ActsChapter 18

Tap any verse to comment or suggest a better wording.

¹After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. ²There he met a Jew named Aquila, who was born in Pontus. Aquila and his wife Priscilla had just come from Italy. Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them. ³They made tents for a living, just as Paul did. So he stayed and worked with them. ⁴Every Sabbath he talked with people in the synagogue. He tried to win over both Jews and Greeks. ⁵Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia. Then Paul spent all his time preaching the word. He told the Jews that Jesus is the Messiah. ⁶But they turned against him and spoke evil of him. So he shook out his clothes. He told them, "Your blood is on your own heads! I am not to blame. From now on I will go to the Gentiles." ⁷So Paul left the synagogue. He went next door to the house of Titus Justus, a man who worshiped God. ⁸Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord. So did everyone in his house. Many of the people of Corinth heard the message. They believed and were baptized. ⁹One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision. "Do not be afraid. Keep on speaking. Do not be silent. ¹⁰For I am with you. No one will attack you or hurt you, because I have many people in this city." ¹¹So Paul stayed there for a year and a half. He taught the word of God to the people of Corinth. ¹²At that time Gallio was the proconsul of Achaia. The Jews joined together and attacked Paul. They took him to the court. ¹³"This man is talking people into worshiping God in ways that go against the law," they said. ¹⁴Paul was about to speak. But Gallio said to the Jews, "Listen, you Jews. If this were about some wrong or a terrible crime, it would make sense for me to hear you. ¹⁵But this is an argument about words and names and your own law. Settle it yourselves. I won't be the judge of such things." ¹⁶And he sent them away from the court. ¹⁷Then the crowd grabbed Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue. They beat him in front of the court. But Gallio did not care at all about any of this. ¹⁸Paul stayed in Corinth a long time. Then he said goodbye to the brothers. In Cenchrea he had his head shaved because of a vow he had made. Then he sailed for Syria. Priscilla and Aquila went with him. ¹⁹They came to Ephesus, and Paul left Priscilla and Aquila there. He himself went into the synagogue and talked with the Jews. ²⁰They asked him to stay longer, but he said no. ²¹But as he left, he said, "I will come back to you if God wants me to." Then he set sail from Ephesus. ²²Paul landed at Caesarea. He went up and greeted the church in Jerusalem. Then he went down to Antioch. ²³Paul spent some time in Antioch. Then he went from place to place through Galatia and Phrygia. He made all the disciples stronger. ²⁴At that time a Jew named Apollos came to Ephesus. He was from Alexandria. He was a good speaker, and he knew the Scriptures well. ²⁵He had been taught the way of the Lord. He spoke with a burning spirit. He taught the facts about Jesus correctly. But he knew only about John's baptism. ²⁶He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. Priscilla and Aquila heard him. They took him aside and explained the way of God to him more clearly. ²⁷Apollos decided to go over to Achaia. The brothers encouraged him. They wrote to the disciples there and asked them to welcome him. When he got there, he was a great help to those who had believed by grace. ²⁸For he argued strongly against the Jews in public and proved them wrong. He used the Scriptures to show that Jesus is the Messiah.