Act 19:23-35, 1Cor 15:32, 16:9, 2Cor 4:7-12 | ESV | STEP | About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way .

23 About that time ^athere arose no little disturbance concerning ^bthe Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, ^cbrought no little business to the craftsmen. 25 ^dThese he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. 26 And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, ^esaying that ^fgods made with hands are not gods. 27 And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the ^ggreat goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”

28 When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, ^h“Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and ⁱAristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s ^jcompanions in travel. 30 But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him. 31 And even some of the Asiarchs, ^{▼▼That is, high-ranking officers of the province of Asia} who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater. 32 ^lNow some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 33 Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander, ^mmotioning with his hand, wanted to make a defense to the crowd. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, ⁿ“Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

35 And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who 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 ^othe sky? ^{▼▼The meaning of the Greek is uncertain}

1 Corinthians 15:32

32 What do I gain if, humanly speaking, ^qI fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, ^r“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

1 Corinthians 16:9

9 for ^sa wide door for effective work has opened to me, and ^tthere are many adversaries.

2 Corinthians 4:7-12

Treasure in Jars of Clay

7 But we have this treasure in ^ujars of clay, ^vto show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are ^wafflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but ^xnot forsaken; ^ystruck down, but not destroyed; 10 ^zalways carrying in the body the death of Jesus, ^aaso that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So ^abdeath is at work in us, but life in you.