| New King James Version | Berean Study Bible |
| 1And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples | 1While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the interior and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples |
| 2he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” | 2and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” “No,” they answered, “we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” |
| 3And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John’s baptism.” | 3“Into what, then, were you baptized?” Paul asked. “The baptism of John,” they replied. |
| 4Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.” | 4Paul explained: “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the One coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” |
| 5When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. | 5On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. |
| 6And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. | 6And when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. |
| 7Now the men were about twelve in all. | 7There were about twelve men in all. |
| 8And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God. | 8Then Paul went into the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. |
| 9But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. | 9But when some of them stubbornly refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way, Paul took his disciples and left the synagogue to conduct daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. |
| 10And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. | 10This continued for two years, so that everyone who lived in the province of Asia, Jews and Greeks alike, heard the word of the Lord. |
| 11Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, | 11God did extraordinary miracles through the hands of Paul, |
| 12so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. | 12so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and the diseases and evil spirits left them. |
| 13Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” | 13Now there were some itinerant Jewish exorcists who tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those with evil spirits. They would say, “I bind you by Jesus, whom Paul proclaims.” |
| 14Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. | 14Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. |
| 15And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” | 15Eventually, one of the evil spirits answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” |
| 16Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. | 16Then the man with the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. The attack was so violent that they ran out of the house naked and wounded. |
| 17This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. | 17This became known to all the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, and fear came over all of them. So the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. |
| 18And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. | 18Many who had believed now came forward, confessing and disclosing their deeds. |
| 19Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. | 19And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books and burned them in front of everyone. When the value of the books was calculated, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. |
| 20So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed. | 20So the word of the Lord powerfully continued to spread and prevail. |
| 21When these things were accomplished, Paul purposed in the Spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” | 21After these things had happened, Paul resolved in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must see Rome as well.” |
| 22So he sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, but he himself stayed in Asia for a time. | 22He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed for a time in the province of Asia. |
| 23And about that time there arose a great commotion about the Way. | 23About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. |
| 24For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, brought no small profit to the craftsmen. | 24It began with a silversmith named Demetrius who made silver shrines of Artemis, bringing much business to the craftsmen. |
| 25He called them together with the workers of similar occupation, and said: “Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade. | 25Demetrius assembled the craftsmen, along with the workmen in related trades. “Men,” he said, “you know that this business is our source of prosperity. |
| 26Moreover you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands. | 26And you can see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in nearly the whole province of Asia, Paul has persuaded a great number of people to turn away. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all. |
| 27So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship.” | 27There is danger not only that our business will fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited and her majesty deposed—she who is worshiped by all the province of Asia and the whole world.” |
| 28Now when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” | 28When the men heard this, they were enraged and began shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” |
| 29So the whole city was filled with confusion, and rushed into the theater with one accord, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul’s travel companions. | 29Soon the whole city was in disarray. They rushed together into the theatre, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia. |
| 30And when Paul wanted to go in to the people, the disciples would not allow him. | 30Paul wanted to go before the assembly, but the disciples would not allow him. |
| 31Then some of the officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him pleading that he would not venture into the theater. | 31Even some of Paul’s friends who were officials of the province of Asia sent word to him, begging him not to venture into the theatre. |
| 32Some therefore cried one thing and some another, for the assembly was confused, and most of them did not know why they had come together. | 32Meanwhile the assembly was in turmoil. Some were shouting one thing and some another, and most of them did not even know why they were there. |
| 33And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander motioned with his hand, and wanted to make his defense to the people. | 33The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander forward to explain himself, and he motioned for silence so he could make his defense to the people. |
| 34But when they found out that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about two hours, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” | 34But when they realized that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” |
| 35And when the city clerk had quieted the crowd, he said: “Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple guardian of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Zeus? | 35Finally the city clerk quieted the crowd and declared, “Men of Ephesus, doesn’t everyone know that the city of Ephesus is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven? |
| 36Therefore, since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly. | 36Since these things are undeniable, you ought to be calm and not do anything rash. |
| 37For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of your goddess. | 37For you have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed our temple nor blasphemed our goddess. |
| 38Therefore, if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a case against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. | 38So if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open and proconsuls are available. Let them bring charges against one another there. |
| 39But if you have any other inquiry to make, it shall be determined in the lawful assembly. | 39But if you are seeking anything beyond this, it must be settled in a legal assembly. |
| 40For we are in danger of being called in question for today’s uproar, there being no reason which we may give to account for this disorderly gathering.” | 40For we are in jeopardy of being charged with rioting for today’s events, and we have no justification to account for this commotion.” |
| 41And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly. | 41After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly. |
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