²² The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods.^(A)

² We had previously suffered^(A) and been treated outrageously in Philippi,^(B) as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition.^(C)

⁵ in beatings, imprisonments^(A) and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger;^(B)

³⁶ Some faced jeers and flogging,^(A) and even chains and imprisonment.^(B)

²³ Are they servants of Christ?^(A) (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder,^(B) been in prison more frequently,^(C) been flogged more severely,^(D) and been exposed to death again and again.^{(E) 24} Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes^(F) minus one. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods,^(G) once I was pelted with stones,^(H) three times I was shipwrecked,^(I) I spent a night and a day in the open sea,

Paul the Roman Citizen

²² The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him!^(A) He’s not fit to live!”^(B)

²³ As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks^(C) and flinging dust into the air,^{(D) 24} the commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks.^(E) He directed^(F) that he be flogged and interrogated in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this. ²⁵ As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?”^(G)

²⁶ When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. “What are you going to do?” he asked. “This man is a Roman citizen.”

²⁴ “He himself bore our sins”^(A) in his body on the cross,^(B) so that we might die to sins^(C) and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”^(D)

³⁰ The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul,^(A) they dragged him^(B) from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. ³¹ While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar.

²⁸ When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”^{(A) 29} Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius^(B) and Aristarchus,^(C) Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia,^(D) and all of them rushed into the theater together. ³⁰ Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples^(E) 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.^(F) 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^(G) 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!”^(H)

³⁵ The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: “Fellow Ephesians,^(I) doesn’t all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven? ³⁶ Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to calm down and not do anything rash. ³⁷ You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples^(J) nor blasphemed our goddess. ³⁸ If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen^(K) have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls.^(L) They can press charges. ³⁹ If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly. ⁴⁰ As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of what happened today. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it.” ⁴¹ After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.