Act 19 | NASB1995 | STEP | It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth , Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus , and found some disciples .

‏ Acts 19

Paul at Ephesus

1 It happened that while ^aApollos was at ^bCorinth, Paul passed through the ^cupper country and came to ^dEphesus, and found some disciples. 2 He said to them, ^e“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No, ^fwe have not even heard whether ^{▼▼ Or the Holy Spirit has been given}there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, ^h“Into John’s baptism.” 4 Paul said, ⁱ“John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people ^jto believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 When they heard this, they were ^kbaptized ^{▼▼ Lit into}in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had ^mlaid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began ⁿspeaking with tongues and ^oprophesying. 7 There were in all about twelve men.

8 And he entered ^pthe synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them ^qabout the kingdom of God. 9 But when ^rsome were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of ^sthe Way before the ^{▼▼ Lit multitude}people, he withdrew from them and took away ^uthe disciples, reasoning 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 name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, “I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 14 Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” 16 And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped 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, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in ^aeEphesus; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified. 18 Many also 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 counted up the price of them and found it ^{▼▼ Probably fifty thousand Greek drachmas; a drachma approximated a day’s wage}fifty thousand ^agpieces of silver. 20 So ^{▼▼ Or according to the power of the Lord the word was growing
,} ^aithe word of the Lord ^ajwas growing mightily and prevailing.

21 Now after these things were finished, Paul purposed in the ^{▼▼ Or spirit}Spirit to ^algo to Jerusalem ^amafter he had passed through ^anMacedonia and ^aoAchaia, saying, “After I have been there, ^apI must also see Rome.” 22 And having sent into ^aqMacedonia two of ^arthose who ministered to him, ^asTimothy and ^atErastus, he himself stayed in ^{▼▼ I.e. west coast province of Asia Minor
,} ^avAsia for a while.

23 About that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning ^awthe Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of ^{▼▼ Lat Diana}Artemis, ^aywas bringing no little ^{▼▼ Or profit}business to the craftsmen; 25 these he gathered 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 ^bbEphesus, but in almost all of ^{▼▼ V 22, note 1
,} ^bdAsia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that ^{▼▼ Lit those
,} ^bfgods made with hands are no gods at all. 27 “Not only is there danger that this trade of ours fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess ^{▼▼ Lat Diana}Artemis be regarded as worthless and that she whom all of ^{▼▼ V 22, note 1
,} ^biAsia and ^bjthe ^{▼▼ 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 crying out, saying, “Great is ^{▼▼ Lat Diana}Artemis of the ^bmEphesians!” 29 The city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed ^{▼▼ Or together}with one accord into the theater, dragging along ^boGaius and ^bpAristarchus, Paul’s traveling ^bqcompanions from ^brMacedonia. 30 And when Paul wanted to go into the ^{▼▼ Lit people}assembly, ^btthe 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 to him and repeatedly urged him not to ^{▼▼ Lit give himself}venture into the theater. 32 ^bwSo 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 ^camotioned with his hand, Alexander was intending to make a defense to the ^{▼▼ Lit people}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 ^cdEphesus, what man 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}heaven? 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 ^cgrobbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 “So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against any man, the courts are in session and ^{▼▼ Or provincial governors
,} ^ciproconsuls are available; let 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 cause 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.