While ¹  Apollos was in Corinth, ²  Paul went through the inland ³  regions ⁴  and came to Ephesus. ⁵  He ⁶  found some disciples there ⁷ 

and when Paul placed ¹  his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came ²  upon them, and they began to speak ³  in tongues and to prophesy. ⁴ 

But the evil spirit replied to them, ¹  “I know about Jesus ²  and I am acquainted with ³  Paul, but who are you?” ⁴ 

The ¹  city was filled with the uproar, ²  and the crowd ³  rushed to the theater ⁴  together, ⁵  dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, the Macedonians who were Paul’s traveling companions.

After the disturbance had ended, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging ¹  them and saying farewell, ²  he left to go to Macedonia. ³ 

But Paul went down, ¹  threw himself ²  on the young man, ³  put his arms around him, ⁴  and said, “Do not be distressed, for he is still alive!” ⁵ 

After we located ¹  the disciples, we stayed there ²  seven days. They repeatedly told ³  Paul through the Spirit ⁴  not to set foot ⁵  in Jerusalem. ⁶ 

(For they had seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him previously, and ¹  they assumed Paul had brought him into the inner temple courts.) ² 

He ¹  immediately took ²  soldiers and centurions ³  and ran down to the crowd. ⁴  When they saw ⁵  the commanding officer ⁶  and the soldiers, they stopped beating ⁷  Paul.

When they had stretched him out for the lash, ¹  Paul said to the centurion ²  standing nearby, “Is it legal for you to lash a man who is a Roman citizen ³  without a proper trial?” ⁴ 

The commanding officer ¹  answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” ²  “But I was even ³  born a citizen,” ⁴  Paul replied. ⁵ 

Paul looked directly ¹  at the council ²  and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life with a clear conscience ³  before God to this day.”

Paul replied, ¹  “I did not realize, ²  brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You must not speak evil about a ruler of your people.’” ³ 

When morning came, ¹  the Jews formed ²  a conspiracy ³  and bound themselves with an oath ⁴  not to eat or drink anything ⁵  until they had killed Paul.

They ¹  went ²  to the chief priests ³  and the elders and said, “We have bound ourselves with a solemn oath ⁴  not to partake ⁵  of anything until we have killed Paul.

Paul called ¹  one of the centurions ²  and said, “Take this young man to the commanding officer, ³  for he has something to report to him.”

After five days the high priest Ananias ¹  came down with some elders and an attorney ²  named ³  Tertullus, and they ⁴  brought formal charges ⁵  against Paul to the governor.

At the same time he was also hoping that Paul would give him money, ¹  and for this reason he sent for Paul ²  as often as possible ³  and talked ⁴  with him.

Paul said in his defense, ¹  “I have committed no offense ²  against the Jewish law ³  or against the temple or against Caesar.” ⁴ 

Rather they had several points of disagreement ¹  with him about their own religion ²  and about a man named Jesus ³  who was dead, whom Paul claimed ⁴  to be alive.