19 ¹¹ And through Paul God worked singular miracles: 19 ¹² when handkerchiefs and scarves which had been in contact with his skin were carried to the sick, they were rid of their diseases and the evil spirits came out of them.

19 ¹³ But some strolling Jewish exorcists tried their hand at using the name of the Lord Jesus on those possessed by evil spirits; they would say, 'I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul proclaims.' 19 ¹⁴ There were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who were using this method, 19 ¹⁵ when the evil spirit answered back and said, 'Jesus I acknowledge, and I know about Paul, but who are you?' 19 ¹⁶ And the man with the evil spirit flew at them, overpowered them all, and handled them with such violence that they ran out of the house stripped and battered. 19 ¹⁷ This became known to everybody in Ephesus, whether Jew or Gentile; they were all awestruck, and the name of the Lord Jesus gained in honour. 19 ¹⁸ Moreover many of those who had become believers came and openly confessed that they had been using magical spells. 19 ¹⁹ And a good many of those who formerly practised magic collected their books and burnt them publicly. The total value was reckoned up and it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. 19 ²⁰ In such ways the word of the Lord showed its power, spreading more and more widely and effectively.