¹⁷ When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, Are you he who troubles Israel?

¹⁸ Elijah replied, I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father’s house, by forsaking the commandments of the Lord and by following the Baals.

¹⁹ Therefore send and gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of [the goddess] Asherah, who eat at [Queen] Jezebel’s table.

²⁰ So Ahab sent to all the Israelites and assembled the prophets at Mount Carmel.

²¹ Elijah came near to all the people and said, How long will you halt and limp between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him! But if Baal, then follow him. And the people did not answer him a word.

²² Then Elijah said to the people, I, I only, remain a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men.

²³ Let two bulls be given us; let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood but put no fire to it. I will dress the other bull, lay it on the wood, and put no fire to it.

²⁴ Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the One Who answers by fire, let Him be God. And all the people answered, It is well spoken.

²⁵ Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, Choose one bull for yourselves and dress it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.

²⁶ So they took the bull given them, dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, O Baal, hear and answer us! But there was no voice; no one answered. And they leaped upon or limped about the altar they had made.

²⁷ At noon Elijah mocked them, saying, Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is musing, or he has gone aside, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.

²⁸ And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with knives and lances until the blood gushed out upon them.

²⁹ Midday passed, and they played the part of prophets until the time for offering the evening sacrifice, but there was no voice, no answer, no one who paid attention.

³⁰ Then Elijah said to all the people, Come near to me. And all the people came near him. And he repaired the [old] altar of the Lord that had been broken down [by Jezebel].^(A)

³¹ Then Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be your name.^(B)

³² And with the stones Elijah built an altar in the name [and self-revelation] of the Lord. He made a trench about the altar as great as would contain two measures of seed.

³³ He put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood and said, Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and the wood.

³⁴ And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time.

³⁵ The water ran round about the altar, and he filled the trench also with water.

³⁶ At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and that I have done all these things at Your word.

³⁷ Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You, the Lord, are God, and have turned their hearts back [to You].

³⁸ Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice and the wood and the stones and the dust, and also licked up the water that was in the trench.

³⁹ When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and they said, The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!

15 I am the True Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser.

² Any branch in Me that does not bear fruit [that stops bearing] He cuts away (trims off, takes away); and He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit.

³ You are cleansed and pruned already, because of the word which I have given you [the teachings I have discussed with you].

⁴ Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.] Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me.

⁵ I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.

⁶ If a person does not dwell in Me, he is thrown out like a [broken-off] branch, and withers; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and they are burned.

⁷ If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.

⁸ When you bear (produce) much fruit, My Father is honored and glorified, and you show and prove yourselves to be true followers of Mine.

⁹ I have loved you, [just] as the Father has loved Me; abide in My love [^[a]continue in His love with Me].

¹⁰ If you keep My commandments [if you continue to obey My instructions], you will abide in My love and live on in it, just as I have obeyed My Father’s commandments and live on in His love.

¹¹ I have told you these things, that My joy and delight may be in you, and that your joy and gladness may be of full measure and complete and overflowing.

¹² This is My commandment: that you love one another [just] as I have loved you.

¹³ No one has greater love [no one has shown stronger affection] than to lay down (give up) his own life for his friends.

¹⁴ You are My friends if you keep on doing the things which I command you to do.

¹⁵ I do not call you servants (slaves) any longer, for the servant does not know what his master is doing (working out). But I have called you My friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from My Father. [I have revealed to you everything that I have learned from Him.]

¹⁶ You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed you [I have planted you], that you might go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit may be lasting [that it may remain, abide], so that whatever you ask the Father in My Name [as ^[b]presenting all that I Am], He may give it to you.

²¹ Now after these events Paul determined in the [Holy] Spirit that he would travel through Macedonia and Achaia (most of Greece) and go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must visit Rome also.

²² And having sent two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, into Macedonia, he himself stayed on in [the province of] Asia for a while.

²³ But as time went on, there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way [of the Lord].

²⁴ For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of [the goddess] Artemis ^[a][Diana], brought no small income to his craftsmen.

²⁵ These he called together, along with the workmen of similar trades, and said, Men, you are acquainted with the facts and understand that from this business we derive our wealth and livelihood.

²⁶ Now you notice and hear that not only at Ephesus but almost all over [the province of] Asia this Paul has persuaded and induced people to believe his teaching and has alienated a considerable company of them, saying that gods that are made with human hands are not really gods at all.

²⁷ Now there is danger not merely that this trade of ours may be discredited, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may come into disrepute and count for nothing, and that her glorious magnificence may be degraded and fall into contempt—she whom all [the province of] Asia and the wide world worship.

²⁸ As they listened to this, they were filled with rage and they continued to shout, Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!

²⁹ Then the city was filled with confusion; and they rushed together into the amphitheater, dragging along with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were fellow travelers with Paul.

³⁰ Paul wished to go in among the crowd, but the disciples would not permit him to do it.

³¹ Even some of the Asiarchs (political or religious officials in Asia) who were his friends also sent to him and warned him not to risk venturing into the theater.

³² Now some shouted one thing and some another, for the gathering was in a tumult and most of them did not know why they had come together.

³³ Some of the crowd called upon Alexander [to speak], since the Jews had pushed and urged him forward. And Alexander motioned with his hand, wishing to make a defense and [planning] to apologize to the people.

³⁴ But as soon as they saw him and recognized that he was a Jew, a shout went up from them as the voice of one man, as for about two hours they cried, Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!

³⁵ And when the town clerk had calmed the crowd down, he said, Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of the sacred stone [image of her] that fell from the sky?

³⁶ Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet (keep yourselves in check) and do nothing rashly.

³⁷ For you have brought these men here, who are [guilty of] neither temple robberies nor blasphemous speech about our goddess.

³⁸ Now then, if Demetrius and his fellow tradesmen who are with him have a grievance against anyone, the courts are open and proconsuls are [available]; let them bring charges against one another [legally].

³⁹ But if you require anything further about this or about other matters, it must be decided and cleared up in the regular assembly.

⁴⁰ For we are in danger of being called to render an account and of being accused of rioting because of [this commotion] today, there being no reason that we can offer to justify this disorder.

⁴¹ And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.