Acts 19
19
Paul Goes to Ephesus
1While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road to Ephesus. When he arrived, he found some believers there. 2He asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?”
“No,” they answered. “We haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
3So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?”
“John’s baptism,” they replied.
4Paul said, “John baptized people, calling them to turn away from their sins. He told them to believe in the one who was coming after him. Jesus is that one.” 5After hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6Paul placed his hands on them. Then the Holy Spirit came on them. They spoke in languages they had not known before. They also prophesied. 7There were about 12 men in all.
8Paul entered the synagogue. There he spoke boldly for three months. He gave good reasons for believing the truth about God’s kingdom. 9But some of them wouldn’t listen. They refused to believe. In public they said evil things about the Way of Jesus. So Paul left them. He took the believers with him. Each day he talked with people in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10This went on for two years. So all the Jews and Greeks who lived in Asia Minor heard the word of the Lord.
11God did amazing miracles through Paul. 12Even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to those who were sick. When this happened, their sicknesses were healed and evil spirits left them.
13Some Jews went around driving out evil spirits. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus to set free those who were controlled by demons. They said, “In Jesus’ name I command you to come out. He is the Jesus that Paul is preaching about.” 14Seven sons of Sceva were doing this. Sceva was a Jewish chief priest. 15One day the evil spirit answered them, “I know Jesus. And I know about Paul. But who are you?” 16Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on Sceva’s sons. He overpowered them all. He gave them a terrible beating. They ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
17The Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus heard about this. They were all overcome with fear. They held the name of the Lord Jesus in high honor. 18Many who believed now came and openly admitted what they had done. 19A number of those who had practiced evil magic brought their scrolls together. They set them on fire out in the open. They added up the value of the scrolls. The scrolls were worth more than someone could earn in two lifetimes. 20The word of the Lord spread everywhere. It became more and more powerful.
21After all this had happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem. He went through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been to Jerusalem,” he said, “I must visit Rome also.” 22He sent Timothy and Erastus, two of his helpers, to Macedonia. But he stayed a little longer in Asia Minor.
Trouble in Ephesus
23At that time many people became very upset about the Way of Jesus. 24There was a man named Demetrius who made things out of silver. He made silver models of the temple of the goddess Artemis. He brought in a lot of business for the other skilled workers there. 25One day he called them together. He also called others who were in the same kind of business. “My friends,” he said, “you know that we make good money from our work. 26You have seen and heard what this fellow Paul is doing. He has talked to large numbers of people here in Ephesus. Almost everywhere in Asia Minor he has led people away from our gods. He says that the gods made by human hands are not gods at all. 27Our work is in danger of losing its good name. People’s faith in the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be weakened. Now she is worshiped all over Asia Minor and the whole world. But soon she will be robbed of her greatness.”
28When they heard this, they became very angry. They began shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29Soon people were making trouble in the whole city. They all rushed into the theater. They dragged Gaius and Aristarchus along with them. These two men had come with Paul from Macedonia. 30Paul wanted to appear in front of the crowd. But the believers wouldn’t let him. 31Some of the officials in Asia Minor were friends of Paul. They sent him a message, begging him not to go into the theater.
32The crowd didn’t know what was going on. Some were shouting one thing and some another. Most of the people didn’t even know why they were there. 33The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander to the front. They tried to tell him what to say. But he motioned for them to be quiet. He was about to give the people reasons for his actions. 34But then they realized that he was a Jew. So they all shouted the same thing for about two hours. “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” they yelled.
35The city clerk quieted the crowd down. “People of Ephesus!” he said. “The city of Ephesus guards the temple of the great Artemis. The whole world knows this. They know that Ephesus guards her statue, which fell from heaven. 36These facts can’t be questioned. So calm down. Don’t do anything foolish. 37These men haven’t robbed any temples. They haven’t said evil things against our female god. But you have brought them here anyhow. 38Demetrius and the other skilled workers may feel they have been wronged by someone. Let them bring charges. The courts are open. We have our governors. 39Is there anything else you want to bring up? Settle it in a court of law. 40As it is, we are in danger of being charged with a crime. We could be charged with causing all this trouble today. There is no reason for it. So we wouldn’t be able to explain what has happened.” 41After he said this, he sent the people away.
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Acts 19: NIrV
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Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Acts 19
19
1 WHILE APOLLOS was in Corinth, Paul went through the upper inland districts and came down to Ephesus. There he found some disciples.
2 And he asked them, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed [on Jesus as the Christ]? And they said, No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.
