King James Version · Under Rome
Acts 19
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And it came to pass, that, while was at , having passed through the upper coasts came to : and finding certain , He said unto them, Have ye received the Ghost since ye ? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye ? And they said, Unto ’s . Then said , verily with the of , saying unto the people, that they should on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ . When they heard this, they were in the name of . And when had upon them, the Ghost came on them; and they spake with , and prophesied. 7And all the men were about twelve. And he went into the , and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning of . But when divers were hardened, and not, but spake evil of that way before , he departed from them, and separated , disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus. And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in heard the word of , both and . And wrought special miracles by the hands of : So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them. Then certain of the vagabond , exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of , saying, We adjure you by whom preacheth. 14And there were seven sons of one , a , and chief of the priests, which did so. And the answered and said, I know, and I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house and wounded. And this was known to all the and also dwelling at ; and fear fell on them all, and the name of was magnified. And many that came, and , and shewed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the word of and prevailed. After these things were ended, purposed in , when he had passed through and , to go to , saying, After I have been there, I must also see . So he sent into two of them that ministered unto him, and ; but he himself stayed in for a season. And the same time there arose no small stir about that way. For a certain man named , a silversmith, which made silver shrines for , brought no small gain unto the craftsmen; Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth. Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at , but almost throughout all , this hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands: So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that of the great goddess should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all and the world worshippeth. And when they heard these sayings, they were full of , and cried out, saying, Great is of the Ephesians. And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught and , men of , ’s companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre. And when would have entered in unto the people, suffered him not. And certain of the chief of , which were his friends, sent unto him, desiring him that he would not adventure himself into the theatre. Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for was confused; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together. And they drew out of , the putting him forward. And beckoned with the hand, and would have made his defence unto the people. But when they knew that he was a , all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is of the Ephesians. And when the townclerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of , what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess , and of the which fell down from ? Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly. For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess. Wherefore if , and the craftsmen which are with him, have a matter against any man, is open, and there are deputies: let them implead one another. 39But if ye enquire any thing concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful . For we are in danger to be called in question for this day’s uproar, there being no cause whereby we may give an account of this concourse. And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed .
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.