Acts 19
1 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the interior and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples
While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul [left the places in Phrygia and Galatia] provinces where he had been visiting, and traveled through [Asia province] back to Ephesus. He met some people [who said that they] were believers.
2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” “No,” they answered, “we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
He asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed [God’s message]?” They answered, “No, we [(exc) did not]. We have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
3 “Into what, then, were you baptized?” Paul asked. “The baptism of John,” they replied.
So Paul asked, “So when you were baptized, what [were you showing]?” They replied, “[We were showing] that we [(exc)] believed what John [the Baptizer] taught.”
4 Paul explained: “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the One coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”
Paul said, “John baptized people who turned away from their sinful behavior. He [also] told the people to believe in the one who would come after he [had come], and that was Jesus.”
5 On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.
So, when those men heard that, they were baptized [to affirm that they believed] [MTY] in the Lord Jesus.
6 And when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
After that, Paul placed his hands on their heads [one by one], and the [power of the] Holy Spirit came upon [each of] them. The [Holy Spirit] enabled them to speak in various languages [MTY] [that they had not learned], and they also spoke messages [that the Holy Spirit] revealed to them.
7 There were about twelve men in all.
There were about twelve men [whom Paul baptized and who received the power of the Holy Spirit].
8 Then Paul went into the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.
For three months after that, Paul entered the Jewish meeting place [in Ephesus on each] Sabbath/Jewish day of rest, and he spoke boldly. He convincingly taught [the people] about how God wanted to rule [MET] [their lives].
9 But when some of them stubbornly refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way, Paul took his disciples and left the synagogue to conduct daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.
[A few of the people in the meeting house believed the message about Jesus]. But some of the people would not believe that message and did not want to [continue to] hear it. While many people were listening, they said many bad things about the way [for people to receive eternal life about which Paul was preaching]. So Paul left them and took the believers with him [to meet in another place]. He taught every day in a lecture hall [that a man whose name was] Tyrannus [lectured in/owned].
10 This continued for two years, so that everyone who lived in the province of Asia, Jews and Greeks alike, heard the word of the Lord.
For two years Paul continued to teach people in that building. In this way, most of [HYP] the Jews and non-Jews who lived in Asia [province] heard the message about the Lord [Jesus].
11 God did extraordinary miracles through the hands of Paul,
Also, God gave Paul the power [MTY] to do amazing miracles.
12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and the diseases and evil spirits left them.
[If those who were sick could not come to Paul, handkerchiefs or aprons that Paul had touched would be taken and] placed on the sick people {[others] would take [and place on] the sick people handkerchiefs or aprons that Paul had touched}. As a result, those sick people would become well, and evil spirits that troubled people would leave.
13 Now there were some itinerant Jewish exorcists who tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those with evil spirits. They would say, “I bind you by Jesus, whom Paul proclaims.”
There were also some Jews who traveled around [to] various places, [and] they commanded the evil spirits in those places to depart [from people. Certain ones of those Jews once] tried to command the evil spirits to come out of people by saying “I command you by the authority [MTY] of the Lord Jesus, the man about whom Paul preaches, to come out!”
14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.
There were seven men who were doing that. They were sons of a man named Sceva, a Jew, [who called himself] a chief priest.
15 Eventually, one of the evil spirits answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?”
But [one day as they were doing that], the evil spirit [refused to come out of that person. Instead, he] said to them, “I know Jesus, and I know [that he has authorized] Paul [to expel demons]. (But no one has authorized you [to do anything to me!]/who authorized you [to do anything to me]?) [RHQ]”
16 Then the man with the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. The attack was so violent that they ran out of the house naked and wounded.
[After saying that, suddenly] the man who was controlled by the evil spirit jumped on the seven Jewish men, [one after another], knocked all of them down, and beat each of them severely. He tore off their clothes and wounded them, causing them to bleed. So, [greatly frightened, they all] ran out of the house.
17 This became known to all the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, and fear came over all of them. So the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.
All the people who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and non-Jews, heard what had happened. So they were afraid [MTY]. They honored the Lord Jesus [MTY] [because they realized that he was very powerful].
18 Many who had believed now came forward, confessing and disclosing their deeds.
[At that time], while other believers were listening, many believers confessed the evil things that they had been doing.
19 And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books and burned them in front of everyone. When the value of the books was calculated, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.
Several of those who had [previously] practiced sorcery gathered up their scrolls [that told how to work] magic and burned them in a public place. When people added up how much those scrolls had cost, they realized that altogether the amount was 50,000 valuable silver coins.
20 So the word of the Lord powerfully continued to spread and prevail.
As a result, many more people heard [MTY] the message about the Lord [Jesus], and the message powerfully [changed their lives].
21 After these things had happened, Paul resolved in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must see Rome as well.”
After those things had happened, Paul decided that he wanted to go to Jerusalem, but he decided that [first] he would visit [the believers in] Macedonia and Achaia [provinces again]. Paul said, “After I have been to Jerusalem, I must also go to Rome.”
22 He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed for a time in the province of Asia.
He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, ahead to Macedonia. But Paul stayed a little longer [in Ephesus city], in Asia [province].
