Acts 19:28

THE MESSAGE

That set them off in a frenzy. They ran into the street yelling, "Great Artemis of the Ephesians! Great Artemis of the Ephesians!" They put the whole city in an uproar, stampeding into the stadium, and grabbing two of Paul's associates on the way, the Macedonians Gaius and Aristarchus. Paul wanted to go in, too, but the disciples wouldn't let him. Prominent religious leaders in the city who had become friendly to Paul concurred: "By no means go near that mob!"

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
When they had heard this, they were filled with rage and began to cry out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

King James Version (1611)
And when they heard these sayings, they were ful of wrath, & cried out, saying, Great is Diana of ye Ephesians.

King James Version
And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.

English Standard Version
When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

New American Standard Bible
When they heard this and were filled with rage, they began shouting, saying, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

New Century Version
When the others heard this, they became very angry and shouted, "Artemis, the goddess of Ephesus, is great!"

Amplified Bible
When they heard this, they were filled with rage, and they began shouting, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
When they heard this and were filled with rage, they began crying out, saying, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

Legacy Standard Bible
When they heard this and were filled with rage, they began crying out, saying, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

Berean Standard Bible
When the men heard this, they were enraged and began shouting, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

Contemporary English Version
When the workers heard this, they got angry and started shouting, "Great is Artemis, the goddess of the Ephesians!"

Complete Jewish Bible
Hearing this, they were filled with rage and began bellowing, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

Darby Translation
And having heard [this], and being filled with rage, they cried out, saying, Great [is] Artemis of the Ephesians.

Easy-to-Read Version
When the men heard this, they became very angry. They shouted, "Great is Artemis, the goddess of Ephesus!"

Geneva Bible (1587)
Now when they heard it, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.

George Lamsa Translation
And when they heard these things they were filled with wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Ar''te-mis of the E-phe''si-ans.

Good News Translation
As the crowd heard these words, they became furious and started shouting, "Great is Artemis of Ephesus!"

Lexham English Bible
And when they heard this and became full of rage, they began to shout, saying, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

Literal Translation
And having heard, and having become full of anger, they cried out, saying, Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!

American Standard Version
And when they heard this they were filled with wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.

Bible in Basic English
And hearing this, they were very angry, crying out and saying, Great is Diana of Ephesus.

Hebrew Names Version
When they heard this they were filled with anger, and cried out, saying, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

International Standard Version
When they heard this, they became furious and began to shout, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

Etheridge Translation
And when they heard these (words) they were filled with wrath; and they cried, and said, Great is Artemis of the Ephesoyee.

Murdock Translation
And when they heard these things they were filled with wrath; and they cried out, and said: Great is Diana of the Ephesians.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And when they hearde these sayinges, they were full of wrath, and cryed out, saying: great is Diana of ye Ephesians.

English Revised Version
And when they heard this, they were filled with wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.

World English Bible
When they heard this they were filled with anger, and cried out, saying, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And hearing this, they were filled with rage, and cried out, saying, The great Diana of the Ephesians.

Weymouth's New Testament
After listening to this harangue, they became furiously angry and kept calling out, "Great is the Ephesian Diana!"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Whanne these thingis weren herd, thei weren fillid with ire, and crieden, and seiden, Greet is the Dian of Effesians.

Update Bible Version
And when they heard this they were filled with wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Artemis of the Ephesus.

Webster's Bible Translation
And when they heard [these sayings], they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great [is] Diana of the Ephesians.

New English Translation
When they heard this they became enraged and began to shout, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

New King James Version
Now when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians!"

New Living Translation
At this their anger boiled, and they began shouting, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

New Life Bible
They became angry when they heard this and cried out, "Great is Diana of Ephesus."

New Revised Standard
When they heard this, they were enraged and shouted, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Now, hearing this, and becoming full of wrath, they began crying aloud, saying - Great, is Diana of the Ephesians!

Douay-Rheims Bible
Having heard these things, they were full of anger and cried out, saying: Great is Diana of the Ephesians!

Revised Standard Version
When they heard this they were enraged, and cried out, "Great is Ar'temis of the Ephesians!"

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
When they hearde these sayinges they were full of wrathe and cryed out saying: Greate is Diana of the Ephesians.

Young's Literal Translation
And they having heard, and having become full of wrath, were crying out, saying, `Great [is] the Artemis of the Ephesians!'

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Whan they herde this, they were full of wrath, cried out, and sayde: Greate is Diana of the Ephesians.

Mace New Testament (1729)
at these words, they were fir'd with indignation, and cry'd out, "great is Diana of the Ephesians."

Simplified Cowboy Version
Now, this really got 'em riled up. They all began chanting, "Artemis! Artemis! Artemis!"

