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Friday, August 1st, 2025
the Week of Proper 12 / Ordinary 17
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Read the Bible

New Life Version

Acts 19:37

The men you brought here do not rob houses of worship or talk against our god.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Citizens;   Demetrius;   Mob;   Paul;   Prudence;   Tact;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Acts, book of;   Ephesus;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Gods and Goddesses, Pagan;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Ordination;   Relics;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Diana;   Robbery;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Corinth;   Paul;   Roman Empire;   Town Clerk;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Acts;   Demetrius;   Ephesus;   Gods, Pagan;   Masons;   Silversmith;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Bible;   Blasphemy;   Churches, Robbers of;   Corinthians, Second Epistle to;   Romans, Epistle to the;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Blasphemy ;   Ephesus ;   Jew, Jewess;   Persecution;   Robbers of Churches;   Roman Law in the Nt;   Town-Clerk;   Tyrannus ;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Churches, Robbers of;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Ephesians;   Ephesus;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Saul of Tarsus;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Blasphemy;   Goddess;   Robbers of Temples;   Sacrilege;   Temples, Robbers of;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
For you have brought these men here who are not temple robbers or blasphemers of our goddess.
King James Version (1611)
For ye haue brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of Churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddesse:
King James Version
For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess.
English Standard Version
For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess.
New American Standard Bible
"For you have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess.
New Century Version
You brought these men here, but they have not said anything evil against our goddess or stolen anything from her temple.
Amplified Bible
"For you have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess.
Legacy Standard Bible
For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess.
Berean Standard Bible
For you have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed our temple nor blasphemed our goddess.
Contemporary English Version
You have brought men in here who have not robbed temples or spoken against our goddess.
Complete Jewish Bible
For you have brought these men here who have neither robbed the temple nor insulted your goddess.
Darby Translation
For ye have brought these men, [who are] neither temple-plunderers, nor speak injuriously of your goddess.
Easy-to-Read Version
"You brought these men here, but they have not said anything bad against our goddess. They have not stolen anything from her temple.
Geneva Bible (1587)
For yee haue brought hither these men, which haue neither committed sacrilege, neither doe blaspheme your goddesse.
George Lamsa Translation
For you have brought these men here who have neither robbed temples nor have they reviled our goddess.
Good News Translation
You have brought these men here even though they have not robbed temples or said evil things about our goddess.
Lexham English Bible
For you have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess.
Literal Translation
For you brought these men, being neither temple robbers nor blaspheming your goddess.
American Standard Version
For ye have brought hither these men, who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess.
Bible in Basic English
For you have taken these men, who are not doing damage to the holy place or talking against our goddess.
Hebrew Names Version
For you have brought these men here, who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of your goddess.
International Standard Version
For you have brought these men here, although they neither rob temples nor blaspheme ouryour
">[fn] goddess.
Etheridge Translation
Yet have you brought these men who have neither spoiled temples nor blasphemed our goddess.
Murdock Translation
For ye have brought forward these men, when they have robbed no temples, and have not reviled our goddess.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
For ye haue brought hyther these men, which are neither robbers of Churches nor yet despisers of your goddesse.
English Revised Version
For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess.
World English Bible
For you have brought these men here, who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of your goddess.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
For ye have brought these men, who are neither robbers of temples, nor blasphemers of your goddess.
Weymouth's New Testament
For you have brought these men here, who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
for ye han brouyt these men, nethir sacrilegeris, nethir blasfemynge youre goddesse.
Update Bible Version
For you have brought [here] these men, who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess.
Webster's Bible Translation
For ye have brought hither these men, who are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess.
New English Translation
For you have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess.
New King James Version
For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of your [fn] goddess.
New Living Translation
You have brought these men here, but they have stolen nothing from the temple and have not spoken against our goddess.
New Revised Standard
You have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
For ye have brought these men, neither as temple-robbers, nor as defaming our goddess.
Douay-Rheims Bible
For you have brought hither these men, who are neither guilty of sacrilege nor of blasphemy against your goddess.
Revised Standard Version
For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess.
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
For ye have brought hyther these me whiche are nether robbers of churches nor yet despisers of youre goddes.
Young's Literal Translation
`For ye brought these men, who are neither temple-robbers nor speaking evil of your goddess;
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Ye haue broughte hither these men, which are nether churchrobbers ner blasphemers off youre goddesse.
Mace New Testament (1729)
for the men you have brought here, have neither plunder'd your temples, nor inveigh'd against your goddess.
Simplified Cowboy Version
These boys you brought in have not stolen, damaged, or spoke against Artemis."

