerusalem didn't recognize who he was and condemned him to death. They couldn't find a good reason, but demanded that Pilate execute him anyway. They did just what the prophets said they would do, but had no idea they were following to the letter the script of the prophets, even though those same prophets are read every Sabbath in their meeting places. "After they had done everything the prophets said they would do, they took him down from the cross and buried him. And then God raised him from death. There is no disputing that—he appeared over and over again many times and places to those who had known him well in the Galilean years, and these same people continue to give witness that he is alive. "And we're here today bringing you good news: the Message that what God promised the fathers has come true for the children—for us! He raised Jesus, exactly as described in the second Psalm: My Son! My very own Son! Today I celebrate you! "When he raised him from the dead, he did it for good—no going back to that rot and decay for him. That's why Isaiah said, ‘I'll give to all of you David's guaranteed blessings.' So also the psalmist's prayer: ‘You'll never let your Holy One see death's rot and decay.' "David, of course, having completed the work God set out for him, has been in the grave, dust and ashes, a long time now. But the One God raised up—no dust and ashes for him! I want you to know, my very dear friends, that it is on account of this resurrected Jesus that the forgiveness of your sins can be promised. He accomplishes, in those who believe, everything that the Law of Moses could never make good on. But everyone who believes in this raised-up Jesus is declared good and right and whole before God. "Don't take this lightly. You don't want the prophet's sermon to describe you: Watch out, cynics; Look hard—watch your world fall to pieces. I'm doing something right before your eyes That you won't believe, though it's staring you in the face." When the service was over, Paul and Barnabas were invited back to preach again the next Sabbath. As the meeting broke up, a good many Jews and converts to Judaism went along with Paul and Barnabas, who urged them in long conversations to stick with what they'd started, this living in and by God's grace. When the next Sabbath came around, practically the whole city showed up to hear the Word of God. Some of the Jews, seeing the crowds, went wild with jealousy and tore into Paul, contradicting everything he was saying, making an ugly scene. But Paul and Barnabas didn't back down. Standing their ground they said, "It was required that God's Word be spoken first of all to you, the Jews. But seeing that you want no part of it—you've made it quite clear that you have no taste or inclination for eternal life—the door is open to all the outsiders. And we're on our way through it, following orders, doing what God commanded when he said, I've set you up as light to all nations. You'll proclaim salvation to the four winds and seven seas!" When the non-Jewish outsiders heard this, they could hardly believe their good fortune. All who were marked out for real life put their trust in God—they honored God's Word by receiving that life. And this Message of salvation spread like wildfire all through the region. Some of the Jews convinced the most respected women and leading men of the town that their precious way of life was about to be destroyed. Alarmed, they turned on Paul and Barnabas and forced them to leave. Paul and Barnabas shrugged their shoulders and went on to the next town, Iconium, brimming with joy and the Holy Spirit, two happy disciples.
and said, "You [Elymas] who are full of every [kind of] deceit, and every [kind of] fraud, you son of the devil, enemy of everything that is right and good, will you never stop perverting the straight paths of the Lord?
and said, O full of all guile and all villany, thou son of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
and said, "You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?
and sayde: O full of all sutteltie and disseytfulnes the chylde of the devyll and ye enemye of all righteousnes thou ceasest not to pervert the strayght wayes of the Lorde.
and said, O full of all guile and all villany, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
And said, O full of all subtilty, and all mischief, [thou] child of the devil, [thou] enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
said, `O full of all guile, and all profligacy, son of a devil, enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease perverting the right ways of the Lord?
and said, "You son of the devil! You are an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of evil tricks and lies, always trying to change the Lord's truths into lies.
and said, "You who are full of all deceit and all wrongdoing, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness—will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?
and said, "O child of the devil and enemy of all righteousness! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the straight ways of the Lord?
and said, "You son of the devil! You are a liar, a crook, and an enemy of everything that is right. When will you stop speaking against the true ways of the Lord?
