Acts 19:13 — ExegesisTAB

The verse opens with the aorist verb epecheiresan {Ἐπεχείρησαν | Epecheírēsan} ‘they attempted’, introducing a new narrative action and setting a somewhat formal tone. The conjunction de {δὲ | dè} ‘but/then’ signals a development in the ongoing account. The phrase tines kai tōn perierchomenōn Ioudaion exorkistōn {τινὲς καὶ τῶν περιερχομένων Ἰουδαίων ἐξορκιστῶν | tinés kaí tōn peri-er-kho-me-nōn Iou-daí-ōn ex-or-ki-stōn} is a partitive genitive construction, indicating that “some” are drawn from the larger group of itinerant Jewish exorcists. The infinitive onomazein {ὀνομάζειν | o-no-má-zein} functions as a complementary infinitive to epecheiresan, specifying what they attempted: to “name” or invoke. The prepositional phrase epi tous ekhontas ta pneumata ta ponēra {ἐπὶ τοὺς ἔχοντας τὰ πνεύματα τὰ πονηρὰ | epí toús é-khon-tas tà pnéu-ma-ta tà po-nē-rá} uses the present participle ekhontas {ἔχοντας | é-khon-tas} substantivally (“those who had”), with the repeated article–noun–article–adjective pattern giving emphasis to “the spirits, the evil ones.” The key object is to onoma tou kyriou Iesou {τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ | tò ó-no-ma tou ku-rí-ou Iē-soû}, where the genitive tou kyriou Iesou is possessive, marking the name as belonging to the Lord Jesus and implying His authority. The participle legontes {λέγοντες | lé-gon-tes} introduces the content of their attempt as direct speech, functioning circumstantially (“as they were saying”). The main speech verb horkizō {Ὁρκίζω | Hor-kí-zō} is first person singular, forming a formal adjuration formula, while hymas {ὑμᾶς | hy-mâs} identifies the addressed spirits. The relative clause hon Paulos keryssei {ὃν Παῦλος κηρύσσει | hon Paû-los kē-rýs-sei} clarifies which Jesus is meant, linking the narrative to Paul’s proclaimed message. In translation, participial and genitive constructions are reshaped into relative clauses and prepositional phrases to maintain clarity while preserving the strong emphasis on invoking Jesus’ name as the perceived source of exorcistic power.