Acts 18:19-19:21

Good News Translation

¹⁹ They arrived in Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He went into the synagogue and held discussions with the Jews. ²⁰ The people asked him to stay longer, but he would not consent. ²¹ Instead, he told them as he left, “If it is the will of God, I will come back to you.” And so he sailed from Ephesus.

²² When he arrived at Caesarea, he went to Jerusalem and greeted the church, and then went to Antioch. ²³ After spending some time there, he left and went through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the believers.

Apollos in Ephesus and Corinth

²⁴ At that time a Jew named Apollos, who had been born in Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent speaker and had a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. ²⁵ He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord, and with great enthusiasm he proclaimed and taught correctly the facts about Jesus. However, he knew only the baptism of John. ²⁶ He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him home with them and explained to him more correctly the Way of God. ²⁷ Apollos then decided to go to Achaia, so the believers in Ephesus helped him by writing to the believers in Achaia, urging them to welcome him. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who through God's grace had become believers. ²⁸ For with his strong arguments he defeated the Jews in public debates by proving from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah.

Paul in Ephesus

19 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior of the province and arrived in Ephesus. There he found some disciples ² and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?”

“We have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit,” they answered.

³ “Well, then, what kind of baptism did you receive?” Paul asked.

“The baptism of John,” they answered.

^4 (A)Paul said, “The baptism of John was for those who turned from their sins; and he told the people of Israel to believe in the one who was coming after him—that is, in Jesus.”

⁵ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ Paul placed his hands on them, and the Holy Spirit came upon them; they spoke in strange tongues and also proclaimed God's message. ⁷ They were about twelve men in all.

⁸ Paul went into the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly with the people, holding discussions with them and trying to convince them about the Kingdom of God. ⁹ But some of them were stubborn and would not believe, and before the whole group they said evil things about the Way of the Lord. So Paul left them and took the believers with him, and every day^[a] he held discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. ¹⁰ This went on for two years, so that all the people who lived in the province of Asia, both Jews and Gentiles, heard the word of the Lord.

The Sons of Sceva

¹¹ God was performing unusual miracles through Paul. ¹² Even handkerchiefs and aprons he had used were taken to the sick, and their diseases were driven away, and the evil spirits would go out of them. ¹³ Some Jews who traveled around and drove out evil spirits also tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus to do this. They said to the evil spirits, “I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches.” ¹⁴ Seven brothers, who were the sons of a Jewish High Priest named Sceva, were doing this.

¹⁵ But the evil spirit said to them, “I know Jesus, and I know about Paul; but you—who are you?”

¹⁶ The man who had the evil spirit in him attacked them with such violence that he overpowered them all. They ran away from his house, wounded and with their clothes torn off. ¹⁷ All the Jews and Gentiles who lived in Ephesus heard about this; they were all filled with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was given greater honor. ¹⁸ Many of the believers came, publicly admitting and revealing what they had done. ¹⁹ Many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in public. They added up the price of the books, and the total came to fifty thousand silver coins.^{[b] 20} In this powerful way the word of the Lord^[c] kept spreading and growing stronger.

The Riot in Ephesus

²¹ After these things had happened, Paul made up his mind^[d] to travel through Macedonia and Achaia and go on to Jerusalem. “After I go there,” he said, “I must also see Rome.”