Contextual Overview

²¹After all this had come to a head, Paul decided it was time to move on to Macedonia and Achaia provinces, and from there to Jerusalem. "Then," he said, "I'm off to Rome. I've got to see Rome!" He sent two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, on to Macedonia and then stayed for a while and wrapped things up in Asia. ²³But before he got away, a huge ruckus occurred over what was now being referred to as "the Way." A certain silversmith, Demetrius, conducted a brisk trade in the manufacture of shrines to the goddess Artemis, employing a number of artisans in his business. He rounded up his workers and others similarly employed and said, "Men, you well know that we have a good thing going here—and you've seen how Paul has barged in and discredited what we're doing by telling people that there's no such thing as a god made with hands. A lot of people are going along with him, not only here in Ephesus but all through Asia province. ²⁷ "Not only is our little business in danger of falling apart, but the temple of our famous goddess Artemis will certainly end up a pile of rubble as her glorious reputation fades to nothing. And this is no mere local matter—the whole world worships our Artemis!" ²⁸That set them off in a frenzy. They ran into the street yelling, "Great Artemis of the Ephesians! Great Artemis of the Ephesians!" They put the whole city in an uproar, stampeding into the stadium, and grabbing two of Paul's associates on the way, the Macedonians Gaius and Aristarchus. Paul wanted to go in, too, but the disciples wouldn't let him. Prominent religious leaders in the city who had become friendly to Paul concurred: "By no means go near that mob!" ³²Some were yelling one thing, some another. Most of them had no idea what was going on or why they were there. As the Jews pushed Alexander to the front to try to gain control, different factions clamored to get him on their side. But he brushed them off and quieted the mob with an impressive sweep of his arms. But the moment he opened his mouth and they knew he was a Jew, they shouted him down: "Great Artemis of the Ephesians! Great Artemis of the Ephesians!"—on and on and on, for over two hours. ³⁵Finally, the town clerk got the mob quieted down and said, "Fellow citizens, is there anyone anywhere who doesn't know that our dear city Ephesus is protector of glorious Artemis and her sacred stone image that fell straight out of heaven? Since this is beyond contradiction, you had better get hold of yourselves. This is conduct unworthy of Artemis. These men you've dragged in here have done nothing to harm either our temple or our goddess. ³⁸"So if Demetrius and his guild of artisans have a complaint, they can take it to court and make all the accusations they want. If anything else is bothering you, bring it to the regularly scheduled town meeting and let it be settled there. There is no excuse for what's happened today. We're putting our city in serious danger. Rome, remember, does not look kindly on rioters." With that, he sent them home.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

they: Acts 7:54, Acts 16:19-24, Acts 21:28-31, Psalms 2:2, Revelation 12:12

and cried: Acts 19:34, Acts 19:35, 1 Samuel 5:3-5, 1 Kings 18:26-29, Isaiah 41:5-7, Jeremiah 50:38, Revelation 13:4, Revelation 17:13

Reciprocal: Psalms 2:1 - rage Psalms 83:2 - lo Acts 16:22 - the multitude Acts 19:24 - Diana Acts 23:10 - fearing Acts 26:17 - Delivering Ephesians 4:31 - clamour

Cross-References

Genesis 19:10
But the two men reached out and pulled Lot inside the house, locking the door. Then they struck blind the men who were trying to break down the door, both leaders and followers, leaving them groping in the dark.

Revelation 18:9
"The kings of the earth will see the smoke of her burning, and they'll cry and carry on, the kings who went night after night to her brothel. They'll keep their distance for fear they'll get burned, and they'll cry their lament: Doom, doom, the great city doomed! City of Babylon, strong city! In one hour it's over, your judgment come!

