1 WYC And it bifelle, whanne Apollo was at Corinthi, that Poul whanne he hadde go the hiyer coostis, he cam to Efesie, and foond summe of disciplis. BSB BSB: While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the interior and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples
2 WYC And he seide to hem, Whethir ye that bileuen han resseyued the Hooli Goost? And thei seiden to hym, But nether `han we herd, if the Hooli Goost is. BSB BSB: and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” “No,” they answered, “we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
3 WYC And he seide, Therfor in what thing ben ye baptisid? And thei seiden, In the baptym of Joon. BSB BSB: “Into what, then, were you baptized?” Paul asked. “The baptism of John,” they replied.
4 WYC And Poul seide, Joon baptiside the puple in baptym of penaunce, and tauyte, that thei schulden bileue in hym that was to comynge `after hym, that is, in Jhesu. BSB BSB: Paul explained: “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the One coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”
5 WYC Whanne thei herden these thingis, thei weren baptisid in the name of the Lord Jhesu. BSB BSB: On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.
6 WYC And whanne Poul hadde leid on hem his hoondis, the Hooli Goost cam in hem, and thei spaken with langagis, and profecieden. BSB BSB: And when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
7 WYC And alle weren almest twelue men. BSB BSB: There were about twelve men in all.
8 WYC And he yede in to the synagoge, and spak with trist thre monethis, disputinge and tretinge of the kingdom of God. BSB BSB: Then Paul went into the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.
9 WYC But whanne summe weren hardid, and bileueden not, and cursiden the weie of the Lord bifor the multitude, he yede awei fro hem, and departide the disciplis, and disputide in the scole of a myyti man eche dai. BSB BSB: But when some of them stubbornly refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way, Paul took his disciples and left the synagogue to conduct daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.
10 WYC This was doon bi twei yeeris, so that alle that dwelliden in Asie herden the word of the Lord, Jewis and hethene men. BSB BSB: This continued for two years, so that everyone who lived in the province of Asia, Jews and Greeks alike, heard the word of the Lord.
11 WYC And God dide vertues not smale bi the hoond of Poul, BSB BSB: God did extraordinary miracles through the hands of Paul,
12 WYC so that on sijk men the sudaries weren borun fro his bodye, and sijknessis departiden fro hem, and wickid spiritis wenten out. BSB BSB: so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and the diseases and evil spirits left them.
13 WYC But also summe of the Jewis exorsisists yeden aboute, and assaieden to clepe the name of the Lord Jhesu Crist on hem that hadden yuele spiritis, and seiden, Y coniure you bi Jhesu, whom Poul prechith. BSB BSB: Now there were some itinerant Jewish exorcists who tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those with evil spirits. They would say, “I command you by Jesus, whom Paul proclaims.”
14 WYC And ther weren seuene sones of a Jewe, Steuen, a prince of preestis, that diden this thing. BSB BSB: Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.
15 WYC But the yuel spirit answeride, and seide to hem, Y knowe Jhesu, and Y knowe Poul; but who ben ye? BSB BSB: But one day the evil spirit responded, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?”
16 WYC And the man in which was the worste deuel, lippide on hem, and hadde victorie of bothe, and was stronge ayens hem, that thei nakid and woundid fledden awei fro that hous. BSB BSB: Then the man with the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. The attack was so violent that they ran out of the house naked and wounded.
17 WYC And this thing was maad knowun to alle the Jewis and to hethene men, that dwelliden at Effesie; and drede felle doun on hem alle, and thei magnyfieden the name of the Lord Jhesu. BSB BSB: This became known to all the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, and fear came over all of them. So the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.
19 WYC And manye of them that sueden curiouse thingis, brouyten togidere bookis, and brenneden hem bifor alle men; and whanne the prices of tho weren acountid, thei founden monei of fifti thousynd pens; BSB BSB: And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books and burned them in front of everyone. When the value of the books was calculated, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.
20 WYC so strongli the word of God wexide, and was confermyd. BSB BSB: So the word of the Lord powerfully continued to spread and prevail.
