\{The Lord says,\}\par “Tell this message to those people:\par ‘Those false gods did not make\par heaven and earth.\par And those false gods will be destroyed\par and disappear from heaven and earth.’” {\cf2\super [81]} \par
Acts 19:26 - Easy To Read Version But look at what this man Paul is doing! Listen to what he is saying! Paul has influenced and changed many people. He has done this in Ephesus and all over the country of Asia. {\cf2\super [391]} Paul says the gods that men make are not real. Tuilleadh leaganachaKing James Version (Oxford) 1769 Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands: Amplified Bible - Classic Edition Now you notice and hear that not only at Ephesus but almost all over [the province of] Asia this Paul has persuaded and induced people to believe his teaching and has alienated a considerable company of them, saying that gods that are made with human hands are not really gods at all. American Standard Version (1901) And ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they are no gods, that are made with hands: Common English Bible And you can see and hear that this Paul has convinced and misled a lot of people, not only in Ephesus but also throughout most of the province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands aren’t really gods. Catholic Public Domain Version And you are seeing and hearing that this man Paul, by persuasion, has turned away a great multitude, not only from Ephesus, but from nearly all of Asia, saying, 'These things are not gods which have been made by hands.' Douay-Rheims version of The Bible - 1752 version And you see and hear, that this Paul by persuasion hath drawn away a great multitude, not only of Ephesus, but almost of all Asia, saying: They are not gods which are made by hands. |
\{The Lord says,\}\par “Tell this message to those people:\par ‘Those false gods did not make\par heaven and earth.\par And those false gods will be destroyed\par and disappear from heaven and earth.’” {\cf2\super [81]} \par
“Men, why are you doing these things? We are not gods! We have the same feelings as you have! We came to tell you the Good News. {\cf2\super [290]} We are telling you to turn away from these worthless things. Turn to the true living God. He is the One who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them.
That’s right. We are God’s children. So, you must not think that God is like something that people imagine or make. He is not like gold, silver, or rock.
Then they went to the city of Ephesus. This is where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. While Paul was in Ephesus, he went into the synagogue {\cf2\super [369]} and talked with the Jews.
While Apollos was in the city of Corinth, Paul was visiting some places on the way to the city of Ephesus. In Ephesus Paul found some followers \{of the Lord\}.
Paul did this for two years. Because of this work, every Jew and Greek (non-Jew) in the country of Asia {\cf2\super [385]} heard the word of the Lord.
Demetrius had a meeting with these men and some other men who did the same kind of work. Demetrius told them, “Men, you know that we make much money from our business.
You remember the lives you lived before you were believers. You let yourselves be influenced and led away \{to worship\} idols {\cf2\super [81]} —things that have no life.
So \{this is what I say\} about eating meat: We know that an idol {\cf2\super [48]} is really nothing in the world. And we know that there is only one God.
In the past you did not know God. You were slaves to gods that were not real.
There you will serve gods made by men—things made of wood and stone that can’t see or hear or eat or smell!
People everywhere tell about the good way you accepted us when we were there with you. Those people tell about how you stopped worshiping idols {\cf2\super [3]} and changed to serve the living and true God.
The other people \{on the earth\} were not killed by these bad things. But these people still did not change their hearts and lives and turn away from the things they had made with their own hands. They did not stop worshiping demons {\cf2\super [72]} and idols {\cf2\super [73]} made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood—things that cannot see or hear or walk.