Revelation 18:18
Doom to the City of Darkness Following this I saw another Angel descend from Heaven. His authority was immense, his glory flooded earth with brightness, his voice thunderous: Ruined, ruined, Great Babylon, ruined! A ghost town for demons is all that's left! A garrison of carrion spirits, garrison of loathsome, carrion birds. All nations drank the wild wine of her whoring; kings of the earth went whoring with her; entrepreneurs made millions exploiting her. Just then I heard another shout out of Heaven: Get out, my people, as fast as you can, so you don't get mixed up in her sins, so you don't get caught in her doom. Her sins stink to high Heaven; God has remembered every evil she's done. Give her back what she's given, double what she's doubled in her works, double the recipe in the cup she mixed; Bring her flaunting and wild ways to torment and tears. Because she gloated, "I'm queen over all, and no widow, never a tear on my face," In one day, disasters will crush her— death, heartbreak, and famine— Then she'll be burned by fire, because God, the Strong God who judges her, has had enough. "The kings of the earth will see the smoke of her burning, and they'll cry and carry on, the kings who went night after night to her brothel. They'll keep their distance for fear they'll get burned, and they'll cry their lament: Doom, doom, the great city doomed! City of Babylon, strong city! In one hour it's over, your judgment come! "The traders will cry and carry on because the bottom dropped out of business, no more market for their goods: gold, silver, precious gems, pearls; fabrics of fine linen, purple, silk, scarlet; perfumed wood and vessels of ivory, precious woods, bronze, iron, and marble; cinnamon and spice, incense, myrrh, and frankincense; wine and oil, flour and wheat; cattle, sheep, horses, and chariots. And slaves—their terrible traffic in human lives. Everything you've lived for, gone! All delicate and delectable luxury, lost! Not a scrap, not a thread to be found! "The traders who made millions off her kept their distance for fear of getting burned, and cried and carried on all the more: Doom, doom, the great city doomed! Dressed in the latest fashions, adorned with the finest jewels, in one hour such wealth wiped out! "All the ship captains and travelers by sea, sailors and toilers of the sea, stood off at a distance and cried their lament when they saw the smoke from her burning: ‘Oh, what a city! There was never a city like her!' They threw dust on their heads and cried as if the world had come to an end: Doom, doom, the great city doomed! All who owned ships or did business by sea Got rich on her getting and spending. And now it's over—wiped out in one hour! "O Heaven, celebrate! And join in, saints, apostles, and prophets! God has judged her; every wrong you suffered from her has been judged." A strong Angel reached for a boulder—huge, like a millstone—and heaved it into the sea, saying, Heaved and sunk, the great city Babylon, sunk in the sea, not a sign of her ever again. Silent the music of harpists and singers— you'll never hear flutes and trumpets again. Artisans of every kind—gone; you'll never see their likes again. The voice of a millstone grinding falls dumb; you'll never hear that sound again. The light from lamps, never again; never again laughter of bride and groom. Her traders robbed the whole earth blind, and by black-magic arts deceived the nations. The only thing left of Babylon is blood— the blood of saints and prophets, the murdered and the martyred.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And when they heard these sayings,.... Both the masters and the workmen;

they were full of wrath; against Paul and his doctrine:

and cried out, saying, great is Diana of the Ephesians; this goddess is frequently called in Heathen writers, Diana of the Ephesians, or the Ephesian Diana, because of her famous temple at Ephesus; and to distinguish her from all other Dianas: Pausanias makes mention of sixty Dianas at least, and yet seems not to have taken notice of them all; all of them had different epithets, by which they were distinguished from one another; the images were in different shapes, and they were worshipped with different rites: what seems most of all to distinguish the Ephesian Diana from others, is her having many paps; hence she is called, "multi mammia"; so Minutius Felix observes t, that Diana is sometimes girt about on high as an huntress, and the Ephesian Diana is "mammis multis uberibus extructa" Just as the Isis of the Egyptians, which, Macrobius u says, signifies the earth; hence the whole body of the deity is covered with paps, because the whole universe is nourished by it: the priest of Diana of the Ephesians was an eunuch, and was obliged to abstain from all company; neither bathed, nor ate, nor drank with others, nor might he enter into the house of a private person; there was a feast kept every year in honour of her, at which young men in the flower of their age, and virgins well dressed, used to go to the temple in great pomp, keep the feast, and marry with each other. The temple was a sort of an asylum, as Heathen temples commonly were; and it had this particular privilege, that those that fled to it were freed from servitude w. This goddess is called "great", agreeably to her name, for, דינא, "Diana", signifies "great" and venerable; because of her birth, being the daughter of Jupiter; and because of her great service, she was supposed to be of in assisting at births; and because of her magnificent temple and worship; and because she was worshipped by great persons: and here greatness is ascribed unto her, and a loud cry made of it, to animate one another, to gather a mob together, and to incense them and stir them up against the apostle and his companion: in the Arabic version, instead of Diana, it is Venus, both here and elsewhere, but wrongly.

t In Octavia, p. 22. u Saturnal. l. 1. c. 20. w Pausauias in Arcadicis, sive, l. 8. p. 476. Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 3. c. 20. & l. 6. c. 2. & c. 12.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Were full of wrath - Were greatly enraged - probably at the prospect of losing their gains.

Great is Diana ... - The term “great” was often applied by the Greeks to Diana. Thus, in Xenophon (Ephes. i.), he says, “I adjure you by your own goddess, the great (τὴν μεγάλην tēn megalēn) Diana of the Ephesians.” The design of this clamor was doubtless to produce a persecution against Paul, and thus to secure a continuance of their employment. Often, when people have no arguments, they raise a clamor; when their employments are in danger of being ruined, they are filled with rage. We may learn, also, that when people’s pecuniary interests are affected, they often show great zeal for religion, and expect by clamor in behalf of some doctrine to maintain their own interest, and to secure their own gains.