Acts 18-20

Contemporary English Version

Paul in Corinth

18 Paul left Athens and went to Corinth, ² where he met Aquila, a Jewish man from Pontus. Not long before this, Aquila had come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Emperor Claudius had ordered the Jewish people to leave Rome.^[a] Paul went to see Aquila and Priscilla ³ and found out they were tent makers. Paul was also a tent maker, so he stayed with them, and they worked together.

⁴ Every Sabbath, Paul went to the synagogue. He spoke to Jews and Gentiles^[b] and tried to win them over. ⁵ But after Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, he spent all his time preaching to the Jews about Jesus the Messiah. ⁶ Finally, they turned against him and insulted him. So he shook the dust from his clothes^[c] and told them, “Whatever happens to you will be your own fault! I am not to blame. From now on I am going to preach to the Gentiles.”

⁷ Paul then moved into the house of a man named Titius Justus, who worshiped God and lived next door to the synagogue. ⁸ Crispus was the leader of the synagogue. He and everyone in his family put their faith in the Lord. Many others in Corinth also heard the message, and all the people who had faith in the Lord were baptized.

⁹ One night, Paul had a vision, and in it the Lord said, “Don't be afraid to keep on preaching. Don't stop! ¹⁰ I am with you, and you won't be harmed. Many people in this city belong to me.” ¹¹ Paul stayed on in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching God's message to the people.

¹² While Gallio was governor of Achaia, some of the Jewish leaders got together and grabbed Paul. They brought him into court ¹³ and said, “This man is trying to make our people worship God in a way that is against our Law!”

¹⁴ Even before Paul could speak, Gallio said, “If you were charging this man with a crime or some other wrong, I would have to listen to you. ¹⁵ But since this concerns only words, names, and your own law, you will have to take care of it yourselves. I refuse to judge such matters.” ¹⁶ Then he sent them out of the court. ¹⁷ The crowd grabbed Sosthenes, the Jewish leader, and beat him up in front of the court. But none of this mattered to Gallio.

Paul Returns to Antioch in Syria

^18 (A) After Paul had stayed for a while with the Lord's followers in Corinth, he told them goodbye and sailed on to Syria with Aquila and Priscilla. But before he left, he had his head shaved^[d] at Cenchreae because he had made a promise to God.

¹⁹ The three of them arrived in Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He then went into the synagogue to talk with the people there. ²⁰ They asked him to stay longer, but he refused. ²¹ He told them goodbye and said, “If God lets me, I will come back.”

²² Paul sailed to Caesarea, where he greeted the church. Then he went on to Antioch. ²³ After staying there for a while, he left and visited several places in Galatia and Phrygia. He helped the followers there to become stronger in their faith.

Apollos in Ephesus

²⁴ A Jewish man named Apollos came to Ephesus. Apollos had been born in the city of Alexandria. He was a very good speaker and knew a lot about the Scriptures. ²⁵ He also knew much about the Lord's Way,^[e] and he spoke about it with great excitement. What he taught about Jesus was right, but all he knew was John's message about baptism.

²⁶ Apollos started speaking bravely in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him to their home and helped him understand God's Way even better.

²⁷ Apollos decided to travel through Achaia. So the Lord's followers wrote letters, encouraging the followers there to welcome him. After Apollos arrived in Achaia, he was a great help to everyone who had put their faith in the Lord Jesus because of God's gift of undeserved grace. ²⁸ He got into fierce arguments with the Jewish people, and in public he used the Scriptures to prove that Jesus is the Messiah.

Paul in Ephesus

19 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled across the hill country to Ephesus, where he met some of the Lord's followers. ² He asked them, “When you put your faith in Jesus, were you given the Holy Spirit?”

“No!” they answered. “We have never even heard of the Holy Spirit.”

³ “Then why were you baptized?” Paul asked.

They answered, “Because of what John taught.”^[f]

^4 (B) Paul replied, “John baptized people so they would turn to God. But he also told them someone else was coming, and they should put their faith in him. Jesus is the one that John was talking about.” ⁵ After the people heard Paul say this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ Then Paul placed his hands on them. The Holy Spirit was given to them, and they spoke unknown languages and prophesied. ⁷ There were about twelve men in this group.

