Acts 18

1 After [following, subsequent to] this [these events, circumstances], Paul [the apostle, originally named Saul] left [departed from, separated from] Athens [the city, a center of culture and philosophy] and went [came, traveled] to [toward, into] Corinth [the city]. word study 2 There he found [met, encountered] a Jew [a person from Judah, of Hebrew descent] named Aquila [a man of Pontus, a Roman province], a native [born, originating] of Pontus, who had recently [lately, in the near past] come from Italy [a region in Europe, the Roman Empire] with his wife [partner, companion] Priscilla [a Christian woman, little Prisca] because Claudius [the Roman Emperor, a ruler] had ordered [commanded, decreed] all the Jews [people of Jewish descent, Israelites] to leave [depart, separate] Rome [the capital city, the center of the empire]. Paul went to visit [approach, come near] them, word study 3 and he stayed [remained, abode] and worked [labored, wrought] with them because they were [by occupation, as a trade] tentmakers [manufacturers of tents, skilled craftsmen] by trade [skill, craft], just as he was [similarly skilled, of the same craft]. word study 4 Every [each, every single] Sabbath [day of rest, seventh day] he reasoned [disputed, had discussions, debated] in the synagogue [gathering place, Jewish meeting house], trying to persuade [convince, win over] Jews [people of Judah, Jewish people] and [also, both] Greeks [Gentiles, non-Jews] alike [together, as one]. word study 5 And when Silas [a Christian companion] and Timothy [dear to God] came down [descended, traveled] from Macedonia [a region in Greece], Paul devoted himself fully [was constrained, compelled] to the word [the divine message], testifying [witnessing, bearing witness] to the Jews [people of Jewish descent] that Jesus [God is salvation] is the Christ [the anointed, Messiah]. word study 6 But when they opposed [resisted, stood against] and insulted [blasphemed, spoke evil of] him, he shook out [violently shook, removed the dust from] his garments [clothing, outer robe] and told them, “Your blood [the atoning blood, life force] be on your own heads [upon your own responsibility, guilt]! I am innocent [clean, pure] of it. From now on [from this time forward, henceforth] I will go to the Gentiles [non-Jewish people, nations].” word study 7 So Paul left [departed from, went away] the synagogue [a gathering place for Jewish worship] and went next door [close by, adjacent] to the house [home, dwelling] of Titus Justus [a God-fearing man, devout], a worshiper [one who reveres and adores] of God [the one true deity]. word study 8 Crispus [the chief ruler of the synagogue], the synagogue leader [in charge of synagogue services], and his whole household [all his family, every member] believed [trusted, had faith] in the Lord [God, the supreme authority]. And many [a large number, a great multitude] of the Corinthians [people from Corinth] who heard [listened, understood] the message [the word, the gospel] believed [trusted, had faith] and were baptized [immersed, fully wet]. word study 9 One night [in the darkness, during a vision] the Lord [the supreme Master] spoke [through a vision, by a divine message] to Paul [the apostle, originally named Saul] in a vision [a supernatural sight, an oracle]: “Do not be afraid [do not fear, have no anxiety]; keep on speaking [preach, proclaim, utter words]; do not be silent [hold not thy peace, refrain from speaking]. word study 10 For I [the Lord myself] am with you [by your side, accompanying you] and no one [none, nobody] will lay [put or impose] a hand on you [to harm or injure], because [for the reason that] I have many [a great multitude of] people [believers, followers] in this city [within this specific town].” word study 11 So Paul stayed [for eighteen months, a year and six months] for a year and a half [a year and six months], teaching [instructing, guiding] the word [Logos, the divine message] of God [the one true deity] among [in the midst of, surrounded by] the Corinthians. word study 12 While Gallio [the Roman proconsul] was proconsul [ruler, high-ranking government official] of Achaia [a region in ancient Greece], the Jews [people of Jewish descent] coordinated [united, made an insurrection] an attack [rose up against] on Paul [the apostle, originally named Saul] and brought [led, took] him before the judgment seat [the raised platform of a Roman magistrate]. word study 13 “This man [this particular individual] is persuading [to convince, influence] the people [human beings] to worship [revere and adore] God [the one true deity] in ways contrary [beside] to the law [a set of rules or regulations] [in a manner that is against, or aside from],” they said. word study 14 But just as Paul [the Roman apostle] was about to speak [open his mouth, defend himself], Gallio [the Roman proconsul] told the Jews [the Jewish leaders], “If this matter [case, issue] involved a wrongdoing [crime, evil deed] or vicious crime [reckless act, wicked lewdness], O Jews [Jewish people], it would be reasonable [according to reason, just] for me to hear [listen to, bear with] your complaint [case, accusation]. word study 15 But since it is a dispute [question, matter] about words [messages, ideas] and names [identities, authorities] and