New Living Translation
Acts 19:26
26But as you have seen and heard, this man Paul has persuaded many people that handmade gods aren’t really gods at all. And he’s done this not only here in Ephesus but throughout the entire province!
Acts 19:26 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands:
- New International Version (NIV)And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Moreover you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands.
Context of Acts 19:26
24It began with Demetrius, a silversmith who had a large business manufacturing silver shrines of the Greek goddess Artemis. He kept many craftsmen busy. 25He called them together, along with others employed in similar trades, and addressed them as follows: “Gentlemen, you know that our wealth comes from this business. But as you have seen and heard, this man Paul has persuaded many people that handmade gods aren’t really gods at all. And he’s done this not only here in Ephesus but throughout the entire province! 27Of course, I’m not just talking about the loss of public respect for our business. I’m also concerned that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will lose its influence and that Artemis—this magnificent goddess worshiped throughout the province of Asia and all around the world—will be robbed of her great prestige!” 28At this their anger boiled, and they began shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
Read all of Acts 19Acts 19:26 word by word
καὶ θεωρεῖτε καὶ ἀκούετε ὅτι οὐ μόνον Ἐφέσου ἀλλὰ σχεδὸν πάσης τῆς Ἀσίας ὁ Παῦλος οὗτος πείσας μετέστησεν ἱκανὸν ὄχλον λέγων ὅτι οὐκ εἰσὶν θεοὶ οἱ διὰ χειρῶν γινόμενοι.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Moreoverκαίkai · andG2532
- ye seeθεωρέωtheōreō · to see/experienceG2334
- hearἀκούωakouō · to hearG191
- thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
- notοὐou · noG3756
- aloneμόνονmonon · onlyG3440
- at EphesusἜφεσοςEphesos · EphesusG2181
- butἀλλάalla · butG235
- almostσχεδόνschedon · nearlyG4975
- throughoutδιάdia · through/because ofG1223
- allπᾶςpas · allG3956
- Asiaὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- AsiaἈσίαAsia · AsiaG773
- thisοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
- PaulΠαῦλοςPaulos · PaulG3972
- hath persuadedπείθωpeithō · to persuadeG3982
- and turned awayμεθίστημιmethistēmi methistanō · to moveG3179
- muchἱκανόςhikanos · sufficientG2425
- peopleὄχλοςochlos · crowdG3793
- sayingλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- they beεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- godsθεόςtheos · GodG2316
- are madeγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
- with handsχείρcheir · handG5495
Cross-references for Acts 19:26
- Acts 19:10This went on for the next two years, so that people throughout the province of Asia—both Jews and Greeks—heard the word of the Lord.
- 1 Corinthians 16:8In the meantime, I will be staying here at Ephesus until the Festival of Pentecost.
- 1 Thessalonians 1:9for they keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the living and true God.
- Acts 14:15“Friends, why are you doing this? We are merely human beings—just like you! We have come to bring you the Good News that you should turn from these worthless things and turn to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them.
- Acts 17:29And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.
- Psalms 115:4Their idols are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands.
- Psalms 135:15The idols of the nations are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands.
- Isaiah 44:10Who but a fool would make his own god— an idol that cannot help him one bit?
- Isaiah 46:5“To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?
- Jeremiah 10:3Their ways are futile and foolish. They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol.
- Hosea 8:6This calf you worship, O Israel, was crafted by your own hands! It is not God! Therefore, it must be smashed to bits.
- 1 Corinthians 8:4So, what about eating meat that has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God.
- 1 Corinthians 10:19What am I trying to say? Am I saying that food offered to idols has some significance, or that idols are real gods?
- 1 Corinthians 12:2You know that when you were still pagans, you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless idols.
- Galatians 4:8Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist.
- Acts 19:35At last the mayor was able to quiet them down enough to speak. “Citizens of Ephesus,” he said. “Everyone knows that Ephesus is the official guardian of the temple of the great Artemis, whose image fell down to us from heaven.
Commentaries on Acts 19:26
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 26This Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people - From the mouth of this heathen we have, in one sentence, a most pleasing account of the success with which God had blessed the labors of the apostles: not only at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, they had persuaded and converted much people; for they had insisted that they could be no gods which are made with hands; and this the common sense of the people must at once perceive.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 26Ye see and hear - You see at Ephesus, and you hear the same in other places. Throughout all Asia - All Asia Minor; or perhaps the province of which Ephesus was the capital. See the notes on Acts 2:9. This Paul hath persuaded - We have here the noble testimony of a pagan to the zeal and success of the ministry of Paul. It is an acknowledgment that his labors had been most strikingly successful in turning the people from idolatry. Saying that they be no…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 21-31Verses 21-31 Persons who came from afar to pay their devotions at the temple of Ephesus, bought little silver shrines, or models of the temple, to carry home with them. See how craftsmen make advantage to themselves of people's superstition, and serve their worldly ends by it. Men are jealous for that by which they get their wealth; and many set themselves against the gospel of Christ, because it calls men from all unlawful crafts, however much wealth is…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 24-34Demetrius, a silversmith whose business was harmed by Paul’s message about one God, stirred up a large riot against him.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 24-2624-26. silver shrines for--"of" Diana--small models of the Ephesian temple and of the shrine or chapel of the goddess, or of the shrine and statue alone, which were purchased by visitors as memorials of what they had seen, and were carried about and deposited in houses as a charm. (The models of the chapel of our Lady of Loretto, and such like, which the Church of Rome systematically encourages, are such a palpable imitation of this heathen practice that…Read the comment
Topics related to Acts 19:26
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Acts 19
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries