The evil spirit answered, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?”
Parallel translations
- KJV And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
- BSB Eventually, one of the evil spirits answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?”
- NKJV And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”
- NASB But the evil spirit responded and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know of Paul, but who are you?”
- NLT But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The evil spirit replied that it knew Jesus and Paul, but did not recognize these men.
Overview
The demon acknowledged the real authority of Jesus and the genuine commission of Paul, but saw the exorcists as imposters with no standing. The scene shows that Christ's name has power only for those who truly belong to Him. It is a sober reminder that spiritual authority cannot be borrowed or faked.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Acts 16:17–18Following Paul and us, she cried out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us a way of salvation!”
- Mark 1:34He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. He didn’t allow the demons to speak, because they knew him.
- Luke 4:33–35In the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice,
- Mark 5:9–13He asked him, “What is your name?” He said to him, “My name is Legion, for we are many.”
- Mark 1:24saying, “Ha! What do we have to do with you, Jesus, you Nazarene? Have you come to destroy us? I know you who you are: the Holy One of God!”
- Luke 8:28–32When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, “What do I have to do with you, Jesus, you Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torment me!”
- Matt 8:29–31Behold, they cried out, saying, “What do we have to do with you, Jesus, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”
- Gen 3:1–5Now the serpent was more subtle than any animal of the field which Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?’”
- 1 Kgs 22:21–23A spirit came out and stood before Yahweh, and said, ‘I will entice him.’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.
How Acts 19:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.