RKJNT - Acts - 19

19:1  And it came to pass, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,

19:2  He said to them, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? And they said to him, We have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.

19:3  And he said to them, Into what then were you baptized? And they said, Into John's baptism.

19:4  Then Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying to the people, that they should believe in the one who would come after him, that is, in Jesus.

19:5  When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

19:6  And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came upon them; and they spoke with tongues, and prophesied.

19:7  And there were about twelve of them in all.

19:8  And he went into the synagogue, and spoke boldly for the space of three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.

19:9  But when some were hardened, and did not believe, but spoke evil of the way before the multitude, he departed from them, took away the disciples, and held discussions daily in the school of Tyrannus.

19:10  And this continued for two years; so that all those who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.

19:11  And God performed extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul:

19:12  So that handkerchiefs or aprons he had touched were brought to the sick, and diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.

19:13  Then certain of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, We command you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.

19:14  There were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish high priest, who were doing this.

19:15  And the evil spirit answered, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?

19:16  And the man who had the evil spirit leaped on them, subdued them and overcame them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

19:17  And this became known to all the Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.

19:18  And many who believed came, and confessed, and disclosed their deeds.

19:19  Many of those who used magic arts brought their books together, and burned them before all: and they counted the price of them, and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver.

19:20  So the word of God grew and prevailed mightily.

19:21  After these things had ended, Paul resolved in the spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome.

19:22  So he sent to Macedonia two of those who had ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus; but he stayed in Asia for a while.

19:23  And about that time there arose no small stir about the way.

19:24  For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain to the craftsmen;

19:25  These he called together, along with workmen of similar occupations, and said, Men, you know that by this craft we have our wealth.

19:26  Moreover you see and hear, that not only in Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods at all:

19:27  So not only is our craft in danger of being discredited; but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may count for nothing, and her magnificence may be degraded, she whom all Asia and the world worships.

19:28  And when they heard this, they were filled with rage, and cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.

19:29  And the whole city was filled with confusion: and dragging Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia and Paul's companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre.

19:30  Paul wanted to enter in among the people, but the disciples would not let him.

19:31  And certain of the chief officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him, asking him not to venture into the theatre.

19:32  Some cried out one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused; and most of them did not know why they had come together.

19:33  And some of the multitude called upon Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander beckoned with his hand, and would have made a defence to the people.

19:34  But when they recognized that he was a Jew, they all cried out with one voice for about two hours, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.

19:35  And when the town clerk had calmed the people, he said, Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the guardian of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from heaven?

19:36  Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rash.

19:37  For you have brought here these men, who are neither robbers of temples, nor blasphemers of our goddess.

19:38  Therefore, if Demetrius, and the craftsmen who are with him, have a complaint against any man, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls: let them bring charges against one another.

19:39  But if you require anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the regular assembly.

19:40  For we are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause we can give to justify this disorder.

19:41  And when he had spoken thus, he dismissed the assembly.