Acts 19:16

16 Then the possessed man went berserk - jumped the exorcists, beat them up, and tore off their clothes. Naked and bloody, they got away as best they could.

Acts 19:16 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 19:16

And the man in whom the evil spirit was
Being agitated by him:

leapt upon them;
with great agility and force, and laid hold on them, and struggled with them, and beat and wounded them, and stripped them naked:

and overcame them, and prevailed against them;
the Alexandrian copy, Beza's most ancient one, and some others, and the Vulgate Latin version read, "and overcame both"; as if only two of these seven sons had made this attempt, and were so used; though the Ethiopic version reads, "and overcame them all"; all the seven sons:

so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded;
having their clothes tore off, and their bodies beat and bruised.

Acts 19:16 In-Context

14 The seven sons of a certain Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were trying to do this on a man
15 when the evil spirit talked back: "I know Jesus and I've heard of Paul, but who are you?"
16 Then the possessed man went berserk - jumped the exorcists, beat them up, and tore off their clothes. Naked and bloody, they got away as best they could.
17 It was soon news all over Ephesus among both Jews and Greeks. The realization spread that God was in and behind this. Curiosity about Paul developed into reverence for the Master Jesus.
18 Many of those who thus believed came out of the closet and made a clean break with their secret sorceries.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.