Acts 19
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4 5 6
7 8
9 10 11
12 13 14
15 16 17
18 19 20
21 22 23
24 25 26
27 28
1 And it came to pass, that, while
Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came
to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,
2 He said unto them, Have ye
received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have
not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
3 And he said unto them, Unto what
then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism.
4 Then said Paul, John verily
baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they
should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ
Jesus.
5 When they
heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6 And when Paul
had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they
spake with tongues, and prophesied.
7 And all the men were about twelve.
8 And he went into the synagogue,
and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading
the things concerning the kingdom of God.
9 But when divers were hardened, and
believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed
from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of
one Tyrannus.
10 And this continued by the space
of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the
Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.
11 And God wrought special miracles
by the hands of Paul:
12 So that from his body were
brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed
from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.
13 Then certain of the vagabond
Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits
the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul
preacheth.
14 And there were seven sons of one
Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
15 And the evil spirit answered and
said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
16 And the man in whom the evil
spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them,
so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
17 And this was known to all the
Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and
the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
18 And many that believed came, and
confessed, and shewed their deeds.
19 Many of them also which used
curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men:
and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces
of silver.
20 So mightily grew the word of God
and prevailed.
21 After these things were ended,
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.
22 So he sent into Macedonia two of
them that ministered unto him, Timotheus and Erastus; but he himself
stayed in Asia for a season.
23 And the same time there arose no
small stir about that way.
24 For a certain man named
Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no
small gain unto the craftsmen;
25 Whom he called together with the
workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we
have our wealth.
26 Moreover ye see and hear, that
not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath
persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which
are made with hands:
27 So that not only this our craft
is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great
goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be
destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.
28 And when they heard these
sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is
Diana of the Ephesians.
29 And the whole city was filled
with confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia,
Paul’s companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the
theatre.
30 And when Paul would have entered
in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not.
31 And certain of the chief of Asia,
which were his friends, sent unto him, desiring him that he would
not adventure himself into the theatre.
32 Some therefore cried one thing,
and some another: for the assembly was confused; and the more part knew
not wherefore they were come together.
33 And they drew Alexander out of
the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander beckoned with
the hand, and would have made his defence unto the people.
34 But when they knew that he was a
Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is
Diana of the Ephesians.
35 And when the townclerk had
appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there
that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the
great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?
36 Seeing then that these things
cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly.
37 For ye have brought hither these
men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your
goddess.
38 Wherefore if Demetrius, and the
craftsmen which are with him, have a matter against any man, the law is
open, and there are deputies: let them implead one another.
39 But if ye enquire any thing
concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly.
40 For we are in danger to be called
in question for this day’s uproar, there being no cause whereby we may
give an account of this concourse.
41 And when he had thus spoken, he
dismissed the assembly.
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