"You son of Satan, full of fraud and evil! You enemy of everything good! Won't you ever stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?
and said, "You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?
And sayde, O full of all subtiltie and all mischiefe, the childe of the deuill, and enemie of all righteousnesse, wilt thou not cease to peruert the straight waies of the Lord?
And said, O man full of every kind of subtlety and of all evil things, you son of the devil and enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to pervert the right ways of the LORD?
and said, "Full of all deceit and all cunning, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
and said, "You are full of every form of deception and trickery, you son of the devil, you enemy of all that is right! You will never stop perverting the straight ways of the Lord, will you?Matthew 13:38; John 8:44; 1 John 3:8;">[xr]
and said, O full of all deceits and all wickednesses, thou son of the devil, and adversary of all righteousness, ceasest thou not to pervert the right ways of the Lord ?
and said: O thou full of all subtilties, and all mischiefs, thou child of the calumniator, and enemy of all righteousness; wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
Then he said, "You son of the devil, full of every sort of deceit and fraud, and enemy of all that is good! Will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord?
Then Saul said, "You false preacher and trouble-maker! You son of the devil! You hate what is right! Will you always be turning people from the right ways of the Lord?
and said, O full of all guile and all villany, thou son of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
and said, "You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?
Said - O full of all guile, and all recklessness! Son of an adversary! Enemy of all righteousness! - Wilt thou not cease to pervert the straight ways of the Lord?
Said: O full of all guile and of all deceit, child of the devil, enemy of all justice, thou ceases not to pervert the right ways of the Lord.
And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
and said, "O you who are full of all deceit and of all unscrupulousness, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness! Will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord!
And sayde: O full of all subtiltie and all mischiefe, thou chylde of the deuyll, thou enemie of all righteousnesse, wylt thou not cease to peruert the wayes of the Lorde?
and said, "You son of the devil, full of lies and all kinds of evil tricks! You are an enemy of everything that is right. Will you never stop trying to change the Lord's truths into lies?
and said, "You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not stop making crooked the straight ways of the Lord?
and said, "You son of the Devil! You are the enemy of everything that is good. You are full of all kinds of evil tricks, and you always keep trying to turn the Lord's truths into lies!
thou ful of al gile, and al falsnesse, thou sone of the deuel, thou enemye of al riytwisnesse, thou leeuest not to turne vpsodoun the riytful weies of the Lord.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
O full: Acts 8:20-23, Ecclesiastes 9:3, Matthew 3:7, Matthew 15:19, Matthew 23:25-33, Luke 11:39, 2 Corinthians 11:3
thou child: Genesis 3:15, Matthew 13:38, John 8:44, 1 John 3:8
wilt: Acts 20:30, Jeremiah 23:36, Matthew 23:13, Luke 11:52, Galatians 1:7
the right: Acts 18:25, Acts 18:26, Genesis 18:19, 2 Chronicles 17:6, Hosea 14:9, John 1:23
Reciprocal: Numbers 22:32 - thy way 1 Kings 22:28 - If thou return 2 Chronicles 18:27 - If Job 38:15 - from Psalms 25:9 - his way Psalms 51:13 - ways Psalms 67:2 - thy way Proverbs 4:11 - led Proverbs 24:2 - General Jeremiah 23:26 - How Matthew 23:15 - ye make Matthew 26:4 - by Luke 3:7 - O generation Luke 6:42 - hypocrite Luke 13:15 - Thou hypocrite John 6:70 - and one Acts 7:55 - full 2 Corinthians 10:6 - in 2 Corinthians 11:15 - his 2 Thessalonians 2:9 - is 2 Timothy 2:14 - the subverting James 3:15 - devilish 2 Peter 2:2 - ways 2 Peter 2:15 - forsaken 1 John 3:10 - and
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And said, O full of all subtlety and all mischief,.... Which may have regard both to his general character as a sorcerer, and a false prophet; in acting up to which he used much deceit and cunning among the people, and did much mischief to them; to which there was a promptness and readiness in him, as the word used signifies; and also to the sophistry he used, and the mischief he endeavoured to do in seeking to turn the deputy from the faith. The minds of carnal men are vain and empty, and destitute of all that is good, and full of all that is evil: their character is,
filled with all unrighteousness, Romans 1:29. They have many of them a great deal of wit, but it is wicked wit, and they employ it in an evil and mischievous way, both to the hurt of themselves and others; they are like the old serpent, whose seed they are, who was more subtle than any beast of the field; they are wiser in their generation than the children of light; they are wise to do evil, though they have no knowledge of what is spiritually good; they are able to form very cunning and artful schemes, to commit sin, and do mischief; for all their craft and subtlety are used in such a way; nor can they sleep, or be easy in their minds, unless they are doing mischief.
