Bible Strands
Acts 19:28
When the men heard this, they were enraged and began shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The Ephesian craftsmen react to Demetrius’s warning that Artemis’s temple faces public discrediting. They voice their protest in the open assembly just before the city descends into chaos and drags Paul’s companions to the theater.
The words — ἔκραζον (ekrazon) means “they were crying out,” denoting a loud, sustained vocalization. πλὴρεις θυμοῦ (plēreis thumou) literally translates to “full of rage,” describing the emotional state that drove their immediate response.
The thread — The text records a vocal defense of a local deity, a pattern that recurs in Revelation 13:4 with the worship of the beast and Revelation 17:13 with kings yielding their authority to a single ruler.
Why it lands — The verse requires noting how threatened livelihoods and religious identity fuse into collective action. It asks the reader to observe how fear of cultural loss mobilizes public crowds against perceived threats.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
Cross-references
- Revelation 13:4 They worshiped the dragon who had given authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can wage war against it?”
- Revelation 17:13 These kings have one purpose: to yield their power and authority to the beast.
- 1 Samuel 5:3 When the people of Ashdod got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on his face before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and returned him to his place.
- 1 Kings 18:26 And they took the bull that was given them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no sound, and no one answered as they leaped around the altar they had made.
- Psalms 2:2 The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together, against the LORD and against His Anointed One:
- Isaiah 41:5 The islands see and fear; the ends of the earth tremble. They approach and come forward.
- Jeremiah 50:38 A drought is upon her waters, and they will be dried up. For it is a land of graven images, and the people go mad over idols.
- Acts 7:54 On hearing this, the members of the Sanhedrin were enraged, and they gnashed their teeth at him.
- Acts 16:19 When the girl’s owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities in the marketplace.
- Acts 18:19 When they reached Ephesus, Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue there and reasoned with the Jews.