- 1After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth;
- 2And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them.
- 3And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.
- 4And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.
- 5And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ.
- 6And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.
- 7 And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man’s house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue.
- 8And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.
- 9Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace:
- 10For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.
- 11And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
- 12 And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat,
- 13Saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law.
- 14And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you:
- 15But if it be a question of words and names, and of your law, look ye to it; for I will be no judge of such matters.
- 16And he drave them from the judgment seat.
- 17Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. And Gallio cared for none of those things.
- 18 And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow.
- 19And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews.
- 20When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not;
- 21But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus.
- 22And when he had landed at Cæsarea, and gone up, and saluted the church, he went down to Antioch.
- 23And after he had spent some time there, he departed, and went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.
- 24 And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.
- 25This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.
- 26And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.
- 27And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace:
- 28For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.
KING JAMES VERSION
ACTS 18
Read the chapter, follow a linked verse, and continue into related Watchman 33 teaching.
CHAPTER VISUAL
Acts 18 — Paul labors and teaches with Priscilla and Aquila in Corinth as households believe, the Lord strengthens his witness, and Apollos grows in understanding.
About this illustration
Tentmaking, teaching, shared ministry, and nearby baptism are combined from Paul’s long Corinthian stay. Apollos’s later instruction in Ephesus is not separately staged, and Priscilla is shown as an active fellow worker.
Scripture basis: Acts 18:1–28King James Version · Standardized 1769 text with Strong’s numbering · Public domain outside the United Kingdom
EXPLORE THE MESSAGE
Related Watchman 33 Resources
Archaeological Evidence
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEInscription
Approximately AD 51–52
The Gallio Inscription: A Date for Paul in Corinth
Fragments of an imperial letter from Delphi name Gallio as proconsul of Achaia. Because Claudius's titulature dates the letter closely, the inscription supplies the strongest external chronological anchor for Paul's Corinthian ministry in Acts 18 without mentioning Paul or the hearing itself.
Acts 18:1–18 · Acts 18:2–3 · Acts 18:9–11
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEArchitecture
Early Roman imperial period, principally first century AD
Corinth Tribunal (Bema)
A monumental marble-faced rostra in Corinth's Roman forum provides the civic setting for public address and adjudication described in Acts 18, though archaeology cannot identify the precise spot where Paul stood.
Acts 18:12–17 · 2 Corinthians 5:10
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
4th Century
Papyrus P38: Acts 18:27–28 in a Greek Witness
Michigan Papyrus 1571, or P38, is a three-piece leaf from about AD 300 preserving Acts 18:27–19:6 and 19:12–16 in a distinctive text closely related at points to Codex Bezae.
Acts 18:27–28 · Acts 19:1–6 · Acts 19:12–16
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEInscription
Roman imperial period, commonly second–third centuries AD
“Synagogue of the Hebrews” Lintel at Corinth
A fragmentary Greek marble lintel from Corinth preserves the words “[Syna]gogue of the Hebrews,” independently attesting a Jewish congregation in the city.
Acts 18:1–17 · 1 Corinthians 1:1–2
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
eighth century AD (palaeographic estimate)
Papyrus P41: Greek–Coptic Acts 17–22
Gregory-Aland P41 is an eighth-century bilingual papyrus codex in Vienna whose eleven fragments preserve Greek and Sahidic Coptic portions of Acts 17–22.
Acts 17:28–31 · Acts 17:34 · Acts 18:1–2
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEArchitecture
2nd–1st centuries BC with Roman-period use
Ancient Synagogue on Delos
A waterfront assembly building, benches, inscriptions, and dedications on Delos provide important—though debated—evidence for organized Jewish or Israelite life in the Hellenistic and Roman Aegean.
Acts 13:5 · Acts 17:1–2 · Acts 18:4
View all 9 archaeology resources
- Isthmian Games Sanctuary
- Claudius' Letter to the Alexandrians (P.Lond. VI 1912)
- Uncial 0142: A Complete Apostolos with Commentary
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