Acts 19:8-41
New King James Version
8 (A)And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading (B)concerning the things of the kingdom of God. 9 But (C)when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil (D)of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. 10 And (E)this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.
Miracles Glorify Christ
11 Now (F)God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 (G)so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. 13 (H)Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists (I)took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, [a]“We [b]exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul (J)preaches.” 14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.
15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”
16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, [c]overpowered them, and prevailed against [d]them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and (K)fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. 18 And many who had believed came (L)confessing and telling their deeds. 19 Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 (M)So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.
The Riot at Ephesus
21 (N)When these things were accomplished, Paul (O)purposed in the Spirit, when he had passed through (P)Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, (Q)I must also see Rome.” 22 So he sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, (R)Timothy and (S)Erastus, but he himself stayed in Asia for a time.
23 And (T)about that time there arose a great commotion about (U)the Way. 24 For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of [e]Diana, brought (V)no small profit to the craftsmen. 25 He called them together with the workers of similar occupation, and said: “Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade. 26 Moreover you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that (W)they are not gods which are made with hands. 27 So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and [f]her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship.”
28 Now when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” 29 So the whole city was filled with confusion, and rushed into the theater with one accord, having seized (X)Gaius and (Y)Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul’s travel companions. 30 And when Paul wanted to go in to the people, the disciples would not allow him. 31 Then some of the [g]officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him pleading that he would not venture into the theater. 32 Some therefore cried one thing and some another, for the assembly was confused, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 33 And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And (Z)Alexander (AA)motioned with his hand, and wanted to make his defense to the people. 34 But when they found out that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about two hours, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”
35 And when the city clerk had quieted the crowd, he said: “Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple guardian of the great goddess [h]Diana, and of the image which fell down from [i]Zeus? 36 Therefore, since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of [j]your goddess. 38 Therefore, if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a [k]case against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you have any other inquiry to make, it shall be determined in the lawful assembly. 40 For we are in danger of being [l]called in question for today’s uproar, there being no reason which we may give to account for this disorderly gathering.” 41 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Acts 19:13 NU I
- Acts 19:13 adjure, solemnly command
- Acts 19:16 M and they overpowered them
- Acts 19:16 NU both of them
- Acts 19:24 Gr. Artemis
- Acts 19:27 NU she be deposed from her magnificence
- Acts 19:31 Asiarchs, rulers of Asia, the province
- Acts 19:35 Gr. Artemis
- Acts 19:35 heaven
- Acts 19:37 NU our
- Acts 19:38 Lit. matter
- Acts 19:40 Or charged with rebellion concerning today
Job 15-18
New King James Version
Eliphaz Accuses Job of Folly
15 Then (A)Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:
2 “Should a wise man answer with empty knowledge,
And fill [a]himself with the east wind?
3 Should he reason with unprofitable talk,
Or by speeches with which he can do no good?
4 Yes, you cast off fear,
And restrain [b]prayer before God.
5 For your iniquity teaches your mouth,
And you choose the tongue of the crafty.
6 (B)Your own mouth condemns you, and not I;
Yes, your own lips testify against you.
7 “Are you the first man who was born?
(C)Or were you made before the hills?
8 (D)Have you heard the counsel of God?
Do you limit wisdom to yourself?
9 (E)What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that is not in us?
10 (F)Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us,
Much older than your father.
11 Are the consolations of God too small for you,
And the word spoken [c]gently with you?
12 Why does your heart carry you away,
And [d]what do your eyes wink at,
13 That you turn your spirit against God,
And let such words go out of your mouth?
14 “What(G) is man, that he could be pure?
And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous?
15 (H)If God puts no trust in His saints,
And the heavens are not pure in His sight,
16 (I)How much less man, who is abominable and filthy,
(J)Who drinks iniquity like water!
17 “I will tell you, hear me;
What I have seen I will declare,
18 What wise men have told,
Not hiding anything received (K)from their fathers,
19 To whom alone the [e]land was given,
And (L)no alien passed among them:
20 The wicked man writhes with pain all his days,
(M)And the number of years is hidden from the oppressor.
21 [f]Dreadful sounds are in his ears;
(N)In prosperity the destroyer comes upon him.
22 He does not believe that he will (O)return from darkness,
For a sword is waiting for him.
23 He (P)wanders about for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’
He knows (Q)that a day of darkness is ready at his hand.
24 Trouble and anguish make him afraid;
They overpower him, like a king ready for [g]battle.
25 For he stretches out his hand against God,
And acts defiantly against the Almighty,
26 Running stubbornly against Him
With his strong, embossed shield.
27 “Though(R) he has covered his face with his fatness,
And made his waist heavy with fat,
28 He dwells in desolate cities,
In houses which no one inhabits,
Which are destined to become ruins.
29 He will not be rich,
Nor will his wealth (S)continue,
Nor will his possessions overspread the earth.
30 He will not depart from darkness;
The flame will dry out his branches,
And (T)by the breath of His mouth he will go away.
31 Let him not (U)trust in futile things, deceiving himself,
For futility will be his reward.
32 It will be accomplished (V)before his time,
And his branch will not be green.
33 He will shake off his unripe grape like a vine,
And cast off his blossom like an olive tree.
34 For the company of hypocrites will be barren,
And fire will consume the tents of bribery.
35 (W)They conceive trouble and bring forth futility;
Their womb prepares deceit.”
Job Reproaches His Pitiless Friends
16 Then Job answered and said:
2 “I have heard many such things;
(X)Miserable[h] comforters are you all!
3 Shall [i]words of wind have an end?
Or what provokes you that you answer?
4 I also could speak as you do,
If your soul were in my soul’s place.
I could heap up words against you,
And (Y)shake my head at you;
5 But I would strengthen you with my mouth,
And the comfort of my lips would relieve your grief.
