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Open English Bible (U. S. spelling) - Acts - Acts 19

Acts 19:14-34

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14The seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this;
15but the wicked spirit answered them, “Jesus I acknowledge, and Paul I know, but you — who are you?”
16Then the man, in whom this wicked spirit was, sprang on them, mastered both of them, and so completely overpowered them, that they fled out of the house, stripped of their clothes, and wounded.
17This incident came to the knowledge of all the Jews and Greeks living at Ephesus; they were all awe-struck, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in the highest honor.
18Many, too, of those who had become believers in Christ came with a full confession of their practices;
19while a number of people, who had practiced magic, collected their books and burnt them publicly; and on reckoning up the price of these, they found it amounted to fifty thousand silver coins.
20So irresistibly did the Lord's message spread and prevail.
21Sometime after these events Paul resolved to go through Macedonia and Greece, and then make his way to Jerusalem. “And after I have been there,” he said, “I must visit Rome also.”
22So he sent to Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, while he himself stayed for some time longer in Roman Asia.
23Just about that time a great disturbance arose about the Way.
24A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver models of the shrine of Artemis, and so gave a great deal of work to the artisans,
25got these men together, as well as the workmen engaged in similar occupations, and said: “Men, you know that our prosperity depends on this work,
26and you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but in almost the whole of Roman Asia, this Paul has convinced and won over great numbers of people, by his assertion that those Gods which are made by hands are not Gods at all.
27So that not only is this business of ours likely to fall into discredit, but there is the further danger that the Temple of the great Goddess Artemis will be thought nothing of, and that she herself will be deprived of her splendor — though all Roman Asia and the whole world worship her.”
28When they heard this, the men were greatly enraged, and began shouting — “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
29The commotion spread through the whole city, and the people rushed together into the amphitheater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, two Macedonians who were Paul's traveling companions.
30Paul wished to go into the amphitheater and face the people, but the disciples would not let him,
31while some of the chief religious officials of the province, who were friendly to him, sent repeated entreaties to him not to trust himself inside.
32Meanwhile some were shouting one thing and some another, for the Assembly was all in confusion, most of those present not even knowing why they had met.
33But some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom several of the Jewish leaders had pushed to the front, and he waved his hand to show that he wanted to speak in their defense to the people.
34However, when they recognized him as a Jew, one cry broke from them all, and they continued shouting for two hours — “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

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