Acts 18:19

Translations

King James Version (KJV)

And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews.

American King James Version (AKJV)

And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews.

American Standard Version (ASV)

And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews.

Basic English Translation (BBE)

And they came down to Ephesus and he left them there: and he himself went into the Synagogue and had a discussion with the Jews.

Webster's Revision

And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews.

World English Bible

He came to Ephesus, and he left them there; but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews.

English Revised Version (ERV)

And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews.

Clarke's Acts 18:19 Bible Commentary

He came to Ephesus - Where it appears he spent but one Sabbath. It is supposed that Paul left Aquila and Priscilla at this place, and that he went on alone to Jerusalem; for it is certain they were at Ephesus when Apollos arrived there. See Acts 18:24, Acts 18:26.

Ephesus was at the time in which St. Paul visited it, one of the most flourishing cities of Asia Minor. It was situated in that part anciently called Ionia, but now Natolia. It abounded with the most eminent orators, philosophers, etc., in the world; and was adorned with the most splendid buildings. Here was that famous temple of Diana, reputed one of the seven wonders of the world. This city is now under the dominion of the Turks, and is in a state of almost entire ruin. The temple of Minerva, which had long served as a Christian church, is now so completely ruined that its site cannot be easily determined; though some ruins of the walls are still standing, with five or six marble columns, forty feet in length, and seven in diameter, all of one piece. It still has a good harbour, and is about forty miles from Smyrna. In Chandler's Travels in Asia Minor, some curious information is given concerning this once eminent city. His account concludes thus: "The Ephesians are now a few Greek peasants, living in extreme wretchedness, dependence, and insensibility: the representative of an illustrious people, and inhabiting the wrecks of their greatness: some beneath the vaults of the Stadium, once the crowded scene of their diversions; and some live by the abrupt precipice, in the sepulchres which received the ashes of their ancestors. Such are the present citizens of Ephesus; and such is the condition to which that renowned city has been gradually reduced. Its streets are obscured and overgrown; a herd of goats was driven to it for shelter from the sun at noon; and a noisy flight of crows from the quarries seemed to insult its silence. We heard the partridge call in the area of the theater, and of the Stadium. The glorious pomp of its heathen worship is no longer remembered; and Christianity, which was there nursed by apostles, and fostered by general councils, until it increased to fullness of stature, barely lingers on, in an existence hardly visible." Travels in Asia Minor, p. 130. Reader! This city was once the capital of Asia Minor; and its ruins alone prove that it has existed: and it was one of those seven Churches to which a letter was expressly dictated by Jesus Christ himself! Ephesus is properly no more! and the Church of Ephesus is blotted put of the map of Christianity! Be silent and adore.

Barnes's Acts 18:19 Bible Commentary

And he came to Ephesus - See the notes on Revelation 2:1-5. This was a celebrated city in Ionia, in Asia Minor, about 40 miles south of Smyrna. It was chiefly famous for the Temple of Diana, usually reckoned one of the seven wonders of the world. Pliny styles this city the ornament of Asia. In the times of the Romans it was the metropolis of the province of Asia. This city is now under the dominion of the Turks, and is almost in a state of ruin. Dr. Chandler, in his Travels in Asia Mirror, says: "The inhabitants are a few Greek peasants, living in extreme wretchedness, dependence, and insensibility; the representatives of an illustrious people, and inhabiting the wreck of their greatness; some in the substructions of the glorious edifices which they raised; some beneath the vaults of the stadium, once the crowded scene of their diversions; and some in the sepulchres which received their ashes" (Travels, p. 131, Oxford, 1775). The Jews, according to Josephus, were very numerous in Ephesus, and had obtained the privilege of citizenship.

Left them there - That is, Aquila and Priscilla, Acts 18:24-26.

Reasoned with the Jews - See the notes on Acts 17:2.

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