Acts 18:23-22:30

American Standard Version

²³ And having spent some time there, he departed, and went through the region of Galatia, and Phrygia, in order, establishing all the disciples.

²⁴ Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by race, ^[a]an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the scriptures. ²⁵ This man had been ^[b]instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spake and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, knowing only the baptism of John: ²⁶ and he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more accurately. ²⁷ And when he was minded to pass over into Achaia, the brethren encouraged him, and wrote to the disciples to receive him: and when he was come, he ^[c]helped them much that had believed through grace; ²⁸ for he powerfully confuted the Jews, ^[d]and that publicly, showing by the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.

19 And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper country came to Ephesus, and found certain disciples: ² and he said unto them, Did ye receive the Holy Spirit when ye believed? And they said unto him, Nay, we did not so much as hear whether ^[e]the Holy Spirit was given. ³ And he said, Into what then were ye baptized? And they said, Into John’s baptism. ⁴ And Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people that they should believe on him that should come after him, that is, on Jesus. ⁵ And when they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. ⁷ And they were in all about twelve men.

⁸ And he entered into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, reasoning and persuading as to the things concerning the kingdom of God. ⁹ But when some were hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. ¹⁰ And this continued for the space of two years; so that all they that dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. ¹¹ And God wrought special ^[f]miracles by the hands of Paul: ¹² insomuch that unto the sick were carried away from his body handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out. ¹³ But certain also of the strolling Jews, exorcists, took upon them to name over them that had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. ¹⁴ And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, a chief priest, who did this. ¹⁵ And the evil spirit answered and said unto them, Jesus I ^[g]know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? ¹⁶ And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and mastered both of them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. ¹⁷ And this became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, that dwelt at Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. ¹⁸ Many also of them that had believed came, confessing, and declaring their deeds. ¹⁹ And not a few of them that practised magical arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all; and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. ²⁰ So mightily grew the word of the Lord and prevailed.

²¹ Now after these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome. ²² And having sent into Macedonia two of them that ministered unto him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.

²³ And about that time there arose no small stir concerning the Way. ²⁴ For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of ^[h]Diana, brought no little business unto the craftsmen; ²⁵ whom he gathered together, with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this business we have our wealth. ²⁶ And ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they are no gods, that are made with hands: ²⁷ and not only is there danger that this our trade come into disrepute; but also that the temple of the great goddess ^[i]Diana be made of no account, and that she should even be deposed from her magnificence whom all Asia and ^[j]the world worshippeth. ²⁸ And when they heard this they were filled with wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is ^[k]Diana of the Ephesians. ²⁹ And the city was filled with the confusion: and they rushed with one accord into the theatre, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions in travel. ³⁰ And when Paul was minded to enter in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not. ³¹ And certain also of the ^[l]Asiarchs, being his friends, sent unto him and besought him not to adventure himself into the theatre. ³² Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was in confusion; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together. ^33 [m]And they brought Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand, and would have made a defence unto the people. ³⁴ But when they perceived that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is ^[n]Diana of the Ephesians. ³⁵ And when the townclerk had quieted the multitude, he saith, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there who knoweth not that the city of the Ephesians is temple-keeper of the great ^[o]Diana, and of the image which fell down from ^[p]Jupiter? ³⁶ Seeing then that these things cannot be gainsaid, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rash. ³⁷ For ye have brought hither these men, who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess. ³⁸ If therefore Demetrius, and the craftsmen that are with him, have a matter against any man, ^[q]the courts are open, and there are proconsuls: let them accuse one another. ³⁹ But if ye seek anything about other matters, it shall be settled in the regular assembly. ⁴⁰ For indeed we are in danger to be ^[r]accused concerning this day’s riot, there being no cause for it: and as touching it we shall not be able to give account of this concourse. ⁴¹ And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly.

20 And after the uproar ceased, Paul having sent for the disciples and exhorted them, took leave of them, and departed to go into Macedonia. ² And when he had gone through those parts, and had given them much exhortation, he came into Greece. ³ And when he had spent three months there, and a plot was laid against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he determined to return through Macedonia. ⁴ And there accompanied him ^[s]as far as Asia, Sopater of Beroea, the son of Pyrrhus; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus. ⁵ But these ^[t]had gone before, and were waiting for us at Troas. ⁶ And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we tarried seven days.

