17
And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and
1the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled.
18
Also many of those who were now believers came,
2confessing and divulging their practices.
19
And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver.
20
So the word of the Lord
3continued to increase and prevail mightily.
A Riot at Ephesus
21 Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit
4to pass through
5Macedonia and Achaia and
6go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there,
7I must also see Rome. ”
22
And having sent into Macedonia two of
8his helpers,
9Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia
10for a while.
23
About that time
11there arose no little disturbance concerning
12the Way.
24
For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis,
13brought no little business to the craftsmen.
25
14These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth.
26
And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people,
15saying that
16gods made with hands are not gods.
27
And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the
17great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship. ”