13 How long wilt Thou forget me, O Lord? For ever? How long wilt Thou hide Thy face from me?

² How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? How long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?

³ Consider and hear me, O Lord my God; lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;

⁴ lest mine enemy say, “I have prevailed against him”; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.

⁵ But I have trusted in Thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in Thy salvation.

⁶ I will sing unto the Lord, because He hath dealt bountifully with me.

14 The fool hath said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt; they have done abominable works; there is none that doeth good.

² The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand and seek God.

³ They have all turned aside; they are all together become filthy. There is none that doeth good; no, not one.

⁴ Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread and call not upon the Lord?

⁵ There were they in great fear, for God is in the generation of the righteous.

⁶ Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the Lord is his refuge.

⁷ Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When the Lord bringeth back His people from captivity, Jacob shall rejoice and Israel shall be glad.

15 Lord, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in Thy holy hill?

² He that walketh uprightly and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart;

³ he that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor spreadeth a reproach against his neighbor;

⁴ in whose eyes a vile person is contemned, but he honoreth them that fear the Lord; he that taketh an oath to his own hurt, and changeth not;

⁵ he that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh a bribe against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.

²¹ 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 So he sent into Macedonia two of those who had ministered unto him, Timothy and Erastus; but he himself stayed in Asia for a season.

²³ And the same time, there arose no small stir about that Way.

²⁴ For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen.

²⁵ These he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, “Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth.

²⁶ Moreover, ye see and hear that, not alone at Ephesus but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands,

²⁷ so that not only this our craft is in danger of being set at nought, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshipeth.”

²⁸ And when they heard these things, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”

²⁹ And the whole city was filled with confusion and, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia who were Paul’s companions in his travel, they rushed with one accord into the theater.

³⁰ And when Paul would have entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not.

³¹ And certain of the Asian chiefs, who were his friends, sent unto him, urging that he would not venture into the theater.

³² Some therefore cried one thing and some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and the greater part knew not why they had come together.

³³ And they drew Alexander out from the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander beckoned with his hand, and would have made his defense unto the people;

³⁴ but when they perceived that he was a Jew, all with one voice for about the space of two hours cried out, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”

³⁵ And when the town clerk had appeased the people, he said, “Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there who knoweth not that the city of the Ephesians is a worshiper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?

³⁶ Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly;

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

³⁸ Therefore if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a matter against any man, the law is open and there are deputies. Let them implead one another.

³⁹ But if ye inquire of anything concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly.

⁴⁰ For we are in danger of being called in question for this day’s uproar, there being no cause whereby we can give an account of this concourse.”

⁴¹ And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly.