Acts 19:26

Plain English Version

But that man, Paul, he talks to big mobs of people, and he says, ‘Don’t buy those things. Those statues that people say are gods, they are not gods at all. It was people that made them, so don’t show respect to them.’ Lots of people here in Ephesus listened to him, and now even the people from other towns in this Asia country agree with him, and they don’t want to buy the things we make.

Cross References

Acts 14:15

“What are you doing? Why are you doing this? Don’t do it. We are just men, like you. We are telling you good news, and we are saying that you have to stop showing respect to things that are not the true God. You have to turn around and follow the God that is alive. He made the sky, and the earth, and the sea, and everything in them.

Acts 17:29

So, if it is true that we are God’s kids, we shouldn’t just dream up something and then make a statue like that from gold or silver or stone, and say, ‘My god looks like this.’ No way. Nobody can make any sort of statue that is anything like God.

Acts 18:19

That ship stopped half-way, at a town called Ephesus. They got off that ship there, and Paul went into the Jewish meeting house in Ephesus, and he talked to the Jewish people there. They asked him to stay there longer, but he said, “No, sorry, I’ve got to say goodbye and keep going. But if God wants me to come back here one day, I will come back.” Then he got on a ship to go to Syria country, and he sailed away from Ephesus. But Priscilla and Aquila stayed there.

Acts 19:1

At that time, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul was visiting places in Frigia country and Galatia country. Then Paul left those places and went through Asia country, then he went on to the town called Ephesus. He met some men there that reckoned they were Christians.

Acts 19:10

He kept on doing that for 2 years, so people from all over that country called Asia heard God’s message about Jesus. Both Jewish people and Greek people heard that message about Jesus.

Acts 19:25

Demetrius had a meeting with his work-men and the other men that made things for that god called Artemis. Demetrius said to them, “Men, you know that we make these things and we sell them for a lot of money.

1 Corinthians 12:2

Remember this. Before you knew God, you listened to other people that didn’t know God, and you did what they did. You used to respect those statues that you thought were gods, but you know, they are just dumb statues, they can’t say anything.

1 Corinthians 8:4

All right, now I will answer your question about the food that people give to those statues that they think are gods. We Christians know that a statue is not really a god at all. We know that there is only the one God.

Galatians 4:8

At first you didn’t know God. Those other bad spirits were your bosses. Those spirits are not gods at all, but you couldn’t get free from them.