After this Paul left aAthens and went to bCorinth.Acts 17:15Acts 18:8; 19:1; 1 Cor 1:2; 2 Cor 1:1, 23; 6:11; 2 Tim 4:20 2 There he met a Jew named aAquila, a native of bPontus, who had recently come from cItaly with his wife, dPriscilla, because the Roman Emperor eClaudius had issued an edict that all the 1Jews were to leave Rome. Paul went to see them,This action may have been prompted by conflicts within the Jewish community caused by the spread of Christianity.Acts 18:18, 26; Rom 16:3; 1 Cor 16:19; 2 Tim 4:19Acts 2:9Acts 27:1, 6; Heb 13:24Acts 11:28 3 and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them; and athey worked together for they were tent-makers.Acts 20:34; 1 Cor 4:12; 9:14f; 2 Cor 11:7; 12:13; 1 Thess 2:9; 4:11; 2 Thess 3:8 4 And he reasoned and debated ain the synagogue every bSabbath, trying to persuade cJews and Greeks;Acts 9:20; 18:19Acts 13:14Acts 14:1
5 but when aSilas and Timothy bcame down from cMacedonia , Paul began devoting himself completely to preaching the word, and solemnly dtestifying to the Jews that eJesus is the Christ .Acts 15:22; 16:1; 17:14Acts 17:15Acts 16:9Luke 16:28; Acts 20:21Acts 17:3; 18:28 6 But since the Jews kept resisting and opposing him, and blaspheming God, he 1ashook out his robe and said to them, “Your bblood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go cto the Gentiles.” Acts 13:46An act symbolizing rejection.Neh 5:13; Acts 13:512 Sam 1:16; 1 Kin 2:33; Ezek 18:13; 33:4, 6, 8; Matt 27:25; Acts 20:26Acts 13:46 7 Then he moved on from there and went to the house of a man named 1Titius Justus, awho worshiped God and whose house was next door to the synagogue.One early ms reads Titus; two early mss omit the name.Acts 13:43; 16:14 8 aCrispus, bthe leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord together cwith his entire household joyfully acknowledging Him as Messiah and Savior; and many of the dCorinthians who heard Paul’s message were believing and being baptized.1 Cor 1:14Mark 5:22Acts 11:14Acts 18:1; 19:1; 1 Cor 1:2; 2 Cor 1:1, 23; 6:11; 2 Tim 4:20 9 One night the Lord said to Paul in aa vision, “Do not be afraid anymore, but go on speaking and do not be silent;Acts 9:10 10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you in order to hurt you, because I have many people in this city.” Is 43:5; Jer 1:8 11 So he settled there for a year and six months, teaching them the word of God concerning eternal salvation through faith in Christ.
12 But when 1Gallio was aproconsul of bAchaia , cthe Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before 2dthe judgment seat,Junius Gallio’s term as proconsul was brief A.D. 51-52, but is validated by an ancient inscription found at Delphi. This is important because it establishes the date of Paul’s visit to Corinth while on his second missionary journey and sets the date of his letters to the church at Thessalonica.The proconsul tried cases from a large, raised stone platform situated in front of his official residence.Acts 13:7Acts 18:27; 19:21; Rom 15:26; 1 Cor 16:15; 2 Cor 1:1; 9:2; 11:10; 1 Thess 1:7f1 Thess 2:14ffMatt 27:19 13 declaring, “This man is persuading people to worship God in violation of athe law of Moses.”John 19:7; Acts 18:15 14 But when Paul was about ato reply, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of some misdemeanor or serious crime, O Jews, I would have reason to put up with you;Matt 5:2 15 but since it is merely a aquestion of doctrine within your religion about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves; I am 1unwilling to judge these matters.”Gallio, the proconsul of Achaia, in essence ruled Paul’s teachings to be a form of Judaism and therefore legal under Roman law.Acts 23:29; 25:19 16 And he drove them away from athe judgment seat.Matt 27:19 17 Then the Greeks all seized 1aSosthenes, bthe leader of the synagogue, and began beating him right in front of cthe judgment seat; but Gallio paid no attention to any of this. 1+@Cor 1:1As leader of the synagogue Sosthenes would have presented the charges against Paul. Apparently something related to this made him the target of the attack. If this Sosthenes is the same man mentioned in 1 Cor 1:1, he later became a believer and follower of Christ.1 Cor 1:1Acts 18:8Matt 27:19
18 Paul stayed for a while longer, and then atold bthe 1brothers and sisters goodbye and sailed for cSyria; and he was accompanied by dPriscilla and eAquila. At fCenchrea the southeastern port of Corinth he ghad his hair cut, because he was keeping a Nazirite vow of abstention.Lit brethren.Mark 6:46Acts 1:15; 18:27Matt 4:24Acts 18:2, 26Rom 16:1Num 6:2, 5, 9, 18; Acts 21:24 19 Then they arrived in aEphesus, and he left the others there; but he entered bthe synagogue and reasoned and debated with the Jews.Acts 18:21, 24; 19:1, 17, 26, 28, 34f; 20:16f; 21:29; 1 Cor 15:32; 16:8; Eph 1:1; 1 Tim 1:3; 2 Tim 1:18; 4:12; Rev 1:11; 2:1Acts 18:4 20 When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he refused; 21 but aafter telling them goodbye and saying, “I will return again bif God is willing,” he set sail from cEphesus.Mark 6:46Rom 1:10; 15:32; 1 Cor 4:19; 16:7; Heb 6:3; James 4:15; 1 Pet 3:17Acts 18:19, 24; 19:1, 17, 26, 28, 34f; 20:16f; 21:29; 1 Cor 15:32; 16:8; Eph 1:1; 1 Tim 1:3; 2 Tim 1:18; 4:12; Rev 1:11; 2:1
22 When he had landed at aCaesarea, he went up and 1greeted the church at Jerusalem, and then went down to bAntioch.This marks the end of Paul’s second missionary journey.Acts 8:40Acts 11:19
23 After spending some time there, he left and traveled through the territory of aGalatia and Phrygia, strengthening and encouraging all the disciples.Acts 16:6
24 Now a Jew named aApollos, a native of bAlexandria, came to cEphesus. He was an eloquent and cultured man, and well versed in the Hebrew Scriptures.Acts 19:1; 1 Cor 1:12; 3:5, 6, 22; 4:6; 16:12; Titus 3:13Acts 6:9Acts 18:19 25 This man had been instructed in athe way of the Lord, and being spiritually impassioned, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things about Jesus, though he knew only bthe baptism of John;Acts 9:2; 18:26Luke 7:29; Acts 19:3 26 and he began to speak boldly and fearlessly in the synagogue. But when aPriscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained more accurately to him bthe way of God and the full story of the life of Christ.Acts 18:2, 18Acts 18:25 27 And when Apollos wanted to go across to aAchaia , bthe brothers encouraged him and wrote to cthe disciples, urging them to welcome him gladly. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who, through grace, had believed and had followed Jesus as Lord and Savior,Acts 18:12; 19:1Acts 18:18Acts 11:26 28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public discussions, proving aby the Scriptures that bJesus is the Christ .Acts 8:35Acts 18:5