Ma`asei (Acts) 19
19
1And it came to be, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Sha’ul, having passed through the upper parts, came to Ephesos. And having found some taught ones,
2he said to them, “Did you receive the Set-apart Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Set-apart Spirit.”
3And he said to them, “Into what then were you immersed?” And they said, “Into Yoḥanan’s immersion.”
4And Sha’ul said, “Yoḥanan indeed immersed with an immersion of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe in the One who is coming after him, that is, in Messiah יהושע.”
5And when they heard this, they were immersed into the Name of the Master יהושע.
6And when Sha’ul had laid hands on them, the Set-apart Spirit came upon them, and they were speaking in tongues and prophesying.
7And all the men were about twelve.
8And having gone into the congregation he spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the reign of Elohim.
9But when some were hardened and did not believe, speaking evil of the Way before the crowd, he withdrew from them and separated the taught ones, reasoning daily in the school of Turannos.
10And this took place for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Master יהושע, both Yehuḏim and Greeks.
11And Elohim worked unusual miracles through the hands of Sha’ul,
12so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the wicked spirits went out of them.
13But certain roving Yehuḏi exorcists took it upon themselves to call the Name of the Master יהושע over those who had wicked spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by יהושע whom Sha’ul proclaims.”
14And there were seven sons of a certain Skeua, a Yehuḏi chief priest, who were doing this.
15And the wicked spirit answering, said, “יהושע I know, and Sha’ul I know, but who are you?”
16And the man in whom the wicked spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
17And this became known to all, both Yehuḏim and Greeks dwelling in Ephesos. And fear fell on them all, and the Name of the Master יהושע was made great.
18And many who had believed came confessing and declaring their deeds.
19And many of those who had practised magic brought their books together, burning them before all. And they reckoned up the value of them, and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver.
20So the word of the Master was growing mightily and prevailing.
21Now when these matters had been completed, Sha’ul purposed in the Spirit, when he had passed through Makedonia and Achaia, to go to Yerushalayim, saying, “After I have been there, I have to see Rome too.”
22And having sent into Makedonia two of those assisting him, Timotiyos and Ěrastos, he himself remained in Asia for a time.
23And about that time there came to be a great commotion about the Way.
24For a certain man named Demetrios, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, provided no little business to the craftsmen,
25who, having called them together, with the workers of similar trade, said, “Men, you know that our wealth is from this business.
26“And you see and hear that not only at Ephesos, but throughout almost all Asia, this Sha’ul has persuaded and turned away a large number, saying that they are not mighty ones which are made with hands.
27“And not only is this trade of ours in danger of coming to rejection, but also that the temple of the great female mighty one Artemis whom all Asia and the world worship, shall be regarded as worthless and her greatness diminished.”
28And having heard this, they were filled with rage and cried out, saying, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
29And the entire city was filled with confusion, and they rushed with one mind into the theatre, having seized Gaios and Aristarchos, Makedonians, Sha’ul’s fellow travellers.
30And Sha’ul, intending to go in among the mob, the taught ones did not allow him.
31And some of the officials of Asia, being his friends, sent to him begging him not to risk himself into the theatre.
32Then others indeed shouted this and others that, for the assembly was confused, and most of them did not know why they had come together.
33And some of the crowd instructed Alexander – the Yehuḏim putting him forward. And Alexander motioned with his hand, and wished to make his defence to the people.
34But having recognised that he was a Yehuḏi, all with one voice cried out for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
35And the city clerk, having calmed the crowd, said, “Men of Ephesos, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the guardian of the temple of the great female mighty one Artemis, and of that which fell down from Zeus?
36Therefore, if these matters are undeniable, you need to be calm, and do not act rashly.
37“For you have brought these men here who are neither temple-robbers nor speaking evil of your female mighty one.
38“If truly then Demetrios and his fellow craftsmen have a case against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. Let them accuse one another.
39“And if you have any further complaint, it shall be settled in the regular assembly.
40“For we are in danger of being accused of riot concerning today, there being no reason which we could give to account for this disorderly gathering.”
41And having said this, he dismissed the assembly.
Currently Selected:
Ma`asei (Acts) 19: TS2009
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Copyright© 1993 – 2015 by the Institute for Scripture Research (ISR). All rights reserved.
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.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.