The Acts 19:13-14-26 International Children’s Bible (ICB)

2. Paul asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”They said, “We have never even heard of a Holy Spirit!”

3. So he asked, “What kind of baptism did you have?”They said, “It was the baptism that John taught.”

4. Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of changed hearts and lives. He told people to believe in the One who would come after him. That One is Jesus.”

5. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

6. Then Paul laid his hands on them, and the Holy Spirit came upon them. They began speaking different languages and prophesying.

7. There were about 12 men in this group.

8. Paul went into the synagogue and spoke out boldly for three months. He talked with the Jews and persuaded them to accept the things he said about the kingdom of God.

9. But some of the Jews became stubborn and refused to believe. These Jews said evil things about the Way of Jesus. All the people heard these things. So Paul left them and took the followers with him. He went to a place where a man named Tyrannus had a school. There Paul talked with people every day

13-14. But some Jews also were traveling around and making evil spirits go out of people. The seven sons of Sceva were doing this. (Sceva was a leading Jewish priest.) These Jews tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus to force the evil spirits out. They would say, “By the same Jesus that Paul talks about, I order you to come out!”

15. But one time an evil spirit said to these Jews, “I know Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?”

16. Then the man, who had the evil spirit in him, jumped on these Jews. He was much stronger than all of them. He beat them and tore their clothes off, so they ran away from the house.

17. All the people in Ephesus, Jews and Greeks, learned about this. They were filled with fear. And the people gave great honor to the Lord Jesus.

18. Many of the believers began to confess openly and tell all the evil things they had done.

19. Some of them had used magic. These believers brought their magic books and burned them before everyone. Those books were worth about 50,000 silver coins.

20. So in a powerful way the word of the Lord kept spreading and growing.

21. After these things, Paul made plans to go to Jerusalem. He planned to go through the countries of Macedonia and Southern Greece, and then on to Jerusalem. He said, “After I have been to Jerusalem, I must also visit Rome.”

22. Paul sent Timothy and Erastus, two of his helpers, ahead to Macedonia. He himself stayed in Asia for a while.

23. But during that time, there was some serious trouble in Ephesus about the Way of Jesus.

24. There was a man named Demetrius, who worked with silver. He made little silver models that looked like the temple of the goddess Artemis. The men who did this work made much money.

25. Demetrius had a meeting with these men and some others who did the same kind of work. He told them, “Men, you know that we make a lot of money from our business.

26. But look at what this man Paul is doing! He has convinced and turned away many people in Ephesus and in almost all of Asia! He says the gods that men make are not real.

The Acts 19