²⁰ But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.^(A)

¹⁴ You disowned the Holy^(A) and Righteous One^(B) and asked that a murderer be released to you.^{(C) 15} You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead.^(D) We are witnesses^(E) of this.

¹⁵ But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”

“Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.

“We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.

¹⁶ Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.^(A)

The Crucifixion of Jesus^(B)

So the soldiers took charge of Jesus.

⁴⁰ They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.^(A)

¹¹ But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas^(A) instead.

¹⁸ But the whole crowd shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!”^{(A) 19} (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)

²⁰ Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again.

The Riot in Ephesus

²³ About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way.^{(A) 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.^{(B) 26} And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus^(C) and in practically the whole province of Asia.^(D) He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all.^{(E) 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!”^{(F) 29} Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius^(G) and Aristarchus,^(H) Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia,^(I) and all of them rushed into the theater together.

¹⁸ Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.

¹⁹ Then some Jews^(A) came from Antioch and Iconium^(B) and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul^(C) and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.