⁸ For three months Paul went to the synagogue and talked bravely with the people about God's kingdom. He tried to win them over, ⁹ but some of them were stubborn and refused to believe. In front of everyone they said terrible things about God's Way. Paul left and took the followers with him to the lecture hall of Tyrannus. He spoke there every day ¹⁰ for two years, until every Jew and Gentile^[g] in Asia had heard the Lord's message.

The Sons of Sceva

¹¹ God gave Paul the power to work great miracles. ¹² People even took handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched Paul's body, and they carried them to everyone who was sick. All of the sick people were healed, and the evil spirits went out.

¹³ Some Jewish men started going around trying to force out evil spirits by using the name of the Lord Jesus. They said to the spirits, “Come out in the name of that same Jesus that Paul preaches about!”

¹⁴ Seven sons of a high priest named Sceva were doing this, ¹⁵ when an evil spirit said to them, “I know Jesus! And I have heard about Paul. But who are you?” ¹⁶ Then the man with the evil spirit jumped on them and beat them up. They ran out of the house, naked and bruised.

¹⁷ When the Jews and Gentiles^[h] in Ephesus heard about this, they were so frightened that they praised the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁸ Many who were followers now started telling everyone about the evil things they had been doing. ¹⁹ Some who had been practicing witchcraft even brought their books and burned them in public. These books were worth about 50,000 silver coins. ²⁰ So the Lord's message spread and became even more powerful.

The Riot in Ephesus

²¹ After all this had happened, Paul decided^[i] to visit Macedonia and Achaia on his way to Jerusalem. Paul had said, “From there I will go on to Rome.” ²² So he sent his two helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia. But he stayed on in Asia for a while.

²³ At that time there was serious trouble because of the Lord's Way.^{[j] 24} A silversmith named Demetrius had a business that made silver models of the temple of the goddess Artemis. Those who worked for him earned a lot of money. ²⁵ Demetrius brought together everyone who was in the same business and said:

Friends, you know we make a good living at this. ²⁶ But you have surely seen and heard how this man Paul is upsetting a lot of people, not only in Ephesus, but almost everywhere in Asia. He claims that the gods we humans make are not really gods at all. ²⁷ Everyone will start saying terrible things about our business. They will stop respecting the temple of the goddess Artemis, who is worshiped in Asia and all over the world. Our great goddess will be forgotten!

²⁸ When the workers heard this, they got angry and started shouting, “Great is Artemis, the goddess of the Ephesians!” ²⁹ Soon the whole city was in a riot, and some men grabbed Gaius and Aristarchus, who had come from Macedonia with Paul. Then everyone in the crowd rushed to the place where the town meetings were held.

³⁰ Paul wanted to go out and speak to the people, but the Lord's followers would not let him. ³¹ A few of the local officials were friendly to Paul, and they sent someone to warn him not to go.

³² Some of the people in the meeting were shouting one thing, and others were shouting something else. Everyone was completely confused, and most of them did not even know why they were there.

³³ Several of the Jewish leaders pushed a man named Alexander to the front of the crowd and started telling him what to say. He motioned with his hand and tried to explain what was going on. ³⁴ But when the crowd saw that he was Jewish, they all shouted for two hours, “Great is Artemis, the goddess of the Ephesians!”

³⁵ Finally, a town official made the crowd be quiet. Then he said:

People of Ephesus, who in the world doesn't know that our city is the center for worshiping the great goddess Artemis? Who doesn't know that her image which fell from heaven is right here? ³⁶ No one can deny this, and so you should calm down and not do anything foolish. ³⁷ You have brought men in here who have not robbed temples or spoken against our goddess.

³⁸ If Demetrius and his workers have a case against these men, we have courts and judges. Let them take their complaints there. ³⁹ But if you want to do more than that, the matter will have to be brought before the city council. ⁴⁰ We could easily be accused of starting a riot today. There is no excuse for it! We cannot even give a reason for this uproar.

