12. Even handkerchiefs and aprons he had used were taken to those who were ill, and their diseases were driven away, and the evil spirits would go out of them.
13. Some Jews who travelled round 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 honour.
18. Many of the believers came, publicly admitting and revealing what they had done.
19. Many of those who had practised magic brought their books together and burnt them in public. They added up the price of the books, and the total came to 50,000 silver coins.
20. In this powerful way the word of the Lord kept spreading and growing stronger.
21. After these things had happened, Paul made up his mind to travel through Macedonia and Achaia and go on to Jerusalem. “After I go there,” he said, “I must also see Rome.”
22. So he sent Timothy and Erastus, two of his helpers, to Macedonia, while he spent more time in the province of Asia.
23. It was at this time that there was serious trouble in Ephesus because of the Way of the Lord.
24. A certain silversmith named Demetrius made silver models of the temple of the goddess Artemis, and his business brought a great deal of profit to the workers.
25. So he called them all together with others whose work was like theirs and said to them, “Men, you know that our prosperity comes from this work.
26. Now, you can see and hear for yourselves what this fellow Paul is doing. He says that gods made by human hands are not gods at all, and he has succeeded in convincing many people, both here in Ephesus and in nearly the whole province of Asia.
27. There is the danger, then, that this business of ours will get a bad name. Not only that, but there is also the danger that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will come to mean nothing and that her greatness will be destroyed — the goddess worshipped by everyone in Asia and in all the world!”
28. As the crowd heard these words, they became furious and started shouting, “Great is Artemis of Ephesus!”
29. The uproar spread throughout the whole city. The mob seized Gaius and Aristarchus, two Macedonians who were travelling with Paul, and rushed with them to the theatre.
30. Paul himself wanted to go before the crowd, but the believers would not let him.
31. Some of the provincial authorities, who were his friends, also sent him a message begging him not to show himself in the theatre.