Acts 19 - Disciples’ Literal New Testament (DLNT)

Paul Arrives In Ephesus. He Baptizes Some Disciples of Apollos

19 And it came about during Apollos’s being in Corinth that Paul, having gone through the upper regions, came down to Ephesus and found some disciples. ² And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit, having believed?” And the ones said to him, “But we did not even hear if ^[a] the Holy Spirit is given”. ³ And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And the ones said, “Into John’s baptism”. ⁴ And Paul said, “John baptized a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe in the One coming after him, that is, in Jesus”. ⁵ And having heard it, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ And Paul having laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they were speaking in tongues and prophesying. ⁷ And all the men were [totaling] about twelve.

Paul Ministers In Ephesus For Over Two Years, Teaching And Doing Miracles

⁸ And having entered into the synagogue, he was speaking-boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading as to the things concerning the kingdom of God. ⁹ But when some were becoming-hardened, and were disobeying, speaking-evil-of the Way before the assembly— having departed from them, he separated the disciples, reasoning daily in the school^[b] of Tyrannus. ¹⁰ And this took place for two^[c] years, so that all the ones dwelling-in Asia heard the word of the Lord— both Jews and Greeks. ¹¹ And God was doing not the ordinary^[d] miracles by the hands of Paul— ¹² so that handkerchiefs or aprons^[e] were even being carried-forth^[f] from his skin to the ones being sick, and the diseases were being released from them, and the evil spirits were going out.

Even Some Non-Believing Priests Tried To Utilize Paul’s Power

¹³ And even some of the Jewish exorcists^[g] going-around attempted to name the name of the Lord Jesus over the ones having the evil spirits, saying, “I make you swear^[h] by the Jesus Whom Paul is proclaiming”. ¹⁴ Now there were seven sons of a certain Sceva^[i], a Jewish chief priest, doing this. ¹⁵ But having responded, the evil spirit said to them, “I know Jesus and know-about Paul, but who are you?” ¹⁶ And the man in whom was the evil spirit— having leaped on them, having subdued^[j] all^[k] of them— prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and having been wounded. ¹⁷ And this became known to all the ones dwelling-in Ephesus— both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all.

Jesus Was Being Magnified And The Word of The Lord Was Prevailing

¹⁸ And the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified. And many of the ones having believed were coming, confessing-out^[l] and declaring^[m] their [evil] practices. ¹⁹ And many of the ones having practiced sorceries, having brought-together their books, were burning them up in the presence of everyone. And they calculated-up the prices of them, and found it to be fifty thousand silver-coins^[n]. ²⁰ Thus in accordance with the might^[o] of the Lord, the word was growing and prevailing.

Paul Decides To Return To Jerusalem And Then Go To Rome. He Sends Timothy Ahead

²¹ Now when these^[p] things were completed, Paul put^[q] in his spirit that, having gone through Macedonia and Achaia, he should be going to Jerusalem, having said that “After I come-to-be there, I must also see Rome”. ²² And having sent-out two of the ones ministering with him to Macedonia— Timothy and Erastus— he himself held-on in Asia for a time.

There Is a Big Uproar In Ephesus Over a Decline In The Sale of Idols Due To Paul

²³ Now about that time, no small disturbance took place concerning the Way. ²⁴ For a certain Demetrius by name, a silversmith making silver shrines^[r] of Artemis^[s], was bringing-about no small business for the craftsmen— ²⁵ whom having assembled-together, and the workers with respect to such things, he said, “Men, you know that prosperity for us is from this business. ²⁶ And you are seeing and hearing that this Paul— having persuaded people not only from Ephesus, but from almost all Asia— turned-away a considerable crowd, saying that the gods being made with hands are not gods. ²⁷ But not only is-there-a-danger for us that this^[t] part may come into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted for nothing, and that she whom all Asia and the world worships may even be about to be torn-down^[u] from her majesty”.

