Acts 18
18
Paul Goes to Corinth
1After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2There he met a Jew named Aquila, who was a native of Pontus. Aquila had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla. The emperor Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see Aquila and Priscilla. 3They were tentmakers, just as he was. So he stayed and worked with them. 4Every Sabbath day he went to the synagogue. He was trying to get both Jews and Greeks to believe in the Lord.
5Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia. Then Paul spent all his time preaching. He was a witness to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. 6But they opposed Paul. They treated him badly. So he shook out his clothes in protest. Then he said to them, “God’s judgment against you will be your own fault! Don’t blame me for it! From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
7Then Paul left the synagogue and went to the house next door. It was the house of Titius Justus, a man who worshiped God. 8Crispus was the synagogue leader. He and everyone living in his house came to believe in the Lord. Many others who lived in Corinth heard Paul. They too believed and were baptized.
9One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Keep on speaking. Don’t be silent. 10I am with you. No one will attack you and harm you. I have many people in this city.” 11So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half. He taught them God’s word.
12At that time Gallio was governor of Achaia. The Jews of Corinth got together and attacked Paul. They brought him into court. 13They made a charge against Paul. They said, “This man is talking people into worshiping God in wrong ways. Those ways are against the law.”
14Paul was about to give reasons for his actions. But just then Gallio spoke to them. He said, “You Jews don’t claim that Paul has committed a great or small crime. If you did, it would make sense for me to listen to you. 15But this is about your own law. It is a question of words and names. Settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things.” 16So he made them leave. 17Then the crowd there turned against Sosthenes, the synagogue leader. They beat him up in front of the governor. But Gallio didn’t care at all.
Priscilla and Aquila Teach Apollos
18Paul stayed in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sisters and sailed for Syria. Priscilla and Aquila went with him. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchreae. He did this because he had made a promise to God. 19They arrived at Ephesus. There Paul said goodbye to Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and talked with the Jews. 20The Jews asked him to spend more time with them. But he said no. 21As he left, he made them a promise. “If God wants me to,” he said, “I will come back.” Then he sailed from Ephesus. 22When he landed at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem. There he greeted the church. He then went down to Antioch.
23Paul spent some time in Antioch. Then he left and traveled all over Galatia and Phrygia. He gave strength to all the believers there.
24At that time a Jew named Apollos came to Ephesus. He was an educated man from Alexandria. He knew the Scriptures very well. 25Apollos had been taught the way of the Lord. He spoke with great power. He taught the truth about Jesus. But he only knew about John’s baptism. 26He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. Priscilla and Aquila heard him. So they invited him to their home. There they gave him a better understanding of the way of God.
27Apollos wanted to go to Achaia. The brothers and sisters agreed with him. They wrote to the believers there. They asked them to welcome him. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who had become believers by God’s grace. 28In public meetings, he argued strongly against Jews who disagreed with him. He proved from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah.
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Acts 18: NIrV
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Acts 18
18
1Paul then left Athens and went to Corinth 2where he met a Jew named Aquila. Aquila was originally from Pontus, and had just arrived from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius#18:2. The Roman Emperor. had ordered all Jews expelled from Rome. Paul went to see them, 3and because they were in the same business of tent-making, he stayed with them. 4He debated in the synagogue every Sabbath, convincing both Jews and Greeks. 5When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul felt he had to become more direct in what he said, and told the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. 6When they opposed him and cursed him, he shook out his clothes#18:6. A symbolic act declaring innocence. and told them, “Your blood is on your own heads! I am innocent of any guilt, and from now on I will go to the foreigners.”
7He left and went to stay with Titius Justus, who worshiped God and whose house was next door to the synagogue. 8Crispus, leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord together with his whole household. Many of the people of Corinth who heard the message became believers and were baptized.
9The Lord told Paul in a vision at night: “Don't be afraid. Speak up, don't keep quiet— 10because I am with you, and no one will attack you, for many people in this city are mine.” 11Paul stayed there for eighteen months, teaching the people the word of God.
12However, during the time when Gallio#18:12. Gallio was the brother of Seneca, the Roman Stoic philosopher. was the governor of Achaia, the Jews united in an attack against Paul and brought him before the court.#18:12. Literally, “judgment seat,” or “judge's bench.” Also in 18:16-17. 13“This man is persuading people to worship God illegally,” they declared.
14But just as Paul was about to defend himself, Gallio told the Jews, “If you Jews were bringing criminal charges or some serious legal offense, there would be a reason for me to listen to your case. 15But since you're only arguing over words and names and your own law, then you deal with it yourselves. I won't rule on such matters.” 16Then Gallio had them ejected from the court. 17Then the crowd turned on Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and beat him right outside the court, but Gallio wasn't concerned about this at all.
18Paul stayed on for a while. Then he left the believers and sailed for Syria, taking Priscilla and Aquila along with him. He had his head shaved while in Cenchrae, because he had taken a vow.#18:18. Vow: probably a Nazirite vow (see Numbers 6).
19They arrived in Ephesus, where Paul left the others behind. He went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews. 20They asked him to stay longer, but he refused. 21He said his goodbyes, and set sail from Ephesus, telling them, “I'll come back and see you if it's God's will.”
22After landing at Caesarea he went to greet the church members,#18:22. Possibly the church members in Jerusalem. and then carried on to Antioch. 23He spent some time there and then went from town to town through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, encouraging all the believers.
24In the meantime a Jew named Apollos, originally from Alexandria, arrived in Ephesus. He was a gifted speaker who knew the Scriptures well. 25He had been taught the way of the Lord. He was spiritually passionate, and in his speaking and teaching he presented Jesus accurately, but he only knew about John's baptism. 26He started speaking openly in the synagogue. So when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to join them and explained the way of God to him more fully. 27When he decided to go to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him, and wrote to the disciples there telling them to welcome him. When he arrived he was very helpful to those who through grace trusted God, 28because he was able to strongly refute the Jews in public debate, demonstrating from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com