Acts 19
1 And it came to pass, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper districts, came to Ephesus, and finding certain disciples,
While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the interior and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples
2 he said to them, Did ye receive [the] Holy Spirit when ye had believed? And they [said] to him, We did not even hear if [the] Holy Spirit was [come].
and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” “No,” they answered, “we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
3 And he said, To what then were ye baptised? And they said, To the baptism of John.
“Into what, then, were you baptized?” Paul asked. “The baptism of John,” they replied.
4 And Paul said, John indeed baptised [with] the baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on him that was coming after him, that is, on Jesus.
Paul explained: “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the One coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”
5 And when they heard that, they were baptised to the name of the Lord Jesus.
On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.
6 And Paul having laid [his] hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.
And when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
7 And all the men were about twelve.
There were about twelve men in all.
8 And entering into the synagogue, he spoke boldly during three months, reasoning and persuading [the things] concerning the kingdom of God.
Then Paul went into the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.
9 But when some were hardened and disbelieved, speaking evil of the way before the multitude, he left them and separated the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus.
But when some of them stubbornly refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way, Paul took his disciples and left the synagogue to conduct daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.
10 And this took place for two years, so that all that inhabited Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
This continued for two years, so that everyone who lived in the province of Asia, Jews and Greeks alike, heard the word of the Lord.
11 And God wrought no ordinary miracles by the hands of Paul,
God did extraordinary miracles through the hands of Paul,
12 so that even napkins or aprons were brought from his body [and put] upon the sick, and the diseases left them, and the wicked spirits went out.
so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and the diseases and evil spirits left them.
13 And certain of the Jewish exorcists also, who went about, took in hand to call upon those who had wicked spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, I adjure you by Jesus, whom Paul preaches.
Now there were some itinerant Jewish exorcists who tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those with evil spirits. They would say, “I bind you by Jesus, whom Paul proclaims.”
14 And there were certain [men], seven sons of Sceva, Jewish high priest, who were doing this.
Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.
15 But the wicked spirit answering said to them, Jesus I know, and Paul I am acquainted with; but ye, who are ye?
Eventually, one of the evil spirits answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?”
16 And the man in whom the wicked spirit was leaped upon them, and having mastered both, prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
Then the man with the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. The attack was so violent that they ran out of the house naked and wounded.
17 And this became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who inhabited Ephesus, and fear fell upon all of them, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
This became known to all the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, and fear came over all of them. So the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.
18 And many of those that believed came confessing and declaring their deeds.
Many who had believed now came forward, confessing and disclosing their deeds.
19 And many of those that practised curious arts brought their books [of charms] and burnt them before all. And they reckoned up the prices of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.
And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books and burned them in front of everyone. When the value of the books was calculated, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.
20 Thus with might the word of the Lord increased and prevailed.
So the word of the Lord powerfully continued to spread and prevail.
21 And when these things were fulfilled, Paul purposed in his spirit to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, After I have been there I must see Rome also.
After these things had happened, Paul resolved in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must see Rome as well.”
22 And having sent into Macedonia two of those ministering to him, Timotheus and Erastus, he remained himself awhile in Asia.
He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed for a time in the province of Asia.
23 And there took place at that time no small disturbance about the way.
About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way.
24 For a certain [man] by name Demetrius, a silver-beater, making silver temples of Artemis, brought no small gain to the artisans;
It began with a silversmith named Demetrius who made silver shrines of Artemis, bringing much business to the craftsmen.
25 whom having brought together, and those who wrought in such things, he said, Men, ye know that our well-living arises from this work,
Demetrius assembled the craftsmen, along with the workmen in related trades. “Men,” he said, “you know that this business is our source of prosperity.
26 and ye see and hear that this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great crowd, not only of Ephesus, but almost of all Asia, saying that they are no gods which are made with hands.
And you can see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in nearly the whole province of Asia, Paul has persuaded a great number of people to turn away. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all.
27 Now not only there is danger for us that our business come into discredit, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis be counted for nothing, and that her greatness should be destroyed whom the whole of Asia and the world reveres.
There is danger not only that our business will fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited and her majesty deposed—she who is worshiped by all the province of Asia and the whole world.”
28 And having heard [this], and being filled with rage, they cried out, saying, Great [is] Artemis of the Ephesians.
When the men heard this, they were enraged and began shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
29 And the [whole] city was filled with confusion, and they rushed with one accord to the theatre, having seized and carried off with [them] Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, fellow-travellers of Paul.
Soon the whole city was in disarray. They rushed together into the theatre, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia.
30 But Paul intending to go in to the people, the disciples suffered him not;
Paul wanted to go before the assembly, but the disciples would not allow him.
31 and some of the Asiarchs also, who were his friends, sent to him and urged him not to throw himself into the theatre.
Even some of Paul’s friends who were officials of the province of Asia sent word to him, begging him not to venture into the theatre.
32 Different persons therefore cried out some different thing; for the assembly was tumultuous, and the most did not know for what cause they had come together.
Meanwhile the assembly was in turmoil. Some were shouting one thing and some another, and most of them did not even know why they were there.
33 But from among the crowd they put forward Alexander, the Jews pushing him forward. And Alexander, beckoning with his hand, would have made a defence to the people.
The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander forward to explain himself, and he motioned for silence so he could make his defense to the people.
34 But, recognising that he was a Jew, there was one cry from all, shouting for about two hours, Great [is] Artemis of the Ephesians.
But when they realized that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
35 And the townclerk, having quieted the crowd, said, Ephesians, what man is there then who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple-keeper of Artemis the great, and of the [image] which fell down from heaven?
Finally the city clerk quieted the crowd and declared, “Men of Ephesus, doesn’t everyone know that the city of Ephesus is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven?
36 These things therefore being undeniable, it is necessary that ye should be calm and do nothing headlong.
Since these things are undeniable, you ought to be calm and not do anything rash.
37 For ye have brought these men, [who are] neither temple-plunderers, nor speak injuriously of your goddess.
For you have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed our temple nor blasphemed our goddess.
38 If therefore Demetrius and the artisans who [are] with him have a matter against any one, the courts are being held, and there are proconsuls: let them accuse one another.
So if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open and proconsuls are available. Let them bring charges against one another there.
39 But if ye inquire anything concerning other matters, it will be settled in the regular assembly.
But if you are seeking anything beyond this, it must be settled in a legal assembly.
40 For also we are in danger to be put in accusation for sedition for this [affair] of to-day, no cause existing in reference to which we shall be able to give a reason for this concourse.
For we are in jeopardy of being charged with rioting for today’s events, and we have no justification to account for this commotion.”
41 And having said these things, he dismissed the assembly.
After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.
