Acts 18 - New Catholic Bible (NCB)

Chapter 18

Paul in Corinth.^{[a] 1} At that point, Paul departed from Athens and moved on to Corinth. ² There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius^[b] had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. He went to visit them, ³ and because they were tentmakers just as he was, he stayed with them and they worked together.^{[c] 4} Every Sabbath, he entered into discussions in the synagogue, attempting to convert both Jews and Greeks.

⁵ After Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul devoted all his efforts to preaching the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. ⁶ When they opposed him and began to hurl insults, he shook out his garments in protest and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I have a clear conscience. From now on, I will go to the Gentiles.”

⁷ With that, he left and went to the house of a man named Titus Justus, a worshiper of God, who lived next door to the synagogue. ⁸ Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, became a believer in the Lord along with his entire household. Many Corinthians who heard Paul came to believe and were baptized.

⁹ One night, the Lord appeared to Paul in a vision^[d] and said, “Do not be afraid. Continue with your preaching, and do not be silent, ¹⁰ for I am with you. No one will attack you or try to harm you, for there are many in this city who are my people.” ¹¹ And so he remained there for eighteen months, teaching the word of God to them.

¹² Accusations before Gallio. However, when Gallio became proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a concerted attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, ¹³ saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God in ways that are contrary to the Law.”

¹⁴ Just as Paul was about to refute them, Gallio said to the Jews, “If you were accusing this man of some crime or fraudulent act, O Jews, I would be more than willing to listen to your complaint. ¹⁵ But since your argument is about words and names and your own Law, settle it yourselves. I have no intention of making judgments about such matters.” ¹⁶ With that, he dismissed them from the tribunal. ¹⁷ Then they all attacked Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio remained unconcerned about their action.

¹⁸ Return to Antioch in Pisidia.^[e] After he remained in Corinth for some considerable time, Paul took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae, he had his hair cut because he had taken a vow.

¹⁹ When they reached Ephesus,^[f] he left them there. He himself went into the synagogue and had discussions with the Jews. ²⁰ When they asked him to stay longer, he declined, ²¹ but on taking leave of them he promised, “I will return to you, if God wills.” Then he set sail from Ephesus. ²² When he landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the Church,^[g] and then he went down to Antioch.

Ephesus^[h]

Paul’s Third Missionary Journey^[i]

²³ Paul Strengthens the Churches. After spending some time there, he departed and traveled through the regions of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

²⁴ Apollos.^[j] Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria and an eloquent speaker, came to Ephesus. He was well-versed in the Scriptures, ²⁵ and he had been instructed in the Way of the Lord. Filled with spiritual fervor, he spoke and taught accurately about Jesus, although he had experienced only the baptism of John.

²⁶ He then began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him more accurately the Way. ²⁷ And when he expressed a wish to cross over to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there, asking that they make him welcome. From the time of his arrival, he was of great help to those who by the grace of God had become believers. ²⁸ For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public, establishing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.

Footnotes

1. Acts 18:1 These passages deal with one of Paul’s most important activities. The great city of Corinth was at that time a cosmopolitan place and had a rather bad reputation due to the erotic cult of the goddess Aphrodite.
   With its reference to Gallio in verse 12, the account provides us with a sure chronological clue to the events reported, since an inscription enables us to pinpoint the proconsulate of Gallio, a brother of Seneca, to the years A.D. 51–52 or 52–53.
2. Acts 18:2 Claudius: Emperor of Rome from A.D. 41 to 54. He expelled the Jews from Rome because of “their continuous tumults instigated by Chrestus,” a common misspelling for “Christ.” Needless to say, the tumults were instigated not by Christ but by the differing opinions people held about him.
3. Acts 18:3 Paul was probably taught the trade of tentmaker in his youth, in accord with the Jewish custom of giving manual training to sons.
4. Acts 18:9 In a vision: Paul now glimpses in a vision (see Acts 23:11) the Lord whom he has already seen in a resurrected body at his conversion (see Acts 9:4-6; 1 Cor 15:8) and in the temple in ecstasy (see Acts 22:17-18).
5. Acts 18:18 After more than two and a half years of labor in Corinth, Paul embarks for Antioch. The Nazirite vow was a special consecration to God, usually lasting 30 days and taking the form of a special way of life (see Num 6:1-21).
   Instead of reaching Antioch Paul lands at Ephesus, which will soon become the center of the following cycle of the Book. He leaves Priscilla and Aquila there, who will become the nucleus of a Christian community.
6. Acts 18:19 Ephesus: a leading city of Asia Minor and the capital of the province of Asia, where the temple of Artemis (Diana) was located.
7. Acts 18:22 He went up and greeted the Church: although this could refer to a congregation in Caesarea, the words “he went up” indicate that it was the Church at Jerusalem, which was about 2500 feet above sea level.
8. Acts 18:23 According to the author of Acts, Ephesus is the third center for the spread of God’s word. The city was a great center of commerce, and in it the cultural and religious currents of the Greco-Roman world and the East came together. Paul remains there for more than two years, and it is thought that he there wrote the Letters to the Corinthians, the Philippians, and perhaps the Galatians. Later on, the Letter to the Ephesians, one of the imprisonment letters, would be addressed to this community.
   The early Church was now encountering other religious currents (besides the Judaic), and non-Jewish life was coming to the fore. The essence of the faith had to be brought out in the face of multiple cultural influences.
9. Acts 18:23 Paul remains at Syrian Antioch for some time, probably through the spring of 53, and then starts his third missionary journey. Setting out for Ephesus, some 1500 miles to the west, he revisits the Churches around Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. The account of this third journey focuses on his work at Ephesus (Acts 19:1—20:1).
10. Acts 18:24 Apollos is a talented preacher who knows the Scriptures and instructs in the new Way of the Lord. He speaks and teaches accurately about Jesus, although he knows only of John’s baptism. He, too, begins to express himself fearlessly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila hear him, they take him home and explain to him God’s new Way in greater detail. Some scholars believe that he was the author of the Letter to the Hebrews.