Chapter 19
Paul in Ephesus. 1 [a]While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul
traveled through the interior of the country and came [down] to Ephesus where
he found some 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.” 3 He said, “How were you baptized?” They replied,
“With the baptism of John.” 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.” 5 When they heard this, they were baptized 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. 7 Altogether there were
about twelve men.
8 He entered the synagogue, and for three months debated
boldly with persuasive arguments about the kingdom of God. 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. 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. 11 So extraordinary were the mighty deeds, God
accomplished at the hands of Paul 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.
The Jewish Exorcists. 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.” 14 When the
seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish high priest, tried to do this, 15 the evil spirit
said to them in reply, “Jesus I recognize, 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. 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. 18 Many of
those who had become believers came forward and openly acknowledged their
former practices. 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. 20 Thus did the word of the
Lord continue to spread with influence and power.
Paul’s Plans. 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.” 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.
The Riot of the Silversmiths. 23 About that time a serious disturbance broke out concerning the Way. 24 There was a silversmith named Demetrius who made miniature silver shrines of Artemis[b] and provided no little work for the craftsmen. 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. 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. 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.”
28 When they heard this, they were filled with fury and
began to shout, “Great is Artemis 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. 30 Paul
wanted to go before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him, 31 and even
some of the Asiarchs[c] who were friends of his sent word to him advising him
not to venture into the theater. 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. 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. 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!” 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[d] of the great Artemis and of her
image that fell from the sky? 36 Since these things are undeniable, you must
calm yourselves and not do anything rash. 37 The men you brought here are not
temple robbers, nor have they insulted 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. 39 If you
have anything further to investigate, let the matter be settled in the lawful
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][e] be able
to give a reason for this demonstration.” With these words, he dismissed the
assembly.
Footnotes
19:1–6 Upon his arrival in Ephesus, Paul discovers other
people at the same religious stage as Apollos, though they seem to have
considered themselves followers of Christ, not of the Baptist. On the relation
between baptism and the reception of the Spirit, see note on Acts 8:16.
19:24 Miniature silver shrines of Artemis: the temple of
Artemis at Ephesus was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Artemis,
originally the Olympian virgin hunter, moon goddess, and goddess of wild
nature were worshiped at Ephesus as an Asian mother goddess and goddess of
fertility. She was one of the most widely worshiped female deities in the
Hellenistic World (see Acts 18:27).
19:31 Asiarchs: the precise status and role of the Asiarchs
is disputed. They appear to have been people of wealth and influence who
promoted the Roman imperial cult and who may also have been political
representatives in a league of cities in the Roman province of Asia.
19:35 Guardian of the temple: this title was accorded by
Rome to cities that provided a temple for the imperial cult. Inscriptional
evidence indicates that Ephesus was acknowledged as the temple keeper of
Artemis and of the imperial cult. That fell from the sky: many scholars think
that this refers to a meteorite that was worshiped as an image of the goddess.
19:40 Some manuscripts omit the negative in [not] be able,
making the meaning, “There is no cause for which we shall be able to give a
reason for this demonstration.”
Source Catholic Bible: New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE)
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