1 Paul went to Ephesus and met some followers there. ♂️➡️️ 2 Paul asked them, “Did you get God's Holy Spirit when you believed?” They said, “We did not even hear about God's Holy Spirit.” ❓️ 3 Paul asked, “Then what wash did you get?” They said, “John’s wash.” 4 Paul said, “John gave a wash to show people were sorry. He told them to believe in Jesus.” ️✝️ 5 The men heard this and got a new wash in Jesus’ name. ✝️ 6 Paul put his hands on them. God’s Holy Spirit came on them. They spoke new words and spoke God’s words. ✋️️ 7 There were about twelve men in all. 1️⃣2️⃣ 8 Paul went to God’s house. He spoke brave for three months. He taught about God’s way. ️️ 9 Some people were hard and said bad things about the Way. Paul left them. He took the followers and talked each day in a big room of a man named Tyrannus. ♂️➡️ 10 This went on for two years. All people in the Asia area heard the word about the Lord, Jews and Greeks. 11 God did big, special works by Paul’s hands. ✨✋ 12 Cloths that touched Paul went to sick people, and the sick got well. Bad spirits left them. ➡️ 13 Some men who pushed out bad spirits tried to use Jesus’ name like a trick. They said, “We speak to you in the name of Jesus, the One Paul talks about.” ️✝️ 14 Seven sons of a big leader named Sceva did this. 7️⃣ 15 The bad spirit said, “I know Jesus. I know Paul. Who are you?” 16 The man with the bad spirit jumped on them and hurt them. They ran away with no clothes and were hurt. ♂️ 17 All the people in Ephesus heard this, Jews and Greeks. They were afraid, and they said Jesus is great. ✝️ 18 Many who believed came and told the wrong things they did. They said it out loud. ️ 19 Many who did magic brought their books and burned them. It was worth many silver coins. 20 God’s word grew strong and spread wide. ➡️ 21 After this, Paul planned with God’s Holy Spirit to go through Macedonia and Achaia, then go to Jerusalem. He said, “I must also see Rome.” ️➡️️ 22 Paul sent two helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia. He stayed in the Asia area for a time. ♂️ 23 At that time a big trouble started about the Way of Jesus. ⚠️ 24 A man named Demetrius made silver idols of a woman god named Artemis. He made much money from this. 25 He called the other workers and said, “Friends, we get our money from this work.” ♂️ 26 He said, “You see and hear that Paul says gods we make are not real gods. Many people in Ephesus and in Asia do not follow our work now.” ️✋ 27 He said, “Our work may stop, and the big house for Artemis may be nothing. People may not care for her.” ️⚠️ 28 When they heard this, they got very mad and shouted, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 The whole city was in a rush. They grabbed Gaius and Aristarchus, friends of Paul, and ran to the big theater. ♂️️ 30 Paul wanted to go in to the crowd, but the followers did not let him. ✋♂️ 31 Some leaders in Asia who were Paul’s friends sent to him and begged him not to go into the big place. 32 The crowd shouted many things. Some said one thing; some said another. Many did not even know why they were there. 33 The Jews pushed a man named Alexander to the front. He waved his hand and wanted to talk to the crowd. ️ 34 But when they knew he was a Jew, they all shouted for a long time, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” ⏱️ 35 The town leader made the crowd quiet. He said, “People of Ephesus, all know our city keeps the big house of Artemis and the stone that fell from the sky.” ️ 36 He said, “No one can say this is not true. So be quiet and do not do wild things.” ✋ 37 He said, “You brought these men here, but they did not take things from the temple. They did not say bad words about your god.” ♂️♂️ 38 He said, “If Demetrius and the workers have a problem, the judge is open. They can bring a case.” ⚖️ 39 He said, “If you want more, we will talk about it in the right city meeting.” ️ 40 He said, “We may get in trouble for this big riot today. We have no good reason for it.” ⚠️ 41 After he said this, he sent the crowd away, and they went home.