19:1 While 1 Apollos was in Corinth, 2 Paul went through the inland 3 regions 4 and came to Ephesus. 5 He 6 found some disciples there 7 19:2 and said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” 8 They replied, 9 “No, we have not even 10 heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 19:3 So Paul 11 said, “Into what then were you baptized?” “Into John’s baptism,” they replied. 12 19:4 Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, 13 that is, in Jesus.” 19:5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, 19:6 and when Paul placed 14 his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came 15 upon them, and they began to speak 16 in tongues and to prophesy. 17 19:7 (Now there were about twelve men in all.) 18
19:8 So Paul 19 entered 20 the synagogue 21 and spoke out fearlessly 22 for three months, addressing 23 and convincing 24 them about the kingdom of God. 25 19:9 But when 26 some were stubborn 27 and refused to believe, reviling 28 the Way 29 before the congregation, he left 30 them and took the disciples with him, 31 addressing 32 them every day 33 in the lecture hall 34 of Tyrannus. 19:10 This went on for two years, so that all who lived in the province of Asia, 35 both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord. 36
19:11 God was performing extraordinary 37 miracles by Paul’s hands, 19:12 so that when even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his body 38 were brought 39 to the sick, their diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. 40 19:13 But some itinerant 41 Jewish exorcists tried to invoke the name 42 of the Lord Jesus over those who were possessed by 43 evil spirits, saying, “I sternly warn 44 you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 19:14 (Now seven sons of a man named 45 Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were doing this.) 46 19:15 But the evil spirit replied to them, 47 “I know about Jesus 48 and I am acquainted with 49 Paul, but who are you?” 50 19:16 Then the man who was possessed by 51 the evil spirit jumped on 52 them and beat them all into submission. 53 He prevailed 54 against them so that they fled from that house naked and wounded. 19:17 This became known to all who lived in Ephesus, 55 both Jews and Greeks; fear came over 56 them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was praised. 57 19:18 Many of those who had believed came forward, 58 confessing and making their deeds known. 59 19:19 Large numbers 60 of those who had practiced magic 61 collected their books 62 and burned them up in the presence of everyone. 63 When 64 the value of the books was added up, it was found to total fifty thousand silver coins. 65 19:20 In this way the word of the Lord 66 continued to grow in power 67 and to prevail. 68
19:21 Now after all these things had taken place, 69 Paul resolved 70 to go to Jerusalem, 71 passing through Macedonia 72 and Achaia. 73 He said, 74 “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” 75 19:22 So after sending 76 two of his assistants, 77 Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, 78 he himself stayed on for a while in the province of Asia. 79
19:23 At 80 that time 81 a great disturbance 82 took place concerning the Way. 83 19:24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines 84 of Artemis, 85 brought a great deal 86 of business 87 to the craftsmen. 19:25 He gathered 88 these 89 together, along with the workmen in similar trades, 90 and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity 91 comes from this business. 19:26 And you see and hear that this Paul has persuaded 92 and turned away 93 a large crowd, 94 not only in Ephesus 95 but in practically all of the province of Asia, 96 by saying 97 that gods made by hands are not gods at all. 98 19:27 There is danger not only that this business of ours will come into disrepute, 99 but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis 100 will be regarded as nothing, 101 and she whom all the province of Asia 102 and the world worship will suffer the loss of her greatness.” 103
19:28 When 104 they heard 105 this they became enraged 106 and began to shout, 107 “Great is Artemis 108 of the Ephesians!” 19:29 The 109 city was filled with the uproar, 110 and the crowd 111 rushed to the theater 112 together, 113 dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, the Macedonians who were Paul’s traveling companions. 19:30 But when Paul wanted to enter the public assembly, 114 the disciples would not let him. 19:31 Even some of the provincial authorities 115 who were his friends sent 116 a message 117 to him, urging him not to venture 118 into the theater. 19:32 So then some were shouting one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had met together. 119 19:33 Some of the crowd concluded 120 it was about 121 Alexander because the Jews had pushed him to the front. 122 Alexander, gesturing 123 with his hand, was wanting to make a defense 124 before the public assembly. 125 19:34 But when they recognized 126 that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison, 127 “Great is Artemis 128 of the Ephesians!” for about two hours. 129 19:35 After the city secretary 130 quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, what person 131 is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the keeper 132 of the temple of the great Artemis 133 and of her image that fell from heaven? 134 19:36 So because these facts 135 are indisputable, 136 you must keep quiet 137 and not do anything reckless. 138 19:37 For you have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers 139 nor blasphemers of our goddess. 140