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Godbey's Commentary on the New Testament

Acts 16:19-24

After the demon has evacuated the damsel, she has no more power to tell fortunes and practice divination than any other person. Consequently, her owners, seeing that they can get no more money for her fortune-telling, fly with an awful rage against Paul, arouse the rabble, stirring up their European prejudices against these Asiatic intruders, exciting to their very utmost Gentile prejudices against these impudent and meddlesome Jews, accusing them of infringing upon their rights and privileges as Roman citizens. They so manipulate the uncouth rabble as to raise a general uproar against the apostles, maneuvering to deceive the Roman magistrates and precipitate them into a premature and illegal verdict, even foregoing the very form of a trial, so that they simply command the lictors to strip and beat them with their cruel rods pursuant to the Roman custom.

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See also Acts 16:19-24 in other biblical comments:

  • Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

    Verse Acts 16:19. _WHEN HER MASTERS SAW_] It appears she was maintained by some men, who received a certain pay from every person whose _fortune she told_, or to whom she made any _discovery_ of _stol...

  • Albert Barnes' Bible Commentary

    THE HOPE OF THEIR GAINS WAS GONE - It was this that troubled and enraged them. Instead of regarding the act as proof of divine power, they were intent only on their profits. Their indignation furnishe...

  • Annotated Bible by A.C. Gaebelein

    CHAPTER 16 _ 1. In Derbe and Lystra again. Timotheus (Acts 16:1)._ 2. The Preaching forbidden in Asia (Acts 16:6). 3. The Vision of the Man from Macedonia (Acts 16:9). 4. The Gospel in Europe ...

  • Arthur Peake's Commentary on the Bible

    IMPRISONMENT OF PAUL AND SILAS. THE PRISON BROKEN. The rulers (Acts 16:19) are the heads of police; they are afterwards called _Strategi, which_ answers to the Roman _Prœ tores._ Philippi was a colony...

  • Barclay Daily Study Bible (NT)

    A SON IN THE FAITH (Acts 16:1-5)...

  • Barclay Daily Study Bible (NT)

    When we were on our way to the place of prayer.. it happened that a certain slave-girl who had a spirit which made her able to give oracles met us. By her soothsaying she provided much gain for her ow...

  • Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes

    WAS GONE. came out. Same word as in Acts 16:18. Perhaps the demon rent and tore her in coming out, as in Mark 9:26; Luke 9:42. CAUGHT. laid hold on. DREW. dragged. Greek. _helkuo._ Compare...

  • Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

    _that the hope of their gains was gone_ The verb is exactly the same as in the last clause of the previous verse. When the evil spirit _came out_, there _came out_also the chance of more gain. What th...

  • Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges Commentary

    PREACHING ON THE SABBATH AT PHILIPPI. CONVERSION AND BAPTISM OF LYDIA. A SPIRIT OF DIVINATION CAST OUT BY ST PAUL. ANGER OF THOSE WHO MADE GAIN THEREBY. PAUL AND SILAS ARE SEIZED, BROUGHT BEFORE THE A...

  • Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges Commentary

    ὍΤΙ ἘΞΗ͂ΛΘΕΝ Ἡ ἘΛΠῚΣ ΤΗ͂Σ ἘΡΓΑΣΊΑΣ ΑΥ̓ΤΩ͂Ν, _that the hope of their gain was gone_. The verb ἐξῆλθεν is the same word which was used of the spirit coming out of the damsel. We cannot produce the same...

  • Charles Box Commentaries

    _THE CONVERSION OF THE JAILER IN PHILIPPI ACTS 16:16-40:_ At a place of prayer in Philippi Paul and Silas came across a girl that had a spirit of divination. Her masters made a lot of money from her p...

  • Charles Rose Commentaries

    ΊΔΌΝΤΕΣ _aor. act. part. (temp.) от_ ΌΡΆΩ (G3708) видеть, ΚΎΡΙΟΙ _nom. pl._ от ΚΎΡΙΟΣ (G2962) господин, владелец. Вероятно, владельцами девушки были ветераны Рима, римские граждане, ушедшие с военной...

  • Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

    UNTO THE RULERS,— The word στρατηγοι, made use of in the 20th verse, denotes with the Greeks _Roman_ praetors; and if it was applied to the _Duumviri,_ who were the governors of colonies, it was by wa...

  • College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

    AT PHILLIPPI. Acts 16:12-40 a. A description of Philippi. Acts 16:12. Acts 16:12 and from thence to Philippi, which is a city of Macedonia, the first of the district, a Roman colony: and we were in...

  • Combined Bible Commentary

    19-21. (19) "_Then her masters, seeing that the hope of their gain was gone, seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market-place to the rulers,_ (20) _and leading him forward to the magistrat...

  • Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

    And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, AND WHEN HER MASTERS SAW THAT THE HOPE OF THEIR GAIN...

  • Concordant Commentary on the New Testament by A. E. Knoch

    19 This is the first occasion in which the evangel comes into conflict with the religion of the nations and with the spirit powers back of it. Hitherto the Jews and Judaism opposed the evangel. At Lys...

