17 All the people in Ephesus—Jews and Greeks—learned about this and were filled with fear and gave great honor to the Lord Jesus.
18 Many of the believers began to confess openly and tell all the evil things they had done.
19 Some of them who had used magic brought their magic books and burned them before everyone. Those books were worth about fifty thousand silver coins.
20 So in a powerful way the word of the Lord kept spreading and growing.
21 After these things, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, planning to go through the countries of Macedonia and Southern Greece and then on to Jerusalem. He said, “After I have been to Jerusalem, I must also visit Rome.”
22 Paul sent Timothy and Erastus, two of his helpers, ahead to Macedonia, but he himself stayed in Asia for a while.
23 And during that time, there was some serious trouble in Ephesus about the Way of Jesus.