Acts 19:23-41 — Legacy Standard Bible

²³Now about that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning ^athe Way. ²⁴For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of ¹Artemis, ^awas bringing no little ²business to the craftsmen; ²⁵these he gathered together with the workers of similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity is from this business. ²⁶“And you see and hear that not only in ^aEphesus, but in almost all of ^bAsia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable crowd, saying that ^cthings made with hands are not gods. ²⁷“And not only is there danger that this trade of ours fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess ¹Artemis be considered as worthless and that she, whom all of ^aAsia and ^bthe ²world worship, is even about to be brought down from her majesty.”

²⁸When they heard this and were filled with rage, they began crying out, saying, “Great is ¹Artemis of the ^aEphesians!” ²⁹And the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed ¹with one accord into the theater, dragging along ^aGaius and ^bAristarchus, Paul’s traveling ^ccompanions from ^dMacedonia. ³⁰And when Paul wanted to go into the ¹assembly, ^athe disciples would not let him. ³¹Also some of the ¹Asiarchs who were friends of his sent to him and repeatedly urged him not to ²venture into the theater. ³²^aSo then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the ¹meeting was in confusion and the majority did not know ²for what reason they had come together. ³³And some of the crowd ¹concluded it was Alexander, since the Jews had put him forward; and having ^amotioned with his hand, Alexander was intending to make a defense to the ²assembly. ³⁴But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single cry arose from them all as they shouted for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” ³⁵Now after calming the crowd, the city clerk *said, “Men of ^aEphesus, what man is there after all who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of the image which fell down from heaven? ³⁶“So, since these are undeniable facts, you ought to keep calm and to do nothing rash. ³⁷“For you have brought these men here who are neither ^arobbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess. ³⁸“So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are in session and ¹^,^aproconsuls are available; let them bring charges against one another. ³⁹“But if you want anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the ¹lawful meeting. ⁴⁰“For indeed we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today’s events, since there is no cause for which we can give as an account for this disorderly gathering.” ⁴¹After saying this he dismissed the meeting.