And when the townclerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?

And when the townclerk had quieted the multitude, he saith, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there who knoweth not that the city of the Ephesians is temple-keeper of the great Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?

And when the town clerk had appeased the multitudes, he said: Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great Diana, and of Jupiter's offspring.

And the townclerk, having quieted the crowd, said, Ephesians, what man is there then who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple-keeper of Artemis the great, and of the image which fell down from heaven?

And when the townclerk had quieted the multitude, he saith, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there who knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is temple-keeper of the great Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?

And when the town-clerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not that the city of the Ephesians is a worshiper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?

And the public clerk having quieted the multitude, saith, 'Men, Ephesians, why, who is the man that doth not know that the city of the Ephesians is a devotee of the great goddess Artemis, and of that which fell down from Zeus?

And when the town cleark had appeased the people, he said, You men of Ephesus, what man is there that knows not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?

At length the Recorder quieted them down. "Men of Ephesus," he said, "who is there of all mankind that needs to be told that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Diana and of the image which fell down from Zeus?

And when the chief secretary had got the people quiet, he said, Men of Ephesus, is any man without knowledge that the town of Ephesus is the keeper of the holy place of the great Diana, who was sent down from Jupiter?

When the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, 'You men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the image which fell down from Zeus?

And when the scribe had calmed the crowds, he said: "Men of Ephesus, now what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is in the service of the great Diana and of the offspring of Jupiter?

When the Recorder had succeeded in quieting the crowd, he said, "People of Ephesus, who is there, I ask you, who needs to be told that this city of Ephesus is the Warden of the Temple of the great Artemis, and of the statue which fell down from Zeus?

Luke showeth in this place that the tumult was so appeased, that yet, notwithstanding, superstition prevailed with the mad people, and the truth of God was not heard. For the town-clerk, as politic men use to do, counteth it sufficient for him if he can by any means appease the outrageous multitude. Nevertheless, the cause itself is oppressed. He saw undoubtedly Demetrius' malice, and how he had troubled the city, abusing the pretense of religion for his own private gain; but he toucheth not that wound which he knew to be unknown to the unskillful. Nevertheless, to the end he may stay the uproar and contention, he extolleth the reigned power of Diana, and maintaineth her superstitious worship. If Paul had been in the common place [1] at that time, he would rather have suffered death an hundred times than have suffered himself to be delivered from danger paying so dear for it. For though the town-clerk had not been by him commanded to speak thus, yet it should have been treacherous dissimulation in a public witness and preacher of heavenly doctrine. The scribe affirmeth that the image which the Ephesians did worship came down from heaven, and that Paul and his companions spake no blasphemy against their goddess. Could he have holden his peace, but he must needs by his silence have allowed his false excuse? And this had been to shake hands with idolatry. Therefore, it was not without cause that Luke said before that Paul was kept back by the brethren, and not suffered to enter into the common place [theater].

Footnotes

1 - "In theatro," in the theatre.

And when the town-clerk - ὁ γραμματέυς ho grammateus. The scribe; the secretary. This word is often used in the Bible, and is commonly translated "scribe," and is applied to "public notaries in the synagogues; to clerks; to those who transcribed books, and hence, to men skilled in the law or in any kind of learning." Compare 2-Samuel 8:17; 2-Kings 12:11; Ezra 7:6, Ezra 7:11-12; Matthew 5:20; Matthew 12:38; Matthew 13:52; Matthew 15:1; Matthew 23:34; 1-Corinthians 1:20. It is, however, nowhere else applied to a pagan magistrate. It probably denoted "a recorder; or a transcriber of the laws; or a chancellor" (Kuinoel, Doddridge). This officer had a seat in their deliberative assemblies, and on him it seems to have devolved to keep the peace. The Syriac, "Prince of the city." The Vulgate and Arabic, "Scribe."
Had appeased the people - καταστείλας katasteilas. Having restrained, quieted, tranquillized, so as to be able to address them.
What man is there - Who is there that can deny this? It is universally known and admitted. This is the language of strong confidence, of reproof, and of indignation. It implied that the worship of Diana was so well established that there was no danger that it could be destroyed by a few Jews, and he therefore reproved them for what he deemed their unreasonable fears. But he little knew the power of that religion which had been the innocent cause of all this tumult; nor that, at no very distant period, this despised religion would overturn not only the worship of Diana at Ephesus, but the splendid idolatry of the mighty Roman empire.
Is a worshipper - νεωκόρον neōkoron. Margin, temple-keeper. The word used here does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament. It is derived from νεὼς neōs, for ναὸς naos, a temple, and κορέω koreō, to sweep, to cleanse. But among the ancients, the office of keeping their temples was by no means as humble as that of sexton is with us. It was regarded as an office of honor and dignity to have charge of the temples of the gods, and to keep them in order. The term was also given to the cities that were regarded as the special patrons or worshippers of certain gods and goddesses. They esteemed it an honor to be regarded as the special keepers of their temples and images, or as having adopted them as their tutelar divinities. Such was Ephesus in regard to Diana. It was considered to be a high honor that the city was everywhere regarded as being entrusted with the worship of Diana, or with keeping the temple regarded by the whole world as especially her own. See Schleusner on this word.
And of the image - A special guardian of the image, or statue of Diana.
Which fell down - Which was reigned or believed to have been sent down from heaven. See the notes on Acts 19:27. It is probable that the image was so ancient that the maker of it was unknown, and it was therefore reigned to have fallen from heaven. It was for the interest of the priest to keep up this impression. Many cities pretended to have been favored in a similar manner with images or statues of the gods, sent directly from heaven. The safety of Troy was supposed to depend on the Palladium, or image of Pallas Minerva, which was believed to have fallen from heaven. Numa pretended that the ancilia, or sacred shields, had descended from heaven. Herodian expressly affirms that "the Phoenicians had no statue of the sun polished by the hand, but only a certain large stone, circular below, and terminated acutely above in the figure of a cone, of a black color, and that they believed it to have fallen from heaven." The same thing was affirmed of the ancient Minerva of the Athenian Acropolis (Paus., Att. 26); of the Paphian Venus, and the Ceres of Sicily (Cic. in Verr., v. 187). It has been supposed by some that this image at Ephesus was merely a conical or pyramidal stone which fell from the clouds - a meteorite - and that it was regarded with superstitious reverence, as having been sent from heaven. See the Edinburgh Encyclopedia's article, "Meteorites."
From Jupiter - See the notes on Acts 14:12.

