Thematic Bible
Acts 19:1 (show verse)
It was while Apollos was in Corinth that Paul, after passing through the interior, reached Ephesus. Finding some disciples there,
Acts 19:2 (show verse)
he said to them, "Did you receive the holy Spirit when you became believers?" "No," they said to him, "we never even heard that there was a holy Spirit."
Acts 19:3 (show verse)
"How then were you baptized?" he asked. "With John's baptism," they answered.
Acts 19:4 (show verse)
"John's baptism was a baptism in token of repentance," said Paul, "and he told the people to believe in him who was to follow him, that is, in Jesus."
Acts 19:5 (show verse)
When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus,
Acts 19:6 (show verse)
and when Paul laid his hands on them, the holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in foreign tongues and with prophetic inspiration.
Acts 19:7 (show verse)
There were about twelve of them in all.
Acts 19:8 (show verse)
He went to the synagogue there, and for three months spoke confidently, holding discussions and trying to persuade them about the Kingdom of God.
Acts 19:9 (show verse)
But as some of them were obstinate and refused to believe, finding fault with the Way before the people, he left them, and withdrew the disciples, and held daily discussions in the lecture-room of Tyrannus.
Acts 19:10 (show verse)
This went on for two years, so that everyone who lived in Asia, Greeks as well as Jews, heard the Lord's message.
Acts 19:11 (show verse)
God did such extraordinary wonders by means of Paul,
Acts 19:12 (show verse)
that people took to the sick handkerchiefs or aprons he had used, and they were cured of their diseases, and the evil spirits went out of them.
Acts 19:13 (show verse)
Some Jews who went from place to place casting out demons tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in the cases of people who had evil spirits in them, saying, "I command you in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches!"
Acts 19:14 (show verse)
A Jewish high priest named Sceva had seven sons who were doing this.
Acts 19:15 (show verse)
But the evil spirit answered, "I know Jesus, and I know of Paul, but who are you?"
Acts 19:16 (show verse)
And the man in whom the evil spirit was sprang at them, and overpowered them all, with such violence that they ran out of the house tattered and bruised.
Acts 19:17 (show verse)
This came to be known to everyone who lived in Ephesus, Greeks as well as Jews, and great awe came over them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus came to be held in high honor.
Acts 19:18 (show verse)
Many who became believers would come and openly confess their former practices.
Acts 19:19 (show verse)
A number of people who had practiced magic brought out their books and burned them publicly. The value of these was estimated and found to be ten thousand dollars.
Acts 19:20 (show verse)
So the Lord's message went on growing wonderfully in influence and power.
Acts 19:21 (show verse)
After these events, Paul, under the Spirit's guidance, resolved to go to Jerusalem, and to revisit Macedonia and Greece on the way. "After I have gone there," he said, "I must see Rome also."
Acts 19:22 (show verse)
He sent two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed on for a while in Asia.
Acts 19:23 (show verse)
Just at that time a great commotion arose about the Way.
Acts 19:24 (show verse)
A silversmith named Demetrius was making large profits for his workmen by the manufacture of silver shrines of Artemis.
Acts 19:25 (show verse)
He got the workmen in that and similar trades together, and said to them, "Men, you know that this business is the source of our prosperity,
Acts 19:26 (show verse)
and you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but almost all over Asia, this man Paul has persuaded and drawn away numbers of people, telling them that gods made by human hands are not gods at all.
Acts 19:27 (show verse)
There is danger, therefore, not only that this business of ours will be discredited, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be neglected and the magnificence of her whom all Asia and the world worship will be a thing of the past!"
Acts 19:28 (show verse)
When they heard this, they became very angry, and cried, "Great Artemis of Ephesus!"
Acts 19:29 (show verse)
So the commotion spread all over the city, and by a common impulse the people rushed to the theater, dragging with them two Macedonians, Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's traveling companions.
Acts 19:30 (show verse)
Paul wanted to go before the people himself, but the disciples would not allow it.
Acts 19:31 (show verse)
Some of the religious authorities also, who were friends of his, sent to him and begged him not to venture into the theater.
Acts 19:32 (show verse)
Meanwhile the people were shouting, some one thing and some another, for the meeting was in confusion, and most of them had no idea why they had come together.
Acts 19:33 (show verse)
Some of the crowd called upon Alexander, as the Jews had pushed him to the front, and he made a gesture with his hand and was going to speak in defense of them to the people.
Acts 19:34 (show verse)
But when they saw that he was a Jew, a great shout went up from them all, and they cried for two hours, "Great Artemis of Ephesus!"
Acts 19:35 (show verse)
At last the recorder quieted the mob and said, "Men of Ephesus, who in the world does not know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis, and of the image that fell down from the sky?
Acts 19:36 (show verse)
So as these facts are undeniable, you must be calm, and not do anything reckless.
Acts 19:37 (show verse)
For you have brought these men here, though they have not been guilty of disloyalty nor uttered any blasphemy against our goddess.
Acts 19:38 (show verse)
If Demetrius and his fellow-craftsmen have a charge to bring against anyone, there are the courts and the governors; let them take legal action.
Acts 19:39 (show verse)
But if you require anything beyond that, it must be settled before the regular assembly.
Acts 19:40 (show verse)
For we are in danger of being charged with rioting in connection with today's events, though there is really nothing about this commotion that we will not be able to explain."
Acts 19:41 (show verse)
With these words he dismissed the assembly.