Acts 19

19 ¹ While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul traveled through the inland regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. ² He asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."

³ So he asked, "Into what then were you baptized?" "Into John's baptism," they said.

⁴ Paul said, "John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who would come after him, that is, in Jesus."

⁵ On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ And when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. ⁷ There were about twelve men in all.

⁸ Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of our Father. ⁹ But when some became stubborn and refused to believe, slandering the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. ¹⁰ This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord Jesus.

¹¹ Our Father did extraordinary miracles through the hands of Paul, ¹² so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched his skin were carried to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.

¹³ Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "I command you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims." ¹⁴ Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this.

¹⁵ But the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?" ¹⁶ And the man who had the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them all, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. ¹⁷ This became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. Fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. ¹⁸ Many of those who had become believers also came, confessing and disclosing their practices. ¹⁹ And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in front of everyone. They counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand days' wages. ^a a v19 Each piece of silver was a drachma — roughly a day's wage for a laborer. The burned scrolls were worth about fifty thousand days' wages. ²⁰ So the word of the Lord Jesus continued to grow mightily and prevail.

²¹ Now after these things had happened, Paul resolved in his spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, "After I have been there, I must also see Rome." ²² So he sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, into Macedonia, while he himself stayed in Asia for a while. ²³ About that time there arose a serious disturbance concerning the Way. ²⁴ For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, kept many craftsmen busy. ^b b v24 Artemis of Ephesus was the city's great mother-goddess. Her temple was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and the heart of the city's economy. ²⁵ He gathered these together, along with the workers in related trades, and said, "Men, you know that we make our living from this business. 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, telling them that gods made with hands are not gods at all. ²⁷ There is danger not only that our trade will fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and that she whom all Asia and the world worship will be stripped of her majesty."

²⁸ When they heard this they were filled with rage and began shouting, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" ²⁹ So the city was filled with confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul's traveling companions. ³⁰ When Paul wanted to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him. ³¹ Even some of the officials of the province, who were his friends, sent word to him, urging him not to venture into the theater. ³² Meanwhile some were shouting one thing and 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 pushed forward. Motioning with his hand, Alexander wanted to make a defense before the people. ³⁴ But when they realized he was a Jew, they all cried out with one voice for about two hours, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

³⁵ When the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, "Men of Ephesus, who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the temple keeper of the great Artemis and of the image that fell from heaven? ^c c v35 Many believed this sacred object was a meteorite that had fallen from the sky — taken as proof of Artemis's favor on the city. ³⁶ Since these things cannot be denied, you ought to keep calm and do nothing rash. ³⁷ For you have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess. ³⁸ So if Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls; let them bring charges against one another there. ³⁹ But if you are seeking anything further, it will be settled in the regular assembly. ⁴⁰ For we really are in danger of being charged with rioting over today's events, since we can give no reason for this commotion." ⁴¹ And when he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.