Acts18
New American Standard
1After these events Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.
2And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He came to them,
3and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them, and they worked together, for they were tent-makers by trade.
4And Paul was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.
5But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.
6But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood is on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
7Then he left the synagogue and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next door to the synagogue.
8Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord together with his entire household; and many of the Corinthians, as they listened to Paul, were believing and being baptized.
9And the Lord said to Paul by a vision at night, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent;
10for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many people in this city.”
11And he settled there for a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
12But while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews rose up together against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat,
13saying, “This man is inciting the people to worship God contrary to the law.”
14But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of some crime or vicious, unscrupulous act, O Jews, it would be reasonable for me to put up with you;
15but if there are questions about teaching and persons and your own law, see to it yourselves; I am unwilling to be a judge of these matters.”
16And he drove them away from the judgment seat.
17But they all took hold of Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and began beating him in front of the judgment seat. And yet Gallio was not concerned about any of these things.
18Now Paul, when he had remained many days longer, took leave of the brothers and sisters and sailed away to Syria, and Priscilla and Aquila were with him. Paul first had his hair cut at Cenchrea, for he was keeping a vow.
19They came to Ephesus, and he left them there. Now he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.
20When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he did not consent,
21but took leave of them and said, “I will return to you again if God wills,” and he set sail from Ephesus.
22When he had landed in Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and greeted the church, and went down to Antioch.
23And after spending some time there, he left and passed successively through the Galatian region and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.
24Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was proficient in the Scriptures.
25This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was accurately speaking and teaching things about Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John;
26and he began speaking boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the way of God more accurately to him.
27And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace,
28for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Acts 18.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Paul at Corinth, with Aquila and Priscilla. (1–6). He continues to preach at Corinth. (7–11). Paul before Gallio. (12–17). He visits Jerusalem. (18–23). Apollos teaches at Ephesus and in Achaia. (24–28).
vv1-6
Though Paul was entitled to support from the churches he planted, and from the people to whom he preached, yet he worked at his calling. An honest trade, by which a man may get his bread, is not to be looked upon with contempt by any. It was the custom of the Jews to bring up their children to some trade, though they gave them learning or estates. Paul was careful to prevent prejudices, even the most unreasonable. The love of Christ is the best bond of the saints; and the communings of the saints with each other, sweeten labour, contempt, and even persecution. Most of the Jews persisted in contradicting the gospel of Christ, and blasphemed. They would not believe themselves, and did all they could to keep others from believing. Paul hereupon left them. He did not give over his work; for though Israel be not gathered, Christ and his gospel shall be glorious. The Jews could not complain, for they had the first offer. When some oppose the gospel, we must turn to others. Grief that many persist in unbelief should not prevent gratitude for the conversion of some to Christ.
vv7-11
The Lord knows those that are his, yea, and those that shall be his; for it is by his work upon them that they become his. Let us not despair concerning any place, when even in wicked Corinth Christ had much people. He will gather in his chosen flock from the places where they are scattered Thus encouraged, the apostle continued at Corinth, and a numerous and flourishing church grew up.
vv12-17
Paul was about to show that he did not teach men to worship God contrary to law; but the judge would not allow the Jews to complain to him of what was not within his office. It was right in Gallio that he left the Jews to themselves in matters relating to their religion, but yet would not let them, under pretence of that, persecute another. But it was wrong to speak slightly of a law and religion which he might have known to be of God, and which he ought to have acquainted himself with. In what way God is to be worshipped, whether Jesus be the Messiah, and whether the gospel be a Divine revelation, are not questions of words and names, they are questions of vast importance. Gallio spoke as if he boasted of his ignorance of the Scriptures, as if the law of God was beneath his notice. Gallio cared for none of these things. If he cared not for the affronts of bad men, it was commendable; but if he concerned not himself for the abuses done to good men, his indifference was carried too far. And those who see and hear of the sufferings of God's people, and have no feeling with them, or care for them, who do not pity and pray for them, are of the same spirit as Gallio, who cared for none of these things.
Key Words
ταῦτα (taûta): these things
Παῦλος (Paûlos): (little; but remotely from a derivative of G3973 (παύω), meaning the same); Paulus, the name of a Roman and of an apostle
Ἀθῆναι (Athēnai): Athenæ, the capitol of Greece
ἔρχομαι (érchomai): to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)
εἰς (eis): to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etc.); also in adverbial phrases
Κόρινθος (Kórinthos): Corinthus, a city of Greece
καί (kaí): and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words
εὑρίσκω (heurískō): to find (literally or figuratively)
τὶς (tìs): some or any person or object
Ἰουδαῖος (Ioudaîos): Judæan, i.e. belonging to Jehudah
Cross References
Acts 18The idiom 'blood upon your own heads' echoes Ezekiel's warning on the watchman's accountability.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Parallel pattern of Paul turning to the Gentiles after Jewish opposition and blasphemy.
Supported by JFB
Paul explicitly mentions baptizing Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue at Corinth.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Sosthenes, beaten here as synagogue leader, is later identified as Paul's Christian brother.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Paul's greetings to Priscilla and Aquila as his helpers in Christ Jesus.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB
Paul reminds the Ephesian elders that his own hands ministered to his necessities.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Provides the legal context for Paul taking and completing a Jewish Nazirite vow.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Identifies Apollos as a key minister alongside Paul in the Corinthian church.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Paul's symbolic act of shaking off dust/raiment in protest against rejecting Jews.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Illustrates Christ's claim to 'much people in this city' before they are gathered.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Verbal parallel to Paul's conditional promise: 'I will return... if God will.'
Supported by Matthew Henry
Another night vision where the Lord directly encourages Paul to speak boldly.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Roman officials consistently find Paul's accusations relate to Jewish law, not civil crimes.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Connects Aquila and Priscilla's instruction of Apollos back to their introduction in Corinth.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Priscilla and Aquila host a church in their house during their time in Asia.
Supported by JFB