And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.
18. Paul took it grievously. It may be that at the first Paul neglected, and did not greatly regard the crying of the maid, because he hoped that there would be no account made thereof, and had rather that it should vanish away of itself.
This slave girl, possessed by a spirit that mimicked Apollo's oracles, spoke truth about Paul and his companions, but truth from a demon's mouth is no testimony worth having. She enriched her masters by feeding men's hunger to know the future; the devil himself maintains his dominion by pretending to reveal what lies hidden.
AI summary
Commenting on Acts 16:16-24
And this she did many days,.... As the apostle and his company passed to and from the oratory, being for that time at Lydia's house; she followed them, and repeated the above words. This she was suffered to do, time after time; not that the apostle and his friends wanted such a testimony, or that it was of any use to them; but that the...