When the town-clerk - Ὁγραμματευς, Literally, the scribe. The Syriac has reisha damedinato, the chief or prince of the city. The later Syriac has, the scribe of the city. Some think that the word recorder would do better here than town-clerk; and indeed it is evident that a magistrate of considerable authority and influence is intended - the mayor or sovereign of the city.
Ye men of Ephesus - The speech of this man may be thus analyzed:
1. He states that there was no need of a public declaration that the Ephesians were worshippers of Diana; this every person knew, and nobody attempted to contest it, Acts 19:35, Acts 19:36.
2. That the persons accused were not guilty of any public offense, nor of any breach of the laws of the city, Acts 19:37.
3. That, if they were, this was not a legal method of prosecuting them, Acts 19:38, Acts 19:39.
4. That they themselves, by this tumultuous meeting, had exposed themselves to the censure of the law, and were in danger of being called into question for it, Acts 19:40. See Dodd.
Is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana - The word νεωκορος, neocoros, which we translate worshipper, signified at first, among the ancient Greeks, no more than sweeper of the temple, and answered nearly to our sexton: in process of time, the care of the temple was intrusted to this person: at length the neocori became persons of great consequence, and were those who offered sacrifices for the life of the emperor. Whole cities took this appellation, as appears on many ancient coins and medals; and Ephesus is supposed to have been the first that assumed this title. At this time, it was commonly known as belonging to this city. "What man is there that knoweth not that the city of the Ephesians is the Neocoros of the great goddess Diana?" As if he had said: "The whole city is devoted to her worship: it is reputed an honor to our highest characters even to sweep her temple, and open and shut her doors. Besides, we offer to her the highest sacrifices; and are intrusted with the religious service that pertains to the emperor's safety."
Of the image which fell down from Jupiter? - The original image of the Ephesian Diana (see on Acts 19:27 (note)) was supposed to have descended from heaven; which intimates that it was so old that no person knew either its maker or the time in which it was formed, and it was the interest of the priests to persuade the people that this image had been sent to them as a present from Jupiter himself. Several images and sacred things were supposed, among the heathens, to be presents immediately from heaven. Euripides states the image of Diana of Tauri to be of this kind; and calls it διοπετες αγαλμα, the image fallen from Jupiter. Numa pretended that the ancilia, or sacred shields, had come from heaven. In imitation of these, many of the Italian papists believe that the shrine of our lady of Loretto was also a Divine gift to their country. St. Isidore, of Damietta, says that the heathen, in order to induce the people to believe that such images came from heaven, either banished or slew the artists that had formed them, that there might be no evidence of the time in which, or the persons by whom, they were made: this point secured, it was easy to persuade the credulous multitude that they had been sent from heaven. The story of the Palladium, on which the safety of Troy was said to depend, is well known. It was an image of Minerva, and also supposed to have descended from Jupiter.

(10) And when the townclerk had appeased the people, he said, [Ye] men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the [image] which (n) fell down from Jupiter?
(10) An example of a political man who redeems peace and quietness with lies, which Paul would have never done.
(n) The Ephesians believed superstitiously that the image of Diana came down to them from heaven.

