The Acts 19

Paul in Ephesus

1While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul was visiting some places on the way to Ephesus. There he found some followers. 2Paul asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

They said, “We have never even heard of a Holy Spirit!”

3So he asked, “What kind of baptism did you have?”

They said, “It was the baptism that John# John the Baptist, who preached to people about Christ’s coming (Matthew 3; Luke 3). taught.”

4Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of changed hearts and lives. He told people to believe in the One who would come after him. That One is Jesus.”

5When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6Then Paul laid his hands on them,# Here, doing this was a sign to show that Paul had God’s authority or power to give these people special powers of the Holy Spirit. and the Holy Spirit came upon them. They began speaking different languages and prophesying. 7There were about 12 men in this group.

8Paul went into the synagogue and spoke out boldly for three months. He talked with the Jews and persuaded them to accept the things he said about the kingdom of God. 9But some of the Jews became stubborn and refused to believe. These Jews said evil things about the Way of Jesus. All the people heard these things. So Paul left them and took the followers with him. He went to a place where a man named Tyrannus had a school. There Paul talked with people every day 10for two years. Because of his work, every Jew and Greek in Asia heard the word of the Lord.

The Sons of Sceva

11God used Paul to do some very special miracles. 12Some people took handkerchiefs and clothes that Paul had used and put them on the sick. When they did this, the sick were healed and evil spirits left them.

13-14But some Jews also were traveling around and making evil spirits go out of people. The seven sons of Sceva were doing this. (Sceva was a leading Jewish priest.) These Jews tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus to force the evil spirits out. They would say, “By the same Jesus that Paul talks about, I order you to come out!”

15But one time an evil spirit said to these Jews, “I know Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?”

16Then the man, who had the evil spirit in him, jumped on these Jews. He was much stronger than all of them. He beat them and tore their clothes off, so they ran away from the house. 17All the people in Ephesus, Jews and Greeks, learned about this. They were filled with fear. And the people gave great honor to the Lord Jesus. 18Many of the believers began to confess openly and tell all the evil things they had done. 19Some of them had used magic. These believers brought their magic books and burned them before everyone. Those books were worth about 50,000 silver coins.# Probably drachmas. One coin was enough to pay a man for working one day.

20So in a powerful way the word of the Lord kept spreading and growing.

Paul Plans a Trip

21After these things, Paul made plans to go to Jerusalem. He planned to go through the countries of Macedonia and Southern Greece, and then on to Jerusalem. He said, “After I have been to Jerusalem, I must also visit Rome.” 22Paul sent Timothy and Erastus, two of his helpers, ahead to Macedonia. He himself stayed in Asia for a while.

Trouble in Ephesus

23But during that time, there was some serious trouble in Ephesus about the Way of Jesus. 24There was a man named Demetrius, who worked with silver. He made little silver models that looked like the temple of the goddess Artemis.# A Greek goddess that the people of Asia Minor worshiped. The men who did this work made much money. 25Demetrius had a meeting with these men and some others who did the same kind of work. He told them, “Men, you know that we make a lot of money from our business. 26But look at what this man Paul is doing! He has convinced and turned away many people in Ephesus and in almost all of Asia! He says the gods that men make are not real. 27There is a danger that our business will lose its good name. But there is also another danger: People will begin to think that the temple of the great goddess Artemis is not important! Her greatness will be destroyed. And Artemis is the goddess that everyone in Asia and the whole world worships.”

28When the men heard this, they became very angry. They shouted, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29The whole city became confused. The people grabbed Gaius and Aristarchus. (These two men were from Macedonia and were traveling with Paul.) Then all the people ran to the theater. 30Paul wanted to go in and talk to the crowd, but the followers did not let him. 31Also, some leaders of Asia were friends of Paul. They sent him a message, begging him not to go into the theater. 32Some people were shouting one thing, and some were shouting another. The meeting was completely confused. Most of the people did not know why they had come together. 33The Jews put a man named Alexander in front of the people. Some of them had told him what to do. Alexander waved his hand because he wanted to explain things to the people. 34But when they saw that Alexander was a Jew, they all began shouting the same thing. They continued shouting for two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

35Then the city clerk made the crowd be quiet. He said, “Men of Ephesus, everyone knows that Ephesus is the city that keeps the temple of the great goddess Artemis. All people know that we also keep her holy stone# Probably a meteorite or stone that the people thought looked like Artemis. that fell from heaven. 36No one can say that this is not true. So you should be quiet. You must stop and think before you do anything. 37You brought these men here, but they have not said anything evil against our goddess. They have not stolen anything from her temple. 38We have courts of law, and there are judges. Do Demetrius and the men who work with him have a charge against anyone? They should go to the courts! That is where they can argue with each other! 39Is there something else you want to talk about? It can be decided at the regular town meeting of the people. 40I say this because some people might see this trouble today and say that we are rioting. We could not explain this because there is no real reason for this meeting.” 41After the city clerk said these things, he told the people to go home.

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Acts 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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