Acts 19:37

37 The men you brought here don't rob temples or insult our goddess.

Acts 19:37 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 19:37

For ye have brought hither these men
The Arabic version reads, "these two men"; that is, Gaius and Aristarchus, whom they had brought by force into the theatre to fight with wild beasts:

which are neither robbers of churches;
or "temples"; or, as the Arabic version renders it, "robbers of the vessels of the temple", sacrilegious persons; they have not stolen anything out of the temple of Diana, nor any other:

nor yet blasphemers of your goddess;
they have not made mention of her name, much less said anything against her, at least this officer did not know that they had; and if he had, he did not stick to tell an officious lie to screen them, as did the Egyptian midwives in favour of the Hebrew women.

Acts 19:37 In-Context

35 The city clerk finally quieted the crowd. Then he said, "Citizens of Ephesus, everyone knows that this city of the Ephesians is the keeper of the temple of the great Artemis. Everyone knows that Ephesus is the keeper of the statue that fell down from Zeus.

36 No one can deny this. So you have to be quiet and not do anything foolish.

37 The men you brought here don't rob temples or insult our goddess.

38 If Demetrius and the men who work for him have a legal complaint against anyone, we have special days and officials to hold court. That's where they should bring charges against each other.

39 If you want anything else, you must settle the matter in a legal assembly.