Act 18 | EE | STEP | After Paul had spoken to the important officers of Athens, he left the city. He went from there to the city called Corinth.

Acts 18

Paul visits Corinth

1 After Paul had spoken to the important officers of Athens, he left the city. He went from there to the city called Corinth. ^{▼▼18:1 Corinth is a city in Greece, about 75 kilometres (50 miles) from Athens.}

2 In Corinth, he met a man called Aquila. Aquila was a Jew. He had been born in the region called Pontus. Now, Caesar Claudius had said that all Jews must leave Rome. So Aquila had left Italy and he had just arrived in Corinth with his wife Priscilla. Paul went to visit them. 3 They knew how to make tents, and so did Paul. They could sell the tents and they could use the money to live. So Paul stayed with them and he worked with them.

4 Every Jewish rest day, Paul taught both Jews and Greek people in the Jewish meeting place. He wanted them all to believe the good news about Jesus.

5 Then Silas and Timothy arrived there from the country called Macedonia. After that, the only work that Paul did was to teach people God’s message. He told the Jews clearly that Jesus is God’s special Messiah. 6 The Jews did not agree with Paul and they said bad things against him. So he cleaned the dirt off his clothes to show that they had done a bad thing. He said to them, ‘If God punishes you, then it is your own fault. It will not be because of me. Now I will go to the Gentiles and I will teach them God’s message.’ ^{▼▼18:6 Paul cleaned the dirt off his clothes. This meant that Paul did not want to speak to those Jews again. Paul continued to teach in Corinth. But now he usually taught those who were not Jews. Most people who lived in Corinth were Greek. Greek means the language that people spoke in Greece. Or it means someone who comes from that country.}

7 So Paul did not speak in the Jewish meeting place any more. He went to stay in the house of Titius Justus, which was next to the meeting place. Justus was a Gentile who now worshipped God. 8 A man called Crispus was the leader of the Jewish meeting place there. He, and everyone else who lived in his house, believed in the Lord Jesus. Many other people in Corinth heard Paul’s message and they believed in Jesus. When they became believers, someone baptised them.

9 But one night, the Lord appeared to Paul in a dream. He said, ‘Do not be afraid of those people who are against you. Continue to speak my message to the people here. Do not stop speaking to them. 10 I am here with you. Nobody will hurt you. There are many people in this city who will believe in me.’

11 So Paul stayed in Corinth for 18 months and he taught the people God’s message about Jesus.

12 Gallio then became the Roman ruler of the region called Achaia. At this time the Jewish leaders in Corinth decided together to speak against Paul. So, they took hold of him and they brought him to Gallio. They wanted Gallio to judge Paul. ^{▼▼18:12 The men with authority in Rome caused Gallio to rule Greece in AD 51.}

13 The Jewish leaders said to Gallio, ‘This man is teaching people to worship God in a wrong way. The things that he teaches are against our Jewish law.’

14 Paul was ready to speak, but Gallio spoke first to the Jews. He said, ‘If this man had done a very bad thing, then I would judge him. It would be right for me to listen to you. 15 But you are arguing about words and names and your own Jewish law. So you yourselves must decide what to do about it. I will not be a judge to decide about these things.’ 16 Then Gallio told his soldiers to take the Jewish leaders away. 17 Then the whole crowd of people took hold of a man called Sosthenes. He was the leader of the Jewish meeting place there. The crowd hit him with sticks in front of Gallio. But Gallio did nothing to stop them. He did not think it was important.

Paul travels from Corinth to Antioch

18 Paul remained in Corinth with the believers for many days. Then he left them. Priscilla and Aquila also went with him. They went to the port called Cenchrea. They got on a boat there to sail to Syria. Before they left, someone cut off all the hair on Paul’s head. This showed that he had made a promise to God. ^{▼▼18:18 God had helped Paul to do many things in Corinth. Maybe he was saying thank you because God had helped him.}

19 They all arrived in the city called Ephesus. Paul left Priscilla and Aquila, and he went into the Jewish meeting room. There he talked about God’s message with the Jews. 20 Some of them asked Paul to remain in Ephesus with them for a longer time. But he did not agree to stay. 21 Before he left, he said to them, ‘If God wants me to come back, I will return to you.’ Then Paul got in a boat and he sailed from Ephesus to Caesarea. 22 When Paul arrived in Caesarea, he went on to Jerusalem. He said ‘hello’ to the group of believers there. Then he travelled to Antioch in Syria.

23 He stayed in Antioch for some time. Then he left there and he travelled through the regions called Galatia and Phrygia. He spoke to all the believers in these places. He helped them to trust God and to be strong.

These are some of the things that Apollos did

24 A certain Jewish man called Apollos arrived in Ephesus. He had been born in Alexandria, and he could teach people very well. He knew a lot about God’s message in the Bible. ^{▼▼18:24 Alexandria was an important city in Egypt and in the world. And people went there to learn many different things.} 25 Someone had taught him the good news about the Lord Jesus. He liked to speak a lot to people about Jesus. The things that he taught were true. But he only knew part of God’s message. He only knew the things that John taught about baptism. 26 Apollos went to the Jewish meeting place and he taught the people there. He was not afraid to speak God’s message to them. Priscilla and Aquila heard what Apollos was teaching the people. So they said to him, ‘Please come with us to our home.’ Then they explained to Apollos the whole of God’s message about Jesus. Then he could understand better.

27 Later, Apollos decided to go to the region called Achaia. The believers in Ephesus agreed that he should do that. They wrote a letter for him to give to the believers in Achaia. They wrote, ‘When Apollos arrives, please accept him.’ God had been very kind to the believers in Achaia, so that they believed in Jesus. When Apollos came to them, he helped them very much. 28 Some of the Jews there spoke against Apollos’ message. But he argued strongly against them so that everyone could hear. He explained to them what God had said in the Bible. He showed them clearly that Jesus is God’s Messiah.