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19 And it came to pass, while Apollo was at Corinth, that Paul having passed through the upper coasts, came to Ephesus, and found certain disciples.

And he said to them: Have you received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? But they said to him: We have not so much as heard whether there be a Holy Ghost.

And he said: In what then were you baptized? Who said: In John's baptism.

Then Paul said: John baptized the people with the baptism of penance, saying: That they should believe in him who was to come after him, that is to say, in Jesus.

Having heard these things, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

And when Paul had imposed his hands on them, the Holy Ghost came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.

And all the men were about twelve.

And entering into the synagogue, he spoke boldly for the space of three months, disputing and exhorting concerning the kingdom of God.

But when some were hardened, and believed not, speaking evil of the way of the Lord, before the multitude, departing from them, he separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus.

10 And this continued for the space of two years, so that all they who dwelt in Asia, heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Gentiles.

11 And God wrought by the hand of Paul more than common miracles.

12 So that even there were brought from his body to the sick, handkerchiefs and aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the wicked spirits went out of them.

13 Now some also of the Jewish exorcists who went about, attempted to invoke over them that had evil spirits, the name of the Lord Jesus, saying: I conjure you by Jesus, whom Paul preacheth.

14 And there were certain men, seven sons of Sceva, a Jew, a chief priest, that did this.

15 But the wicked spirit, answering, said to them: Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?

16 And the man in whom the wicked spirit was, leaping upon them, and mastering them both, prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

17 And this became known to all the Jews and the Gentiles that dwelt at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.

18 And many of them that believed, came confessing and declaring their deeds.

19 And many of them who had followed curious arts, brought together their books, and burnt them before all; and counting the price of them, they found the money to be fifty thousand pieces of silver.

20 So mightily grew the word of God, and was confirmed.

21 And when these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying: After I have been there, I must see Rome also.

22 And sending into Macedonia two of them that ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself remained for a time in Asia.

23 Now at that time there arose no small disturbance about the way of the Lord.

24 For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver temples for Diana, brought no small gain to the craftsmen;

25 Whom he calling together, with the workmen of like occupation, said: Sirs, you know that our gain is by this trade;

26 And you see and hear, that this Paul by persuasion hath drawn away a great multitude, not only of Ephesus, but almost of all Asia, saying: They are not gods which are made by hands.

27 So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought, but also the temple of great Diana shall be reputed for nothing; yea, and her majesty shall begin to be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.

28 Having heard these things, they were full of anger, and cried out, saying: Great is Diana of the Ephesians.

29 And the whole city was filled with confusion; and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions, they rushed with one accord into the theatre.

30 And when Paul would have entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not.

31 And some also of the rulers of Asia, who were his friends, sent unto him, desiring that he would not venture himself into the theatre.

32 Now some cried one thing, some another. For the assembly was confused, and the greater part knew not for what cause they were come together.

33 And they drew forth Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews thrusting him forward. And Alexander beckoning with his hand for silence, would have given the people satisfaction.

34 But as soon as they perceived him to be a Jew, all with one voice, for the space of about two hours, cried out: Great is Diana of the Ephesians.

35 And when the town clerk had appeased the multitudes, he said: Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great Diana, and of Jupiter's offspring.

36 For as much therefore as these things cannot be contradicted, you ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly.

37 For you have brought hither these men, who are neither guilty of sacrilege, nor of blasphemy against your goddess.

38 But if Demetrius and the craftsmen that are with him, have a matter against any man, the courts of justice are open, and there are proconsuls: let them accuse one another.

39 And if you inquire after any other matter, it may be decided in a lawful assembly.

40 For we are even in danger to be called in question for this day's uproar, there being no man guilty (of whom we may give account) of this concourse. And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.

Paul in Ephesus

19 While Apollos(A) was at Corinth,(B) Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus.(C) There he found some disciples and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit(D) when[a] you believed?”

They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?”

“John’s baptism,” they replied.

Paul said, “John’s baptism(E) was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”(F) On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.(G) When Paul placed his hands on them,(H) the Holy Spirit came on them,(I) and they spoke in tongues[b](J) and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all.

Paul entered the synagogue(K) and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.(L) But some of them(M) became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way.(N) So Paul left them. He took the disciples(O) with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This went on for two years,(P) so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia(Q) heard the word of the Lord.(R)

11 God did extraordinary miracles(S) through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured(T) and the evil spirits left them.

13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits(U) tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus(V) whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.

17 When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus,(W) they were all seized with fear,(X) and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. 18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. 19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.[c] 20 In this way the word of the Lord(Y) spread widely and grew in power.(Z)

21 After all this had happened, Paul decided[d] to go to Jerusalem,(AA) passing through Macedonia(AB) and Achaia.(AC) “After I have been there,” he said, “I must visit Rome also.”(AD) 22 He sent two of his helpers,(AE) Timothy(AF) and Erastus,(AG) to Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia(AH) a little longer.

The Riot in Ephesus

23 About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way.(AI) 24 A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there. 25 He called them together, along with the workers in related trades, and said: “You know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business.(AJ) 26 And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus(AK) and in practically the whole province of Asia.(AL) He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all.(AM) 27 There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.”

28 When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”(AN) 29 Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius(AO) and Aristarchus,(AP) Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia,(AQ) and all of them rushed into the theater together. 30 Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples(AR) would not let him. 31 Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater.

32 The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another.(AS) Most of the people did not even know why they were there. 33 The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander to the front, and they shouted instructions to him. He motioned(AT) for silence in order to make a defense before the people. 34 But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”(AU)

35 The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: “Fellow Ephesians,(AV) doesn’t all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven? 36 Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to calm down and not do anything rash. 37 You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples(AW) nor blasphemed our goddess. 38 If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen(AX) have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls.(AY) They can press charges. 39 If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly. 40 As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of what happened today. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it.” 41 After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 19:2 Or after
  2. Acts 19:6 Or other languages
  3. Acts 19:19 A drachma was a silver coin worth about a day’s wages.
  4. Acts 19:21 Or decided in the Spirit