Read the Bible

¹ Now while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper parts, came to Ephesus;² and finding certain disciples, He said to them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost, since ye believed? And they said to him, Nay, we have not so much as heard, Whether there be any Holy Ghost.³ He said to them, Into what then were ye baptized? And they said, Into John's baptism.⁴ And Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe on him that was to come after him, that is on Jesus.⁵ And hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.⁶ And Paul laying his hands on them, the Holy Ghost came upon them, and they spake with tongues and prophesied.⁷ And they were in all about twelve men. And going into the synagogue,

⁸ he spake boldly, for three months discoursing and evincing the things concerning the kingdom of God.⁹ But when some were hardened, and would not believe, but spake reproachfully of the way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, discoursing daily in the school of one Tyrannus.¹⁰ And this was done for the space of two years, so that all the inhabitants of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.¹¹ And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul,¹² So that handkerchiefs or aprons were carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits came out of them.

¹³ And some of the vagabond Jews, who were exorcists, undertook to name the name of the Lord Jesus, over those who had evil spirits, saying, We adjure you by Jesus, whom Paul preacheth.¹⁴ And there were seven sons of one Sceva a Jewish chief priest, who did this.¹⁵ But the evil spirit answering said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?¹⁶ And the man in whom the evil spirit was, leaping upon them, and getting the mastery of them, prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.¹⁷ And this was known to all both Jews and Greeks dwelling at Ephesus, and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.¹⁸ And many of those who believed came, confessing and openly declaring their deeds.¹⁹ Many also of those who had practised curious arts, bringing their books together, burnt them before all men, and they computed the value of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.²⁰ So powerfully did the word of God grow and prevail.

²¹ After these things were ended, Paul purposed in spirit, having passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must see Rome also.²² And having sent two of those who ministred to him, Timothy and Erastus, into Macedonia, he himself staid in Asia for a season.²³ And about that time, there arose no small tumult concerning the way.²⁴ For a man named Demetrius, a silver smith, who made silver shrines of Diana, procured no small gain to the artificers:²⁵ Whom having gathered together, with the workmen employed in such things, he said, Sirs, ye know, that our maintenance arises from this occupation.²⁶ But ye see and hear, that not at Ephesus only, but almost through all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned aside much people, saying, That they are not gods, which are made with hands.²⁷ So that there is danger, not only that this our craft should be set at nought, but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her majesty destroyed, whom all Asia, and the world worshipeth.²⁸ And hearing this, they were filled with rage, and cried out, saying, The great Diana of the Ephesians.²⁹ And the whole city was filled with confusion; and they rushed with one accord into the theatre, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's fellow-travellers.³⁰ And when Paul would have gone in to the people, the disciples would not suffer him.³¹ And some also of the principal officers of Asia, being his friends, sent to him and desired, that he would not venture himself into the theatre.³² Some therefore cried one thing, and some another; for the assembly was confused, and the greater part did not know, for what they were come together.³³ And they thrust Alexander forward from among the multitude, the Jews pushing him on; and Alexander, waving with his hand, would have made a defence to the people.³⁴ But when they knew that he was a Jew, one voice arose from them all, crying out, for about two hours, The great Diana of the Ephesians.³⁵ But the register, having pacified the people, said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there who knoweth not, that the city of the Ephesians is a worshiper of the great Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?³⁶ Seeing then these things cannot be denied, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly.³⁷ For ye have brought these men, who are neither robbers of temples, nor blasphemers of your goddess.³⁸ If then Demetrius and the artificers that are with him, have a charge against any one, the courts are held, and there are proconsuls; let them implead one another.³⁹ But if ye inquire any thing concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly.⁴⁰ And indeed we are in danger to be questioned for sedition, concerning this day; there being no cause, whereby we can account for this concourse.⁴¹ And having said these things, he dismissed the assembly.