Bible Strands
Acts 8:11
They paid close attention to him because he had astounded them for a long time with his sorcery.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator describes the Samaritan crowd’s sustained focus on Simon during his prolonged public ministry in Samaria, immediately following their collective acknowledgment of him as a divine figure.
The words — The Greek verb προσεῖχον (proseichon) literally means “they were giving heed,” paired with the phrase ἱκανῷ χρόνῳ (hikanō chronō) indicating a prolonged duration of attention.
The thread — This sustained attention to a false spiritual authority parallels the bewitchment warned against in Galatians 3:1 and the prohibition against consulting mediums in Isaiah 8:19, while Simon’s own prior deception is established in Acts 8:9.
Why it lands — The text demands that readers distinguish between prolonged fascination with supernatural displays and genuine belief in the gospel, recognizing that duration and awe do not validate spiritual authority.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.
Cross-references
- Acts 8:9 Prior to that time, a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and astounded the people of Samaria. He claimed to be someone great,
- Galatians 3:1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.
- Isaiah 8:19 When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists who whisper and mutter, shouldn’t a people consult their God instead? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?
- Isaiah 44:25 who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who confounds the wise and turns their knowledge into nonsense,
- Isaiah 47:9 These two things will overtake you in a moment, in a single day: loss of children, and widowhood. They will come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and the potency of your spells.