Acts 19:24-27

19:24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines ¹  of Artemis, ²  brought a great deal ³  of business ⁴  to the craftsmen. 19:25 He gathered ⁵  these ⁶  together, along with the workmen in similar trades, ⁷  and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity ⁸  comes from this business. 19:26 And you see and hear that this Paul has persuaded ⁹  and turned away ¹⁰  a large crowd, ¹¹  not only in Ephesus ¹²  but in practically all of the province of Asia, ¹³  by saying ¹⁴  that gods made by hands are not gods at all. ¹⁵  19:27 There is danger not only that this business of ours will come into disrepute, ¹⁶  but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis ¹⁷  will be regarded as nothing, ¹⁸  and she whom all the province of Asia ¹⁹  and the world worship will suffer the loss of her greatness.” ²⁰ 

[19:24]  ¹ tn BDAG 665 s.v. ναός 1.a states, “Specif. of temples: of replicas of the temple of Artemis at Ephesus 19:24…but here, near ἱερόν vs. 27…ναός can be understood in the more restricted sense shrine, where the image of the goddess stood.”

[19:24]  ² sn Artemis was the name of a Greek goddess worshiped particularly in Asia Minor, whose temple, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, was located just outside the city of Ephesus.

[19:24]  ³ tn Grk “brought not a little business” (an idiom).

[19:24]  ⁴ sn A great deal of business. The charge that Christianity brought economic and/or social upheaval was made a number of times in Acts: 16:20-21; 17:6-7; 18:13.

[19:25]  ⁵ tn Grk “gathering.” The participle συναθροίσας (sunaqroisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[19:25]  ⁶ tn Grk “whom”; because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) has been replaced with a pronoun (“these”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.

[19:25]  ⁷ sn Workmen in similar trades. In effect, Demetrius gathered the Ephesian chamber of commerce together to hear about the threat to their prosperity.

[19:25]  ⁸ tn Another possible meaning is “that this business is an easy way for us to earn a living.”

[19:26]  ⁹ tn Grk “persuading.” The participle πείσας (peisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[19:26]  ¹⁰ tn Or “misled.”

[19:26]  ¹¹ tn BDAG 472 s.v. ἱκανός 3.a has “of pers. ὄχλος a large crowd…Ac 11:24, 26; 19:26.”

[19:26]  ¹² map For location see JP1 D2; JP2 D2; JP3 D2; JP4 D2.

[19:26]  ¹³ tn Grk “Asia”; see the note on this word in v. 22.

[19:26]  ¹⁴ tn The participle λέγων (legwn) has been regarded as indicating instrumentality.

[19:26]  ¹⁵ tn The words “at all” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

[19:27]  ¹⁶ tn Or “come under public criticism.” BDAG 101 s.v. ἀπελεγμός has “come into disrepute Ac 19:27.”

[19:27]  ¹⁷ sn Artemis was the name of a Greek goddess worshiped particularly in Asia Minor, whose temple, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, was located just outside the city of Ephesus.

[19:27]  ¹⁸ tn BDAG 597 s.v. λογίζομαι 1.b has “εἰς οὐθὲν λογισθῆναι be looked upon as nothing…Ac 19:27.”

[19:27]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “Asia”; see the note on this word in v. 22.

[19:27]  ²⁰ tn Or “her magnificence.” BDAG 488 s.v. καθαιρέω 2.b has “καθαιρεῖσθαι τῆς μεγαλειότητος αὐτῆς suffer the loss of her magnificence Ac 19:27”; L&N 13.38 has “‘and to have her greatness done away with’ Ac 19:27.”