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Acts 18

1After this he left Athens and came to Corinth. 2There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to them, 3and because he practiced the same trade, he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. 4Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.

5When Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself to the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. 6But when they opposed him and spoke abusively, he shook out his clothes and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the nations.” 7He moved from there and entered the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house adjoined the synagogue. 8Crispus, the synagogue ruler, believed in the Lord with his whole household, and many of the Corinthians who heard believed and were baptized. 9The Lord said to Paul in a vision at night, “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent, 10because I am with you. No one will attack you to harm you, because I have many people in this city.” 11He stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

12While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews rose up together against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat, 13saying, “This man persuades people to worship God contrary to the law.” 14As Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or a wicked crime, Jews, I would reasonably put up with you. 15But if these are questions about a word and names and your own law, see to them yourselves. I do not wish to be a judge of these matters.” 16He drove them away from the judgment seat. 17Then they all seized Sosthenes, the synagogue ruler, and beat him in front of the judgment seat. Gallio cared about none of this.

18Paul stayed many more days. Then he said farewell to the brothers and sailed for Syria, with Priscilla and Aquila. He had cut his hair at Cenchreae, for he had a vow. 19They arrived at Ephesus, and he left them there. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20When they asked him to stay longer, he did not agree, 21but said farewell and told them, “I will return to you again, if God wills.” Then he sailed from Ephesus. 22He landed at Caesarea, went up and greeted the assembly, and went down to Antioch. 23After spending some time there, he departed and went in sequence through the Galatian region and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

24A Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, arrived at Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, powerful in the scriptures. 25He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and, fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things about Jesus, though he knew only John's baptism. 26He began speaking boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the way of God to him more accurately. 27When he wanted to cross over to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. On arriving, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace, 28for he forcefully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating through the scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah.

Translation notes 5

18:3–6 — Work and witness. “Tentmakers” may include work with materials used for tents. At verse 5 the base has “word”; some witnesses read “spirit.” Shaking out clothing and the blood/head language express repudiation and responsibility. “Clean” means free of responsibility for their rejection, not ritual washing.

18:12–17 — Law and the beating. Gallio is a Roman provincial governor. The accusers and Gallio frame the legal question differently. The base says “all” at verse 17 without identifying the attackers as Greeks, as some witnesses do; their identity is left unstated.

18:18 — Hair and vow. The most natural continuing subject is Paul, but the Greek can be attached to Aquila. The kind of vow is not named, and its exact procedure should not be reconstructed from the brief notice.

18:21–22 — Journey. Some witnesses add that Paul must keep the coming festival in Jerusalem. The base lacks that sentence. “Went up” in verse 22 is commonly understood as a visit to Jerusalem, but the city is not named there, so it is not supplied in the reading.

18:24–27 — Apollos and grace. “Eloquent” can also mean learned. “Fervent” preserves the sense of boiling with zeal; whether “spirit” is his own or the Holy Spirit is an interpretive question. Apollos teaches accurately but receives more accurate instruction from both Priscilla and Aquila. “Through grace” is attached to believing; it can instead be connected with the help he gave.