Paulo mu Efeso
1 Apolosi kati atjimu Korinta, Paulo kayenda ali tje mukati kwe ntuthu, ngono kaswika mu Efeso. Ikoku kawana bamwe badiyiwa, 2 ngono kababhuzwa kati, “Apa makaamutjila Meya yakayengemala pamakabe bagalimoyo kene?”
Bakadabila beti, “Aa, atithu tikahwa na iko kuti kuna Meya yakayengemala.”
3 Paulo kabhuzwa kati, “Ngono makaamutjila kudubikwa kwakatini?”
Bakadabila beti, “Kudubikwa kwa Johani.”
4 Paulo kati, “Kudubika kwa Johani kwakabe kuli kwe kushandukila matjinyo; ngono wakabudza bathu kugalamoyo muna iye wakabe ewozha shule kukwe, iye Jesu.”
5 Bakati behwa ikoku, bakadubikwa nge zina la She Jesu. 6 Paulo kabiga maboko awe pezhugwi kwabo, ngono Meya yakayengemala ikadelukila mubali; bakalebeleka nge ndimi kakale bakalebabo dama le Ndzimu. 7 Bose bakabe bangabe balume bali gumi lina babili.
8 Paulo kangina mu ng'umba ye mitembezelo, ngono mu mimwedzi ili mitatu kalebeleka ngosimamoyo ne bathu, elebeleka nabo egwisa kubagadzamoyo mu bushe gwe Ndzimu. 9 Koga kwakabe kuti bamwe bakakukutala, bakasigalemoyo, bakaleba zwakabipa ngekwe Zila ya She mbeli kwe gubungano. Ndizo Paulo kabasiya, katola ibabo bakabe begalamoyo, ngono mazhuba wose elebeleka mu ng'umba ye zwidiyo ya Tirano kudwa mu lubaka gwe gumi lina ling'ompela. 10 Ikoku kukadwilila makole mabili, ndizo bathu bose bakabe begala mu ntuthu we Ezhiya, Bajuta ne Bezwitjaba bakahwa dama la She.
Bakololo ba Sikeva
11 Ndzimu wakabe ushinga ndi Paulo makaabadzo asakawolobegwa. 12 Tukwana ne khiba dzaakashingisa dzakabe dziyisiwa ku bagwele, ngono magwele abo ebhuda mubali ne meya yakabipa ibhuda mubali. 13 Bamwe Bajuta bakabe beyenda bedusa meya yakabipa bakagwisa kushingisa zina la She Jesu kuthama ikoku. Bakati ku meya yakabipa, “Ndokulaya nge zina la Jesu, iye Paulo waanosumikila.” 14 Bakololo bali kutendeka ba Sikeva Ntungamili we bapirisiti we Tjijuta bakabe bethama ikoku. 15 Koga meya mbi ikati ku bali, “Jesu ndonziba, na Paulo ndonziba koga imwi, muboani?”
16 Nlume iwoyo wakabe ana meya mbi kabatjulukila kagwanabo kabakulila nge masimba. Bakatizha bakabhuda mu ng'umba iye basakasungila kakale bana mbonje. 17 Ikoku kukazibgwa nge bagali bose be Efeso ne Bajuta kose ne Bezwitjaba bakazhala kutja, ngono zina la She Jesu likakudziwa. 18 Bunji gwa ibabo bakabe batjibe bagalimoyo bakazha, bezwileba matjinyo abo kakale bedusila patjena mishingo yabo mibi yabakabe bethama. 19 Bunji gwa ibabo bakabe beshingisa malipa bakakubunganya hwalo dzabo, ngono bakadzipisa mbeli kwe bathu. Bakashanganya themba ye hwalo idzedzo, ngono yose yakabe zwiwulu zwili makumi mashanu (50 000) e maloso e siliva. 20 Dama la She likakula likawanda nge masimba.
Phipiti mu Efeso
21 Shule kwe zwithu izwezwi zwashingikala, Paulo kakumbula kuyenda epalama Makedoniya ne Akaiya eyenda ku Jerusalema, eti, “Kudwa ikoko ndakafanila kuyenda ku Roma.” 22 Ndizo katuma Timoti na Erasito, babili be babhatshi babe mu Makedoniya iye esala kwe tjibakana mu Ezhiya.
