Acts 19 37

Acts 19:37 kjv

For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess.

Acts 19:37 nkjv

For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of your goddess.

Acts 19:37 niv

You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess.

Acts 19:37 esv

For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess.

Acts 19:37 nlt

You have brought these men here, but they have stolen nothing from the temple and have not spoken against our goddess.

Acts 19 verses

Acts 19 37 Meaning

This verse is part of the city clerk's speech, calming the riotous crowd in Ephesus. He states that Paul and his companions, who were dragged before the assembly, have committed no sacrilegious acts by stealing from their temples (specifically the temple of Artemis), nor have they spoken direct insults or profanities against their revered goddess. This statement underlines the baseless nature of the accusations against the apostles, implying that their actions, while challenging idolatry, were neither criminal nor maliciously offensive by Roman or local standards.

Acts 19 37 Context

Acts chapter 19 describes Paul's significant ministry in Ephesus, a prominent city famous for the grand Temple of Artemis (Diana in Latin). Paul's teaching, accompanied by miracles, led many to embrace the Christian faith and abandon idolatry. This gospel success directly impacted the livelihoods of those involved in the pagan cult, especially Demetrius, a silversmith who made miniature silver shrines of Artemis. Fearing the decline of his trade and the disrespect to "Artemis of the Ephesians," Demetrius instigated a riot, stirring up the populace with accusations that Paul's message was destroying the veneration of their goddess and threatening her magnificent temple (Acts 19:23-28). The mob, driven by economic interests and religious zeal, seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's companions, dragging them into the city's theater. It is in this tense and chaotic atmosphere that the city clerk intervenes to restore order, offering this particular verse as a legal defense for the arrested men, thereby defusing the immediate crisis. His argument highlights that Paul's mission, though disruptive to local pagan practices, was not carried out through criminal acts like temple robbery or direct verbal abuse, but through proclamation and persuasion.

Word Analysis

• τούτους (toutous): "these" – Demonstrative pronoun, plural masculine accusative. It specifically refers to Paul's companions, Gaius and Aristarchus, who were seized by the mob (Acts 19:29), though the underlying accusation included Paul. This precise reference indicates the men brought into the public assembly.
• γὰρ (gar): "for" – A postpositive explanatory conjunction. It introduces the reason or explanation for the preceding statement or action, justifying the clerk's argument that the city is in danger of being charged with riot.
• τοὺς ἄνδρας (tous andras): "the men" – The definite article "τοὺς" (tous) makes them specific. These are the specific individuals brought to the assembly, implying Paul and his co-workers were identified as the source of the "problem."
• ἠγάγετε (ēgagete): "you have brought" – Second person plural aorist indicative of ἀγαγών (agagōn), a derivative of ἄγω (agō), meaning "to lead, bring." The clerk directly addresses the rioting crowd ("you"), stating they are the ones who forcefully brought these men. It emphasizes the mob's impulsive and unlawful action.
• οὔτε (oute): "neither" – A negative conjunction used in correlation with another "οὔτε" to emphasize a dual exclusion, meaning "neither...nor." It strongly denies two specific charges.
• ἱεροσύλους (hierosylous): "robbers of temples" / "sacrilegious" – Plural adjective, meaning those who steal sacred objects or plunder temples. This compound word comes from ἱερός (hieros, "sacred, holy, temple") and συλάω (sulaō, "to strip, plunder, rob"). In the Greco-Roman world, temple robbery was an extremely grave crime, often punishable by death. The clerk clarifies that Paul and his group had not committed such an overt criminal act against the local religious sites. This affirms the apostles' non-violent approach to evangelism.
• βλασφημοῦντας (blasphēmoumenos): "blasphemers" / "speaking ill against" – Present active participle, plural masculine accusative, from βλασφημέω (blasphēmeō), which means "to slander, revile, speak irreverently, blaspheme." While the core message of the Gospel declares idols to be "nothing" (1 Cor 8:4), the apostles' method of communicating this was persuasive proclamation of truth, not direct verbal abuse, mockery, or physical defilement of cult objects. This distinguishes their ministry from mere sacrilegious insults or attacks.
• τὴν θεὸν ἡμῶν (tēn theon hēmōn): "our goddess" – "τὴν θεὸν" (tēn theon) refers to the feminine deity, Artemis of the Ephesians, confirming the city's specific devotion. "ἡμῶν" (hēmōn), "our," reflects the clerk's and the citizens' identification with Artemis. This highlights the intensely local and personal nature of their veneration of the goddess.

Acts 19 37 Bonus section

• The city clerk's measured response demonstrates Roman governance's pragmatic nature. Their primary goal was maintaining public order (Pax Romana) and upholding justice, intervening forcefully only when peace was threatened. By pointing out the legal inadequacy of the mob's actions, he avoids escalating a religious dispute into civil unrest that could lead to Rome's intervention.
• The fact that these accusations (temple robbery, blasphemy) were often levied against Christians in the Roman Empire underscores the common misinterpretations or malicious fabrications about their practices. This verse serves as an official, if short-lived, vindication of their blamelessness concerning these specific charges in Ephesus.
• This verse provides insight into the boundaries of early Christian evangelism: they challenged pagan beliefs implicitly by proclaiming the true God, but they did not engage in outright sacrilege or abusive language, understanding the difference between spiritual opposition and physical/verbal assault. This shows a wise and strategic approach to avoid unnecessary antagonism and allow the power of the gospel itself to bring conviction.

Acts 19 37 Commentary

Acts 19:37 stands as a powerful, albeit unintended, commendation of the early apostles' conduct in ministry. The city clerk, a pagan Roman official, declares Paul and his companions innocent of the very crimes that would have justifiably incensed a city—namely, desecrating temples or directly insulting their beloved goddess, Artemis. This highlights that the spread of the Gospel was not due to acts of vandalism or aggressive verbal attacks on pagan beliefs. Rather, it was through the Spirit-empowered proclamation of Jesus Christ and the inherent truth of the One God that led people to willingly abandon idolatry. The gospel's disruption was not in their actions of crime, but in its impact of transformation. The real issue for Demetrius and his colleagues was economic loss, masked as religious outrage. The clerk's rational intervention, asserting that due process and clear legal infractions were lacking, reveals that the accusations were motivated by fear and greed, not by any actual criminal or overtly blasphemous behavior on the part of the Christians. It implicitly demonstrates the apostles' commitment to preaching truth persuasively rather than through destructive or confrontational means that could incite lawlessness.