1 And after these things, having left Athens, he came to Corinth; 2 and finding a certain Jew by name Aquila, of Pontus by race, just come from Italy, and Priscilla his wife, (because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome,) came to them, 3 and because they were of the same trade abode with them, and wrought. For they were tent-makers by trade. 4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded Jews and Greeks. 5 And when both Silas and Timotheus came down from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in respect of the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. 6 But as they opposed and spoke injuriously, he shook his clothes, and said to them, Your blood be upon your own head: I [am] pure; from henceforth I will go to the nations. 7 And departing thence he came to the house of a certain [man], by name Justus, who worshipped God, whose house adjoined the synagogue. 8 But Crispus the ruler of the synagogue believed in the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing, believed, and were baptised. 9 And the Lord said by vision in [the] night to Paul, Fear not, but speak and be not silent; 10 because I am with thee, and no one shall set upon thee to injure thee; because I have much people in this city. 11 And he remained [there] a year and six months, teaching among them the word of God. 12 But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one consent rose against Paul and led him to the judgment-seat, 13 saying, This [man] persuades men to worship God contrary to the law. 14 But as Paul was going to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, If indeed it was some wrong or wicked criminality, O Jews, of reason I should have borne with you; 15 but if it be questions about words, and names, and the law that ye have, see to it yourselves; [for] I do not intend to be judge of these things. 16 And he drove them from the judgment-seat. 17 And having all laid hold on Sosthenes the ruler of the synagogue, they beat him before the judgment-seat. And Gallio troubled himself about none of these things. 18 And Paul, having yet stayed [there] many days, took leave of the brethren and sailed thence to Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila, having shorn his head in Cenchrea, for he had a vow; 19 and he arrived at Ephesus, and left them there. But entering himself into the synagogue he reasoned with the Jews. 20 And when they asked him that he would remain for a longer time [with them] he did not accede, 21 but bade them farewell, saying, [I must by all means keep the coming feast at Jerusalem]; I will return to you again, if God will: and he sailed away from Ephesus. 22 And landing at Caesarea, and having gone up and saluted the assembly, he went down to Antioch. 23 And having stayed [there] some time, he went forth, passing in order through the country of Galatia and Phrygia, establishing all the disciples. 24 But a certain Jew, Apollos by name, an Alexandrian by race, an eloquent man, who was mighty in the scriptures, arrived at Ephesus. 25 He was instructed in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in his spirit, he spoke and taught exactly the things concerning Jesus, knowing only the baptism of John. 26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. And Aquila and Priscilla, having heard him, took him to [them] and unfolded to him the way of God more exactly. 27 And when he purposed to go into Achaia, the brethren wrote to the disciples engaging them to receive him, who, being come, contributed much to those who believed through grace. 28 For he with great force convinced the Jews publicly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.
Acts 18 Darby Translation
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Apollos
An eloquent Alexandrian Jew, mighty in the Scriptures, who was taught more accurately by Priscilla and Aquila and then ministered in Achaia and at Corinth.
Cited in the guide: Acts 18:24; 1 Corinthians 1:12; 1 Corinthians 3:6
Aquila
A Jew from Pontus, a tentmaker expelled from Rome under Claudius, who worked with Paul at Corinth and later taught Apollos with his wife Priscilla.
Cited in the guide: Acts 18:2; Acts 18:26; Romans 16:3
Claudius
The emperor in whose reign the great famine predicted by Agabus occurred; he ordered all Jews to leave Rome, which brought Aquila and Priscilla to Corinth.
Cited in the guide: Acts 11:28; Acts 18:2
Crispus
The leader of the synagogue at Corinth who believed in the Lord with his whole household and was baptized by Paul.
Cited in the guide: Acts 18:8; 1 Corinthians 1:14
Gallio
The proconsul of Achaia who refused to judge Paul and dismissed the Jews' charges against him as a matter of their own law.
Cited in the guide: Acts 18:12; Acts 18:14; Acts 18:17
Priscilla
Aquila's wife, also called Prisca, who with him hosted a church in her house and risked her neck for Paul's life.
Cited in the guide: Acts 18:2; Acts 18:26; Romans 16:3
Sosthenes
The synagogue leader seized and beaten before Gallio's tribunal at Corinth; a Sosthenes is named as co-sender of 1 Corinthians, probably the same man.
Cited in the guide: Acts 18:17; 1 Corinthians 1:1
Titius Justus
A God-fearing man whose house next to the synagogue became Paul's base in Corinth.
Cited in the guide: Acts 18:7
Places
Antioch (Syrian)
The empire's third-largest city and the first major Gentile church — the launching base for Paul's journeys. (Distinct from Pisidian Antioch.)
Cited in the guide: Acts 11:26; Acts 13:1-3; Galatians 2:11
Athens
The philosophical center of the Greco-Roman world. Paul engaged Stoic and Epicurean thinkers on Mars Hill (the Areopagus), reasoning toward the resurrection.
