Acts, 19

1. While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior of the country and came (down) to Ephesus where he found some disciples.

1. It happened that while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul made his way overland as far as Ephesus, where he found a number of disciples.

2. He said to them, "Did you receive the holy Spirit when you became believers?" They answered him, "We have never even heard that there is a holy Spirit."

2. When he asked, 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?' they answered, 'No, we were never even told there was such a thing as a Holy Spirit.'

3. He said, "How were you baptized?" They replied, "With the baptism of John."

3. He asked, 'Then how were you baptised?' They replied, 'With John's baptism.'

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

4. Paul said, 'John's baptism was a baptism of repentance; but he insisted that the people should believe in the one who was to come after him -- namely Jesus.'

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

5. When they heard this, they were baptised in the name of 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.

6. and the moment Paul had laid hands on them the Holy Spirit came down on them, and they began to speak with tongues and to prophesy.

7. Altogether there were about twelve men.

7. There were about twelve of these men in all.

8. He entered the synagogue, and for three months debated boldly with persuasive arguments about the kingdom of God.

8. He began by going to the synagogue, where he spoke out fearlessly and argued persuasively about the kingdom of God. He did this for three months,

9. But when some in their obstinacy and disbelief disparaged the Way before the assembly, he withdrew and took his disciples with him and began to hold daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.

9. till the attitude of some of the congregation hardened into unbelief. As soon as they began attacking the Way in public, he broke with them and took his disciples apart to hold daily discussions in the lecture room of Tyrannus.

10. This continued for two years with the result that all the inhabitants of the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord, Jews and Greeks alike.

10. This went on for two years, with the result that all the inhabitants of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, were able to hear the word of the Lord.

11. So extraordinary were the mighty deeds God accomplished at the hands of Paul

11. So remarkable were the miracles worked by God at Paul's hands

12. that when face cloths or aprons that touched his skin were applied to the sick, their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.

12. that handkerchiefs or aprons which had touched him were taken to the sick, and they were cured of their illnesses, and the evil spirits came out of them.

13. Then some itinerant Jewish exorcists tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those with evil spirits, saying, "I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches."

13. But some itinerant Jewish exorcists too tried pronouncing the name of the Lord Jesus over people who were possessed by evil spirits; they used to say, 'I adjure you by the Jesus whose spokesman is Paul.'

14. When the seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish high priest, tried to do this,

14. Among those who did this were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest.

15. the evil spirit said to them in reply, "Jesus I recognize, Paul I know, but who are you?"

15. The evil spirit replied, 'Jesus I recognise, and Paul I know, but who are you?'

16. The person with the evil spirit then sprang at them and subdued them all. He so overpowered them that they fled naked and wounded from that house.

16. and the man with the evil spirit hurled himself at them and overpowered first one and then another, and handled them so violently that they fled from that house stripped of clothing and badly mauled.

17. When this became known to all the Jews and Greeks who lived in Ephesus, fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in great esteem.

17. Everybody in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, heard about this episode; everyone was filled with awe, and the name of the Lord Jesus came to be held in great honour.

18. Many of those who had become believers came forward and openly acknowledged their former practices.

18. Some believers, too, came forward to admit in detail how they had used spells

19. Moreover, a large number of those who had practiced magic collected their books and burned them in public. They calculated their value and found it to be fifty thousand silver pieces.

19. and a number of them who had practised magic collected their books and made a bonfire of them in public. The value of these was calculated to be fifty thousand silver pieces.

20. Thus did the word of the Lord continue to spread with influence and power.

20. In this powerful way the word of the Lord spread more and more widely and successfully.

21. When this was concluded, Paul made up his mind to travel through Macedonia and Achaia, and then to go on to Jerusalem, saying, "After I have been there, I must visit Rome also."

21. When all this was over Paul made up his mind to go back to Jerusalem through Macedonia and Achaia. 'After I have been there,' he said, 'I must go on to see Rome as well.'

22. Then he sent to Macedonia two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, while he himself stayed for a while in the province of Asia.