Amid The City-Wide Confusion, Friends of Paul Are Seized

²⁸ And having heard it, and having become full of rage, they were crying-out, saying, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” ²⁹ And the city was filled with confusion. And they rushed with-one-accord into the theater, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus— Macedonian fellow-travelers of Paul. ³⁰ And while Paul was wanting to enter into the public-assembly, the disciples were not letting him. ³¹ And even some of the Asian-officials^[v]— being friends with him, having sent to him— were urging him not to give himself to the theater. ³² Then indeed, other ones were crying-out another^[w] thing. For the assembly was confused, and the majority did not know for what reason they had come together. ³³ And some from the crowd gave-instructions-to^[x] Alexander— the Jews having put him forward. And Alexander, having waved his hand, was intending to speak-a-defense to the public-assembly. ³⁴ But having recognized that he was a Jew, one voice came^[y] from everyone— crying-out for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

The Town Mayor Calms And Dismisses The Crowd

³⁵ And the town-mayor^[z], having calmed the crowd, says, “Men, Ephesians, who indeed is there of mankind who does not know the city of the Ephesians as being temple-keeper^[aa] of the great Artemis, and of the image fallen-from-heaven^[ab]? ³⁶ These things then being undeniable, you must continue-being calmed^[ac] and doing nothing reckless— ³⁷ for you brought here these men being neither temple-robbers nor ones blaspheming our goddess. ³⁸ So indeed if Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, courts are being led^[ad], and there are proconsuls. Let them bring-a-charge against one another. ³⁹ Now if you are seeking-for anything further^[ae], it will be settled in the lawful assembly. ⁴⁰ For indeed we are in-danger-of being charged with a riot because of today— there being no cause^[af] for it— in relation to which^[ag] we will not be able to render an account for this gathering”. ⁴¹ And having said these things, he dismissed the assembly.

Footnotes

1. Acts 19:2 Or, whether there is [yet] a Holy Spirit. They had not heard that John’s prediction had come to pass, Mt 3:11.
2. Acts 19:9 That is, school building.
3. Acts 19:10 During this time, Paul wrote 1 Corinthians, and perhaps Galatians (see 14:28).
4. Acts 19:11 In other words, unusual, uncommon.
5. Acts 19:12 That is, such as a worker would wear.
6. Acts 19:12 Or, brought, taken.
7. Acts 19:13 These men cast out demons using magical formulas and oaths. They tried using the sentence that follows as part of their ritual.
8. Acts 19:13 This seems to be intended to force the demon to leave rather than swear allegiance to Christ.
9. Acts 19:14 This is the man’s name.
10. Acts 19:16 Or, overpowered.
11. Acts 19:16 Or, both, if only two were active participants in this case.
12. Acts 19:18 Or, confessing-openly. That is, confessing Jesus; or, confessing their practices.
13. Acts 19:18 Or, disclosing.
14. Acts 19:19 This probably refers to the drachma, which is equivalent to a denarius, one day’s wage for a laborer. Thus, this is a considerable sum of money.
15. Acts 19:20 Or, His might, the word of the Lord (the emphasis being upon ‘of the Lord’).
16. Acts 19:21 That is, Paul’s work in Asia, based in Ephesus, 19:1-20.
17. Acts 19:21 Or, resolved in the Spirit. Note 20:22.
18. Acts 19:24 That is, miniature replicas of this world-famous temple, which was considered one of the wonders of the world.
19. Acts 19:24 She was a many-breasted goddess of fertility, and perhaps is the same goddess known to the Romans as Diana.
20. Acts 19:27 That is, their personal line of work.
21. Acts 19:27 Or, thrown-down.
22. Acts 19:31 Or, Asiarchs, high officials of the province.
23. Acts 19:32 That is, something different than Demetrius. Perhaps it was something anti-Jewish, causing them to put forth Alexander to defend themselves.
24. Acts 19:33 Or, concluded it was.
25. Acts 19:34 Or, arose.
26. Acts 19:35 Or, town-secretary. This man was the chief executive of the city, and answered to the proconsul.
27. Acts 19:35 Or, temple-guardian.
28. Acts 19:35 The Ephesians claimed that the statue of this goddess fell from heaven.
29. Acts 19:36 Or, restrained, quiet.
30. Acts 19:38 That is, are in session.
31. Acts 19:39 That is, beyond what can be settled in a private court action, and thus requiring a town meeting.
32. Acts 19:40 No crime or guilty person can be pointed to as the cause of this gathering.
33. Acts 19:40 That is, a charge of rioting.