Acts 18:1-18
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 18
Paul in Corinth. 1 After this he left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila,(A) a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla[a] because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. He went to visit them 3 and, because he practiced the same trade, stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. 4 Every sabbath, he entered into discussions in the synagogue, attempting to convince both Jews and Greeks.
5 When Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began to occupy himself totally with preaching the word, testifying to the Jews that the Messiah was Jesus. 6 When they opposed him and reviled him, he shook out his garments[b] and said to them, “Your blood be on your heads! I am clear of responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”(B) 7 So he left there and went to a house belonging to a man named Titus Justus, a worshiper of God;[c] his house was next to a synagogue.(C) 8 Crispus,[d] the synagogue official,(D) came to believe in the Lord along with his entire household, and many of the Corinthians who heard believed and were baptized. 9 (E)One night in a vision the Lord said to Paul, “Do not be afraid. Go on speaking, and do not be silent, 10 for I am with you. No one will attack and harm you, for I have many people in this city.” 11 He settled there for a year and a half and taught the word of God among them.
Accusations Before Gallio. 12 But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia,[e] the Jews rose up together against Paul and brought him to the tribunal, 13 saying, “This man is inducing people to worship God contrary to the law.”[f] 14 When Paul was about to reply, Gallio spoke to the Jews, “If it were a matter of some crime or malicious fraud, I should with reason hear the complaint of you Jews; 15 but since it is a question of arguments over doctrine and titles and your own law, see to it yourselves. I do not wish to be a judge of such matters.” 16 And he drove them away from the tribunal. 17 They all seized Sosthenes, the synagogue official, and beat him in full view of the tribunal. But none of this was of concern to Gallio.
Return to Syrian Antioch. 18 Paul remained for quite some time, and after saying farewell to the brothers he sailed for Syria, together with Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had his hair cut(F) because he had taken a vow.[g]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 18:2 Aquila…Priscilla: both may already have been Christians at the time of their arrival in Corinth (see Acts 18:26). According to 1 Cor 16:19, their home became a meeting place for Christians. Claudius: the Emperor Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome ca. A.D. 49. The Roman historian Suetonius gives as reason for the expulsion disturbances among the Jews “at the instigation of Chrestos,” probably meaning disputes about the messiahship of Jesus.
- 18:6 Shook out his garments: a gesture indicating Paul’s repudiation of his mission to the Jews there; cf. Acts 28:17–31.
- 18:7 A worshiper of God: see note on Acts 8:26–40.
- 18:8 Crispus: in 1 Cor 1:14 Paul mentions that Crispus was one of the few he himself baptized at Corinth.
- 18:12 When Gallio was proconsul of Achaia: Gallio’s proconsulship in Achaia is dated to A.D. 51–52 from an inscription discovered at Delphi. This has become an important date in establishing a chronology of the life and missionary work of Paul.
- 18:13 Contrary to the law: Gallio (Acts 18:15) understands this to be a problem of Jewish, not Roman, law.
- 18:18 He had his hair cut because he had taken a vow: a reference to a Nazirite vow (see Nm 6:1–21, especially, Nm 6:18) taken by Paul (see also Acts 21:23–27).
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