¹¹ God did extraordinary miracles^(A) through Paul, ¹² so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured^(B) and the evil spirits left them.

¹³ Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits^(C) tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus^(D) whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” ¹⁴ Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. ¹⁵ One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” 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,^(E) they were all seized with fear,^(F) 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^(G) spread widely and grew in power.^(H)

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

The Riot in Ephesus

²³ About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way.^{(Q) 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.^{(R) 26} And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus^(S) and in practically the whole province of Asia.^(T) He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all.^{(U) 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!”^{(V) 29} Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius^(W) and Aristarchus,^(X) Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia,^(Y) and all of them rushed into the theater together. ³⁰ Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples^(Z) would not let him.