Cited in the guide: Acts 17:16; Acts 17:22
Caesarea Maritima
The Roman administrative capital of Judea. Peter brought the gospel to the Gentile Cornelius here, and Paul was imprisoned before appealing his case to Caesar.
Cited in the guide: Acts 10:1; Acts 23:23; Acts 25:11
Corinth
Corinth straddled the isthmus linking mainland Greece to the Peloponnese — a hub of commerce and immorality. Paul founded the church here; a Roman bema traditionally linked to his hearing before…
Cited in the guide: Acts 18:1; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 1:1
Ephesus
The chief city of Roman Asia, famed for the temple of Artemis. Paul's long ministry sparked the silversmiths' riot; the city is also the first addressed in Revelation.
Cited in the guide: Acts 19:1; Acts 19:28; Revelation 2:1
Jerusalem
Set high in the Judean hills (~2,500 ft), Jerusalem was David's royal city, the site of the First and Second Temples, and the stage for Jesus' passion and the church's birth at Pentecost.
Cited in the guide: 2 Samuel 5:6-9; Luke 19:41; Acts 1:8
Cross references (28)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Timothy 4:20; Acts 19:1; 2 Corinthians 1:1; Acts 17:32–33
- 2 2 Timothy 4:19; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Romans 16:3–4; Acts 11:28; Acts 18:26
- 3 1 Thessalonians 2:9; 1 Corinthians 4:12; 2 Corinthians 11:9; 2 Thessalonians 3:8–9; 2 Corinthians 11:7
- 4 2 Corinthians 5:11; Acts 28:23; Acts 17:17; Acts 19:8; Acts 13:14–14:1
- 5 2 Corinthians 5:14; Acts 18:28; Acts 20:21; Acts 9:22; Acts 17:3
- 6 Ezekiel 33:4; 2 Samuel 1:16; Ezekiel 33:8–9; Ezekiel 18:13; Nehemiah 5:13
- 7 Acts 16:14; Colossians 4:11; Acts 10:22; Acts 17:4; Acts 13:42
- 8 1 Corinthians 1:13–17; Romans 10:14–17; Mark 16:15–16; Acts 11:14; Acts 8:12
- 9 Acts 23:11; Ephesians 6:19–20; Ezekiel 2:6–8; Acts 27:23–25; Micah 3:8
- 10 2 Corinthians 12:9; Exodus 4:12; Matthew 28:20; Isaiah 41:10; Romans 8:31
- 11 Acts 19:10; Acts 14:3; Acts 20:31
- 12 Acts 13:50; Acts 13:7; Acts 18:27; 1 Corinthians 16:15; 2 Corinthians 1:1
- 13 Acts 24:5–6; Acts 25:8; Acts 6:13; Acts 21:28; Acts 18:4
- 14 1 Peter 3:14–15; Romans 13:3; Acts 13:18; Acts 25:18–20; Mark 9:19
- 15 Acts 23:29; Acts 25:19; 1 Timothy 6:4; Acts 25:11; 1 Timothy 1:4
- 16 Revelation 12:16; Psalm 76:10; Romans 13:3–4
- 17 1 Corinthians 1:1; Amos 6:6; 1 Corinthians 1:23; Acts 17:32
- 18 Acts 21:24; Numbers 6:18; Acts 18:2; Romans 16:1; Numbers 6:5–9
- 19 2 Timothy 1:18; 1 Timothy 1:3; Ephesians 1:1; Acts 20:16; Acts 19:1
- 20 Acts 20:16; 1 Corinthians 16:12; Mark 1:37–38; Acts 21:13–14
- 21 James 4:15; 1 Corinthians 4:19; Romans 15:32; Hebrews 6:3; Acts 20:16
- 22 Acts 8:40; Acts 25:1; Acts 11:19–27; Acts 15:4; Acts 10:1
- 23 Acts 14:22; Acts 16:6; Acts 15:41; Acts 15:32; Galatians 4:14
- 24 1 Corinthians 4:6; Titus 3:13; 1 Corinthians 3:5–6; 1 Corinthians 1:12; 1 Corinthians 16:12
- 25 Romans 12:11; Acts 19:3; Hosea 14:9; Acts 9:2; Acts 19:23
- 26 Ephesians 6:19–20; 1 Corinthians 12:21; Acts 14:3; Acts 18:25; Hebrews 6:1
- 27 2 Thessalonians 2:13–14; James 1:16–18; Ephesians 2:8–10; Acts 18:18; Colossians 4:10
- 28 Acts 18:5; 1 Corinthians 15:3–4; Acts 9:22; Acts 26:22–23; Luke 24:44
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
See how the Law was breaking up; see how they were bound by conscience. This, namely, was a Jewish custom, to shear their heads agreeably with a vow. But then there ought to be also a sacrifice (ch. xxi. 26), which was not the case here. --"Having yet tarried:" after the beating of Sosthenes.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 11 (1889)