Demetrius apparently called together not only those who worked directly under his supervision, but all other men in the business of making model temples. One may translate this first part of verse 25 as “so he called together all of his workers, and all others who made small silver temples of Artemis.”

The word rendered prosperity appears only here in the New Testament; it is rendered “prosperity” (An American Translation*, Jerusalem Bible), “financial prosperity” (Barclay), “wealth” (Revised Standard Version), and “high standard of living” (New English Bible). The closest equivalent to prosperity in some languages is “we have much money because of this work we do” or “our riches depend (hang) on this work we do.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .