Acts 19
1 And it came about that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having gone through the higher country, came to Ephesus, where there were certain disciples:
During the stay of Apollos in Corinth, Paul, after passing through the inland districts, came to Ephesus, where he found a few disciples.
2 And he said to them, Did you get the Holy Spirit when you had faith? And they said to him, No, we have had no knowledge of the Holy Spirit.
"Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you first believed?" he asked them. "No," they replied, "we did not even hear that there is a Holy Spirit."
3 And he said, What sort of baptism did you have? And they said, The baptism of John.
"Into what then were you baptized?" he asked. "Into John's baptism," they replied.
4 And Paul said, John gave a baptism which goes with a change of heart, saying to the people that they were to have faith in him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.
"John," he said, "administered a baptism of repentance, bidding the people believe on One who was to come after him; namely, on Jesus."
5 And hearing this, they had baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus.
On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus;
6 And when Paul had put his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they had the power of talking in tongues, and acting like prophets.
and when Paul laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began to speak in tongues and to prophesy.
7 And there were about twelve of these men.
They numbered in all about twelve men.
8 And he went into the Synagogue, and for three months he was preaching there without fear, reasoning and teaching about the kingdom of God.
Afterwards he went into the synagogue. There for three months he continued to preach fearlessly, explaining in words which carried conviction the truths which concern the Kingdom of God.
9 But because some of the people were hard-hearted and would not give hearing, saying evil words about the Way before the people, he went away from them, and kept the disciples separate, reasoning every day in the school of Tyrannus.
But some grew obstinate in unbelief and spoke evil of the new faith before all the congregation. So Paul left them, and, taking with him those who were disciples, held discussions daily in Tyrannus's lecture-hall.
10 And this went on for two years, so that all those who were living in Asia had knowledge of the word of the Lord, Greeks as well as Jews.
This went on for two years, so that all the inhabitants of the province of Asia, Jews as well as Greeks, heard the Lord's Message.
11 And God did special works of power by the hands of Paul:
God also brought about extraordinary miracles through Paul's instrumentality.
12 So that bits of linen and clothing from his body were taken to people who were ill, and their diseases went away from them and the evil spirits went out.
Towels or aprons, for instance, which Paul had handled used to be carried to the sick, and they recovered from their ailments, or the evil spirits left them.
13 But some of the Jews who went from place to place driving out evil spirits, took it on themselves to make use of the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, I give you orders, by Jesus, whom Paul is preaching.
But there were also some wandering Jewish exorcists who undertook to invoke the name of Jesus over those who had the evil spirits, saying, "I command you by that Jesus whom Paul preaches."
14 And there were seven sons of a man named Sceva, a Jew and a chief priest, who did this.
There were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew of high-priestly family, who were doing this.
15 And the evil spirit, answering, said to them, I have knowledge of Jesus, and of Paul, but who are you?
"Jesus I know," the evil spirit answered, "and Paul I have heard of, but who are you?"
16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was, jumping on them, was stronger than the two of them, and overcame them, so that they went running from that house, wounded and without their clothing.
And the man in whom the evil spirit was sprang on two of them, over-mastered them both, and treated them with such violence, that they fled from the house stripped of their clothes and wounded.
17 And this came to the ears of all those, Jews and Greeks, who were living at Ephesus; and fear came on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was made great.
All the people of Ephesus, Jews as well as Greeks, came to know of this. There was widespread terror, and they began to hold the name of the Lord Jesus in high honour.
18 And a number of those who had faith came and made a public statement of their sins and all their acts.
Many also of those who believed came confessing without reserve what their conduct had been,
19 And a great number of those who were experts in strange arts took their books and put them on the fire in front of everyone: and when the books were valued they came to fifty thousand bits of silver.
and not a few of those who had practised magical arts brought their books together and burnt them in the presence of all. The total value was reckoned and found to be 50,000 silver coins.
20 So the word of the Lord was increased very greatly and was full of power.
Thus mightily did the Lord's Message spread and triumph!
21 Now after these things were ended, Paul came to a decision that when he had gone through Macedonia and Achaia he would go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I have a desire to see Rome.
When matters had reached this point, Paul decided in his own mind to travel through Macedonia and Greece, and go to Jerusalem. "After that," he said, "I must also see Rome."
22 And having sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, into Macedonia, he himself went on living in Asia for a time.
But he sent two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he himself remained for a while in Roman Asia.
