Acts 16:18 (DBY)

Passage

And this she did many days. And Paul, being distressed, turned, and said to the spirit, I enjoin thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And it came out the same hour.

Nearby Context

Acts 16:16 And it came to pass as we were going to prayer that a certain female slave, having a spirit of Python, met us, who brought much profit to her masters by prophesying.

Acts 16:17 She, having followed Paul and us, cried saying, These men are bondmen of the Most High God, who announce to you [the] way of salvation.

Acts 16:18 And this she did many days. And Paul, being distressed, turned, and said to the spirit, I enjoin thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And it came out the same hour.

Acts 16:19 And her masters, seeing that the hope of their gains was gone, having seized Paul and Silas, dragged [them] into the market before the magistrates;

Acts 16:20 and having brought them up to the praetors, said, These men utterly trouble our city, being Jews,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "days", "paul", "distressed", "turned", "said", "enjoin", and "thee". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "Spirit" and "days", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "She having followed Paul and us cried..." into verse 19's "And her masters seeing that the hope...", so "Spirit" and "days" belong inside that flow. In Acts context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "Spirit" and "days" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.