¹⁶ Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.

¹⁷ When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus,^(A) they were all seized with fear,^(B) and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. ¹⁸ Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. ¹⁹ A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.^{[a] 20} In this way the word of the Lord^(C) spread widely and grew in power.^(D)

²¹ After all this had happened, Paul decided^[b] to go to Jerusalem,^(E) passing through Macedonia^(F) and Achaia.^(G) “After I have been there,” he said, “I must visit Rome also.”^{(H) 22} He sent two of his helpers,^(I) Timothy^(J) and Erastus,^(K) to Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia^(L) a little longer.

The Riot in Ephesus

²³ About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way.^{(M) 24} A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there. ²⁵ He called them together, along with the workers in related trades, and said: “You know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business.^{(N) 26} And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus^(O) and in practically the whole province of Asia.^(P) He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all.^{(Q) 27} There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.”

²⁸ When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”^{(R) 29} Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius^(S) and Aristarchus,^(T) Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia,^(U) and all of them rushed into the theater together. ³⁰ Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples^(V) would not let him. ³¹ Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater.

³² The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another.^(W) Most of the people did not even know why they were there. ³³ The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander to the front, and they shouted instructions to him. He motioned^(X) for silence in order to make a defense before the people. ³⁴ But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”^(Y)