Acts 19
19
1While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. 2And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John's baptism.” 4And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” 5On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. 7There were about twelve of them in all.
8And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, arguing and pleading about the kingdom of God; 9but when some were stubborn and disbelieved, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them, taking the disciples with him, and argued daily in the hall of Tyrannus.#19.9 Other ancient authorities add from the fifth hour to the tenth 10This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
11And God did extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, 12so that handkerchiefs or aprons were carried away from his body to the sick, and diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. 13Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 14Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. 15But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” 16And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, mastered all of them, and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17And this became known to all residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks; and fear fell upon them all; and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. 18Many also of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. 19And a number of those who practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all; and they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20So the word of the Lord grew and prevailed mightily.
21Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” 22And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.
23About that time there arose no little stir concerning the Way. 24For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. 25These he gathered together, with the workmen of like occupation, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. 26And you see and hear that not only at Ephesus but almost throughout all Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable company of people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. 27And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may count for nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”
28When they heard this they were enraged, and cried out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29So the city was filled with the confusion; and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul's companions in travel. 30Paul wished to go in among the crowd, but the disciples would not let him; 31some of the Asi-archs also, who were friends of his, sent to him and begged him not to venture into the theater. 32Now some cried one thing, some another; for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 33Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander motioned with his hand, wishing to make a defense to the people. 34But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all with one voice cried out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 35And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky?#19.35 The meaning of the Greek is uncertain 36Seeing then that these things cannot be contradicted, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. 37For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against any one, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls; let them bring charges against one another. 39But if you seek anything further,#19.39 Other ancient authorities read about other matters it shall be settled in the regular assembly. 40For we are in danger of being charged with rioting today, there being no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.” 41And when he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.
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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America
Acts 19
19
Paul in Ephesus
1While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior provinces to get to the city of Ephesus. He met some disciples in Ephesus 2and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?”
They answered him, “No, we’ve never even heard of the Holy Spirit.”
3Paul asked them, “What kind of baptism did you have?”
They answered, “John’s baptism.”
4Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance.#19:4 “Repentance” is turning to God with a complete change in the way a person thinks and acts. John told people to believe in Jesus, who was coming later.”
5After they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came to them, and they began to talk in other languages and to speak what God had revealed. 7About twelve men were in the group.
8For three months Paul would go into the synagogue and speak boldly. He had discussions with people to convince them about God’s kingdom. 9But when some people became stubborn, refused to believe, and had nothing good to say in front of the crowd about the way ⌞of Christ⌟, he left them. He took his disciples and held daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10This continued for two years so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.
11God worked unusual miracles through Paul. 12People would take handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched Paul’s skin to those who were sick. Their sicknesses would be cured, and evil spirits would leave them.
13Some Jews used to travel from place to place and force evil spirits out of people. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus to force evil spirits out of those who were possessed. These Jews would say, “I order you ⌞to come out⌟ in the name of Jesus, whom Paul talks about.” 14Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.
15But the evil spirit answered them, “I know Jesus, and I’m acquainted with Paul, but who are you?” 16Then the man possessed by the evil spirit attacked them. He beat them up so badly that they ran out of that house naked and wounded.
17All the Jews and Greeks living in the city of Ephesus heard about this. All of them were filled with awe for the name of the Lord Jesus and began to speak very highly about it. 18Many believers openly admitted their involvement with magical spells and told all the details. 19Many of those who were involved in the occult gathered their books and burned them in front of everyone. They added up the cost of these books and found that they were worth 50,000 silver coins. 20In this powerful way the word of the Lord was spreading and gaining strength.
21After all these things had happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem by traveling through Macedonia and Greece. He said, “After I have been there, I must see Rome.” 22So he sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed longer in the province of Asia.
A Riot in Ephesus
23During that time a serious disturbance concerning the way ⌞of Christ⌟ broke out in the city of Ephesus.
24Demetrius, a silversmith, was in the business of making silver models of the temple of Artemis. His business brought a huge profit for the men who worked for him. 25He called a meeting of his workers and others who did similar work. Demetrius said, “Men, you know that we’re earning a good income from this business, 26and you see and hear what this man Paul has done. He has won over a large crowd that follows him not only in Ephesus but also throughout the province of Asia. He tells people that gods made by humans are not gods. 27There’s a danger that people will discredit our line of work, and there’s a danger that people will think that the temple of the great goddess Artemis is nothing. Then she whom all Asia and the rest of the world worship will be robbed of her glory.”
28When Demetrius’ workers and the others heard this, they became furious and began shouting, “Artemis of the Ephesians is great!” 29The confusion spread throughout the city, and the people had one thought in mind as they rushed into the theater. They grabbed Gaius and Aristarchus, the Macedonians who traveled with Paul, and they dragged the two men into the theater with them.
30Paul wanted to go into the crowd, but his disciples wouldn’t let him. 31Even some officials who were from the province of Asia and who were Paul’s friends sent messengers to urge him not to risk going into the theater.
32Some people shouted one thing while others shouted something else. The crowd was confused. Most of the people didn’t even know why they had come together. 33Some people concluded that Alexander was the cause, so the Jews pushed him to the front. Alexander motioned with his hand to quiet the people because he wanted to defend himself in front of them. 34But when they recognized that Alexander was a Jew, everyone started to shout in unison, “Artemis of the Ephesians is great!” They kept doing this for about two hours.
35The city clerk finally quieted the crowd. Then he said, “Citizens of Ephesus, everyone knows that this city of the Ephesians is the keeper of the temple of the great Artemis. Everyone knows that Ephesus is the keeper of the statue that fell down from Zeus. 36No one can deny this. So you have to be quiet and not do anything foolish. 37The men you brought here don’t rob temples or insult our goddess. 38If Demetrius and the men who work for him have a legal complaint against anyone, we have special days and officials to hold court. That’s where they should bring charges against each other. 39If you want anything else, you must settle the matter in a legal assembly. 40At this moment we run the risk of being accused of rioting today for no reason. We won’t be able to explain this mob.” 41After saying this, he dismissed the assembly.#19:41 Acts 19:41 in English Bibles is Acts 19:40b in the Greek Bible.
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