Thou child of the devil; perhaps alluding to his name, that instead of Bar-Jesus, the son of a saviour, he should have been called Bar-Satan, the son of Satan, or Ben-Belial, a son of Belial. The phrase בכור שטן, "the firstborn of Satan", is used by the Jews, sometimes in a good sense, for one that is acute, sharp, and subtle, and that abides by his doctrine, and does his work s: but here a child of the devil is used in an ill sense, for being like him in wicked cunning and subtlety; in like sense as the other phrase was used by Polycarp, whom Marcion the heretic met, and said unto him, know us; to whom Polycarp replied, I know thee, the firstborn of Satan t: thou enemy of all righteousness; a wicked man is an enemy to all righteousness in every branch of it, in whatsoever light it may be considered: he is an enemy, yea, enmity itself against God the righteous being, and who is the fountain of all righteousness; he is an enemy to Jesus Christ the righteous, who is the Lord our righteousness; he is an enemy to that righteousness which he has wrought out; he is an enemy to all righteous persons, and hates their holy and righteous conversation; he is an enemy to the law, and cannot be subject to it, which is the rule of righteousness; and he is an enemy to the Gospel, which reveals the righteousness of God from faith to faith, and teaches men to live soberly, righteously, and godly; in short he is an enemy to all righteousness, moral and evangelical.
Wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? the doctrines and ordinances of Christ, in which he has directed his people to walk; which this man, through his sophistry and wickedness, in which he was industrious and indefatigable, endeavoured to render intricate and obscure, when they were plain, and straight, and easy. "For the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them", Hosea 14:9 they are right, and it is becoming such to walk in them; they are plain to them that have a true knowledge of them, even wayfaring men, though fools shall not err in them; they are entirely consistent with the righteousness and holiness of God, and lead right on to eternal glory and happiness. Christ himself is the true way to eternal life, which is plainly pointed, and clearly directed to in the word of God, and by the ministers of the Gospel, who show unto men the way of salvation; the path of truth is fully described, and such things said of it as are very inviting to walk in it; and good men cannot but choose and delight to walk in it, when led into it by the Spirit of truth: Wisdom's ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths of peace; even all the paths of duty and worship, the ways of righteousness and holiness; but wicked men seek to pervert these ways, to give a false account of them, to set them in a wrong light, and represent them not only as rough and troublesome, but as dangerous, and leading to ruin; and do all they can to hinder persons from entering into them, and to cause those to stumble who are in them; nor will they cease acting this wicked part; they are continually at work to make the ways of Christ odious, to set people against them, to discourage from walking in them by their opposition to them, the false glosses they put upon them, and by their scoffs and jeers at those that walk in them, and by their violent persecutions of them, when it is in their power.
s T. Hieros. Yebamot, fol. 3. 1. & T. Rab. Yebamot, fol. 16, 1. & Juchasin, fol. 14. 1. & 55. 1. t Irenaeus adv. Haeres. l. 3. c. 3.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
O full of all subtilty and all mischief - The word “subtilty” denotes “deceit and fraud,” and implies that he was practicing an imposition, and that he knew it. The word rendered “mischief” ῥᾳδιουργίας radiourgias denotes properly “facility of acting,” and then “sleight of hand; sly;, cunning arts, by which one imposes on another, and deceives him with a fraudulent intention.” It is not used elsewhere in the New Testament. The art of Elymas consisted probably in sleight of hand, legerdemain, or trick, aided by skill in the abstruse sciences, by which the ignorant might be easily imposed on. See the notes on Acts 8:9.
