Translation commentary on Acts 16:18

Became so upset may also mean “became annoyed,” a verb which appears only here and in 4.2. This is the first instance of exorcism in the name of Jesus Christ in the book of Acts, but there is no basic difference between this and the healing in the name of Jesus in the earlier chapters.

Note that in this verse Paul addresses the spirit, not the girl. However, in some languages one must say “said to the spirit that was in the girl.” Otherwise the connection between the spirit and the girl may not be evident.

The use of the phrase in the name of Jesus Christ may be extremely difficult to render in a comprehensible manner. In many instances one can employ “by speaking the name of Jesus Christ.” However, this may be relatively meaningless in some languages and therefore one may use “by the power of Jesus Christ” or “by the authority of Jesus Christ.” In still other instances one may combine both of these concepts—for example, “by the power which is in the name of Jesus Christ.”

The literal expression “that very hour” (Revised Standard Version) is much more naturally expressed in English by that very moment (Phillips “immediately”; Jerusalem Bible “then and there”).

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Acts 16:18

16:18a

She continued this for many days: This indicates that the girl continued shouting the saying in 16:17 whenever Paul and the others went to the river to worship. For example:

She did this for many days (Good News Translation)

16:18b

Eventually Paul grew so aggravated: Paul was disturbed that the evil spirit made the girl say those things. The message was misleading (see second note on 16:17b). He was probably also unhappy about the girl being controlled by an evil spirit. Other ways to translate this clause are:

Paul became very disturbed ⌊by this misleading message⌋
-or-
Paul became so upset (Good News Translation)
-or-
This bothered Paul (New Century Version)

he turned and said to the spirit: Paul turned toward the girl and spoke to her, but his words were for the evil spirit. Your translation should not indicate that he saw the spirit. For example:

turned round and spoke to the spirit in her (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

the spirit: This is the same spirit as in 16:16.

16:18c

In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her: The phrase In the name of Jesus Christ indicates that Jesus Christ had authorized Paul to command evil spirits to leave. For example:

By the power of Jesus Christ, I command you to come out of her! (New Century Version)
-or-
By the authority that Jesus Christ gave to me, I command you to leave her!
-or-
Jesus Christ has authorized me to command you to leave her!

This phrase is not a magic formula. Your translation should clearly refer to the authority of Jesus Christ.

Christ: The word Christ is a title for Jesus. It means “the anointed one.” The Jews used it to refer to the special person God promised to send. See how you translated this word in 15:26.

16:18d

at that very moment: This phrase in Greek is literally “in the same hour.” It is a Greek idiom for “immediately.” For example:

instantly (New Living Translation (2004))

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