Paul in Ephesus
1 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled across the hill country to Ephesus, where he met some of the Lord's followers. 2 He asked them, “When you put your faith in Jesus, were you given the Holy Spirit?”
“No!” they answered. “We have never even heard of the Holy Spirit.”
3 “Then why were you baptized?” Paul asked.
They answered, “Because of what John taught.”
4 Paul replied, “John baptized people so they would turn to God. But he also told them someone else was coming, and they should put their faith in him. Jesus is the one that John was talking about.” 5 After the people heard Paul say this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 Then Paul placed his hands on them. The Holy Spirit was given to them, and they spoke unknown languages and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in this group.
8 For three months Paul went to the synagogue and talked bravely with the people about God's kingdom. He tried to win them over, 9 but some of them were stubborn and refused to believe. In front of everyone they said terrible things about God's Way. Paul left and took the followers with him to the lecture hall of Tyrannus. He spoke there every day 10 for two years, until every Jew and Gentile in Asia had heard the Lord's message.
The Sons of Sceva
11 God gave Paul the power to work great miracles. 12 People even took handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched Paul's body, and they carried them to everyone who was sick. All of the sick people were healed, and the evil spirits went out.
13 Some Jewish men started going around trying to force out evil spirits by using the name of the Lord Jesus. They said to the spirits, “Come out in the name of that same Jesus that Paul preaches about!”
14 Seven sons of a high priest named Sceva were doing this, 15 when an evil spirit said to them, “I know Jesus! And I have heard about Paul. But who are you?” 16 Then the man with the evil spirit jumped on them and beat them up. They ran out of the house, naked and bruised.
17 When the Jews and Gentiles in Ephesus heard about this, they were so frightened that they praised the name of the Lord Jesus. 18 Many who were followers now started telling everyone about the evil things they had been doing. 19 Some who had been practicing witchcraft even brought their books and burned them in public. These books were worth about 50,000 silver coins. 20 So the Lord's message spread and became even more powerful.
The Riot in Ephesus
21 After all this had happened, Paul decided to visit Macedonia and Achaia on his way to Jerusalem. Paul had said, “From there I will go on to Rome.” 22 So he sent his two helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia. But he stayed on in Asia for a while.
23 At that time there was serious trouble because of the Lord's Way. 24 A silversmith named Demetrius had a business that made silver models of the temple of the goddess Artemis. Those who worked for him earned a lot of money. 25 Demetrius brought together everyone who was in the same business and said:
Friends, you know we make a good living at this. 26 But you have surely seen and heard how this man Paul is upsetting a lot of people, not only in Ephesus, but almost everywhere in Asia. He claims that the gods we humans make are not really gods at all. 27 Everyone will start saying terrible things about our business. They will stop respecting the temple of the goddess Artemis, who is worshiped in Asia and all over the world. Our great goddess will be forgotten!
28 When the workers heard this, they got angry and started shouting, “Great is Artemis, the goddess of the Ephesians!” 29 Soon the whole city was in a riot, and some men grabbed Gaius and Aristarchus, who had come from Macedonia with Paul. Then everyone in the crowd rushed to the place where the town meetings were held.
30 Paul wanted to go out and speak to the people, but the Lord's followers would not let him. 31 A few of the local officials were friendly to Paul, and they sent someone to warn him not to go.
32 Some of the people in the meeting were shouting one thing, and others were shouting something else. Everyone was completely confused, and most of them did not even know why they were there.
33 Several of the Jewish leaders pushed a man named Alexander to the front of the crowd and started telling him what to say. He motioned with his hand and tried to explain what was going on. 34 But when the crowd saw that he was Jewish, they all shouted for two hours, “Great is Artemis, the goddess of the Ephesians!”
35 Finally, a town official made the crowd be quiet. Then he said:
People of Ephesus, who in the world doesn't know that our city is the center for worshiping the great goddess Artemis? Who doesn't know that her image which fell from heaven is right here? 36 No one can deny this, and so you should calm down and not do anything foolish. 37 You have brought men in here who have not robbed temples or spoken against our goddess.
38 If Demetrius and his workers have a case against these men, we have courts and judges. Let them take their complaints there. 39 But if you want to do more than that, the matter will have to be brought before the city council. 40 We could easily be accused of starting a riot today. There is no excuse for it! We cannot even give a reason for this uproar.
41 After saying this, he told the people to leave.
بولس في أفسس
1 وبَينَما أبلّوسُ في كورِنثوسَ، وصَلَ بولُسُ إلى أفسُسَ، بَعدَما قطَعَ أواسِطَ البلادِ، فوَجَدَ فيها بَعضَ التلاميذِ. 2 فقالَ لهُم: «هَلْ نِلتُمُ الرّوحَ القُدُسَ عِندَما آمَنتُم؟» قالوا: «لا، ولا سَمِعنا حتى بوجودِ الرّوحِ القُدُسِ». 3 فقالَ: «وأيّ مَعمودِيّةٍ تَعَمّدتُم؟» قالوا: «مَعمودِيّةَ يوحنّا». 4 فقالَ بولُسُ: «عَمّدَ يوحنّا مَعمودِيّةَ التّوبَةِ، داعيًا النّاسَ إلى الإيمانِ بالذي يَجيءُ بَعدَهُ، أي بـيَسوعَ».