⁷ And upon the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul discoursed with them, intending to depart on the morrow; and prolonged his speech until midnight. ⁸ And there were many lights in the upper chamber where we were gathered together. ⁹ And there sat in the window a certain young man named Eutychus, borne down with deep sleep; and as Paul discoursed yet longer, being borne down by his sleep he fell down from the third story, and was taken up dead. ¹⁰ And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Make ye no ado; for his life is in him. ¹¹ And when he was gone up, and had broken the bread, and eaten, and had talked with them a long while, even till break of day, so he departed. ¹² And they brought the lad alive, and were not a little comforted.

¹³ But we, going before to the ship, set sail for Assos, there intending to take in Paul: for so had he appointed, intending himself to go ^[u]by land. ¹⁴ And when he met us at Assos, we took him in, and came to Mitylene. ¹⁵ And sailing from thence, we came the following day over against Chios; and the next day we touched at Samos; and ^[v]the day after we came to Miletus. ¹⁶ For Paul had determined to sail past Ephesus, that he might not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hastening, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.

¹⁷ And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called to him the ^[w]elders of the church. ¹⁸ And when they were come to him, he said unto them,

Ye yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, after what manner I was with you all the time, ¹⁹ serving the Lord with all lowliness of mind, and with tears, and with trials which befell me by the plots of the Jews; ²⁰ how I shrank not from declaring unto you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly, and from house to house, ²¹ testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus ^[x]Christ. ²² And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: ²³ save that the Holy Spirit testifieth unto me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. ²⁴ But I hold not my life of any account as dear unto myself, ^[y]so that I may accomplish my course, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify the ^[z]gospel of the grace of God. ²⁵ And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, shall see my face no more. ²⁶ Wherefore I testify unto you this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. ²⁷ For I shrank not from declaring unto you the whole counsel of God. ²⁸ Take heed unto yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit hath made you ^[aa]bishops, to feed the church of ^[ab]the Lord which he ^[ac]purchased with his own blood. ²⁹ I know that after my departing grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock; ³⁰ and from among your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. ³¹ Wherefore watch ye, remembering that by the space of three years I ceased not to admonish every one night and day with tears. ³² And now I commend you to ^[ad]God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you the inheritance among all them that are sanctified. ³³ I coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel. ³⁴ Ye yourselves know that these hands ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. ³⁵ In all things I gave you an example, that so laboring ye ought to help the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

³⁶ And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down and prayed with them all. ³⁷ And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him, ³⁸ sorrowing most of all for the word which he had spoken, that they should behold his face no more. And they brought him on his way unto the ship.

21 And when it came to pass that we were parted from them and had set sail, we came with a straight course unto Cos, and the next day unto Rhodes, and from thence unto Patara: ² and having found a ship crossing over unto Phoenicia, we went aboard, and set sail. ³ And when we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left hand, we sailed unto Syria, and landed at Tyre; for there the ship was to unlade her burden. ⁴ And having found the disciples, we tarried there seven days: and these said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not set foot in Jerusalem. ⁵ And when it came to pass that we had accomplished the days, we departed and went on our journey; and they all, with wives and children, brought us on our way till we were out of the city: and kneeling down on the beach, we prayed, and bade each other farewell; ⁶ and we went on board the ship, but they returned home again.

⁷ And when we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais; and we saluted the brethren, and abode with them one day. ⁸ And on the morrow we departed, and came unto Caesarea: and entering into the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we abode with him. ⁹ Now this man had four virgin daughters, who prophesied. ¹⁰ And as we tarried there some days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus. ¹¹ And coming to us, and taking Paul’s girdle, he bound his own feet and hands, and said, Thus saith the Holy Spirit, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. ¹² And when we heard these things, both we and they of that place besought him not to go up to Jerusalem. ¹³ Then Paul answered, What do ye, weeping and breaking my heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁴ And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.

¹⁵ And after these days we ^[ae]took up our baggage and went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁶ And there went with us also certain of the disciples from Caesarea, ^[af]bringing with them one Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we should lodge.