21 WYC And whanne these thingis weren fillid, Poul purposide in spirit, aftir that Macedony was passid and Acaie, to go to Jerusalem, and seide, For aftir that Y schal be there, it bihoueth me `to se also Rome. BSB BSB: After these things had happened, Paul resolved in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must see Rome as well.”
22 WYC And he sente in to Macedonye twey men, that mynystriden to hym, Tymothe, and Eraste, and he dwellide for a tyme in Asie. BSB BSB: He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed for a time in the province of Asia.
23 WYC And a greet troubling was maad in that dai, of the weie of the Lord. BSB BSB: About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way.
25 WYC which he clepide togidere `hem that weren suche maner werkmen, and seide, Men, ye witen that of this craft wynnyng is to vs; BSB BSB: Demetrius assembled the craftsmen, along with the workmen in related trades. “Men,” he said, “you know that this business is our source of prosperity.
26 WYC and ye seen and heren, that this Poul counseilith and turneth awei myche puple, not oonli of Effesie, but almest of al Asie, and seith, that thei ben not goddis, that ben maad with hoondis. BSB BSB: And you can see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in nearly the whole province of Asia, this Paul has persuaded a great number of people to turn away. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all.
27 WYC And not oonli this part schal be in perel to vs, to come in to repreef, but also the temple of the greet Dian schal be acountid in to nouyt; yhe, and the maieste of hir schal bigynne to be destried, whom al Asie and the world worschipith. BSB BSB: There is danger not only that our business will fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited and her majesty deposed—she who is worshiped by all the province of Asia and the whole world.”
28 WYC Whanne these thingis weren herd, thei weren fillid with ire, and crieden, and seiden, Greet is the Dian of Effesians. BSB BSB: When the men heard this, they were enraged and began shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
30 WYC And whanne Poul would haue entrid in to the peple, the disciplis suffriden not. BSB BSB: Paul wanted to go before the assembly, but the disciples would not allow him.
31 WYC And also summe of the princis of Asie, that weren hise freendis, senten to him. and preieden, that he schulde not yyue hym silf in to the teatre. BSB BSB: Even some of Paul’s friends who were officials of the province of Asia sent word to him, begging him not to venture into the theatre.
32 WYC And othere men crieden othir thing; for the chirche was confusid, and many wisten not for what cause thei weren come togidere. BSB BSB: Meanwhile the assembly was in turmoil. Some were shouting one thing and some another, and most of them did not even know why they were there.
33 WYC But of the puple thei drowen awei oon Alisaundre, while Jewis puttiden hym forth. And Alisaundre axide with his hoond silence, and wolde yelde a resoun to the puple. BSB BSB: The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander forward to explain himself, and he motioned for silence so he could make his defense to the people.
34 WYC And as thei knewen that he was a Jew, o vois of alle men was maad, criynge as bi tweyn ouris, Greet Dian of Effesians. BSB BSB: But when they realized that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
36 WYC Therfor whanne it may not be ayenseid to these thingis, it behoueth you to be ceessid, and to do no thing folili; BSB BSB: Since these things are undeniable, you ought to be calm and not do anything rash.
37 WYC for ye han brouyt these men, nethir sacrilegeris, nethir blasfemynge youre goddesse. BSB BSB: For you have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed our temple nor blasphemed our goddess.
38 WYC That if Demetrie, and the werk men that ben with hym, han cause ayens ony man, there ben courtis, and domes, and iugis; accusen thei eche other. BSB BSB: So if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open and proconsuls are available. Let them bring charges against one another there.
39 WYC If ye seken ouyt of ony othir thing, it may be assoylid in the lawful chirche. BSB BSB: But if you are seeking anything beyond this, it must be settled in a legal assembly.
40 WYC For whi we ben in perel to be repreuyd of this daies dissencioun, sithen no man is gilti, of whom we moun yelde resoun of this rennyng togidre. And whanne he hadde seid this thing, he lete the puple go. BSB BSB: For we are in jeopardy of being charged with rioting for today’s events, and we have no justification to account for this commotion.”
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.