Acts 19:15

15 when the evil spirit talked back: "I know Jesus and I've heard of 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 Some itinerant Jewish exorcists who happened to be in town at the time tried their hand at what they assumed to be Paul's "game." They pronounced the name of the Master Jesus over victims of evil spirits, saying, "I command you by the Jesus preached by Paul!"

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.