3 And he asked, Into what [baptism] then were you baptized? They said, Into John's baptism.
4 And Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance, continually telling the people that they should believe in the One Who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus [having a conviction full of joyful trust that He is Christ, the Messiah, and being obedient to Him].
5 On hearing this they were baptized [again, this time] in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6 And as Paul laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they spoke in [foreign, unknown] tongues (languages) and prophesied.
7 There were about twelve of them in all.
8 And he went into the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, persuading and arguing and pleading about the kingdom of God.
9 But when some became more and more stubborn (hardened and unbelieving), discrediting and reviling and speaking evil of the Way [of the Lord] before the congregation, he separated himself from them, taking the disciples with him, and went on holding daily discussions in the lecture room of Tyrannus from about ten o'clock till three.
10 This continued for two years, so that all the inhabitants of [the province of] Asia, Jews as well as Greeks, heard the Word of the Lord [concerning the attainment through Christ of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God].
11 And God did unusual and extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul,
12 So that handkerchiefs or towels or aprons which had touched his skin were carried away and put upon the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.
13 Then some of the traveling Jewish exorcists (men who adjure evil spirits) also undertook to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, I solemnly implore and charge you by the Jesus Whom Paul preaches!
14 Seven sons of a certain Jewish chief priest named Sceva were doing this.
15 But [one] evil spirit retorted, Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?
16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit dwelt leaped upon them, mastering two of them, and was so violent against them that they dashed out of that house [in fear], stripped naked and wounded.
17 This became known to all who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, and alarm and terror fell upon them all; and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled and magnified.
18 Many also of those who were now believers came making full confession and thoroughly exposing their [former deceptive and evil] practices.
19 And many of those who had practiced curious, magical arts collected their books and [throwing them, book after book, on the pile] burned them in the sight of everybody. When they counted the value of them, they found it amounted to 50,000 pieces of silver (about $9,300).
20 Thus the Word of the Lord [concerning the attainment through Christ of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God] grew and spread and intensified, prevailing mightily.
21 Now after these events Paul determined in the [Holy] Spirit that he would travel through Macedonia and Achaia (most of Greece) and go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must visit Rome also.
22 And having sent two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, into Macedonia, he himself stayed on in [the province of] Asia for a while.
23 But as time went on, there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way [of the Lord].
24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of [the goddess] Artemis [Diana], brought no small income to his craftsmen.
25 These he called together, along with the workmen of similar trades, and said, Men, you are acquainted with the facts and understand that from this business we derive our wealth and livelihood.
26 Now you notice and hear that not only at Ephesus but almost all over [the province of] Asia this Paul has persuaded and induced people to believe his teaching and has alienated a considerable company of them, saying that gods that are made with human hands are not really gods at all.
27 Now there is danger not merely that this trade of ours may be discredited, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may come into disrepute and count for nothing, and that her glorious magnificence may be degraded and fall into contempt–she whom all [the province of] Asia and the wide world worship.
28 As they listened to this, they were filled with rage and they continued to shout, Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!
29 Then the city was filled with confusion; and they rushed together into the amphitheater, dragging along with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were fellow travelers with Paul.
30 Paul wished to go in among the crowd, but the disciples would not permit him to do it.
31 Even some of the Asiarchs (political or religious officials in Asia) who were his friends also sent to him and warned him not to risk venturing into the theater.
32 Now some shouted one thing and some another, for the gathering was in a tumult and most of them did not know why they had come together.
33 Some of the crowd called upon Alexander [to speak], since the Jews had pushed and urged him forward. And Alexander motioned with his hand, wishing to make a defense and [planning] to apologize to the people.
34 But as soon as they saw him and recognized that he was a Jew, a shout went up from them as the voice of one man, as for about two hours they cried, Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!
35 And when the town clerk had calmed the crowd down, he said, Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of the sacred stone [image of her] that fell from the sky?
36 Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet (keep yourselves in check) and do nothing rashly.
37 For you have brought these men here, who are [guilty of] neither temple robberies nor blasphemous speech about our goddess.
38 Now then, if Demetrius and his fellow tradesmen who are with him have a grievance against anyone, the courts are open and proconsuls are [available]; let them bring charges against one another [legally].
39 But if you require anything further about this or about other matters, it must be decided and cleared up in the regular assembly.
40 For we are in danger of being called to render an account and of being accused of rioting because of [this commotion] today, there being no reason that we can offer to justify this disorder.
41 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.
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