23 About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way.
[Soon after that], some of the people there tried to make a lot of [LIT] trouble for the people who believed the way [God revealed for us(inc) to receive eternal life].
24 It began with a silversmith named Demetrius who made silver shrines of Artemis, bringing much business to the craftsmen.
There was a man there whose name was Demetrius who made little images out of silver. [They were models] of the temple of [a goddess whose name was] Artemis. Demetrius and the other men [who made those little images] earned a lot of [LIT] money [from selling those images].
25 Demetrius assembled the craftsmen, along with the workmen in related trades. “Men,” he said, “you know that this business is our source of prosperity.
Demetrius called a meeting of his workmen and also of others who made the little silver images. He said to them, “Men, you know that we [(inc)] earn a lot of money doing our kind of work.
26 And you can see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in nearly the whole province of Asia, Paul has persuaded a great number of people to turn away. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all.
Also, you know that [this fellow] Paul has persuaded many people who live in Ephesus [to no longer buy the images that we make. Now even the people from] many other towns in our province [no longer want to buy what we make]. This fellow tells people that the gods that we have made [and worship] are not gods [and that we should not worship them].
27 There is danger not only that our business will fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited and her majesty deposed—she who is worshiped by all the province of Asia and the whole world.”
[If people continue to listen to him], soon they will ruin our business. Besides, they will no longer think that they should [come to] the temple of Artemis [to worship her. People] all over our Asia [province] and everywhere [HYP] else worship [our great] goddess [Artemis. Soon people] may no longer consider that Artemis is great!”
28 When the men heard this, they were enraged and began shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
All the men there were very angry [at Paul] when they heard what Demetrius said. They began to shout, “The goddess Artemis of us Ephesians is very great!”
29 Soon the whole city was in disarray. They rushed together into the theatre, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia.
Many of the other people in the city heard the shouting and went [and joined the crowd. They also became angry at Paul] and began shouting. [Several of] the people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, two men [from Macedonia] who had been traveling with Paul. [Then the whole crowd of people ran, dragging those men along with them], to the city stadium.
30 Paul wanted to go before the assembly, but the disciples would not allow him.
Paul also wanted to go [to the stadium and speak to] the people, but the other believers would not let him go there.
31 Even some of Paul’s friends who were officials of the province of Asia sent word to him, begging him not to venture into the theatre.
Also, some government officials of that province who were friends of Paul [heard what was happening]. So they sent someone to tell him [urgently] not to go into the stadium.
32 Meanwhile the assembly was in turmoil. Some were shouting one thing and some another, and most of them did not even know why they were there.
The crowd of people [in the stadium] continued shouting. Some shouted one thing, and some shouted something else. But most of them did not even know what the meeting was about!
33 The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander forward to explain himself, and he motioned for silence so he could make his defense to the people.
One of the [Jews there was named Alexander. Some of] the Jews pushed him to the front of the stadium, [so that he could speak to the crowd of people]. So Alexander motioned with his hands to the crowd, [wanting them to be quiet]. He wanted to tell them that [the Jews] were not responsible [for the riot].
34 But when they realized that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
But [many of the non-Jewish people] knew that Alexander was a Jew. [They also knew that the Jews did not worship the goddess Artemis. So the non-Jews there] unitedly [and] repeatedly shouted for about two hours, “Great is [the goddess] Artemis [whom we(inc)] Ephesians [worship]!”
35 Finally the city clerk quieted the crowd and declared, “Men of Ephesus, doesn’t everyone know that the city of Ephesus is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven?
Then the city secretary made the crowd stop shouting, and he said to them, “My fellow-citizens, everyone in the world knows [RHQ] that [we(inc) people who live in] Ephesus [city] guard the temple [where we worship] the great [goddess] Artemis. Also, [everyone knows that we(inc) watch over] the [sacred] image [of our goddess] that fell down from heaven!
36 Since these things are undeniable, you ought to be calm and not do anything rash.
Of course everyone knows that, and no one can say that these things are not true. So you should be quiet now. Do not suddenly do anything (foolish/that will cause us trouble).
37 For you have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed our temple nor blasphemed our goddess.
You [should not] have brought these [two] men [here, because they have not done anything evil]. They have not gone into our temples and taken things [from there]. And they have not spoken evil of our goddess.
38 So if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open and proconsuls are available. Let them bring charges against one another there.
Therefore, if Demetrius and his fellow-workmen want to accuse anyone [about anything bad, they should do it in the right way]. There are courts [that you can go to when you want to accuse someone], and there are judges [there who have been appointed by the government] {[whom the government has appointed]}. You can accuse [anyone there].
39 But if you are seeking anything beyond this, it must be settled in a legal assembly.
But if you want to ask about something else, [you should ask] for [other officials to] resolve it when [those] officials legally assemble.
40 For we are in jeopardy of being charged with rioting for today’s events, and we have no justification to account for this commotion.”
[And this is certainly not a legal meeting! Resolve this legally] because, if [we(inc) do] not, I am afraid [that the governor] will hear about all this noise [that you have made] and will say that we [(inc)] were trying to rebel [against the government]. If he would ask me what you were all shouting about, I would not be able to give him an answer.”
41 After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.
That is what the city secretary said [to the crowd]. Then he told them all to go [home. So they left].