6 “Though I speak, my grief is not relieved;
And if I remain silent, how am I eased?
7 But now He has (Z)worn me out;
You (AA)have made desolate all my company.
8 You have shriveled me up,
And it is a (AB)witness against me;
My leanness rises up against me
And bears witness to my face.
9 (AC)He tears me in His wrath, and hates me;
He gnashes at me with His teeth;
(AD)My adversary sharpens His gaze on me.
10 They (AE)gape at me with their mouth,
They (AF)strike me reproachfully on the cheek,
They gather together against me.
11 God (AG)has delivered me to the ungodly,
And turned me over to the hands of the wicked.
12 I was at ease, but He has (AH)shattered me;
He also has taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces;
He has (AI)set me up for His target,
13 His archers surround me.
He pierces my [j]heart and does not pity;
He pours out my gall on the ground.
14 He breaks me with wound upon wound;
He runs at me like a [k]warrior.
15 “I have sewn sackcloth over my skin,
And (AJ)laid my [l]head in the dust.
16 My face is [m]flushed from weeping,
And on my eyelids is the shadow of death;
17 Although no violence is in my hands,
And my prayer is pure.
18 “O earth, do not cover my blood,
And (AK)let my cry have no resting place!
19 Surely even now (AL)my witness is in heaven,
And my evidence is on high.
20 My friends scorn me;
My eyes pour out tears to God.
21 (AM)Oh, that one might plead for a man with God,
As a man pleads for his [n]neighbor!
22 For when a few years are finished,
I shall (AN)go the way of no return.
Job Prays for Relief
17 “My spirit is broken,
My days are extinguished,
(AO)The grave is ready for me.
2 Are not mockers with me?
And does not my eye [o]dwell on their (AP)provocation?
3 “Now put down a pledge for me with Yourself.
Who is he who (AQ)will shake hands with me?
4 For You have hidden their heart from (AR)understanding;
Therefore You will not exalt them.
5 He who speaks flattery to his friends,
Even the eyes of his children will (AS)fail.
6 “But He has made me (AT)a byword of the people,
And I have become one in whose face men spit.
7 (AU)My eye has also grown dim because of sorrow,
And all my members are like shadows.
8 Upright men are astonished at this,
And the innocent stirs himself up against the hypocrite.
9 Yet the righteous will hold to his (AV)way,
And he who has (AW)clean hands will be stronger and stronger.
10 “But please, (AX)come back again, [p]all of you,
For I shall not find one wise man among you.
11 (AY)My days are past,
My purposes are broken off,
Even the [q]thoughts of my heart.
12 They change the night into day;
‘The light is near,’ they say, in the face of darkness.
13 If I wait for the grave as my house,
If I make my bed in the darkness,
14 If I say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’
And to the worm, ‘You are my mother and my sister,’
15 Where then is my (AZ)hope?
As for my hope, who can see it?
16 Will they go down (BA)to the gates of [r]Sheol?
Shall we have (BB)rest together in the dust?”
Bildad: The Wicked Are Punished
18 Then (BC)Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:
2 “How long till you put an end to words?
Gain understanding, and afterward we will speak.
3 Why are we counted (BD)as beasts,
And regarded as stupid in your sight?
4 (BE)You[s] who tear yourself in anger,
Shall the earth be forsaken for you?
Or shall the rock be removed from its place?
5 “The(BF) light of the wicked indeed goes out,
And the flame of his fire does not shine.
6 The light is dark in his tent,
(BG)And his lamp beside him is put out.
7 The steps of his strength are shortened,
And (BH)his own counsel casts him down.
8 For (BI)he is cast into a net by his own feet,
And he walks into a snare.
9 The net takes him by the heel,
And (BJ)a snare lays hold of him.
10 A noose is hidden for him on the ground,
And a trap for him in the road.
11 (BK)Terrors frighten him on every side,
And drive him to his feet.
12 His strength is starved,
And (BL)destruction is ready at his side.
13 It devours patches of his skin;
The firstborn of death devours his [t]limbs.
14 He is uprooted from (BM)the shelter of his tent,
And they parade him before the king of terrors.
15 They dwell in his tent who are none of his;
Brimstone is scattered on his dwelling.
16 (BN)His roots are dried out below,
And his branch withers above.
17 (BO)The memory of him perishes from the earth,
And he has no name [u]among the renowned.
18 [v]He is driven from light into darkness,
And chased out of the world.
19 (BP)He has neither son nor posterity among his people,
Nor any remaining in his dwellings.
20 Those [w]in the west are astonished (BQ)at his day,
As those [x]in the east are frightened.
21 Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked,
And this is the place of him who (BR)does not know God.”
Footnotes
- Job 15:2 Lit. his belly
- Job 15:4 meditation or complaint
- Job 15:11 Or a secret thing
- Job 15:12 Or why do your eyes flash
- Job 15:19 Or earth
- Job 15:21 Terrifying
- Job 15:24 attack
- Job 16:2 Troublesome
- Job 16:3 Empty words
- Job 16:13 Lit. kidneys
- Job 16:14 Vg. giant
- Job 16:15 Lit. horn
- Job 16:16 Lit. red
- Job 16:21 friend
- Job 17:2 Lit. lodge
- Job 17:10 So with some Heb. mss., LXX, Syr., Vg.; MT, Tg. all of them
- Job 17:11 desires
- Job 17:16 The abode of the dead
- Job 18:4 Lit. one who tears his soul
- Job 18:13 parts
- Job 18:17 Lit. before the outside, i.e., the distinguished or famous
- Job 18:18 Or They drive him
- Job 18:20 Lit. who came after
- Job 18:20 Lit. who have gone before
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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