Acts of Apostles - Chapter 18

¹ After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth,

² where he met a Jew called Aquila whose family came from Pontus. He and his wife Priscilla had recently left Italy because an edict of Claudius had expelled all the Jews from Rome. Paul went to visit them,

³ and when he found they were tentmakers, of the same trade as himself, he lodged with them, and they worked together.

⁴ Every Sabbath he used to hold debates in the synagogues, trying to convert Jews as well as Greeks.

⁵ After Silas and Timothy had arrived from Macedonia, Paul devoted all his time to preaching, declaring to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.

⁶ When they turned against him and started to insult him, he took his cloak and shook it out in front of them, saying, 'Your blood be on your own heads; from now on I will go to the gentiles with a clear conscience.'

⁷ Then he left the synagogue and moved to the house next door that belonged to a worshipper of God called Justus.

⁸ Crispus, president of the synagogue, and his whole household, all became believers in the Lord. Many Corinthians when they heard this became believers and were baptised.

⁹ One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision, 'Be fearless; speak out and do not keep silence:

¹⁰ I am with you. I have so many people that belong to me in this city that no one will attempt to hurt you.'

¹¹ So Paul stayed there preaching the word of God among them for eighteen months.

¹² But while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a concerted attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, saying,

¹³ 'We accuse this man of persuading people to worship God in a way that breaks the Law.'

¹⁴ Before Paul could open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, 'Listen, you Jews. If this were a misdemeanour or a crime, it would be in order for me to listen to your plea;

¹⁵ but if it is only quibbles about words and names, and about your own Law, then you must deal with it yourselves -- I have no intention of making legal decisions about these things.'

¹⁶ Then he began to hustle them out of the court,

¹⁷ and at once they all turned on Sosthenes, the synagogue president, and beat him in front of the tribunal. Gallio refused to take any notice at all.

¹⁸ After staying on for some time, Paul took leave of the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had his hair cut off, because of a vow he had made.

¹⁹ When they reached Ephesus, he left them, but first he went alone to the synagogue to debate with the Jews.

²⁰ They asked him to stay longer, but he declined,

²¹ though when he took his leave he said, 'I will come back another time, God willing.' Then he sailed from Ephesus.

²² He landed at Caesarea and went up to greet the church. Then he came down to Antioch

²³ where he spent a short time before continuing his journey through the Galatian country and then through Phrygia, encouraging all the followers.

²⁴ An Alexandrian Jew named Apollos now arrived in Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, with a sound knowledge of the scriptures, and yet,

²⁵ though he had been given instruction in the Way of the Lord and preached with great spiritual fervour and was accurate in all the details he taught about Jesus, he had experienced only the baptism of John.

²⁶ He began to teach fearlessly in the synagogue and, when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they attached themselves to him and gave him more detailed instruction about the Way.

²⁷ When Apollos thought of crossing over to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote asking the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived there he was able by God's grace to help the believers considerably

²⁸ by the energetic way he refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating from the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.

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