For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, brought no small profit to the craftsmen.
Parallel translations
- WEB For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen,
- KJV For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen;
- BSB It began with a silversmith named Demetrius who made silver shrines of Artemis, bringing much business to the craftsmen.
- NASB For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, was bringing considerable business to the craftsmen;
- NLT It began with Demetrius, a silversmith who had a large business manufacturing silver shrines of the Greek goddess Artemis. He kept many craftsmen busy.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Demetrius, a silversmith who made shrines of Artemis, profited greatly along with fellow craftsmen.
Overview
Artemis (Diana) of Ephesus was honored in one of the ancient world's most famous temples, and her cult drove a thriving trade. Demetrius represents the commercial stake in idolatry that the gospel endangered. His grievance reveals how the spread of Christ exposes and unsettles idol-based systems.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- 1 Tim 6:9–10But those who are determined to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful lusts, such as drown men in ruin and destruction.
- Acts 16:16As we were going to prayer, a certain girl having a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much gain by fortune telling.
- Acts 16:19But when her masters saw that the hope of their gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas, and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers.
- Acts 19:34–35But when they perceived that he was a Jew, all with one voice for a time of about two hours cried out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
- Acts 19:27–28Not only is there danger that this our trade come into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be counted as nothing, and her majesty destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worships.”
- Isa 56:11–12Yes, the dogs are greedy. They can never have enough. They are shepherds who can’t understand. They have all turned to their own way, each one to his gain, from every quarter.
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Christ at the center
Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.
How Acts 19:24 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.