New King James Version

New Living Translation

Paul at Ephesus

And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples

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Paul’s Third Missionary Journey

While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus, on the coast, where he found several believers.a

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he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”
So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”

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“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” he asked them.
“No,” they replied, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

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And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?”
So they said, “Into John’s baptism.”

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“Then what baptism did you experience?” he asked.
And they replied, “The baptism of John.”

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Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.”

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Paul said, “John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.”

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When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

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As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

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And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.

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Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tonguesb and prophesied.

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Now the men were about twelve in all.

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There were about twelve men in all.

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And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God.

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Paul Ministers in Ephesus

Then Paul went to the synagogue and preached boldly for the next three months, arguing persuasively about the Kingdom of God.

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But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus.

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But some became stubborn, rejecting his message and publicly speaking against the Way. So Paul left the synagogue and took the believers with him. Then he held daily discussions at the lecture hall of Tyrannus.

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And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.

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This went on for the next two years, so that people throughout the province of Asia — both Jews and Greeks — heard the word of the Lord.

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Miracles Glorify Christ

Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul,

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God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles.

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so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.

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When handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases, and evil spirits were expelled.

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Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, [a]“We [b]exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.”

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A group of Jews was traveling from town to town casting out evil spirits. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantation, saying, “I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!”

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Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.

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Seven sons of Sceva, a leading priest, were doing this.

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And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”

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But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?”

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Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, [c]overpowered them, and prevailed against [d]them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

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Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and battered.

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This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.

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The story of what happened spread quickly all through Ephesus, to Jews and Greeks alike. A solemn fear descended on the city, and the name of the Lord Jesus was greatly honored.

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And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds.

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Many who became believers confessed their sinful practices.

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Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver.

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A number of them who had been practicing sorcery brought their incantation books and burned them at a public bonfire. The value of the books was several million dollars.c

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So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.

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So the message about the Lord spread widely and had a powerful effect.

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The Riot at Ephesus

When these things were accomplished, Paul purposed in the Spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.”

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Afterward Paul felt compelled by the Spiritd to go over to Macedonia and Achaia before going to Jerusalem. “And after that,” he said, “I must go on to Rome!”

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So he sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, but he himself stayed in Asia for a time.

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He sent his two assistants, Timothy and Erastus, ahead to Macedonia while he stayed awhile longer in the province of Asia.

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And about that time there arose a great commotion about the Way.

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The Riot in Ephesus

About that time, serious trouble developed in Ephesus concerning the Way.

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For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of [e]Diana, brought no small profit to the craftsmen.

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It began with Demetrius, a silversmith who had a large business manufacturing silver shrines of the Greek goddess Artemis.e He kept many craftsmen busy.

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He called them together with the workers of similar occupation, and said: “Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade.

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He called them together, along with others employed in similar trades, and addressed them as follows:
“Gentlemen, you know that our wealth comes from this business.

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Moreover you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands.

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But as you have seen and heard, this man Paul has persuaded many people that handmade gods aren’t really gods at all. And he’s done this not only here in Ephesus but throughout the entire province!

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So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and [f]her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship.”

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Of course, I’m not just talking about the loss of public respect for our business. I’m also concerned that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will lose its influence and that Artemis — this magnificent goddess worshiped throughout the province of Asia and all around the world — will be robbed of her great prestige!”

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Now when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”

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At this their anger boiled, and they began shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

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So the whole city was filled with confusion, and rushed into the theater with one accord, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul’s travel companions.

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Soon the whole city was filled with confusion. Everyone rushed to the amphitheater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, who were Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia.

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And when Paul wanted to go in to the people, the disciples would not allow him.

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Paul wanted to go in, too, but the believers wouldn’t let him.

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Then some of the [g]officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him pleading that he would not venture into the theater.

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Some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, also sent a message to him, begging him not to risk his life by entering the amphitheater.

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Some therefore cried one thing and some another, for the assembly was confused, and most of them did not know why they had come together.

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Inside, the people were all shouting, some one thing and some another. Everything was in confusion. In fact, most of them didn’t even know why they were there.

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And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander motioned with his hand, and wanted to make his defense to the people.

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The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander forward and told him to explain the situation. He motioned for silence and tried to speak.

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But when they found out that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about two hours, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”

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But when the crowd realized he was a Jew, they started shouting again and kept it up for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians! Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

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And when the city clerk had quieted the crowd, he said: “Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple guardian of the great goddess [h]Diana, and of the image which fell down from [i]Zeus?

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At last the mayor was able to quiet them down enough to speak. “Citizens of Ephesus,” he said. “Everyone knows that Ephesus is the official guardian of the temple of the great Artemis, whose image fell down to us from heaven.

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Therefore, since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly.

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Since this is an undeniable fact, you should stay calm and not do anything rash.

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For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of [j]your goddess.

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You have brought these men here, but they have stolen nothing from the temple and have not spoken against our goddess.

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Therefore, if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a [k]case against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another.

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“If Demetrius and the craftsmen have a case against them, the courts are in session and the officials can hear the case at once. Let them make formal charges.

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But if you have any other inquiry to make, it shall be determined in the lawful assembly.

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And if there are complaints about other matters, they can be settled in a legal assembly.

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For we are in danger of being [l]called in question for today’s uproar, there being no reason which we may give to account for this disorderly gathering.”

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I am afraid we are in danger of being charged with rioting by the Roman government, since there is no cause for all this commotion. And if Rome demands an explanation, we won’t know what to say.”

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And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.

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fThen he dismissed them, and they dispersed.

Parallel

New King James Version

New Living Translation

Acts 19

Acts 19