22. So he sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, ahead of him to Macedonia, while he remained for a time in Asia.

23. About that time a serious disturbance broke out concerning the Way.

23. It was during this time that a serious disturbance broke out in connection with the Way.

24. There was a silversmith named Demetrius who made miniature silver shrines of Artemis and provided no little work for the craftsmen.

24. A silversmith called Demetrius, who provided work for a large number of craftsmen making silver shrines of Diana,

25. He called a meeting of these and other workers in related crafts and said, "Men, you know well that our prosperity derives from this work.

25. called a general meeting of them with others in the same trade. 'As you know,' he said, 'it is on this industry that we depend for our prosperity.

26. As you can now see and hear, not only in Ephesus but throughout most of the province of Asia this Paul has persuaded and misled a great number of people by saying that gods made by hands are not gods at all.

26. Now you must have seen and heard how, not just in Ephesus but nearly everywhere in Asia, this man Paul has persuaded and converted a great number of people with his argument that gods made by hand are not gods at all.

27. The danger grows, not only that our business will be discredited, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be of no account, and that she whom the whole province of Asia and all the world worship will be stripped of her magnificence."

27. This threatens not only to discredit our trade, but also to reduce the sanctuary of the great goddess Diana to unimportance. It could end up by taking away the prestige of a goddess venerated all over Asia, and indeed all over the world.'

28. When they heard this, they were filled with fury and began to shout, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

28. This speech roused them to fury, and they started to shout, 'Great is Diana of the Ephesians!'

29. The city was filled with confusion, and the people rushed with one accord into the theater, seizing Gaius and Aristarchus, the Macedonians, Paul's traveling companions.

29. The whole town was filled with the uproar and the mob made a concerted rush to the theatre, dragging along two of Paul's Macedonian travelling companions, Gaius and Aristarchus.

30. Paul wanted to go before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him,

30. Paul wanted to make an appeal to the people, but the disciples refused to let him;

31. and even some of the Asiarchs who were friends of his sent word to him advising him not to venture into the theater.

31. in fact, some of the Asiarchs, who were friends of his, sent messages urging him not to take the risk of going into the theatre.

32. Meanwhile, some were shouting one thing, others something else; the assembly was in chaos, and most of the people had no idea why they had come together.

32. By now everybody was shouting different things, till the assembly itself had no idea what was going on; most of them did not even know why they had gathered together.

33. Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, as the Jews pushed him forward, and Alexander signaled with his hand that he wished to explain something to the gathering.

33. Some of the crowd prevailed upon Alexander, whom the Jews pushed forward; he raised his hand for silence with the intention of explaining things to the people.

34. But when they recognized that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison, for about two hours, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

34. As soon as they realised he was a Jew, they all started shouting in unison, 'Great is Diana of the Ephesians!' and they kept this up for two hours.

35. Finally the town clerk restrained the crowd and said, "You Ephesians, what person is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image that fell from the sky?

35. When the town clerk eventually succeeded in calming the crowd, he said, 'Citizens of Ephesus! Is there anybody who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the guardian of the temple of great Diana and of her statue that fell from heaven?

36. Since these things are undeniable, you must calm yourselves and not do anything rash.

36. Nobody can contradict this and there is no need for you to get excited or do anything rash.

37. The men you brought here are not temple robbers, nor have they insulted our goddess.

37. These men you have brought here are not guilty of any sacrilege or blasphemy against our goddess.

38. If Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a complaint against anyone, courts are in session, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another.

38. If Demetrius and the craftsmen he has with him want to complain about anyone, there are the assizes and the proconsuls; let them take the case to court.

39. If you have anything further to investigate, let the matter be settled in the lawful assembly,

39. And if you want to ask any more questions you must raise them in the regular assembly.

40. for, as it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of today's conduct. There is no cause for it. We shall (not) be able to give a reason for this demonstration." With these words he dismissed the assembly.

40. We could easily be charged with rioting for today's happenings: there is no ground for it all, and we can give no justification for this gathering.' When he had finished this speech he dismissed the assembly.