Matthew 22:34

²⁸One of the scribes came and heard them questioning together, and knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the greatest of all?”

²⁹Jesus answered, “The greatest is: ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’This is the first commandment. ³¹The second is like this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’There is no other commandment greater than these.”

³Those who were foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them, ⁴but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. ⁵Now while the bridegroom delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

⁴⁷The chief priests therefore and the Pharisees gathered a council, and said, “What are we doing? For this man does many signs. ⁴⁸If we leave him alone like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

⁴⁹But a certain one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, ⁵⁰nor do you consider that it is advantageous for us that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.”

⁵The islands have seen, and fear. The ends of the earth tremble. They approach, and come. ⁶Everyone helps his neighbor. They say to their brothers, “Be strong!” ⁷So the carpenter encourages the goldsmith. He who smooths with the hammer encourages him who strikes the anvil, saying of the soldering, “It is good;” and he fastens it with nails, that it might not totter.

¹⁴But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how they might destroy him.

²³About that time there arose no small disturbance concerning the Way. ²⁴For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen, ²⁵whom he gathered together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, “Sirs, you know that by this business we have our wealth. ²⁶You see and hear that not at Ephesus alone, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are no gods that are made with hands. ²⁷Not 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.”

²⁸When they heard this they were filled with anger, and cried out, saying, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

²⁴Now when the high priest, the captain of the temple, and the chief priests heard these words, they were very perplexed about them and what might become of this. ²⁵One came and told them, “Behold, the men whom you put in prison are in the temple, standing and teaching the people.” ²⁶Then the captain went with the officers, and brought them without violence, for they were afraid that the people might stone them.

²⁷When they had brought them, they set them before the council. The high priest questioned them, ²⁸saying, “Didn’t we strictly command you not to teach in this name? Behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and intend to bring this man’s blood on us.”

²⁸crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place. Moreover, he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place!” ²⁹For they had seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.

³⁰All the city was moved and the people ran together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple. Immediately the doors were shut.