Acts 16:18 (YLT)

Passage

and this she was doing for many days, but Paul having been grieved, and having turned, said to the spirit, `I command thee, in the name of Jesus Christ, to come forth from her;' and it came forth the same hour.

Nearby Context

Acts 16:16 And it came to pass in our going on to prayer, a certain maid, having a spirit of Python, did meet us, who brought much employment to her masters by soothsaying,

Acts 16:17 she having followed Paul and us, was crying, saying, `These men are servants of the Most High God, who declare to us a way of salvation;'

Acts 16:18 and this she was doing for many days, but Paul having been grieved, and having turned, said to the spirit, `I command thee, in the name of Jesus Christ, to come forth from her;' and it came forth the same hour.

Acts 16:19 And her masters having seen that the hope of their employment was gone, having caught Paul and Silas, drew <FI>them<Fi> to the market-place, unto the rulers,

Acts 16:20 and having brought them to the magistrates, they said, `These men do exceedingly trouble our city, being Jews;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "doing", "days", "paul", "having", "been", "grieved", and "turned". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "Spirit" and "doing", 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 was..." into verse 19's "And her masters having seen that the...", so "Spirit" and "doing" 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 "doing" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.