23 And about that time a great outcry took place about the Way.
Now just at that time there arose no small commotion about the new faith.
24 For there was a certain man named Demetrius, a silver-worker, who made silver boxes for the images of Diana, and gave no small profit to the workmen;
There was a certain Demetrius, a silversmith, who made miniature silver sanctuaries of Diana, a business which brought great gain to the mechanics in his employ.
25 Whom he got together, with other workmen of the same trade, and said to them, Men, it is clear that from this business we get our wealth.
He called his workmen together, and others who were engaged in similar trades, and said to them, "You men well know that our prosperity depends on this business of ours;
26 And you see, for it has come to your ears, that not only at Ephesus, but almost all through Asia, this Paul has been teaching numbers of people and turning them away, saying that those are not gods who are made by men's hands:
and you see and hear that, not in Ephesus only but throughout almost the whole province of Asia, this fellow Paul has led away a vast number of people by inducing them to believe that they are not gods at all that are made by men's hands.
27 And there is danger, not only that our trade may be damaged in the opinion of men, but that the holy place of the great goddess Diana may be no longer honoured, and that she to whom all Asia and the world give worship, will be put down from her high position.
There is danger, therefore, not only that this our trade will become of no account, but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana will fall into utter disrepute, and that before long she will be actually deposed from her majestic rank--she who is now worshipped by the whole province of Asia; nay, by the whole world."
28 And hearing this, they were very angry, crying out and saying, Great is Diana of Ephesus.
After listening to this harangue, they became furiously angry and kept calling out, "Great is the Ephesian Diana!"
29 And the town was full of noise and trouble, and they all came running into the theatre, having taken by force Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia who were journeying in company with Paul.
The riot and uproar spread through the whole city, till at last with one accord they rushed into the Theatre, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, two Macedonians who were fellow travellers with Paul.
30 And when Paul was about to go in to the people, the disciples did not let him.
Then Paul would have liked to go in and address the people, but the disciples would not let him do so.
31 And some of the rulers of Asia, being his friends, sent to him, requesting him seriously not to put himself in danger by going into the theatre.
A few of the public officials, too, who were friendly to him, sent repeated messages entreating him not to venture into the Theatre.
32 And some said one thing, and some another: for there was no order in the meeting; and most of them had no idea why they had come together.
The people, meanwhile, kept shouting, some one thing and some another; for the assembly was all uproar and confusion, and the greater part had no idea why they had come together.
33 Then they took Alexander out from among the people, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander, making a sign with his hand, was about to make a statement to the people in answer:
Then some of the people crowded round Alexander, whom the Jews had pushed forward; and Alexander, motioning with his hand to get silence, was prepared to make a defence to the people.
34 But when they saw that he was a Jew, all of them with one voice went on crying out for about two hours, Great is Diana of Ephesus.
No sooner, however, did they see that he was a Jew, than there arose from them all one roar of shouting, lasting about two hours. "Great is the Ephesian Diana," they said.
35 And when the chief secretary had got the people quiet, he said, Men of Ephesus, is any man without knowledge that the town of Ephesus is the keeper of the holy place of the great Diana, who was sent down from Jupiter?
At length the Recorder quieted them down. "Men of Ephesus," he said, "who is there of all mankind that needs to be told that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Diana and of the image which fell down from Zeus?
36 So then, because these things may not be doubted, it would be better for you to be quiet, and do nothing unwise.
These facts, then, being unquestioned, it becomes you to maintain your self-control and not act recklessly.
37 For you have taken these men, who are not doing damage to the holy place or talking against our goddess.
For you have brought these men here, who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess.
38 If, then, Demetrius and the workmen who are with him have a protest to make against any man, the law is open to them, and there are judges; let them put up a cause at law against one another.
If, however, Demetrius and the mechanics who support his contention have a grievance against any one, there are Assize-days and there are Proconsuls: let the persons interested accuse one another.
39 But if any other business is in question, let it be taken up in the regular meeting.
But if you desire anything further, it will have to be settled in the regular assembly.
40 For, truly, we are in danger of being made responsible for this day's trouble, there being no cause for it: and we are not able to give any reason for this coming together.
For in connexion with to-day's proceedings there is danger of our being charged with attempted insurrection, there having been no real reason for this riot; nor shall we be able to justify the behaviour of this disorderly mob."
41 And when he had said this, he sent the meeting away.
With these words he dismissed the assembly.