Child of the devil - Under his influence; practicing his arts; promoting his designs by deceit and imposture, so that he may be called your father. See the notes on John 8:44. Satan is represented here as the author of deceit and the father of lies.
Enemy of all righteousness - Practicing deceit and iniquity, and thus opposed to righteousness and honesty. A man who lives by wickedness will, of course, be the foe of every form of integrity. A man who lives by fraud will be opposed to the truth; a panderer to the vices of people will hate the rules of chastity and purity; a manufacturer or vendor of ardent spirits will be the enemy of temperance societies.
Wilt thou not cease to pervert - In what way he had opposed Paul and Barnabas is not known. It may have been either by misrepresenting their doctrines, or by representing them as apostate Jews thus retarding or hindering the progress of the gospel. The expression “wilt thou not cease.” implies that he had been engaged sedulously in doing this, probably from the commencement of their work in the city.
The right ways of the Lord - The straight paths or doctrines of the Christian religion, in opposition to the crooked and perverse arts of deceivers and impostors. Straight paths denote “integrity, sincerity, truth,” Jeremiah 31:9; Hebrews 12:13; compare Isaiah 40:3-4; Isaiah 42:16; Luke 3:5. Crooked ways denote “the ways of the sinner, the deceiver, the impostor,” Deuteronomy 32:5; Psalms 125:1-5; Proverbs 2:15; Isaiah 59:8; Philippians 2:15.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Acts 13:10. O full of all subtilty — δολου, Deceit, pretending to supernatural powers without possessing any, and having only cunning and deceit as their substitutes.
And-mischief — ραδιουργιας, from ραδιος, easy, and εργον, a work; one who is ready at his work; a word which excellently well defines a juggler, one who is expert at sleight of hand; though it is often employed to signify an abandoned and accomplished villain.
Child of the devil — υιε διαβολου, Son of the devil, possessing his nature; filled with his cunning; and, in consequence, practising deceit.
Enemy of all righteousness — εχθρεπασης δικαιοσυνης; Opposed in thy heart to all that is just, true, and good.
Wilt thou not cease to pervert, c.] ου παυση διαστρεφων. Wilt thou not cease perverting? He had probably laboured in this bad work from the beginning of Paul's ministry in the place and God in his mercy had borne with him; and no doubt the apostle had warned him, for thus much seems implied in the reproof. What a terrible character is given of this bad man! He no doubt passed among the people for what we call a clever fellow; and he was so clever as to hide himself under a pretty dense mask; but God, who searches the heart, plucked it off, and tells him, and those who were perverted by him, what an accomplished deceiver and knave he was.
The right ways of the Lord — τας οδους κυριου τας ευθειας, The ways of the Lord, the straight ways. This saying is very emphatical. The ways of Elymas were crooked and perverse; the ways of the Lord, the doctrine taught by him, plain and straight. What is here said of the conduct and teaching of Elymas, for he was a false prophet, is true of all false doctrine: it is complex, devious, and tortuous: while the doctrine of God is simple, plain, and straight; directing in the way, the sure way, that leads to present peace and everlasting happiness. From the phraseology which the apostle employs in this terrible address to Elymas, we may learn, as well as from his name Bar-Jesus, that he was by birth and education a Jew. On this account he was the greater enemy to Christianity; and on this same account he was the less excusable.
