Acts 18

New Matthew Bible

Paul preaches at Corinth, continuing there a year and a half. He goes again into Syria, and to Ephesus, Caesarea, and Antioch. Of Aquila and Priscilla, and Apollos.

18 After that, Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth. ² And he met a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because the Emperor Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome. And he fell in with them. ³ And because he was of the same craft, he stayed with them and worked; their craft was to make tents. ⁴ And he preached in the synagogue every Sabbath day, and exhorted the Jews and the Gentiles.

⁵ When Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was constrained by the Spirit to testify to the Jews that Jesus was the very Christ. ⁶ And when they contradicted and reviled him, he shook out his clothing and said to them, Your blood is upon your own heads, and from henceforth I go blameless to the Gentiles. ⁷ And moving on from there, he entered into the house of a certain man named Justus, a worshipper of God whose house adjoined the synagogue. ⁸ However one Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians listened and believed and were baptized.

⁹ Then the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision: Do not be afraid, but speak; and do not hold your peace. ¹⁰ For I am with you, and no man will attack you that will hurt you. For I have many people in this city.

¹¹ And Paul continued there a year and six months, and taught the people the word of God.

¹² When Gallio was ruler of the province of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat, ¹³ saying, This fellow counsels the people to worship God contrary to the law. ¹⁴ And as Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong, or an evil deed, O ye Jews, I should by reason hear you. ¹⁵ But if it is a question of words, or of names, or of your law, look to it yourselves. For I will be no judge in such matters. ¹⁶ And he drove them from the seat. ¹⁷ Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him outside the judge’s seat. And Gallio cared about none of these things.

¹⁸ After this, Paul remained there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren and set sail for Syria, Priscilla and Aquila accompanying him. And he shaved his head in Cenchrea, for he had made a vow. ¹⁹ And he came to Ephesus, and left Priscilla and Aquila there; but he himself entered into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. ²⁰ When they asked him to stay longer with them, he did not consent, ²¹ but bid them farewell, saying, I must be in Jerusalem at the coming feast. But I will return again to you, if God so wills. And he sailed from Ephesus, ²² and landed at Ceasarea, and ascended to Jerusalem, and briefly visited the congregation.

 And he went down to Antioch (in Syria). ²³ And when he had stayed there a while, he departed and went over all the region of Galatia and Phrygia systematically, strengthening all the disciples.

²⁴ And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, went to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, and strong in the scriptures. ²⁵ He was informed in the way of the Lord, and spoke fervently in spirit, and taught diligently the things of the Lord; but he knew only the baptism of John. ²⁶ And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him to themselves and expounded to him the way of God more perfectly. ²⁷ And when he wanted to go into Achaia, the brethren wrote exhorting the disciples to receive him. After he got there, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace. ²⁸ And with strong arguments he overcame the Jews, and that openly, showing by the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.