Acts 19:37

37 You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess.

Acts 19:37 in Other Translations

37 For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess.

37 For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess.

37 You have brought these men here, but they have stolen nothing from the temple and have not spoken against our goddess.

37 These men you've dragged in here have done nothing to harm either our temple or our goddess.

37 For ye have brought [hither] these men, who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess.

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

37 For you have brought these men here who are not temple robbers or blasphemers of our goddess.

37 "These men haven't robbed any temples. They haven't said evil things against our goddess. But you have brought them here anyhow.

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 quieted the crowd and said: “Fellow Ephesians, doesn’t all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven?

36 Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to calm down and not do anything rash.

37 You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess.

38 If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. They can press charges.

39 If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly.

Cross References

• 1. Romans 2:22