Acts 13:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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?

NIV: You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?

NASB: 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?

CSB: and said, "You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery, you son of the devil and enemy of all that is right. Won't you ever stop perverting the straight paths of the Lord?

NLT: 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?

KJV: 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?

NKJV: 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?

Paul is presenting the saving story of Jesus to a Roman proconsul on the island of Cyprus (Acts 13:2–4). The proconsul is under the influence of a Jewish false prophet (Acts 13:6–8) who is trying to discredit Paul. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Paul declares the false prophet to be a "son of the devil." The term "son of" in the Bible does not necessarily mean a literal biological child; it can mean one who emulates another's character. In this case, Paul's accusation is particularly ironic since the magician's name is Bar-Jesus which literally means "son of Jesus."

Gentiles in the Roman Empire had their pick of dozens of gods and goddesses to worship, and all were called to worship the emperor as a god. But people often grew weary of uninspired rituals and stories; they wished for something more powerful and mysterious. Romans often sought excitement in the esoteric religions of the east, including Judaism. Grifters, such as Bar-Jesus, took advantage of this honest search for God and promised truth in exchange for money, in absolute contrast to the approach Paul develops (1 Corinthians 9:3–12).

"Deceit" is from the Greek root word dolos. It means "craft or guile." "Villainy" is from the Greek root word rhadiourgia. It means "cunning and mischief." Bar-Jesus could have invited Sergius Paulus to the local synagogue where the proconsul could have become a "God-fearing" Gentile according to Judaism. Instead, he used the leader for his own gain.

Acts 13:4–12 records the initial stop in Barnabas and Saul's first missionary journey (Acts 13:4—14:26). They sail west from Syrian Antioch to the island of Cyprus: Barnabas' home. As they travel the length of the island, they visit Jewish synagogues to give the Jews the first opportunity to accept Jesus' forgiveness (Romans 1:16), but their work among so many Gentiles impels Saul to make a major change and take on the Roman version of his name: Paul.

Acts 13 transitions Luke's account (Acts 1:1) fully into a record of Paul's ministry to spread the news about Jesus. The Holy Spirit calls Paul and Barnabas for their first missionary journey. They teach about Jesus' offer of forgiveness of sins on the island of Cyprus and in the district of Pisidia in modern-day south-central Asia Minor. Along the way, they face opposition, desertion, and persecution: themes that will follow Paul throughout his life. But they also experience the joy of watching the people they'd least expect come to a saving faith in Jesus.

The first chapters of Acts, save for a quick account of Paul's conversion (Acts 9:1–31), cover the ministry of the apostles, particularly Peter. Those passages also detail the spread of the news about Jesus from His followers. That message goes to the Jews of Jerusalem (Acts 2—7) and Judea (Acts 8:26–40; 9:32–43), the Samaritans (Acts 8:4–25), and God-fearing Gentiles (Acts 10—11). Now, Paul's contribution to the ''end of the earth'' portion of Jesus' commission in Acts 1:8 begins, as he and Barnabas start their first missionary journey. Luke will record two more of Paul's journeys (Acts 15:36—18:22 and 18:23—20:38) before settling in on his return to Jerusalem, arrest, and sea voyage to Rome (Acts 21—28).

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.