Beginning
Paul, Silas, and Timothy in Corinth
18 After these things he departed from Athens and[a] went to Corinth. 2 And he found a certain Jew named[b] Aquila, a native[c] of Pontus who had arrived recently from Italy along with[d] Priscilla his wife, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to depart from Rome, and[e] he went to them. 3 And because he was practicing the same trade, he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. 4 And he argued in the synagogue every Sabbath, attempting to persuade[f] both Jews and Greeks.
5 Now when both Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began to be occupied with[g] the message, solemnly testifying to the Jews that the Christ[h] was Jesus. 6 And when[i] they resisted and reviled him,[j] he shook out his[k] clothes and[l] said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am guiltless! From now on I will go to the Gentiles!” 7 And leaving there, he entered into the house of someone named[m] Titius Justus, a worshiper[n] of God whose house was next door to the synagogue. 8 And Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord together with his whole household. And many of the Corinthians, when they[o] heard about it,[p] believed and were baptized. 9 And the Lord said to Paul by a vision in the night, “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not keep silent, 10 because I am with you and no one will attack you to harm you, because many people are mine in this city.” 11 So he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
Paul Accused Before the Proconsul Gallio
12 Now when[q] Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews rose up with one purpose against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat, 13 saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law!” 14 But when[r] Paul was about to open his[s] mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it was some crime or wicked villainy, O Jews, I would have been justified in accepting[t] your complaint. 15 But if it is questions concerning a word and names and your own law,[u] see to it[v] yourselves! I do not wish to be a judge of these things.” 16 And he drove them away from the judgment seat. 17 So they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and[w] began beating[x] him[y] in front of the judgment seat. And none of these things was a concern to Gallio.
Paul Returns to Antioch in Syria
18 So Paul, after[z] remaining many days longer, said farewell to the brothers and[aa] sailed away to Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila. He shaved his[ab] head at Cenchrea, because he had taken a vow. 19 So they arrived at Ephesus, and those he left behind there, but he himself entered into the synagogue and[ac] discussed with the Jews. 20 And when[ad] they asked him[ae] to stay for a longer time, he did not give his consent, 21 but saying farewell and telling them,[af] “I will return to you again if[ag] God wills,” he set sail from Ephesus.
22 And when he[ah] arrived at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and[ai] went down to Antioch. 23 And after[aj] spending some time there, he departed, traveling through one place after another in the Galatian region and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.
The Early Ministry of Apollos
24 Now a certain Jew named[ak] Apollos, a native[al] Alexandrian, arrived in Ephesus—an eloquent man who was well-versed in the scriptures. 25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and being enthusiastic in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things about Jesus, although he[am] knew only the baptism of John. 26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when[an] Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the way of God to him more accurately. 27 And when[ao] he wanted to cross over to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him[ap] and[aq] wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he[ar] arrived, he[as] assisted greatly those who had believed through grace. 28 For he was vigorously refuting the Jews in public, demonstrating through the scriptures that the Christ[at] was Jesus.
Paul Finds Disciples of John the Baptist in Ephesus
19 And it happened that while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the inland regions and[au] came[av] to Ephesus and found some disciples. 2 And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you[aw] believed?” And they said to him, “But we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit!” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into the baptism of John.” 4 And Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe in the one who was to come after him—that is, in Jesus.” 5 And when they[ax] heard this,[ay] they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when[az] Paul laid hands[ba] on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them and they began to speak[bb] in tongues and to prophesy. 7 (Now the total number of men was about twelve.)
8 So he entered into the synagogue and[bc] was speaking boldly for three months, discussing and attempting to convince[bd] them[be] concerning[bf] the kingdom of God. 9 But when some became hardened and were disobedient, reviling the Way before the congregation, he departed from them and[bg] took away the disciples, leading discussions every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 And this took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia[bh] heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
Would-be Exorcists
11 And God was performing extraordinary[bi] miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or work aprons that had touched his skin[bj] were carried away to those who were sick, and their[bk] diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.[bl] 13 But some itinerant Jewish exorcists also attempted to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches!” 14 (Now seven sons of a certain Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.) 15 But the evil spirit answered and[bm] said to them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I am acquainted with, but who are you?” 16 And the man who had the evil spirit[bn] leaped on them, subdued all of them, and[bo] prevailed against them, so that they ran away from that house naked and wounded. 17 And this became known to all who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, and fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was exalted. 18 And many of those who had believed came, confessing and disclosing their practices, 19 and many of those who practiced magic brought together their[bp] books and[bq] burned them[br] up in the sight of everyone. And they counted up their value and found it was fifty thousand silver coins.[bs] 20 In this way the word of the Lord was growing in power and was prevailing.
A Major Riot in Ephesus
21 Now when these things were completed, Paul resolved in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, “After I have been there, it is necessary for me to see Rome also.” 22 So after[bt] sending two of those who were assisting him, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, he himself stayed some time in Asia.[bu]
23 Now there happened at that time no little disturbance concerning the Way. 24 For someone named[bv] Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver replicas of the temple of Artemis, was bringing no little business to the craftsmen. 25 These[bw] he gathered together, and the workers occupied with such things, and[bx] said, “Men, you know that from this business we get our prosperity,[by] 26 and you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia[bz] this man Paul has persuaded and[ca] turned away a large crowd by[cb] saying that the gods made by hands are not gods. 27 So not only is there a danger this line of business of ours will come into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be regarded as nothing—and she is about to be brought down even from her grandeur, she whom the whole of Asia[cc] and the entire world worship!”
