Acts 19:15

15 But one time an evil spirit said to them, "I know Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?"

Acts 19:15 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 19:15

And the evil spirit answered and said
The Alexandrian copy, the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions, add, "to them"; to the seven sons of Sceva:

Jesus I know;
to be the Son of God and Messiah, and own that he has power of dispossessing spirits, of which there were many instances in the days of his flesh:

and Paul I know;
and own to be a servant of the most high God, by whom miracles of this kind have been wrought:

but who are ye?
you are not the disciples of Jesus, nor the servants of God, but the children of the devil, and have no power over us, but on the other hand are subject to us.

Acts 19:15 In-Context

13 But some Jews also were traveling around and making evil spirits go out of people. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus to force the evil spirits out. They would say, "By the same Jesus that Paul talks about, I order you to come out!"
14 Seven sons of Sceva, a leading Jewish priest, were doing this.
15 But one time an evil spirit said to them, "I know Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?"
16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them. Because he was so much stronger than all of them, they ran away from the house naked and hurt.
17 All the people in Ephesus -- Jews and Greeks -- learned about this and were filled with fear and gave great honor to the Lord Jesus.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.