19:24a
It began with a silversmith named Demetrius who made silver shrines of Artemis: The clause who made silver shrines of Artemis tells the reader more about Demetrius. In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate that Luke was thinking of other silversmiths named Demetrius here and only this one made silver shrines of Artemis. If that is true in your language, translate this information in a way that tells more about Demetrius. One way to do that is to make a new sentence here. For example:
24aA silversmith named Demetrius made silver shrines of Artemis. 24bHe brought…
silversmith: This word refers to a person who makes things out of silver. Silver is an expensive metal that is shiny. Other ways to translate this word are:
a maker of silver things
-or-
who made things out of silver
silver shrines of Artemis: The shrines were small models of the temple of Artemis. In some languages a literal translation would wrongly refer to statues of Artemis. If that is true in your language, you may need to describe what these shrines were. For example:
silver models of the temple of the goddess Artemis (Good News Translation)
-or-
small images/statues/models made of silver that looked like the temple of Artemis
Artemis: This was the Greek name for a goddess whom the people of Ephesus worshiped. People of other cities and regions also worshiped Artemis.
19:24b
bringing much business to the craftsmen: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as bringing refers to causing something to happen. Demetrius did things that increased the number of shrines sold. He may have encouraged people to buy them in some way. The Greek grammar indicates that he also did some of this business himself. It also indicates that he did this for some time. Other ways to translate this clause are:
He kept many craftsmen busy. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
provided considerable business for himself and the other craftsmen
-or-
From that work, he and his coworkers received a large amount of money.
It is also possible that the Greek word indicates that Demetrius employed these craftsmen or was their leader. For example:
provided considerable employment for the craftsmen (Revised English Bible)
-or-
Demetrius and the men working silver earned much money/profit in that work.
business: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as business can also mean “profit.” With either meaning, the workers earned a lot of money.
craftsmen: This word refers to people skilled at making things. In this case they were skilled at making things from silver. Other ways to translate this word are:
skilled workers
-or-
artisans (New Revised Standard Version)
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