Acts 19:13

Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists The best MSS. have " And certain also, &c." In addition to the real, though ignorant, faith of the converts alluded to in Acts 19:12, some impostors, who had no faith, tried to win more credit for their jugglery by employing the names of Paul and Jesus. These were certain Jews who went about from place to place, professing by charms and spells to cure diseases. The A.V. "vagabond" conveys in modern language a moral censure, which probably these men well deserved, but which is not in the Greek. The Rev. Ver.has adopted strolling, which gives the sense of the original. We read in Josephus (Ant. viii. 2, 5) that "God gave Solomon skill against demons for the help and cure of men. And he arranged certain incantations whereby diseases are assuaged, and left behind him forms of exorcism, wherewith they so put to flight the overpowered evil spirits that they never return. And this method of curing is very prevalent among us up to the present time." The Jews at Ephesus were professors of this pretended art of healing.

took upon them to call[Better, to name] over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus From an early date the traditional literature of the Jews ascribed great effects to the utterance of the incommunicable divine name. By means of this (they say) it was that Moses slew the Egyptian, and Elisha brought destruction on the mocking children "by the name of Jehovah." We can understand therefore, if the fame of St Paul were become known, and the name of Jesus connected with his preaching and with the powers vouchsafed, how these men would make a pretence to the possession of the same secrets by which, as they would declare, the cures were wrought.

saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth The oldest texts give the singular, I adjure, and this no doubt is correct, for the words would be uttered only by the one person, who was performing the act of exorcism. It is easy to see how the plural form of the first part of the verse suggested the change.