14. Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this,
15. when an evil spirit said to them, “I know Jesus! And I have heard about Paul. But who are you?”
16. Then the man with the evil spirit jumped on them and beat them up. They ran out of the house, naked and bruised.
17. When the Jews and Gentiles in Ephesus heard about this, they were so frightened that they praised the name of the Lord Jesus.
18. Many who were followers now started telling everyone about the evil things they had been doing.
19. Some who had been practising witchcraft even brought their books and burnt them in public. These books were worth about fifty thousand silver coins.
20. So the Lord's message spread and became even more powerful.
21. After all this had happened, Paul decided to visit Macedonia and Achaia on his way to Jerusalem. Paul had said, “From there I will go on to Rome.”
22. So he sent his two helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia. But he stayed on in Asia for a while.
23. At that time there was serious trouble because of the Lord's Way.
24. A silversmith named Demetrius had a business that made silver models of the temple of the goddess Artemis. Those who worked for him earned a lot of money.
25. Demetrius brought together everyone who was in the same business and said:Friends, you know that we make a good living at this.