Acts 19

Paul in Ephesus

1 Paul rolled up to Ephesus and found some disciples.

2 He asked them, “Did you all get the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They were like, “We did not even know there was a Holy Spirit.”

3 Paul was like, “Then what kinda baptism did you all get,” They said, “John’s baptism.”

4 Paul explained, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling people to believe in the one coming after him, that is Jesus.”

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

6 When Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they started speaking in tongues and prophesying.

7 There were about twelve of them in total.

8 Paul stayed in the synagogue for three months, boldly speaking about the kingdom of God and convincing people.

9 But some of them got stubborn and would not believe. They started causing trouble in front of everyone, so Paul bounced from the synagogue and started teaching in the hall of Tyrannus.

10 He taught there for two years, so all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

The Sons of Sceva

11 God did some crazy miracles through Paul.

12 Even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched Paul’s skin were used to heal sick people and cast out demons.

13 Some Jews who went around casting out demons saw what was happening and tried to use the name of Jesus to make it work for them. They said to people with demons, “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, get out!”

14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish priest, tried this.

15 But the evil spirit answered them, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you all?”

16 Then the man with the evil spirit jumped on them, overpowered them, and beat them up so bad that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.

17 When this became known to everyone in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, they were all terrified, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.

18 Many of those who believed came forward, confessed what they had done,

19 And some of them who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. The value of the scrolls was huge,

20 So the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.

21 After all this had happened, Paul decided to go through Macedonia and Achaia on his way to Jerusalem. He said, “After I have been there, I must see Rome also.”

22 He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, but he stayed in Asia a little longer.

The Riot in Ephesus

23 About that time, a major riot broke out in Ephesus because of the Way.

24 A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of cash for his trade.

25 He called together all the workers in related trades and said, “You all know that we are making good money off this stuff,

26 But now Paul has been spreading the word, and he is saying that gods made with hands are not gods at all. This is a problem,

27 And it is not just hurting our business, it is bad for the whole temple of the great goddess Artemis. People might start thinking she is not even a big deal, and that could mess up everything we have worked for!”

28 When they heard this, they were furious and started shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

29 The whole city was in an uproar, and the people rushed to the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling buddies.

30 Paul wanted to go into the crowd and talk to them, but the disciples would not let him.

31 Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to go into the theater.

32 The assembly was in chaos. Some were shouting one thing and some another. Most of them did not even know why they were there.

33 The Jews pushed a dude named Alexander to the front, and he motioned for silence. He was going to explain,

34 But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

35 Finally, the city clerk got everyone’s attention and said, “People of Ephesus, who does not know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven,

36 Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to calm down and not do anything rash.

37 You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess.

38 If Demetrius and his fellow workers have a case against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges.

39 If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly.

40 As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of what has happened today. We will not be able to explain this to the Romans.”

41 After he said this, he dismissed the assembly.