1After this he left Athens and went to Corinth. 2There he fell in with a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, and his wife Priscilla; he had recently arrived from Italy because Claudius had issued an edict that all Jews should leave Rome. 3Paul approached them and, because he was of the same trade, he made his home with them, and they carried on business together; they were tent-makers. 4He also held discussions in the synagogue Sabbath by Sabbath, trying to convince both Jews and Gentiles.
5Then Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, and Paul devoted himself entirely to preaching, affirming before the Jews that the Messiah was Jesus. 6But when they opposed him and resorted to abuse, he shook out the skirts of his cloak and said to them, 'Your blood be on your own heads! My conscience is clear; now I shall go to the Gentiles.' 7With that he left, and went to the house of a worshipper of God named Titius Justus, who lived next door to the synagogue. 8Crispus, who held office in the synagogue, now became a believer in the Lord, with all his household; and a number of Corinthians listened and believed, and were baptized. 9One night in a vision the Lord said to Paul, 'Have no fear: go on with your preaching and do not be silenced, 10for I am with you and no one shall attempt to do you harm; and there are many in this city who are my people.' 11So he settled down for eighteen months, teaching the word of God among them.
12But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews set upon Paul in a body and brought him into court. 13'This man', they said, 'is inducing people to worship God in ways that are against the law.' 14Paul was just about to speak when Gallio said to them, 'If it had been a question of crime or grave misdemeanour, I should, of course, have given you Jews a patient hearing, 15but if it is some bickering about words and names and your Jewish law, you may see to it yourselves; I have no mind to be a judge of these matters.' 16And he had them ejected from the court. 17Then there was a general attack on Sosthenes, who held office in the synagogue, and they gave him a beating in full view of the bench. But all this left Gallio quite unconcerned.
18Paul stayed on for some time, and then took leave of the brotherhood and set sail for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had his hair cut off, because he was under a vow. 19When they reached Ephesus he parted from them and went himself into the synagogue, where he held a discussion with the Jews. 20He was asked to stay longer, but declined 21and set out from Ephesus, saying, as he took leave of them, 'I shall come back to you if it is God's will.' 22On landing at Caesarea, he went up and paid his respects to the church, and then went down to Antioch. 23After spending some time there, he set out again and made a journey through the Galatian country and on through Phrygia, bringing new strength to all the converts.
24NOW THERE ARRIVED at Ephesus a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, powerful in his use of the scriptures. 25He had been instructed in the way of the Lord and was full of spiritual fervour; and in his discourses he taught accurately the facts about Jesus, though he knew only John's baptism. 26He now began to speak boldly in the synagogue, where Priscilla and Aquila heard him; they took him in hand and expounded the new way to him in greater detail. 27Finding that he wished to go across to Achaia, the brotherhood gave him their support, and wrote to the congregation there to make him welcome. From the time of his arrival, he was very helpful to those who had by God's grace become believers; 28for he strenuously confuted the Jews, demonstrating publicly from the scriptures that the Messiah is Jesus.
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