35 Then the city clerk persuaded the people to be quiet. He said, “Men of Ephesus, everyone knows that Ephesus is the city that keeps the temple of the great goddess Artemis. Everyone knows that we also keep her holy rock.
36 No one can deny this, so you should be quiet. You must stop and think before you do anything else.
37 “You brought these men here, but they have not said anything bad against our goddess. They have not stolen anything from her temple.
38 We have courts of law and there are judges. Do Demetrius and those men who work with him have a charge against anyone? They should go to the courts. Let them argue with each other there.
39 “Is there something else you want to talk about? Then come to the regular town meeting of the people. It can be decided there.
40 I say this because someone might see this trouble today and say we are rioting. We could not explain all this trouble, because there is no real reason for this meeting.”
41 After the city clerk said this, he told the people to go home.