Acts 19:23-28

19:23 At ¹  that time ²  a great disturbance ³  took place concerning the Way. ⁴  19:24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines ⁵  of Artemis, ⁶  brought a great deal ⁷  of business ⁸  to the craftsmen. 19:25 He gathered ⁹  these ¹⁰  together, along with the workmen in similar trades, ¹¹  and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity ¹²  comes from this business. 19:26 And you see and hear that this Paul has persuaded ¹³  and turned away ¹⁴  a large crowd, ¹⁵  not only in Ephesus ¹⁶  but in practically all of the province of Asia, ¹⁷  by saying ¹⁸  that gods made by hands are not gods at all. ¹⁹  19:27 There is danger not only that this business of ours will come into disrepute, ²⁰  but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis ²¹  will be regarded as nothing, ²²  and she whom all the province of Asia ²³  and the world worship will suffer the loss of her greatness.” ²⁴ 

19:28 When ²⁵  they heard ²⁶  this they became enraged ²⁷  and began to shout, ²⁸  “Great is Artemis ²⁹  of the Ephesians!”

[19:23]  ¹ tn Grk “There happened at that time.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Instead the verb “took place” has been supplied in the translation.

[19:23]  ² tn BDAG 512 s.v. κατά B.2.a, “in definite indications of time…Of the past: κ. ἐκεῖνον τὸν καιρόν at that time, then…Ac 12:1; 19:23.”

[19:23]  ³ tn Grk “no little disturbance” (an idiom; see BDAG 991 s.v. τάραχος 2).

[19:23]  ⁴ sn The Way refers to the Christian movement (Christianity).

[19:24]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Grk “brought not a little business” (an idiom).

[19:24]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Grk “gathering.” The participle συναθροίσας (sunaqroisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[19:25]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Another possible meaning is “that this business is an easy way for us to earn a living.”

[19:26]  ¹³ tn Grk “persuading.” The participle πείσας (peisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[19:26]  ¹⁴ tn Or “misled.”

[19:26]  ¹⁵ tn BDAG 472 s.v. ἱκανός 3.a has “of pers. ὄχλος a large crowd…Ac 11:24, 26; 19:26.”

[19:26]  ¹⁶ map For location see JP1 D2; JP2 D2; JP3 D2; JP4 D2.

[19:26]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Asia”; see the note on this word in v. 22.

[19:26]  ¹⁸ tn The participle λέγων (legwn) has been regarded as indicating instrumentality.

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

[19:27]  ²⁰ tn Or “come under public criticism.” BDAG 101 s.v. ἀπελεγμός has “come into disrepute Ac 19:27.”

[19:27]  ²¹ 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]  ²² tn BDAG 597 s.v. λογίζομαι 1.b has “εἰς οὐθὲν λογισθῆναι be looked upon as nothing…Ac 19:27.”

[19:27]  ²³ tn Grk “Asia”; see the note on this word in v. 22.

[19:27]  ²⁴ 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.”

[19:28]  ²⁵ tn Grk “And when.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[19:28]  ²⁶ tn Grk “And hearing.” The participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") has been taken temporally.

[19:28]  ²⁷ tn Grk “they became filled with rage” (an idiom). The reaction of the Ephesians here is like that of the Jews earlier, though Luke referred to “zeal” or “jealousy” in the former case (Acts 7:54).

[19:28]  ²⁸ tn Grk “and began shouting, saying.” The imperfect verb ἔκραζον (ekrazon) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect. The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[19:28]  ²⁹ sn Artemis was 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.