28 And when they[cd] heard this[ce] and became full of rage, they began to shout,[cf] saying, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 And the city was filled with the tumult, and with one purpose they rushed into the theater, seizing Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were traveling companions of Paul. 30 But when[cg] Paul wanted to enter into the popular assembly, the disciples would not let him. 31 And even some of the Asiarchs[ch] who were his friends sent word[ci] to him and[cj] were urging him[ck] not to risk himself by going into the theater. 32 So some were shouting one thing[cl] and some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and the majority did not know why[cm] they had assembled. 33 And some of the crowd advised[cn] Alexander, when[co] the Jews put him forward. But Alexander, motioning with his[cp] hand, was wanting to defend himself to the popular assembly. 34 But when they[cq] recognized that he was a Jew, they were shouting with one voice from all of them for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 35 And when[cr] the city secretary had quieted the crowd, he said, “Ephesian men, for who is there among men who does not know the Ephesian city is honorary temple keeper of the great Artemis and of her[cs] image fallen from heaven? 36 Therefore because[ct] these things are undeniable, it is necessary that you be quiet and do nothing rash! 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 If then Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against anyone, the court days are observed and there are proconsuls—let them bring charges against one another! 39 But if you desire anything further, it will be settled in the lawful assembly. 40 For indeed we are in danger of being accused of rioting concerning today, since there[cu] is no cause in relation to which we will be able to give an account concerning this disorderly gathering!” And when he[cv] had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.[cw]
Paul Travels Through Macedonia and Greece
20 Now after the turmoil had ceased, Paul summoned[cx] the disciples, and after[cy] encouraging them,[cz] he said farewell and[da] departed to travel to Macedonia. 2 And after he[db] had gone through those regions and encouraged them at length,[dc] he came to Greece 3 and stayed[dd] three months. Because[de] a plot was made against him by the Jews as he[df] was about to set sail for Syria, he came to a decision to return through Macedonia. 4 And Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, and Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, and Gaius from Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia, were accompanying him. 5 And these had gone on ahead and[dg] were waiting for us in Troas. 6 And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread and came to them at Troas within five days, where we stayed seven days.
Eutychus Falls from a Window
7 And on the first day of the week, when[dh] we had assembled to break bread, Paul began conversing[di] with them, because he[dj] was going to leave on the next day, and he extended his[dk] message until midnight. 8 Now there were quite a few lamps in the upstairs room where we were gathered. 9 And a certain young man named[dl] Eutychus who was sitting in the window was sinking into a deep sleep while[dm] Paul was conversing at length. Being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was picked up dead. 10 But Paul went down and[dn] threw himself on him, and putting his arms around him,[do] said, “Do not be distressed, for his life is in him.” 11 So he went up and broke bread,[dp] and when he[dq] had eaten and talked for a long time, until dawn, then he departed. 12 And they led the youth away alive, and were greatly[dr] comforted.
The Voyage to Miletus
13 But we went on ahead to the ship and[ds] put out to sea for Assos, intending to take Paul on board there. For having made arrangements in this way, he himself was intending to travel by land. 14 And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and[dt] went to Mitylene. 15 And we sailed from there on the next day, and[du] arrived opposite Chios. And on the next day we approached Samos, and on the following day we came to Miletus. 16 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not be having to spend time in Asia.[dv] For he was hurrying if it could be possible for him to be in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.
Paul’s Farewell to the Ephesian Elders
17 And from Miletus he sent word[dw] to Ephesus and[dx] summoned the elders of the church. 18 And when they came to him, he said to them, “You know from the first day on which I set foot in Asia[dy] how I was the whole time with you— 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears, and with the trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews— 20 how I did not shrink from proclaiming to you anything that would be profitable, and from teaching you in public and from house to house, 21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks with respect to repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus.
22 “And now behold, bound by the Spirit I am traveling to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there,[dz] 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in town after town, saying that bonds and persecutions await me. 24 But I consider my[ea] life as worth nothing[eb] to myself, in order to finish my mission and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
25 “And now behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about proclaiming the kingdom, will see my face no more. 26 Therefore I testify to you on this very day that I am guiltless of the blood of all of you,[ec] 27 for I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the whole purpose of God. 28 Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God which he obtained through the blood of his own Son.[ed] 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 And from among you yourselves men will arise, speaking perversions of the truth[ee] in order to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning each one of you[ef] with tears.
32 “And now I entrust you to God and to the message of his grace, which is able to build you[eg] up and to give you[eh] the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I have desired no one’s silver or gold or clothing! 34 You yourselves know that these hands served to meet[ei] my needs and the needs of[ej] those who were with me. 35 I have shown you with respect to all things that by[ek] working hard in this way it is necessary to help those who are in need, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”[el]
36 And when he[em] had said these things, he fell to his knees and[en] prayed with them all. 37 And there was considerable weeping by all, and hugging[eo] Paul, they kissed him, 38 especially distressed at the statement that he had said, that they were going to see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship.
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