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Acts 19:35

in Acts 19

Finally the city clerk quieted the crowd and declared, “Men of Ephesus, doesn’t everyone know that the city of Ephesus is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven?

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And when the townclerk had quieted the multitude, he saith, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there who knoweth not that the city of the Ephesians is temple-keeper of the great Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?

KJV

And when the townclerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?

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This verse in Acts 19

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

A commentator

Oecumenius

Commentary on Acts · Written before 550.

The scribe shows how great the superstition of the Ephesians was, both in adorning the temple of Artemis and in honoring her image, which they and the Diopetes said to be fallen from Zeus. For they all called that shell the Diopetes, sent from heaven …

This site's exposition

the townclerk had appeased the people

on Acts 19:35-37

The town clerk, the city's senior administrative official and the one man present with real authority to speak, quiets the crowd by appealing to a certainty no one present would dispute, that Ephesus is Diana's worshipper and guardian of the image fallen from Jupiter, almost certainly a meteorite venerated as the goddess's own likeness. His opening move grants the crowd's whole premise so that he can then argue there is no actual threat to defend, since these things cannot be spoken against and the men brought before them are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of the goddess. The clerk's legal precision, distinguishing what is beyond dispute from what still requires proof, reflects the kind of trained civic rhetoric Ephesus, a free city under Rome with its own assembly and officers, would have expected of the office. The bench treats his speech as a small masterclass in de-escalation, cooling a mob by conceding its loyalties before correcting its logic.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

The register - Probably the chief governor of the public games. The image which fell down from Jupiter - They believed that very image of Diana, which stood in her temple, fell down from Jupiter in heaven. Perhaps he designed to insinuate, as if falling down from Jupiter, it was not made with hands, and so was not that sort of idols which Paul had said were no gods.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
And when the town-clerk - ὁ γραμματέυς ho grammateus. The scribe; the secretary. This word is often used in the Bible, and is commonly translated “scribe,” and is applied to “public notaries in the synagogues; to clerks; to those who transcribed books, and hence, to men skilled in the law or in any kind of learning.” Compare 2Sa 8:17; 2Ki 12:11; Ezr 7:6, Ezr 7:11-12; Mat 5:20; Mat 12:38; Mat 13:52; Mat 15:1; Mat 23:34; 1Co 1:20. It is, however, nowhere else applied to a pagan magistrate.

The words behind it

27 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

10 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Job 12:9Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?6 worksActs 14:12Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.5 worksEphesians 2:2in which you used to walk when you conformed to the ways of this world and of the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the sons of disobedience.5 works2 Thessalonians 2:10–11and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them.4 works1 Timothy 4:2influenced by the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron.3 worksEphesians 2:12remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.3 works
The other 4 cross-references, with their words ▾
Acts 17:22Then Paul stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that in every way you are very religious.3 worksActs 19:26And you can see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in nearly the whole province of Asia, Paul has persuaded a great number of people to turn away. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all.2 worksActs 18:19When they reached Ephesus, Paul parted ways with Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue there and reasoned with the Jews.2 worksPsalms 115:4Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Ephesians 2:12

    remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.

    it leads to

    • Galatians 4:8

      Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.

    • Colossians 1:21

      Once you were alienated from God and were hostile in your minds, engaging in evil deeds.

    • 1 Peter 1:3

      Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

    • Jeremiah 31:31–34

      Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

    • Ephesians 4:18

      They are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts.

  • Through

    1 Timothy 4:2

    influenced by the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron.

    it leads to

    • Ephesians 4:19

      Having lost all sense of shame, they have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity, with a craving for more.

    • Romans 16:18

      For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.

    • Acts 20:30

      Even from your own number, men will rise up and distort the truth to draw away disciples after them.

Where this verse is studied

About Acts

The Ascension — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)
The Ascension — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)
Acts: the study guide →Read Acts 19 →

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); J. A. Alexander, The Acts of the Apostles Explained; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Oecumenius, Commentary on Acts and William Ramsay, The Church in the Roman Empire.

Read on in Acts 19 →