your own law [customs, regulations], settle it yourselves [look to it, attend to it]. I refuse [will not, am not willing] to be a judge [arbiter, decision maker] of such things [matters, issues].” word study 16 And [then, at that time] he [Gallio, the Roman proconsul] drove [ejected, dismissed] them [the Jewish leaders] away from [out of, from the presence of] the judgment seat [tribunal, place of judgment] [a raised platform where a Roman magistrate would sit to make judgments]. word study 17 At this, the crowd [all the Greeks, the multitude] seized Sosthenes [the chief ruler, leader] the synagogue [the Jewish meeting place, house of worship] leader and beat [struck, assaulted] him in front of [before, in the presence of] the judgment seat [the tribunal, place of judgment]. But none [no one, nothing] of this was of concern [cared, mattered] to Gallio [the Roman proconsul, governor]. word study 18 Paul remained [stayed on, tarried] in Corinth for quite some time [many days, a good while] before saying goodbye [taking his leave] to the brothers [brethren, fellow believers]. He had his head [the upper part of the body] shaved [shorn, cut short] in Cenchrea [a port city of Corinth] to keep [fulfill, complete] a vow [a prayer or promise to God] he had made [taken, sworn], and then he sailed [set sail, departed by ship] for Syria [a region in Asia], accompanied [together with, in the company of] by Priscilla [a Christian woman, little Prisca] and Aquila [an Israelite, a helper of Paul]. word study 19 When they reached [arrived at, came to] Ephesus [a city in Asia Minor], Paul parted ways [left behind, separated from] with Priscilla and Aquila [his companions, fellow workers]. He himself [personally, alone] went into [entered, came into] the synagogue [a gathering place, Jewish meeting house] there [in that place, at that location] and reasoned [discussed, disputed] with the Jews [the Jewish people, Israelites]. word study 20 When they asked [requested, desired] him to stay [remain, tarry] for a while longer [a longer time, some time], he declined [did not consent, refused, said no]. word study 21 But as he left [bade them farewell, took his leave], he said, “I will come back [return again] to you if God [the Almighty, Supreme Being] is willing [desires, permits].” And he set sail [departed, sailed away] from Ephesus [the city in Asia Minor]. word study 22 When Paul had landed [come to shore, arrived] at Caesarea [a city in Palestine], he went up [ascended, traveled to a higher place] and greeted [paid respects to, welcomed] the church [assembly, community of believers] at Jerusalem [the holy city]. Then he went down [descended, traveled to a lower place] to Antioch [a city in Syria, an important location for early Christianity]. word study 23 After Paul had spent [a while] some time in Antioch, he traveled [went forth, departed] from place to place throughout the region [country, territory] of Galatia [Galatic, related to Galatia] and Phrygia [a region in Asia Minor], strengthening [establishing, making strong] all [every, the whole] the disciples [learners, followers of Christ]. word study 24 Meanwhile a Jew [a person from Judah, of Jewish descent] named Apollos [a Jewish Christian leader], a native [born, from the city] of Alexandria, came to Ephesus [a city in Asia Minor]. He was an eloquent [learned, fluent] man, well versed [mighty, having great knowledge] in the Scriptures [holy Writings, the written Word of God]. word study 25 He had been instructed [trained, taught by word of mouth] in the way [path, road] of the Lord [the supreme authority] and was fervent [zealous, passionate] in spirit [the vital principle]. He spoke [uttered words, preached] and taught [instructed, guided] accurately [exactly, carefully] about Jesus [the Christ, the Messiah], though he knew [understood, was aware of] only [solely, merely] the baptism [ceremonial washing, immersion] of John [the Baptist, the forerunner]. word study 26 And he began [to rule, to commence] to speak boldly [with confidence, openly] in the synagogue [a gathering place, assembly]. When Priscilla [a Christian woman, little Prisca] and Aquila [a helper of Paul] heard him, they took him in [received, accepted him] and explained to him the way [road, path] of God [the one true deity] more accurately [exactly, carefully]. word study 27 When Apollos [was minded to, decided to] resolved to cross over to Achaia [a region in ancient Greece], the brothers [fellow Christians, believers] encouraged [urged forward, exhorted] him and wrote to the disciples [learners, followers of Christ] there to welcome [receive warmly, accept] him. On his arrival [when he came, after he had come], he was a great help [assisted much, helped greatly] to those who by [through, because of] grace [divine influence, unmerited favor] had believed [trusted in, had faith]. word study 28 For [because of this reason] he powerfully [mightily, with great vehemence] refuted [convinced, proved wrong] the Jews [people of Judah, Jewish leaders] in public [openly, for all to see] debate [discussion, argument], proving [showing, demonstrating] from the Scriptures [holy Writings, God’s word] that Jesus [Joshua, God is salvation] is [exists as, was] the Christ [Messiah, anointed one]. word study