Act 18 | ESV | STEP | After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth .

1 After this Paul ^{▼▼Greek he} left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 And he found a Jew named ^bAquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife ^cPriscilla, because ^dClaudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, 3 and ^ebecause he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. 4 And ^fhe reasoned in the synagogue ^gevery Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.

5 ^hWhen Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul ⁱwas occupied with the word, ^jtestifying to the Jews that the Christ was ^kJesus. 6 And when they opposed and reviled him, ^lhe shook out his garments and said to them, ^m“Your blood be on your own heads! ⁿI am innocent. ^oFrom now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 7 And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius ^pJustus, ^qa worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. 8 ^rCrispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together ^swith his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. 9 And the Lord said to Paul ^tone night in ^ua vision, ^v“Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, 10 ^wfor I am with you, and ^xno one will attack you to harm you, for ^yI have many in this city who are my people.” 11 And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

12 But when Gallio was ^zproconsul of Achaia, ^aathe Jews ^{▼▼Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time; also verses 14 (twice), 28} made a united attack on Paul and ^acbrought him before the tribunal, 13 saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to ^adthe law.” 14 But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious ^aecrime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. 15 But ^afsince it is a matter of questions about words and names and ^agyour own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things.” 16 And he drove them from the tribunal. 17 And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this.

Paul Returns to Antioch

18 After this, Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of ^ahthe brothers ^{▼▼Or brothers and sisters; also verse 27} and set sail for Syria, and with him ^ajPriscilla and Aquila. At ^akCenchreae ^alhe had cut his hair, for he was under a vow. 19 And they came to ^amEphesus, and he left them there, but ^anhe himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay for a longer period, he declined. 21 But on taking leave of them he said, “I will return to you ^aoif God wills,” and he set sail from Ephesus.

22 When he had landed at Caesarea, he ^apwent up and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch. 23 After spending some time there, he departed and ^aqwent from one place to the next through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, ^arstrengthening all the disciples.

Apollos Speaks Boldly in Ephesus

24 Now a Jew named ^asApollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, ^atcompetent in the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in ^authe way of the Lord. And ^avbeing fervent in spirit, ^{▼▼Or in the Spirit} he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only ^axthe baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when ^ayPriscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him ^azthe way of God more accurately. 27 And when he wished to cross to ^baAchaia, ^bbthe brothers encouraged him and ^bcwrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, ^bdhe greatly helped those who through grace had believed, 28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures ^bethat the Christ was Jesus.