5 فلمّا سَمِعوا هذا الكلامَ، تَعمّدوا باَسمِ الرّبّ يَسوعَ. 6 ووضَعَ بولُسُ يدَيهِ علَيهِم، فنَزَلَ علَيهِمِ الرّوحُ القُدُسُ وأخَذوا يتكَلّمونَ بِلُغاتٍ غيرِ لُغتِهِم ويَتنَــبّأُونَ. 7 وكانوا نحوَ اَثنَي عشَرَ رَجُلاً.
8 ودخَلَ بولُسُ المَجمعَ فأخَذَ يَتَحدّثُ بِجُرأةٍ عَنْ مَلكوتِ اللهِ مُدّةَ ثلاثَةِ أشهُرٍ، يُجادِلُ الحاضِرينَ ويُحاولُ إقناعَهُم. 9 فعانَدَ بَعضُهُم ورفَضوا أنْ يُؤمنوا بل تكَلّموا بالسّوءِ على مَذهَبِ الرّبّ عِندَ الجماعةِ كُلّها. فترَكَهُم بولُسُ واَنفَرَدَ بالتلاميذِ يُحادِثُهُم كُلّ يومٍ في مدرَسةِ تيرانّوسَ. 10 ودامَت هذِهِ الحالُ مُدّةَ سَنتَينِ، حتى سَمِعَ جميعُ سكّانِ آسيةَ مِنْ يَهودٍ ويونانيّينَ كلامَ الرّبّ.
أبناء سكاوا
11 وكانَ اللهُ يُجري على يَدِ بولُسَ مُعجِزاتٍ عجيبةً، 12 حتى صارَ النّاسُ يأخذونَ إلى مَرضاهُم ما لامَسَ جَسَدَهُ مِنْ مَناديلَ أو مآزرَ، فتَزولُ الأمراضُ عنهُم، وتَخرُجُ الأرواحُ الشرّيرَةُ.
13 وحاوَلَ بَعضُ اليَهودِ المُتجَوّلينَ الذينَ يَطرُدونَ الأرواحَ الشرّيرةَ أنْ يَستَخدِموا اَسمَ الرّبّ يَسوعَ، فكانوا يَقولونَ للأرواحِ الشرّيرةِ: «آمُرُكَ باَسمِ يَسوعَ الذي يُــبَشّرُ بِه بولُسُ». 14 وكانَ لأحدِ رُؤساءِ كَهنَةِ اليَهودِ، واَسمُهُ سكَاوا، سَبعَةُ أبناءٍ يَحتَرِفونَ هذِهِ الحِرفَةَ. 15 فأجابَهُمُ الرّوحُ الشرّيرُ: «أنا أعرِفُ يَسوعَ، وأعلَمُ مَنْ هوَ بولُسُ. أمّا أنتُم فمَنْ تكونونَ؟» 16 فهجَمَ علَيهِم الرّجُلُ الذي فيهِ الرّوحُ الشرّيرُ وتمَكّنَ مِنهُم كُلّهِم وغَلَبهُم، فهَرَبوا مِنَ البـيتِ عُراةً مُجَرّحينَ.
17 فسَمِعَ أهلُ أفسُسَ كُلّهُم، مِنْ يَهودٍ ويونانيّينَ، بِهذِهِ الحادِثَةِ، فمَلأهُمُ الخوفُ. وتَعَظّمَ اَسمُ الرّبّ يَسوعَ. 18 فجاءَ كثيرٌ مِنَ المُؤمنينَ يعتَرِفونَ ويُقِرّونَ بِما يُمارِسونَ مِنْ أعمالِ السّحْرِ. 19 وجمَعَ كثيرٌ مِنَ المُشَعوِذينَ كُتُبَهُم وأحرَقوها أمامَ أنظارِ النّاسِ كُلّهِم. وحسَبوا ثمَنَ هذِهِ الكُتُبِ، فبلغَ خمسينَ ألفَ قِطعةٍ مِنَ الفِضّةِ. 20 وهكذا كانَ كلامُ الرّبّ ينتَشِرُ ويَقوى في النّفوسِ.
فتنة في أفسس
21 وبَعدَ هذِهِ الأحداثِ عزَمَ بولُسُ أنْ يمُرّ بِمكدونِـيّةَ وآخائِـيّةَ وهوَ في طريقِهِ إلى
أُورُشليمَ، وقالَ: «بَعدَ إقامتي فيها، يَجبُ علَيّ أنْ أرى رومةَ أيضًا». 22 فأرسَلَ إلى مكدونِـيّةَ اَثنينِ مِنْ مُعاوِنيهِ وهُما تيموثاوُسُ وأرَسْتُسُ. وأمّا هوَ، فتَأخّرَ مُدّةً في آسيةَ.
