In Corinth

¹After this, Paul left Athens and went on to Corinth.

²There he met a Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, for Emperor Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them,

³and stayed and worked with them, because he earned his living by making tents, just as they did.

⁴He held discussions in the synagogue every Sabbath, trying to convince both Jews and Greeks.

⁵When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul gave his whole time to preaching the message, testifying to the Jews that Jesus is the Messiah.

⁶When they opposed him and said evil things about him, he protested by shaking the dust from his clothes and saying to them, “If you are lost, you yourselves must take the blame for it! I am not responsible. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

⁷So he left them and went to live in the house of a Gentile named Titius Justus, who worshiped God; his house was next to the synagogue.

⁸Crispus, who was the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with all his family; and many other people in Corinth heard the message, believed, and were baptized.

⁹One night Paul had a vision in which the Lord said to him, “Do not be afraid, but keep on speaking and do not give up,

¹⁰for I am with you. No one will be able to harm you, for many in this city are my people.”

¹¹So Paul stayed there for a year and a half, teaching the people the word of God.

¹²When Gallio was made the Roman governor of Achaia, Jews there got together, seized Paul, and took him into court.

¹³“This man,” they said, “is trying to persuade people to worship God in a way that is against the law!”

¹⁴Paul was about to speak when Gallio said to the Jews, “If this were a matter of some evil crime or wrong that has been committed, it would be reasonable for me to be patient with you Jews.

¹⁵But since it is an argument about words and names and your own law, you yourselves must settle it. I will not be the judge of such things!”

¹⁶And he drove them out of the court.

¹⁷They all grabbed Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the court. But that did not bother Gallio a bit.

The Return to Antioch

¹⁸Paul stayed on with the believers in Corinth for many days, then left them and sailed off with Priscilla and Aquila for Syria. Before sailing from Cenchreae he had his head shaved because of a vow he had taken.

¹⁹They arrived in Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He went into the synagogue and held discussions with the Jews.

²⁰The people asked him to stay longer, but he would not consent.

²¹Instead, he told them as he left, “If it is the will of God, I will come back to you.” And so he sailed from Ephesus.

²²When he arrived at Caesarea, he went to Jerusalem and greeted the church, and then went to Antioch.

²³After spending some time there, he left and went through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the believers.

Apollos in Ephesus and Corinth

²⁴At that time a Jew named Apollos, who had been born in Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent speaker and had a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures.

²⁵He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord, and with great enthusiasm he proclaimed and taught correctly the facts about Jesus. However, he knew only the baptism of John.

²⁶He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him home with them and explained to him more correctly the Way of God.

²⁷Apollos then decided to go to Achaia, so the believers in Ephesus helped him by writing to the believers in Achaia, urging them to welcome him. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who through God's grace had become believers.

²⁸For with his strong arguments he defeated the Jews in public debates by proving from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah.

The Offering for Needy Believers

¹Now, concerning what you wrote about the money to be raised to help God's people in Judea. You must do what I told the churches in Galatia to do.

²Every Sunday each of you must put aside some money, in proportion to what you have earned, and save it up, so that there will be no need to collect money when I come.

³After I come, I shall give letters of introduction to those you have approved, and send them to take your gift to Jerusalem.

⁴If it seems worthwhile for me to go, then they can go along with me.

Paul's Plans

⁵I shall come to you after I have gone through Macedonia—for I have to go through Macedonia.

⁶I shall probably spend some time with you, perhaps the whole winter, and then you can help me to continue my trip, wherever it is I shall go next.

⁷I want to see you more than just briefly in passing; I hope to spend quite a long time with you, if the Lord allows.

⁸I will stay here in Ephesus until the day of Pentecost.

⁹There is a real opportunity here for great and worthwhile work, even though there are many opponents.

¹⁰If Timothy comes your way, be sure to make him feel welcome among you, because he is working for the Lord, just as I am.

¹¹No one should look down on him, but you must help him continue his trip in peace, so that he will come back to me; for I am expecting him back with the believers.

¹²Now, about brother Apollos. I have often encouraged him to visit you with the other believers, but he is not completely convinced that he should go at this time. When he gets the chance, however, he will go.

Final Words

¹³Be alert, stand firm in the faith, be brave, be strong.

¹⁴Do all your work in love.

¹⁵You know about Stephanas and his family; they are the first Christian converts in Achaia and have given themselves to the service of God's people. I beg you, my friends,

¹⁶to follow the leadership of such people as these, and of anyone else who works and serves with them.

¹⁷I am happy about the coming of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus; they have made up for your absence

¹⁸and have cheered me up, just as they cheered you up. Such men as these deserve notice.

¹⁹The churches in the province of Asia send you their greetings; Aquila and Priscilla and the church that meets in their house send warm Christian greetings.

²⁰All the believers here send greetings. Greet one another with the kiss of peace.

²¹With my own hand I write this: Greetings from Paul.

²²Whoever does not love the Lord—a curse on him! Marana tha—Our Lord, come!

²³The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.

²⁴My love be with you all in Christ Jesus.

¹⁹A hard-working farmer has plenty to eat. People who waste time will always be poor.

²⁰Honest people will lead a full, happy life. But if you are in a hurry to get rich, you are going to be punished.

²¹Prejudice is wrong. But some judges will do wrong to get even the smallest bribe.