1
While Apol'los was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples.
2
And he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" And they said, "No, we have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."
3
And he said, "Into what then were you baptized?" They said, "Into John's baptism."
4
And Paul said, "John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus."
5
On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6
And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.
7
There were about twelve of them in all.
8
And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, arguing and pleading about the kingdom of God;
9
but when some were stubborn and disbelieved, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them, taking the disciples with him, and argued daily in the hall of Tyran'nus.
10
This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
11
And God did extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul,
12
so that handkerchiefs or aprons were carried away from his body to the sick, and diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.
13
Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches."
14
Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this.
15
But the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?"
16
And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, mastered all of them, and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
17
And this became known to all residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks; and fear fell upon them all; and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled.
18
Many also of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices.
19
And a number of those who 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 grew and prevailed mightily.