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Acts 18

KJV · Chapter 18/28

1After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth;

2And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them.

3And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.

4And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.

5And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ.

6And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.

7And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man’s house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue.

8And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.

9Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace:

10For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.

11And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

12And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat,

13Saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law.

14And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you:

15But if it be a question of words and names, and of your law, look ye to it; for I will be no judge of such matters.

16And he drave them from the judgment seat.

17Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. And Gallio cared for none of those things.

18And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow.

19And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews.

20When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not;

21But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus.

22And when he had landed at Cesarea, and gone up, and saluted the church, he went down to Antioch.

23And after he had spent some time there, he departed, and went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.

24And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.

25This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.

26And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.

27And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace:

28For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Paul spends a year and a half in Corinth, working as a tentmaker alongside Aquila and Priscilla, and is brought before the tribunal, but the proconsul Gallio refuses to judge the case. He then travels on and meets Apollos, an eloquent preacher.

Explanation

Paul's time in Corinth shows his balance between manual labor and ministry — he did not live off charity but supported himself while preaching. Gallio's refusal to judge internal Jewish religious disputes set a legal precedent that, for a time, protected Christianity under the umbrella of Rome's tolerance of Judaism. Priscilla and Aquila, a married couple, teach Apollos 'more accurately' — showing discipleship carried out with humility, without publicly embarrassing someone who already preached well but needed deeper understanding.

Fun facts

  • A Roman inscription discovered at Delphi confirms Gallio's term as proconsul of Achaia between AD 51-52, allowing historians to precisely date this part of Paul's journey.
  • 'Tentmaking' (the trade of Paul, Aquila, and Priscilla) likely involved working with leather and heavy fabric, a common craft in Paul's home region of Cilicia, famous for a goat-hair cloth called cilicium.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Acts 18:1After the episode in Athens, Paul travels on alone to Corinth, a large commercial port city, quite different from the more philosophical setting he had just left.
  2. Acts 18:2This is a reference to a real historical decree of Emperor Claudius, around A.D. 49, expelling the Jews from Rome. That is why Aquila and Priscilla, Roman Jews, were living in Corinth when Paul meets them.
  3. Acts 18:3It was common for rabbis and Jewish teachers to learn a manual trade to support themselves, even while also being scholars of the law. Paul uses his skill making tents of leather or canvas to work while he preached, without depending on donations.
  4. Acts 18:4Following his usual pattern, Paul goes to the synagogue every week to reason with those present, trying to persuade both the Jews and the Greeks gathered there.
  5. Acts 18:5When Silas and Timothy finally join him, coming from Macedonia, Paul devotes himself even more to preaching, openly declaring to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah.
  6. Acts 18:6Shaking out his garments was a symbolic Jewish gesture of protest, similar to shaking the dust off one’s feet, signaling that Paul was releasing himself from responsibility for those who rejected the message after having had the chance to hear it.
  7. Acts 18:7After facing resistance in the synagogue, Paul changes location and starts meeting at the house of Justus, a Gentile who already worshipped the God of Israel, right next door to the synagogue itself.
  8. Acts 18:8Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, converts along with his whole household, and many other Corinthians who hear the preaching also believe and are baptized.
  9. Acts 18:9In a night vision, the Lord directly encourages Paul not to be afraid and to keep speaking without stopping, suggesting he had been considering giving up or falling silent in the face of opposition.
  10. Acts 18:10The promise in the vision includes personal protection and the news that God already had “much people” in Corinth—people who would still come to believe, even though Paul had no way of knowing who they were.
  11. Acts 18:11Encouraged by the vision, Paul decides to stay in Corinth for a year and a half, a much longer period than he usually spent in other cities.
  12. Acts 18:12Roman inscriptions found at Delphi help historians precisely date when Gallio governed this Greek province, which serves as an anchor for calculating the dates of Paul’s journey.
  13. Acts 18:13The formal charge against Paul before the Roman tribunal is that he was persuading people to worship God in a way contrary to the law—most likely Jewish law, not Roman law.
  14. Acts 18:14Before Paul can even offer a defense, Gallio himself, the Roman governor of the region, interrupts, saying he would only hear the complaint if it involved an actual crime.
  15. Acts 18:15Gallio refuses to judge the case because he understands it to be an internal dispute over words, names, and Jewish religious law—a matter that Roman justice had no business deciding.
  16. Acts 18:16Without further delay, Gallio drives the accusers away from the tribunal, ending the proceedings before they had really even begun.
  17. Acts 18:17Taking advantage of the confusion, the crowd beats Sosthenes, another synagogue leader, right in front of the tribunal, and Gallio simply ignores the attack, showing total indifference to the local religious conflict.
  18. Acts 18:18The haircut at Cenchreae refers to a temporary Jewish vow, similar to the Nazirite vow in Numbers 6, which involved letting the hair grow for a period and then cutting it as a sign of completion. It shows Paul still keeping certain personal Jewish customs even while preaching to the Gentiles.
  19. Acts 18:19On arriving in Ephesus, an important city in Asia Minor, Paul leaves Priscilla and Aquila there and goes to the synagogue to reason with the local Jews, repeating his usual pattern.
  20. Acts 18:20Even though he is invited to stay longer in Ephesus, Paul decides not to accept, eager to continue on his journey.
  21. Acts 18:21Paul explains that he needed to be in Jerusalem for an approaching Jewish feast, but promises to return to Ephesus if God wills, before setting sail.
  22. Acts 18:22After landing at Caesarea, Paul goes up to Jerusalem to greet the church there, and then goes down to Antioch, closing the loop on this second missionary journey.
  23. Acts 18:23After some time in Antioch, Paul sets out again, passing through Galatia and Phrygia, regions he had already visited, now strengthening the disciples established there.
  24. Acts 18:24Apollos was already preaching about Jesus with enthusiasm, but his knowledge was incomplete, based only on the teaching of John the Baptist. Priscilla and Aquila instruct him privately, without embarrassing him in public.
  25. Acts 18:25Apollos already knew “the way of the Lord” and taught enthusiastically about Jesus, but his knowledge came only from John’s baptism—an incomplete teaching that was missing the part about the Holy Spirit.
  26. Acts 18:26Hearing Apollos preaching boldly in the synagogue, Priscilla and Aquila take him aside and complete his instruction more accurately, without embarrassing him in public.
  27. Acts 18:27When Apollos decides to go to the region of Achaia, the brothers in Ephesus write a letter of recommendation so the disciples there would welcome him warmly.
  28. Acts 18:28Once in Achaia, Apollos proves useful to the local Christians, publicly refuting the Jews with strong arguments from the Scriptures to prove that Jesus was the Messiah.

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