Contextual Overview

21 After this, Paul thought he would go through the countries of Macedonia and Greece. Then he would go to Jerusalem. He said, "After I have been there, I must go to the city of Rome also." 22 He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia. Paul stayed in the countries of Asia awhile longer. 23 During that time there was much trouble about the Christians. 24 A man named Demetrius made small silver buildings for the worship of Diana. His workmen received much money for their work. 25 He called his workmen together and other men who made these small silver buildings. He said to them, "Men, you know we make much money from this work. 26 Now you hear that Paul has turned away many people in Ephesus as well as in Asia. He tells them that gods made with hands are not gods. 27 It could be that our work will not be respected. Not only that, the house of worship for the god of Diana will be worth nothing and her greatness will be destroyed. All the countries of Asia and the world worship her." 28 They became angry when they heard this and cried out, "Great is Diana of Ephesus." 29 The whole city was filled with loud cries. They caught Gaius and Aristarchus. These two men from Macedonia were with Paul. They gathered around them at the meeting place in the city. 30 Paul wanted to stand in front of all the people but his followers would not let him.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

which: Acts 25:8, 1 Corinthians 10:32, 2 Corinthians 6:3

Reciprocal: Acts 24:6 - gone

Cross-References

Genesis 19:1
The two angels came to Sodom in the evening. Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them. He put his face to the ground
Genesis 19:18
But Lot said to them, "O, no, my lords!
Genesis 19:25
He destroyed those cities, and all the valley, and all the people of the cities, and what grew on the ground.
Genesis 19:27
Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord.
Genesis 19:31
Then the first-born daughter said to the younger one, "Our father is old. And there is not a man on earth to marry us.
Numbers 21:29
It is bad for you, O Moab! You are destroyed, O people of Chemosh! His sons run for their lives. His daughters have been taken against their will by an Amorite king, Sihon.
Deuteronomy 2:9
Then the Lord said to me, ‘Do not bring trouble to Moab or fight them in war. For I will not give you any of their land for your own. I have given Ar to the children of Lot for their own.'
Deuteronomy 2:19
But when you come near the land of the sons of Ammon, do not bring them trouble or make them angry. For I will not give you any of the land of the sons of Ammon for your own. Because I have given it to the sons of Lot for their own.'
Deuteronomy 23:3
No Ammonite or Moabite will go into the meeting of the Lord. None of their children will go into the meeting of the Lord, even to the children's children of ten families of the future,
Ruth 4:10
And I have taken Ruth, the Moabite woman who was Mahlon's wife, to be my wife. I will keep alive the name of the dead man on his land. His name will not be forgotten among his brothers or from the gate of his birth-place. You have heard this today."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For ye have brought hither these men,.... The Arabic version reads, "these two men"; that is, Gaius and Aristarchus, whom they had brought by force into the theatre to fight with wild beasts:

which are neither robbers of churches; or "temples"; or, as the Arabic version renders it, "robbers of the vessels of the temple", sacrilegious persons; they have not stolen anything out of the temple of Diana, nor any other:

nor yet blasphemers of your goddess; they have not made mention of her name, much less said anything against her, at least this officer did not know that they had; and if he had, he did not stick to tell an officious lie to screen them, as did the Egyptian midwives in favour of the Hebrew women.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

For ye ... - Demetrius and his friends. The blame was to be traced to them.

Which are neither robbers of churches - The word “churches” we now apply to edifices reared for purposes of Christian worship. Since no such churches had then been built, this translation is unhappy, and is not at all demanded by the original. The Greek word ἱεροσύλους hierosulous is applied properly to those who commit sacrilege; who plunder temples of their sacred things. The meaning here is that Paul and his companions had not been guilty of robbing the temple of Diana, or any other temple. The charge of sacrilege could not be brought against them. Though they had preached against idols and idol worship, yet they had offered no violence to the temples of idolaters, nor had they attempted to strip them of the sacred utensils employed in their service. What they had done, they had done peaceably.

Nor yet blasphemers of your goddess - They had not used harsh or reproachful language of Diana. This had not been charged on them, nor is there the least evidence that they had done it. They had opposed idolatry; had reasoned against it; and had endeavored to turn the people from it. But there is not the least evidence that they had ever done it in harsh or reproachful language. This shows that people should employ reason, and not harsh or reproachful language against a pervading evil; and that the way to remove it is to enlighten the minds of people, and to convince them of the error of their ways. People gain nothing by bitter and reviling words; and it is much to obtain the testimony of even the enemies of religion as Paul did of the chancellor of Ephesus - that no such words had been used in describing their crimes and follies.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 37. These men - are neither robbers of churches — ιρεσυλους; Spoilers of sacred places. As his design evidently was to appease and conciliate the people, he fixed first on a most incontrovertible fact: These men have not spoiled your temples; nor is there any evidence that they have even blasphemed your goddess. The apostles acted as prudent men should: they endeavoured to enlighten the minds of the multitude, that the absurdity of their gross errors might be the more apparent; for, when they should know the truth, it was likely that they would at once abandon such gross falsehood.


 
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