1While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the inland region and arrived in Ephesus. There he found some disciples.
2He asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we haven't even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."
3He then asked, "Then what kind of baptism did you receive?" They replied, "John's baptism."
4Paul explained, "John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance, telling people to believe in the one who was coming after him, that is, Jesus."
5When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began to speak in different languages and prophesy.
7There were about twelve men in all.
8Paul went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, discussing and convincing people about God's Kingdom.
9But when some people became stubborn and disobedient, speaking badly about the Way in front of everyone, he left them. He separated the disciples and taught daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.
10This continued for two years, so that all the people living in the province of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the message of the Lord Jesus.
11God performed extraordinary miracles through Paul.
12As a result, even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched Paul's body were taken to the sick, and their illnesses left them, and evil spirits went out.
13However, some traveling Jewish exorcists tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus to cast out evil spirits. They would say, 'We command you by Jesus, whom Paul preaches!'
14This was done by the seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva.
15But the evil spirit answered them, 'I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?'
16Then the man possessed by the evil spirit jumped on them, overpowered them all, and beat them so badly that they ran out of that house naked and wounded.
17This event became known to everyone living in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. Everyone was filled with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was honored greatly.
18Many of those who had believed now came and openly confessed and disclosed their practices.
19Many people who had practiced magic gathered their books and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the books, it came to fifty thousand silver coins.
20So the message of the Lord continued to spread powerfully.
21After these events, Paul decided, led by the Spirit, that after traveling through Macedonia and Achaia, he must go to Jerusalem. He also said, 'After I have been there, I must also see Rome.'
22He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he himself stayed in Asia for a while longer.
23About that time, there was a great disturbance concerning the Way (the Christian faith).
24A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of the goddess Artemis, brought a lot of business to the craftsmen.
25He called together these craftsmen and other workers in related trades and said, 'Gentlemen, you know that our wealth comes from this business.
26You can see and hear that not only in Ephesus but almost all over Asia, this Paul has convinced and turned away many people by saying that gods made by human hands are not real gods.
27There is not only a danger that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be considered worthless, and her majesty, whom all of Asia and the world worship, will be destroyed.'
28When they heard this, they became furious and started shouting, 'Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!'
29The entire city was thrown into confusion. They all rushed together into the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, two Macedonians who were Paul’s travel companions.
30Paul wanted to go in and speak to the crowd, but the disciples wouldn't let him.
31Even some of the officials of the province of Asia, who were Paul's friends, sent messages urging him not to risk going into the theater.
32Inside the theater, some people were shouting one thing and some another, because the assembly was in chaos. Most of them didn't even know why they had gathered.
33The Jews in the crowd put forward a man named Alexander. He motioned with his hand, wanting to explain their side to the people.
34But when the crowd realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours, 'Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!'
35Finally, the city clerk calmed the crowd and said, 'People of Ephesus, everyone knows that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great goddess Artemis and of her image that fell from Zeus.
36Since these things cannot be denied, you should calm down and not do anything reckless.
37You brought these men here, but they have not robbed any temples or insulted our goddess.
38So if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are judges. They should accuse each other there.
39But if you are looking for anything else, it will be settled in the regular town meeting.
40We are in danger of being accused of rioting today without any real reason. We wouldn't be able to explain this disturbance.
41After saying this, he dismissed the meeting.