¹⁷ And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. ¹⁸ And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present. ¹⁹ And when he had saluted them, he rehearsed one by one the things which God had wrought among the Gentiles through his ministry. ²⁰ And they, when they heard it, glorified God; and they said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many ^[ag]thousands there are among the Jews of them that have believed; and they are all zealous for the law: ²¹ and they have been informed concerning thee, that thou teachest all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs. ²² What is it therefore? they will certainly hear that thou art come. ²³ Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men that have a vow on them; ²⁴ these take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges for them, that they may shave their heads: and all shall know that there is no truth in the things whereof they have been informed concerning thee; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, keeping the law. ²⁵ But as touching the Gentiles that have believed, we ^[ah]wrote, giving judgment that they should keep themselves from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what is strangled, and from fornication. ²⁶ Then Paul ^[ai]took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them went into the temple, declaring the fulfilment of the days of purification, until the offering was offered for every one of them.

²⁷ And when the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the multitude and laid hands on him, ²⁸ crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man that teacheth all men everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place; and moreover he brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath defiled this holy place. ²⁹ For they had before seen with him in the city Trophimus the Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple. ³⁰ And all the city was moved, and the people ran together; and they laid hold on Paul, and dragged him out of the temple: and straightway the doors were shut. ³¹ And as they were seeking to kill him, tidings came up to the ^[aj]chief captain of the ^[ak]band, that all Jerusalem was in confusion. ³² And forthwith he took soldiers and centurions, and ran down upon them: and they, when they saw the ^[al]chief captain and the soldiers, left off beating Paul. ³³ Then the ^[am]chief captain came near, and laid hold on him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and inquired who he was, and what he had done. ³⁴ And some shouted one thing, some another, among the crowd: and when he could not know the certainty for the uproar, he commanded him to be brought into the castle. ³⁵ And when he came upon the stairs, so it was that he was borne of the soldiers for the violence of the crowd; ³⁶ for the multitude of the people followed after, crying out, Away with him.

³⁷ And as Paul was about to be brought into the castle, he saith unto the ^[an]chief captain, May I say something unto thee? And he said, Dost thou know Greek? ³⁸ Art thou not then the Egyptian, who before these days stirred up to sedition and led out into the wilderness the four thousand men of the Assassins? ³⁹ But Paul said, I am a Jew, of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and I beseech thee, give me leave to speak unto the people. ⁴⁰ And when he had given him leave, Paul, standing on the stairs, beckoned with the hand unto the people; and when there was made a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew language, saying,

22 Brethren and fathers, hear ye the defence which I now make unto you.

² And when they heard that he spake unto them in the Hebrew language, they were the more quiet: and he saith,

³ I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, even as ye all are this day: ⁴ and I persecuted this Way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. ⁵ As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and journeyed to Damascus to bring them also that were there unto Jerusalem in bonds to be punished. ⁶ And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and drew nigh unto Damascus, about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. ⁷ And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? ⁸ And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. ⁹ And they that were with me beheld indeed the light, but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me. ¹⁰ And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. ¹¹ And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me I came into Damascus. ¹² And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well reported of by all the Jews that dwelt there, ¹³ came unto me, and standing by me said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And in that very hour I ^[ao]looked up on him. ¹⁴ And he said, The God of our fathers hath appointed thee to know his will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice from his mouth. ¹⁵ For thou shalt be a witness for him unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. ¹⁶ And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on his name. ¹⁷ And it came to pass, that, when I had returned to Jerusalem, and while I prayed in the temple, I fell into a trance, ¹⁸ and saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem; because they will not receive of thee testimony concerning me. ¹⁹ And I said, Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee: ²⁰ and when the blood of Stephen thy witness was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting, and keeping the garments of them that slew him. ²¹ And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee forth far hence unto the Gentiles.

²² And they gave him audience unto this word; and they lifted up their voice, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live. ²³ And as they cried out, and threw off their garments, and cast dust into the air, ²⁴ the ^[ap]chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, bidding that he should be examined by scourging, that he might know for what cause they so shouted against him. ²⁵ And when they had tied him up ^[aq]with the thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned? ²⁶ And when the centurion heard it, he went to the ^[ar]chief captain and told him, saying, What art thou about to do? for this man is a Roman. ²⁷ And the ^[as]chief captain came and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? And he said, Yea. ²⁸ And the ^[at]chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this citizenship. And Paul said, But I am a Roman born. ²⁹ They then that were about to examine him straightway departed from him: and the ^[au]chief captain also was afraid when he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.

³⁰ But on the morrow, desiring to know the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him, and commanded the chief priests and all the council to come together, and brought Paul down and set him before them.