Acts 8:11

11 And they were paying attention to him because for a long time he had astonished them with [his] magic.

Acts 8:11 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 8:11

To him they had regard
Which is repeated from the foregoing verse, for the sake of what follows:

because that of a long time he had bewitched them with sorceries;
or because he had, it may be for many years, astonished them with his magic arts, and the pranks he played in the use of them.

Acts 8:11 In-Context

9 Now a certain man {named} Simon had been in the city practicing magic and astonishing the people of Samaria, saying he was someone great.

10 They were all paying attention to {him}, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is the power of God that is called 'Great.'"

11 And they were paying attention to him because for a long time he had astonished them with [his] magic.

12 But when they believed Philip [as he] was proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were being baptized.

13 And Simon himself also believed, and [after he] was baptized he was {keeping close company with} Philip. And [when he] saw the signs and great miracles that were taking place, he was astonished.

Footnotes

• [a]. *Literally "the"; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun