Acts 18

Paul in Corinth

1 Paul left Athens and rolled into Corinth.

2 There, he met a Jewish dude named Aquila, who was from Pontus, and his wife, Priscilla. They had just moved from Italy because Claudius kicked all the Jews out of Rome. Paul linked up with them.

3 Since they were all tentmakers by trade, Paul stayed and worked with them.

4 Every Sabbath, Paul hit up the synagogue, chopping it up with Jews and Greeks, trying to persuade them about Jesus.

5 When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul went full-time preaching, proving to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah.

6 But when they started disrespecting him and rejecting the message, Paul shook the dust off his clothes and said, “Your blood is on your own heads! I am done with you all, I am going to the Gentiles now.”

7 He left the synagogue and went to the house of Titius Justus, a God-fearing man who lived right next door to the synagogue.

8 Crispus, the synagogue leader, believed in the Lord along with his whole family. A bunch of Corinthians believed too and got baptized.

9 One night, the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be scared. Keep speaking and do not hold back.

10 I am with you, and no one will harm you because I have got a lot of people in this city.”

11 So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching the word of God.

12 When Gallio became the governor of Achaia, the Jews ganged up on Paul and dragged him to court.

13 They said, “This man is persuading people to worship God in ways that are against our law.”

14 But before Paul could speak, Gallio shut it down: “If this was about a crime or something shady, I would hear you out.

15 But since this is about your own laws and words, handle it yourselves. I am not getting involved in this.”

16 And he threw them out of the court.

17 Then the crowd grabbed Sosthenes, the synagogue leader, and beat him up in front of the court. But Gallio did not care.

Paul at Ephesus

18 After chilling in Corinth for a while, Paul said goodbye to the believers and sailed for Syria with Priscilla and Aquila. Before leaving, he shaved his head in Cenchreae because of a vow he had made.

19 They landed in Ephesus, and Paul went straight to the synagogue to reason with the Jews.

20 They asked him to stay longer, but he declined.

21 As he left, he said, “If God wills, I will come back.” Then he set sail for home.

22 He landed in Caesarea, went up to Jerusalem to greet the church, and then headed to Antioch.

23 After some time there, Paul hit the road again, traveling through Galatia and Phrygia to strengthen all the disciples.

Apollos in Ephesus

24 Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos from Alexandria showed up in Ephesus. Dude was sharp, knew the Scriptures well,

25 And had been taught about Jesus. He was passionate and taught accurately, but he only knew about John’s baptism.

26 He started preaching boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they pulled him aside and explained the way of God more completely.

27 Apollos wanted to head to Achaia, so the believers wrote a letter to welcome him. When he got there, he was a big help to the people who had believed through grace.

28 He debated with the Jews in public, proving through the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah.