SEV Biblia, Chapter 16:18
Y esto hacía por muchos días; mas desagradando esto a Pablo, se volvi y dijo al espíritu: Te mando en el Nombre de Jess, el Cristo, que salgas de ella. Y sali en la misma hora.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Acts 16:18
Verse 18. Paul, being grieved] Probably for the reasons assigned above. Turned-to the spirit] Not to the woman; she was only the organ by which the spirit acted.
I command thee, in the name of Jesus] Jesus is the saviour; Satan is Abaddon and Apollyon, the destroyer. The sovereign saviour says to the destroyer, Come out of her; and he came out in the same hour. Every circumstance of this case proves it to have been a real possession. We have already had several opportunities of remarking the great accuracy of St. Luke in his accounts of demoniacs: his education as a physician gave him advantages to detect imposture of this kind where it subsisted; but he sees none in this case. He speaks of the spirit and the damsel as distinct persons. The damsel had a spirit of divination. Paul turned to the spirit, and said, I command THEE to come out of HER; and he came out in the same hour. Had not St. Luke considered this as a real case of diabolic possession, he has made use of the most improper language he could choose; language and forms of speech calculated to deceive all his readers, and cause them to believe a lie. But it is impossible that the holy apostle could do so, because he was a good man; and it is not likely he could be deceived by a parcel of charlatans, because he was a wise man; and it would be absurd to suppose that, while he was under the influence of the Holy Spirit, he could be imposed on by the cunning of even the devil himself.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 18. And this she did many days , etc.] As the apostle and his company passed to and from the oratory, being for that time at Lydias house; she followed them, and repeated the above words. This she was suffered to do, time after time; not that the apostle and his friends wanted such a testimony, or that it was of any use to them; but that the expulsion of the evil spirit might be more manliest, and more taken notice of: but Paul being grieved ; at the unhappy condition the maid was in, being possessed with such a spirit: and that the people were so imposed upon and deluded by it; and that it should be thought that there was any combination and agreement between that and him: turned ; himself to her, who was behind him, she following him, as is said in the preceding verse; this is left out in the Syriac version: and said to the spirit ; or to that spirit, as the same version renders it; to the spirit of Python, or Apollo, or of divination, that was in the maid; the Ethiopic version reads, and he said, in, or by the Holy Spirit; being under a more than ordinary influence and impulse of his; but not the spirit by which he spake, but the spirit to which he spake, is here meant: I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her, and he came out the same hour ; this is an instance of that power which Christ gave to his apostles to cast out devils in his name, ( Matthew 10:1, Mark 16:17) Ver. 19. And when her masters saw , etc.] 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 spirit: that the hope of their gains was gone ; the Syriac version adds, out of her; namely, the evil spirit which was the ground and foundation of all their hope of gains, they expected to acquire for themselves; that being gone, they had no more work to do, nor tricks to play, nor profit to expect from the maid: wherefore they caught Paul and Silas ; they being the chief speakers, and principally concerned in the ejection of the evil spirit; they laid hold on them, took them by the collar, or held them by their clothes, and drew them into the market place : or rather into the court of judicature, as the word also signifies; there to accuse them, and to have them tried, condemned, and punished: unto the rulers ; the judges of the court, it may be the Decuriones; for in a Roman colony as Philippi was, they chose out every tenth man, that was of capacity and ability, to make and establish a public council, and who therefore were called by this name.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 16-24 - Satan, though the father of lies, will declare the most importan truths, when he can thereby serve his purposes. But much mischief is done to the real servants of Christ, by unholy and false preachers of the gospel, who are confounded with them by careless observers. Thos who do good by drawing men from sin, may expect to be reviled a troublers of the city. While they teach men to fear God, to believe in Christ, to forsake sin, and to live godly lives, they will be accuse of teaching bad customs.
Greek Textus Receptus
τουτο 5124 D-ASN δε 1161 CONJ εποιει 4160 5707 V-IAI-3S επι 1909 PREP πολλας 4183 A-APF ημερας 2250 N-APF διαπονηθεις 1278 5666 V-ADP-NSM δε 1161 CONJ ο 3588 T-NSM παυλος 3972 N-NSM και 2532 CONJ επιστρεψας 1994 5660 V-AAP-NSM τω 3588 T-DSN πνευματι 4151 N-DSN ειπεν 2036 5627 V-2AAI-3S παραγγελλω 3853 5719 V-PAI-1S σοι 4671 P-2DS εν 1722 PREP τω 3588 T-DSN ονοματι 3686 N-DSN ιησου 2424 N-GSM χριστου 5547 N-GSM εξελθειν 1831 5629 V-2AAN απ 575 PREP αυτης 846 P-GSF και 2532 CONJ εξηλθεν 1831 5627 V-2AAI-3S αυτη 846 P-DSF τη 3588 T-DSF ωρα 5610 N-DSF
Vincent's NT Word Studies
18. Grieved (diapomhqeiv). Not strong enough. Rather, worn out. Both grieved at the sad condition of the woman, and thoroughly annoyed and indignant at the continued demonstrations of the evil spirit which possessed her. Compare ch. iv. 2.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
16:18 {She did} (epoiei). Imperfect active, kept it up for many days. The strange conduct gave Paul and the rest an unpleasant prominence in the community. {Being sore troubled} (diaponeqeis). First aorist passive of diaponew, old verb, to work laboriously, qen in passive to be "worked up," displeased, worn out. In the N.T. only here and #4:2 which see (there of the Sadducees about Peter's preaching). Paul was grieved, annoyed, indignant. He wanted no testimony from a source like this any more than he did the homage of the people of Lystra (#14:14). {That very hour} (autei tei hwrai). Locative case of time and familiar Lukan idiom in his Gospel, "at the hour itself." The cure was instantaneous. Paul, like Jesus, distinguished between the demon and the individual.
