1 W hile Apollos was in Corinth, Paul went through the upper inland districts and came down to Ephesus. There he found some disciples.

2 A nd he asked them, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed ? And they said, No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.

3 A nd he asked, Into what then were you baptized? They said, Into John’s baptism.

4 A nd Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance, continually telling the people that they should believe in the One Who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.

5 O n hearing this they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

6 A nd as Paul laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they spoke in tongues (languages) and prophesied.

7 T here were about twelve of them in all.

8 A nd he went into the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, persuading and arguing and pleading about the kingdom of God.

9 B ut when some became more and more stubborn (hardened and unbelieving), discrediting and reviling and speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he separated himself from them, taking the disciples with him, and went on holding daily discussions in the lecture room of Tyrannus from about ten o’clock till three.

10 T his continued for two years, so that all the inhabitants of Asia, Jews as well as Greeks, heard the Word of the Lord '> attainment through Christ of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God].

11 A nd God did unusual and extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul,

12 S o that handkerchiefs or towels or aprons which had touched his skin were carried away and put upon the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.

13 T hen some of the traveling Jewish exorcists (men who adjure evil spirits) also undertook to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, I solemnly implore and charge you by the Jesus Whom Paul preaches!

14 S even sons of a certain Jewish chief priest named Sceva were doing this.

15 B ut evil spirit retorted, Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?

16 T hen the man in whom the evil spirit dwelt leaped upon them, mastering two of them, and was so violent against them that they dashed out of that house, stripped naked and wounded.

17 T his became known to all who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, and alarm and terror fell upon them all; and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled and magnified.

18 M any also of those who were now believers came making full confession and thoroughly exposing their practices.

19 A nd many of those who had practiced curious, magical arts collected their books and '> book after book, on the pile] burned them in the sight of everybody. When they counted the value of them, they found it amounted to 50, 000 pieces of silver ( about $9, 300).

20 T hus the Word of the Lord '> attainment through Christ of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God] grew and spread and intensified, prevailing mightily.

21 N ow after these events Paul determined in the Spirit that he would travel through Macedonia and Achaia (most of Greece) and go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must visit Rome also.

22 A nd having sent two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, into Macedonia, he himself stayed on in Asia for a while.

23 B ut as time went on, there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way.

24 F or a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no small income to his craftsmen.

25 T hese he called together, along with the workmen of similar trades, and said, Men, you are acquainted with the facts and understand that from this business we derive our wealth and livelihood.

26 N ow you notice and hear that not only at Ephesus but almost all over Asia this Paul has persuaded and induced people to believe his teaching and has alienated a considerable company of them, saying that gods that are made with human hands are not really gods at all.

27 N ow there is danger not merely that this trade of ours may be discredited, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may come into disrepute and count for nothing, and that her glorious magnificence may be degraded and fall into contempt—she whom all Asia and the wide world worship.

28 A s they listened to this, they were filled with rage and they continued to shout, Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!

29 T hen the city was filled with confusion; and they rushed together into the amphitheater, dragging along with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were fellow travelers with Paul.

30 P aul wished to go in among the crowd, but the disciples would not permit him to do it.

31 E ven some of the Asiarchs (political or religious officials in Asia) who were his friends also sent to him and warned him not to risk venturing into the theater.

32 N ow some shouted one thing and some another, for the gathering was in a tumult and most of them did not know why they had come together.

33 S ome of the crowd called upon Alexander, since the Jews had pushed and urged him forward. And Alexander motioned with his hand, wishing to make a defense and to apologize to the people.

34 B ut as soon as they saw him and recognized that he was a Jew, a shout went up from them as the voice of one man, as for about two hours they cried, Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!

35 A nd when the town clerk had calmed the crowd down, he said, Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky?

36 S eeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet (keep yourselves in check) and do nothing rashly.

37 F or you have brought these men here, who are neither temple robberies nor blasphemous speech about our goddess.

38 N ow then, if Demetrius and his fellow tradesmen who are with him have a grievance against anyone, the courts are open and proconsuls are; let them bring charges against one another.

39 B ut if you require anything further about this or about other matters, it must be decided and cleared up in the regular assembly.

40 F or we are in danger of being called to render an account and of being accused of rioting because of today, there being no reason that we can offer to justify this disorder.

41 A nd when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.