23 وحدَثَت في ذلِكَ الوقتِ فِتنَةٌ صاخِبَةٌ هَدَفُها مَذهبُ الرّبّ، 24 لأنّ صائِغًا اَسمُهُ ديمتريوسُ كانَ يَصنَعُ هياكلَ مِنْ فِضّةٍ تُمَثّلُ هَيكَلَ الإلهَةِ أرطاميسَ، فيكسِبُ الصّنّاعُ مِنْ ذلِكَ مالاً كثيرًا. 25 فجمَعَ بَينَهُم وبَينَ زُملائِهِم في هذِهِ الصّناعَةِ وقالَ لهُم: «تَعرِفونَ، أيّها الإخوانُ، أنّ رَخاءَنا يَقومُ على هذِهِ الصّناعةِ. 26 فأنتُم رأيتُم وسمِعتُم كيفَ أقنَعَ هذا المدعوّ بولُسُ وأغوى كثيرًا مِنَ النّاسِ هُنا في أفسُسَ وفي مُعظَمِ أنحاءِ آسيةَ بِقولِهِ إنّ الآلهَةَ التي تَصنَعُها الأيدي ما هيَ آلهةٌ. 27 وهذا خَطَرٌ يُؤَدّي إلى الاستِهانَةِ بِصناعَتِنا، لا بل يُعرّضُ هَيكَلَ الإلهةِ العظيمةِ أرطاميسَ للازدِراءِ ويُهدّدُ عَظَمَتَها بالانهيارِ، وهيَ التي يَعبُدُها جميعُ النّاسِ في آسيةَ وفي العالَمِ كُلّهِ!»
28 فلمّا سَمِعَ الحاضرونَ هذا الكلامَ غَضِبوا كثيرًا وأخذوا يَصيحونَ: «العَظمةُ لأرطاميسَ، إلهةِ أفسُسَ!» 29 وعَمّ الشغَبُ المدينةَ كُلّها. فهَجموا دَفعةً واحدةً على غايوسَ وأرستَرخُسَ، وهُما مكدونيّانِ يُرافِقانِ بولُسَ في رِحلَتِهِ، وجَرّوهُما إلى مَلعبِ المدينةِ. 30 وأرادَ بولُسُ أن يُواجِهَ الجُموعَ، فمَنعَهُ التلاميذُ. 31 وأرسَلَ إلَيهِ بَعضُ أعيانِ آسيةَ مِنْ أصدقائِهِ يَرجُونَ مِنهُ أنْ لا يَتَعرّضَ لِخَطَرِ الذّهابِ إلى الملعبِ.
32 وسادَتِ الفَوضى، فكانَ بَعضُهُم يُنادونَ بِشيءٍ، وبَعضُهُم بِشيءٍ آخَرَ، وأكثرُهُم يَجهَلونَ لِماذا اَجتَمعوا. 33 ودفَعَ اليَهودُ إسكندَرَ إلى الأمامِ، فأشارَ بـيدِهِ يُريدُ أنْ يُخاطِبَ الجُموعَ. 34 فلمّا عرَفوا أنّهُ يَهودِيّ أخذوا يَصيحونَ بِصوتٍ واحدٍ نحوَ ساعتينِ: «العَظمَةُ لأرطاميسَ، إلهةِ أفسُسَ!»
35 ثُمّ تَمكّنَ كاتِبُ حاكِمِ المدينةِ مِنْ تَهدِئةِ الجُموعِ حينَ قالَ لهُم: «يا أهلَ أفسُسَ! لا يَجهَلُ أحدٌ أنّ مدينةَ أفسُسَ هيَ حارِسَةُ هَيكَلِ أرطاميسَ العظيمةِ والصّنمِ الذي هبَطَ مِنَ السّماءِ. 36 لا خِلافَ في ذلِكَ، إذًا علَيكُم أنْ تَهدأوا ولا تتَهَوّروا. 37 جِئتُم بِهَذينِ الرّجُلينِ، ولا أحدَ مِنهُما اَنتَهَكَ حُرمَةَ أرطاميسَ إلهتِنا أو جدّفَ علَيها. 38 وإذا كانَ لِديمتريوسَ وأهلِ صِناعتِهِ شكوى على أحدٍ، فهُناكَ قُضاةٌ وحُكّامٌ فليَذهبوا إلَيهِم. 39 وإذا كانَ لكُم دَعوى أُخرى، فالحُكمُ فيها يكونُ في جَلسةٍ قانونيّةٍ، 40 لِئَلاّ نَتَعرّض لِتُهمةِ العمَلِ على إثارَةِ الفِتنَةِ في ما جرى اليومَ. فلا عُذْرَ لنا في هذا التّجَمّعِ». 41 وصرَفَ الجُموعَ بَعدَما قالَ هذا الكلامَ.
