Chapter 18
Paul in Corinth. 1 After this he left Athens and went to
Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, 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.” 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. 8 Crispus,[d] the synagogue
official, came to believe in the Lord along with his entire household, and many
of the Corinthians who heard believed and were baptized. 9 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 because he had
taken a vow.[g] 19 When they reached Ephesus, he left them there, while he
entered the synagogue and held discussions with the Jews. 20 Although they
asked him to stay for a longer time, he did not consent, 21 but as he said
farewell he promised, “I shall come back to you again, God willing.” Then he
set sail from Ephesus. 22 Upon landing at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the
church[h] and then went down to Antioch. 23 [i]After staying there some time,
he left and traveled in orderly sequence through the Galatian country and
Phrygia, bringing strength to all the disciples.
Apollos. 24 A Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, an eloquent speaker, arrived in Ephesus. He was an authority on the scriptures.[j] 25 He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord and, with ardent spirit, spoke and taught accurately about Jesus, although he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue; but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the Way [of God][k] more accurately. 27 And when he wanted to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. After his arrival, he gave great assistance to those who had come to believe through grace. 28 He vigorously refuted the Jews in public, establishing from the scriptures that the Messiah is Jesus.
Footnotes
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 a 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).
18:22 He went up and greeted the church: “going up” suggests
a visit to the church in Jerusalem.
18:23–21:16 Luke’s account of Paul’s third missionary
journey devotes itself mainly to his work at Ephesus (Acts 19:1–20:1). There is
a certain restiveness on Paul’s part and a growing conviction that the Spirit
bids him return to Jerusalem and prepare to go to Rome (Acts 19:21).
18:24–25 Apollos appears as a preacher who knows the
teaching of Jesus in the context of John’s baptism of repentance. Aquila and
Priscilla instructs him more fully. He is referred to in 1 Cor 1:12; 3:5–6, 22.
18:26 The Way [of God]: for the Way, see note on Acts 9:2.
Other manuscripts here read “the Way of the Lord,” “the word of the Lord,” or
simply “the Way.”
Source Catholic Bible: New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE)
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