  • Darby's translation notes (1890)

    16:19 gone, (b-12) Or 'gone out,' referring to the spirit....

  • Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible

    ST. PAUL IN EUROPE 1. Timotheus] was probably of Lystra, not Derbe. His mother Eunice was perhaps a widow, and she, together with his grandmother Lois, educated the lad in the religion of Israel, tho...

  • Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible

    Journey into Europe, Philippi. 6. RV 'And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden of the Holy Ghost to speak the word in Asia.' At Lystra (Acts 16:6) they received a...

  • EasyEnglish Bible Commentaries

    GOOD NEWS FOR EVERYONE ACTS _MARION ADAMS_ CHAPTER 16 TIMOTHY WORKS WITH PAUL AND SILAS, 16:1-5 V1 Paul went to Derbe and then he went to Lystra. A *Christian called Timothy lived there. Timothy...

  • Ellicott's Commentary On The Whole Bible

    THAT THE HOPE OF THEIR GAINS WAS GONE. — Better, _of their occupation._ The word for “gains” is the same as that translated “gain” and “craft” in Acts 19:24. There is something like a prophetic signif...

  • Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

    ὅτι ἐξ. ἡ ἐλπὶς κ. τ. λ.: “The most sensitive part of ‘civilised' man is his pocket,” Ramsay, _St. Paul_, p. 237, and we can see how bitter was the hostility excited both here and at Ephesus when the...

  • Frederick Brotherton Meyer's Commentary

    WELCOMED; ATTESTED; IMPRISONED Acts 16:14 This was an epoch-making moment, but how quietly it is recorded. There was no heralding of the gospel which was to transform Europe. The need for it was uns...

  • G. Campbell Morgan's Exposition on the Whole Bible

    Here begins the account of Pads second journey. At Lystra he found Timothy. His action in the circumcision of Timothy is startling in view of the recent decision of the council. Some charge him with i...

  • Gary Hampton Commentaries

    Paul and Silas Imprisoned Luke reported that the group went for prayer, possibly daily. A slave girl who was demon possessed followed them crying out, "These men are the servants of the Most High God,...

  • Geneva Study Bible Commentary

    (11) And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew [them] into the marketplace unto the rulers, (11) Covetousness of evil gain and of profit is...

  • Hawker's Poor man's commentary

    And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, (20) And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These...

  • Introductory Lectures - Commentary by William Kelly

    We now enter on the missionary journeys, as they are called, of the apostle Paul. The work, under the Spirit, opens to the glory of the Lord. Not merely are Gentiles met in grace and brought into the...

  • John Calvin's Bible Commentary

    − 19._But when her masters. _The same devil who of late did flatter Paul by the mouth of the maid, doth now drive her masters into fury, that they may put him to death; so that, having changed his coa...

  • John Darby's Synopsis

    There is perhaps no example of this more remarkable than that which Paul does with regard to Timothy. He uses circumcision in all liberty to set aside Jewish prejudice. It is very doubtful whether, ac...

  • John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

    AND WHEN HER MASTERS SAW,.... As they might by her sedateness and composure; she not being wild and frantic, and not having such motions and agitations she had whilst under the possession of the evil...

  • John Trapp Complete Commentary

    And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew _them_ into the marketplace unto the rulers, Ver. 19. _Their gains were gone_] εξηλθεν, was gone f...

  • Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

    _And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone_ Was vanished with the evil spirit that was cast out. See here of how much evil the love of money is the root! If the preaching of the g...

  • Justin Edwards' Family Bible New Testament (1851)

    HOPE OF THEIR GAINS; the hope of making any more money in that wicked way. Under the influence of Satan, persons may pretend to foretell future events, and to exercise supernatural power; but when Chr...

  • Kretzmann's Popular Commentary of the Bible

    AND WHEN HER MASTERS SAW THAT THE HOPE OF THEIR GAINS WAS GONE, THEY CAUGHT PAUL AND SILAS, AND DREW THEM INTO THE MARKETPLACE UNTO THE RULERS,...

  • Kretzmann's Popular Commentary of the Bible

    Paul and Silas imprisoned:...

  • Leslie M. Grant's Commentary on the Bible

    Coming to Derbe and Lystra, where he and Barnabas had been persecuted before, Paul was favorably impressed with the young man, Timothy, who had evidently been converted through Paul on his first visit...

  • Manly Luscombe Commentary on New Testament

    BUT WHEN HER MASTERS SAW THAT THEIR HOPE OF PROFIT WAS GONE, THEY SEIZED PAUL AND SILAS AND DRAGGED _THEM_ INTO THE MARKETPLACE TO THE AUTHORITIES. 1. The owners of this slave girl saw their gravy tr...

  • Marginal Notes in the King James Version (1611)

    MARKETPLACE: Or, court...

  • Mark Dunagan Commentaries

    "But when her masters saw that the hope of their gain was gone, they laid hold on Paul and Silas, and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers"Saw that the hope of their gain was gone" Whic...

  • Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible

    16-24 Satan, though the father of lies, will declare the most important truths, when he can thereby serve his purposes. But much mischief is done to the real servants of Christ, by unholy and false p...

