Acts 19:15 — ExegesisTAB

The verse opens with the aorist participle apokritheis {ἀποκριθεὶς | apokritheìs} “having answered,” which functions circumstantially, introducing the response of the subject before the main verb eipen {εἶπεν | eîpen} “he said.” The subject is expressed as the articular phrase to pneuma to poneron {τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ πονηρὸν | tò pneûma tò ponēròn}, an article–noun–article–adjective sequence that foregrounds both the entity (“the spirit”) and its morally corrupt character (“the evil”). The dative autois {αὐτοῖς | autoîs} “to them” marks the indirect object of the speech verb. The direct discourse is structured with fronted objects followed by first person verbs: Ton Iesoun ginosko {Τὸν Ἰησοῦν γινώσκω | Tòn Iēsoun ginṓskō} “Jesus I know” and kai ton Paulon epistamai {καὶ τὸν Παῦλον ἐπίσταμαι | kaì tòn Paûlon epístamai} “and Paul I am acquainted with.” The object–verb order places emphasis on the persons known, not merely on the mental action. The use of ginosko {γινώσκω | ginṓskō} suggests full, personal recognition of Jesus’ identity, whereas epistamai {ἐπίσταμαι | epístamai} conveys competent awareness or familiarity with Paul, signaling a hierarchical distinction in the demon’s knowledge. The final clause humeis de tines este {ὑμεῖς δὲ τίνες ἐστε | hymêis dè tínes éste} “but who are you?” front-loads the pronoun humeis for contrastive emphasis, sharply opposing the well-known figures (Jesus and Paul) with the unknown exorcists. In translation, this structure is mirrored by retaining the contrastive “but” and preserving the focus on the named objects (“Jesus I know, and Paul I am acquainted with”) before the climactic challenge, thereby maintaining the rhetorical force and the implied recognition of Jesus’ superior authority.