And when the town clerk had appeased the people,.... Caused them to cease their loud outcry, so as that he could be heard. This person seems to have been more than a "town clerk", as we render it; or a common "scribe", as the Vulgate Latin, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions render it; rather as the Syriac version, "a chief man of the city"; the Septuagint interpreters in Exodus 5:6 use the word for the Egyptian officers that were over the Israelites; and the Babylonians used to call the priest of (a) Isis by this name; and according to some learned men, this man's office was to register the conquerors' names, and their rewards in the theatre; and who was chosen into this office by the people, and was a man of some considerable authority, as it is very apparent by what follows that this man was:
he said, ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana? the word "Neocorus", translated "worshipper", signifies an officer in the temple, one that looked after it, beautified and adorned it; for "Neocorus" is from which signifies to beautify (b); though some etymologists would have the word to signify to sweep and clean, as if this officer was a sexton; rather, he answered to a churchwarden, and to this agrees the Syriac version; though this office belonged not to a single person, but to a city. Now to be a worshipper of Diana, was not peculiar to the city of Ephesus, as appears from Acts 19:27 but to be Neocorus, a sacrist to the goddess, was a favour granted to some cities, and accounted a great honour; some had it twice, some thrice, some four times:
and of the image which fell down from Jupiter; or "of Diopetes"; so the Palladium, or image of Pallas, was called, because it was supposed to fall down from heaven, which Diomedes and Ulysses are said to take away from Troy; and here it seems to be something distinct from the goddess Diana, and her image, and may design another deity worshipped along with her, and by them, since they make mention of more gods, Acts 19:26. The Vulgate Latin version takes it to be the same with Diana, reading the words in connection with the preceding, "and the offspring of Jupiter"; she being said to be his daughter by Latona, as before observed; and the Ethiopic version understands it of her image, rendering them thus, "and of that molten image which was sent from Jupiter the great god"; and more expressly the Syriac version, which reads, "and of her image which fell from heaven"; and so was not made with the hands of men, and could not be objected to on that account, or denied to be a deity; and this the people might be the rather induced to believe, since it had been in the temple before the memory of any man. The Arabic version, reading these words in connection with the beginning of the next verse, gives a very different sense, "but neither indeed they that fell from heaven contradict the faith of this thing"; as if it was to be understood of the fallen angels, of which it can hardly be thought Demetrius had any knowledge. This image, Pliny says (c), it was doubted of what it was made; some said of the vine tree, others of ebony; but Athenagoras says, the old image of Diana of the Ephesians was made of olive (d).
(a) Alex. ab Alex. l. 2. c. 8. (b) Scholiast. Aristoph ad Nubes, p. 125. col. 2. (c) Nat. Hist. l. 16. c. 40. (d) Legatis pro Christianis, p. 17.

when the town-clerk--keeper of the public archives, and a magistrate of great authority.
had appeased--"calmed."
the people--"the multitude," which the very presence of such an officer would go far to do.
he said . . . what man . . . knoweth not that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana--literally, the neocoros or "warden." The word means "temple-sweeper"; then, "temple-guardian." Thirteen cities of Asia had an interest in the temple, but Ephesus was honored with the charge of it. (Various cities have claimed this title with reference to the Virgin or certain saints) [WEBSTER and WILKINSON].
and of the image which fell down from Jupiter--"from the sky" or "from heaven." See on Acts 19:27. "With this we may compare various legends concerning images and pictures in the Romish Church, such as the traditional likenesses of Christ, which were said to be "not made with hands"" [WEBSTER and WILKINSON].

And when the townclerk had appeased the people. Stopped their foolish outcry so that he could be heard. This town clerk, or recorder, was an officer of great influence in the Grecian cities of Asia. He stood next in rank to the officer that we now call the mayor, and in the absence of the latter acted for him. His address was a very judicious one.
The image which fell down from Jupiter. It was a common superstition that some hideous image worshiped in a heathen temple had fallen from heaven. Some of them were meteoric stones, of others the origin was unknown, and the delusion was in part due to the deception of the priests. The Palladium of Troy, the Diana of Tauris, and the Pallas of Athena were all said to have fallen.
These men. Gaius and Aristarchus (see Acts 19:29), men against whom there was no charge. They were neither robbers of temples (see the Revision) nor blasphemers of Diana.
If Demetrius. If they have anything to charge there are courts of justice.
Deputies. Proconsuls.
We are in danger. The Roman law made it a capital offence to incite a riot, nor did the Roman officials wink at any disturbance in the provinces. Ephesus was what was called "a free city;" that is, it governed itself in local matters. It might have its liberties taken away for just such occurrences as those of this day.

The register - Probably the chief governor of the public games. The image which fell down from Jupiter - They believed that very image of Diana, which stood in her temple, fell down from Jupiter in heaven. Perhaps he designed to insinuate, as if falling down from Jupiter, it was not made with hands, and so was not that sort of idols which Paul had said were no gods.