23 Kwakabe kuna kudzongeka kukulu mu Efeso mu tjibaka itjetjo ngekwe Zila ya She. 24 Mmwe nthuli we siliva wakabe eyi Demetiriyo wakabe ethama zwifano zwe siliva zwe ng'umba ye ndzimukadzi Aritemisi, ngono nshingo uwe wakabe ubuzila bashingi kwazo. 25 Ndizo kabadana bose ne bamwe bakabe bana nshingo unoyendidzana ne wabo, kati ku bali, “Balume, moziba kuti fumwa yedu inodwa mu nshingo iwoyu. 26 Ngwenu, mobona mukazwihwigwa tjinoshingwa nge nthu iwoyu Paulo. Kati midzimu yakabezhiwa nge bathu ate ili midzimu dumbu, ndizo wakatubula kugadzamoyo bathu banjinji kabatungamilila ntome kose muno mu Efeso ne mu ntuthu wose we Ezhiya. 27 Ndizo kuna mbhatsha dze kuti nshingo wedu iwoyu ube ne zina lakabipa. Ate ikoku koga, kuna mbatshabo dze kuti ng'umba ye ndzimukadzi nkulu Aritemisi inowolengudzika nge kuti unowodelusiwa mu bukulu gwawo, ndzimukadzi unonamatiwa nge mmwe ne mmwe mu Ezhiya ne mu shango yose!”
28 Bakati behwa matama iyawa, bakazhala bushongola bakatangisa kumimila beti, “Nkulu Aritemisi we Baefeso!” 29 Zhoba ikayenda nge nzi wose. Mbunga wose ukalabuka ukangina mu ng'umba ye mizano ukazuzuta Gayo na Arisitako be Makedoniya ibo bakabe beyenda na Paulo mu njendo dzidze. 30 Paulo nge kukwe wakabe eshaka kungina pakati kwe mbunga, koga badiyiwa bakasin'dumile. 31 Bamwe be babusi be Ezhiya, bakabe bali bazwalani babe, bakayisa thumo kunli benkumbila kuti asitongo zwilakidza mu ng'umba ye mizano. 32 Mu tjibaka itjetjo gubungano lose lakabe lili mu phipiti, bamwe bathu bakabe bemimila beleba tjabanoleba, bamwe bemimila beleba tjipoga, ngono bunji gwabo gwakabe gusingazibe kuti bakubunganilani. 33 Bamwe be bathu ipapo bakatola kuti Alekizanda wakabe ali iye u nlandu, se Bajuta bakanthama kuti ayende mbeli. Ipapo Alekizanda kalakidza nge luboko kuti bathu banyalale, ngono kagwisa kulebeleka ezwimila. 34 Koga bakati beziba kuti Njuta, bakamimila bose beleba tjithu tjing'ompela mu awara mbili beti, “Aritemisi we Efeso ndiye nkulu!”
35 Ku bupelo nkwalili we nzi katubula kudzikamisa mbunga. Kati, “Bakanyi kwedu Baefeso! Mmwe ne mmwe unoziba kuti nzi we Efeso nlondolodzi we ng'umba ya Aritemisi nkulu nenge bgwe lakayengemala lakawa lidwa kudzimu. 36 Aapo ungalandula zwithu izwezwi. Ndizo makafanila dzikama, musithame tjimwe nge phupu. 37 Mazhisa balume ibaba ngeno nenguba basatolela ng'umba dze midzimu yedu kene kuli kuleba tjakabipa ngekwe ndzimukadzi wedu. 38 Ha Demetiriyo ne bashingi babe bana nlandu wabanopa mmwe, mabazhe akazhuka ne balauli bayapo ndizo ngabatjetane. 39 Koga ha kuna tjimwe kakale tjamunoshaka, pana itjetji tjowolulwamisiwa mu gubungano le babaki bamuno kuyendidzana nge nlayo. 40 Ngobe ngekwe tjashingikala nasi, kuna mbatsha dze kuti tingatjetegwa phipiti. Akuna dama latingaleba labanga zhoba iyeyi.” 41 Kati aleba ikoku kapaladza nshangano.
Paul in Ephesus
1 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior of the province and arrived in Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?”
“We have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit,” they answered.
3 “Well, then, what kind of baptism did you receive?” Paul asked.