  • Matthew Poole's Concise Commentary On The Bible

    HER MASTERS; for she was a servant, or slave; and being very advantageous, might have many that had a share in her. THEIR GAINS; the profit could not but be considerable, for they were to come with _t...

  • McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries

    19-21. (19) "_ Then her masters, seeing that the hope of their gain was gone, seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market-place to the rulers,_ (20) _and leading him forward to the magistra...

  • Patchworkid's Personal Study Bible Notes

    Acts 16:19 But G1161 her G846 masters G2962 saw G1492 (G5631) that G3754 their G846 hope G1680 profit...

  • Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible

    ARREST AND IMPRISONMENT LEAD TO ADDITIONS TO THE CHURCH IN PHILIPPI (16:19-34). But the problem was that what he had done would hit at men's pockets. They did not care about the girl herself, they had...

  • Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible

    ‘But when her masters saw that the hope of their gain was gone, they laid hold on Paul and Silas, and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers,' Her masters, who were no doubt already wealt...

  • Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible

    MINISTRY IN PHILIPPI FROM THE HOUSE OF LYDIA (16:12B-40). The arrival in Europe was clearly seen by Luke as very important. He illustrates the successful ministry there by a threefold description of P...

  • Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible

    THE MISSION TO EUROPE (16:6-19:20). Paul's plans now seemed to begin to go awry. All doors seemed to be closing to him as in one way or another he was first hindered from going one way, and then anoth...

  • Philip Schaff's Popular Commentary on the NT (4 vols)

    Acts 16:19. AND WHEN HER MASTERS SAW THAT THE HOPE OF THEIR GAINS WAS GONE. It was simply revenge that prompted these covetous men to procure the apostles arrest. When the evil spirit had once been ex...

  • Robertson's Word Pictures of the New Testament

    WAS GONE (εξηλθεν). Was gone out of the slave girl, second aorist active indicative of εξερχομα. "The two most important social revolutions worked by Christianity have been the elevation of woman a...

  • Scofield's Bible Commentary

    DREW (Greek, "helkuō" / "helkō", means, probably "by the feet"). Compare (Acts 14:19)....

  • Spurgeon's Bible Commentary

    Acts 16:9. _And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us._ Our dreams often follow the leading thoughts of...

  • Summarized Bible Commentary

    CONTENTS: Paul finds Timothy. Paul's Macedonian vision. The first convert in Europe. Demons cast out of a damsel. Paul and Silas beaten. Conversion of the Philippian jailer. CHARACTERS: Jesus, Holy S...

  • Sutcliffe's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

    Acts 16:1. _Then came he to Lystra,_ as in Acts 14:6. In their former labours in that city, Lois a jewess, her daughter Eunice, and Timothy her son, had embraced the faith. Now, they found Timothy gro...

  • The Bible Study New Testament

    THEY GRABBED PAUL AND SILAS. Nothing angers men more than seeing their greed defeated. THESE MEN ARE JEWS. That fact alone would incriminate them. Compare Acts 18:2_ and note._ TORE THE CLOTHES OFF. I...

  • The Biblical Illustrator

    _And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone._ APOSTOLIC DUTY AND VICISSITUDES I. Christ’s servants will use whatever power they possess to set the slaves of Satan free. Paul did n...

  • The Biblical Illustrator

    _A certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination._ THE PYTHONESS The words, literally, are as in the margin, a spirit of Python, or, as some MSS. give it, a Python spirit. The Python was the s...

  • The ESV Global Study Bible's Study Notes

    ACTS—NOTE ON ACTS 16:19 THEIR HOPE OF GAIN WAS GONE. Throughout Acts 1:1, greed often works against the gospel ...

  • The ESV Global Study Bible's Study Notes

    ACTS—NOTE ON ACTS 16:11 Philippi was the first Macedonian city in which Paul witnessed. ⇐ ⇔...

  • The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary

    _CRITICAL REMARKS_ Acts 16:19. THE RULERS, ἄρχοντες, were the town magistrates (Luke 12:58). Acts 16:20. The MAGISTRATES, στρατηγοί, were the two chief civic authorities (dunmviri) in a Roman colony...

  • The Pulpit Commentaries

    EXPOSITION ACTS 16:1 _And he came also _for _then came he, _A.V._ _and T.R.; _to Lystra _for _Lystra, _A.V._; Timothy _for _Timotheus, _A.V._; of a Jewess _for _of a certain woman which was a Jewess,...

  • Through The Bible C2000 Serie by Chuck Smith

    We remember at the end of our study last week there arose a contention between Paul and Barnabas who had been close companions on the first missionary venture of the church. But because Barnabas was i...

  • Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

    1 Timothy 6:10; 2 Corinthians 6:5; Acts 14:19; Acts 14:5; Acts 15:26;...

  • Vincent's Word Studies in the New Testament (4 Volume Set)

    Was gone [ε ξ η λ θ ε ν]. Went out with the evil spirit....

  • Wesley's Explanatory Notes

    The magistrates — The supreme magistrates of the city. In the next verse they are called by a title which often signifies pretors. These officers exercised both the military and civil authority....

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