Act 19 | NASB2020 | STEP | Now it happened that while Apollos was in Corinth , Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus , and found some disciples .

Acts 19

Paul in Ephesus

1 Now it happened that while ^aApollos was in ^bCorinth, Paul passed through the ^cupper country and came to ^dEphesus, and found some disciples. 2 He said to them, “ ^eDid you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “On the contrary, ^fwe have not even heard if there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “ ^gInto John’s baptism.” 4 Paul said, “ ^hJohn baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people ⁱto believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 When they heard this, they were ^jbaptized ^{▼▼Lit into}in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had ^llaid hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they began ^mspeaking with tongues and ⁿprophesying. 7 There were about twelve men in all.

8 And he entered ^othe synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, having discussions and persuading them ^pabout the kingdom of God. 9 But when ^qsome were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of ^{▼▼See John 14:6
,} ^sthe Way before the ^{▼▼Lit multitude}people, he withdrew from them and took ^uthe disciples away with him, and had discussions daily in the school of Tyrannus. 10 This took place for ^vtwo years, so that all who lived in ^{▼▼I.e., west coast province of Asia Minor
,} ^xAsia heard ^ythe word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

Miracles at Ephesus

11 God was performing ^zextraordinary ^{▼▼Or works of power}miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 ^abso that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and ^acthe evil spirits went out. 13 But also some of the Jewish ^adexorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to ^{▼▼I.e., as an incantation}use the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had the evil spirits, saying, “I order you in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches!” 14 Now there were seven sons of ^{▼▼Lit some Sceva}Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, doing this. 15 But the evil spirit responded and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know of Paul, but who are you?” 16 And the man in whom was the evil spirit, pounced on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 This became known to all who lived in ^agEphesus, both Jews and Greeks; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified. 18 Also many of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices. 19 And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they added up the prices of ^{▼▼Lit them}the books and found it to be fifty thousand ^{▼▼Prob. Greek drachmas; a drachma was a day’s wages for a laborer
,} ^ajpieces of silver. 20 So ^{▼▼Or according to the power of the Lord the word was growing
,} ^althe word of the Lord ^amwas growing and prevailing mightily.

21 Now after these things were finished, Paul resolved in ^{▼▼Or his spirit}the Spirit to ^aogo to Jerusalem ^apafter he had passed through ^aqMacedonia and ^arAchaia, saying, “After I have been there, ^asI must also see Rome.” 22 And after he sent into ^atMacedonia two of ^authose who assisted him, ^avTimothy and ^awErastus, he himself stayed in ^{▼▼I.e., west coast province of Asia Minor
,} ^ayAsia for a while.

23 About that time ^{▼▼Lit no small}a major disturbance occurred in regard to ^{▼▼See John 14:6
,} ^bbthe Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of ^{▼▼Lat Diana}Artemis, ^bdwas bringing ^{▼▼Lit no little}considerable ^{▼▼Or profit}business to the craftsmen; 25 he gathered these men together with the workmen of similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity ^{▼▼Lit is from}depends upon this business. 26 You see and hear that not only in ^bhEphesus, but in almost all of ^{▼▼See note v 22
,} ^bjAsia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that ^{▼▼Lit those
,} ^blgods made by hands are not gods at all. 27 Not only is there danger that this trade of ours will fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess ^{▼▼Lat Diana}Artemis will be regarded as worthless, and that she whom all of ^{▼▼See note v 22
,} ^boAsia and ^bpthe ^{▼▼Lit the inhabited earth}world worship will even be dethroned from her magnificence.”

28 When they heard this and were filled with rage, they began shouting, saying, “Great is ^{▼▼Lat Diana}Artemis of the ^bsEphesians!” 29 The city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging along ^btGaius and ^buAristarchus, Paul’s ^bvMacedonian traveling ^bwcompanions. 30 And when Paul wanted to go into the assembly, ^bxthe disciples would not let him. 31 Also some of the ^{▼▼I.e., political or religious officials of the province of Asia}Asiarchs who were friends of his sent word to him and repeatedly urged him not to ^{▼▼Lit give himself}venture into the theater. 32 ^caSo then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the ^{▼▼Gr ekklesia}assembly was in confusion and the majority did not know ^{▼▼Or on whose account}for what reason they had come together. 33 Some of the crowd ^{▼▼Or advised Alexander}concluded it was Alexander, since the Jews had put him forward; and having ^cemotioned with his hand, Alexander was intending to make a defense to the assembly. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single outcry arose from them all as they shouted for about two hours, “Great is ^{▼▼Lat Diana}Artemis of the Ephesians!”

35 After quieting the crowd, the town clerk *said, “Men of ^cgEphesus, what person is there after all who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great ^{▼▼Lat Diana}Artemis and of the image which fell down from ^{▼▼Lit Zeus; Lat Jupiter}the sky? 36 So, since these are undeniable facts, you ought to keep calm and to do nothing rash. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither ^cjtemple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are in session and ^{▼▼Or provincial governors
,} ^clproconsuls are available; have them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you want anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the ^{▼▼Or regular}lawful ^{▼▼Gr ekklesia}assembly. 40 For indeed, we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today’s events, since there is no real reason for it, and in this connection we will be unable to account for this disorderly gathering.” 41 After saying this he dismissed the ^{▼▼Gr ekklesia}assembly.