“The baptism of John,” they answered.
4 Paul said, “The baptism of John was for those who turned from their sins; and he told the people of Israel to believe in the one who was coming after him—that is, in Jesus.”
5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 Paul placed his hands on them, and the Holy Spirit came upon them; they spoke in strange tongues and also proclaimed God's message. 7 They were about twelve men in all.
8 Paul went into the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly with the people, holding discussions with them and trying to convince them about the Kingdom of God. 9 But some of them were stubborn and would not believe, and before the whole group they said evil things about the Way of the Lord. So Paul left them and took the believers with him, and every day he held discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This went on for two years, so that all the people who lived in the province of Asia, both Jews and Gentiles, heard the word of the Lord.
The Sons of Sceva
11 God was performing unusual miracles through Paul. 12 Even handkerchiefs and aprons he had used were taken to the sick, and their diseases were driven away, and the evil spirits would go out of them. 13 Some Jews who traveled around and drove out evil spirits also tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus to do this. They said to the evil spirits, “I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches.” 14 Seven brothers, who were the sons of a Jewish High Priest named Sceva, were doing this.
15 But the evil spirit said to them, “I know Jesus, and I know about Paul; but you—who are you?”
16 The man who had the evil spirit in him attacked them with such violence that he overpowered them all. They ran away from his house, wounded and with their clothes torn off. 17 All the Jews and Gentiles who lived in Ephesus heard about this; they were all filled with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was given greater honor. 18 Many of the believers came, publicly admitting and revealing what they had done. 19 Many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in public. They added up the price of the books, and the total came to fifty thousand silver coins. 20 In this powerful way the word of the Lord kept spreading and growing stronger.
The Riot in Ephesus
21 After these things had happened, Paul made up his mind to travel through Macedonia and Achaia and go on to Jerusalem. “After I go there,” he said, “I must also see Rome.” 22 So he sent Timothy and Erastus, two of his helpers, to Macedonia, while he spent more time in the province of Asia.
23 It was at this time that there was serious trouble in Ephesus because of the Way of the Lord. 24 A certain silversmith named Demetrius made silver models of the temple of the goddess Artemis, and his business brought a great deal of profit to the workers. 25 So he called them all together with others whose work was like theirs and said to them, “Men, you know that our prosperity comes from this work. 26 Now, you can see and hear for yourselves what this fellow Paul is doing. He says that hand-made gods are not gods at all, and he has succeeded in convincing many people, both here in Ephesus and in nearly the whole province of Asia. 27 There is the danger, then, that this business of ours will get a bad name. Not only that, but there is also the danger that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will come to mean nothing and that her greatness will be destroyed—the goddess worshiped by everyone in Asia and in all the world!”
28 As the crowd heard these words, they became furious and started shouting, “Great is Artemis of Ephesus!” 29 The uproar spread throughout the whole city. The mob grabbed Gaius and Aristarchus, two Macedonians who were traveling with Paul, and rushed with them to the theater. 30 Paul himself wanted to go before the crowd, but the believers would not let him. 31 Some of the provincial authorities, who were his friends, also sent him a message begging him not to show himself in the theater. 32 Meanwhile the whole meeting was in an uproar: some people were shouting one thing, others were shouting something else, because most of them did not even know why they had come together. 33 Some of the people concluded that Alexander was responsible, since the Jews made him go up to the front. Then Alexander motioned with his hand for the people to be silent, and he tried to make a speech of defense. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, they all shouted together the same thing for two hours: “Great is Artemis of Ephesus!”
35 At last the city clerk was able to calm the crowd. “Fellow Ephesians!” he said. “Everyone knows that the city of Ephesus is the keeper of the temple of the great Artemis and of the sacred stone that fell down from heaven. 36 Nobody can deny these things. So then, you must calm down and not do anything reckless. 37 You have brought these men here even though they have not robbed temples or said evil things about our goddess. 38 If Demetrius and his workers have an accusation against anyone, we have the authorities and the regular days for court; charges can be made there. 39 But if there is something more that you want, it will have to be settled in a legal meeting of citizens. 40 For after what has happened today, there is the danger that we will be accused of a riot. There is no excuse for all this uproar, and we would not be able to give a good reason for it.” 41 After saying this, he dismissed the meeting.