⁴¹ After saying this, he told the people to leave.

Paul Goes through Macedonia and Greece

20 When the riot was over, Paul sent for the followers and encouraged them. He then told them goodbye and left for Macedonia. ² As he traveled from place to place, he encouraged the followers with many messages. Finally, he went to Greece^{[k] 3} and stayed there for three months.

Paul was about to sail to Syria. But some of the Jewish leaders plotted against him, so he decided to return by way of Macedonia. ⁴ With him were Sopater, son of Pyrrhus from Berea, and Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica. Gaius from Derbe was also with him, and so were Timothy and the two Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus. ⁵ They went on ahead to Troas and waited for us there. ⁶ After the Festival of Thin Bread, we sailed from Philippi. Five days later we met them in Troas and stayed there for a week.

Paul's Last Visit to Troas

⁷ On the first day of the week^[l] we met to break bread together.^[m] Paul spoke to the people until midnight because he was leaving the next morning. ⁸ In the upstairs room where we were meeting, there were a lot of lamps. ⁹ A young man by the name of Eutychus was sitting on a window sill. While Paul was speaking, the young man got very sleepy. Finally, he went to sleep and fell three floors all the way down to the ground. When they picked him up, he was dead.

¹⁰ Paul went down and bent over Eutychus. He took him in his arms and said, “Don't worry! He's alive.” ¹¹ After Paul had gone back upstairs, he broke bread, and ate with us. He then spoke until dawn and left. ¹² Then the followers took the young man home alive and were very happy.

The Voyage from Troas to Miletus

¹³ Paul decided to travel by land to Assos. The rest of us went on ahead by ship, and we were to take him aboard there. ¹⁴ When he met us in Assos, he came aboard, and we sailed on to Mitylene. ¹⁵ The next day we came to a place near Chios, and the following day we reached Samos. The day after that we sailed to Miletus. ¹⁶ Paul had decided to sail on past Ephesus, because he did not want to spend too much time in Asia. He was in a hurry and wanted to be in Jerusalem in time for Pentecost.^[n]

Paul Says Goodbye to the Church Leaders of Ephesus

¹⁷ From Miletus, Paul sent a message for the church leaders at Ephesus to come and meet with him. ¹⁸ When they got there, he said:

You know everything I did during the time I was with you when I first came to Asia. ¹⁹ Some of the Jews plotted against me and caused me a lot of sorrow and trouble. But I served the Lord and was humble. ²⁰ When I preached in public or taught in your homes, I didn't hold back from telling anything that would help you. ²¹ I told Jews and Gentiles to turn to God and have faith in our Lord Jesus.

²² I don't know what will happen to me in Jerusalem, but I must obey God's Spirit and go there. ²³ In every city I visit, I am told by the Holy Spirit that I will be put in jail and will be in trouble in Jerusalem. ^24 (C) But I don't care what happens to me, as long as I finish the work the Lord Jesus gave me to do. And this work is to tell the good news about God's gift of undeserved grace.

²⁵ I have gone from place to place, preaching to you about God's kingdom, but now I know that none of you will ever see me again. ²⁶ I tell you today I am no longer responsible for any of you! ²⁷ I have told you everything God wants you to know. ²⁸ Look after yourselves and everyone the Holy Spirit has placed in your care. Be like shepherds to God's church. It is the flock he bought with the blood of his own Son.^[o]

²⁹ I know that after I am gone, others will come like fierce wolves to attack you. ³⁰ Some of your own people will tell lies to win over the Lord's followers. ³¹ Be on your guard! Remember how day and night for three years I kept warning you with tears in my eyes.

³² I now place you in God's care. Remember the message about his gift of undeserved grace! This message can help you and give you what belongs to you as God's people. ³³ I have never wanted anyone's money or clothes. ³⁴ You know how I have worked with my own hands to make a living for myself and my friends. ³⁵ By everything I did, I showed how you should work to help everyone who is weak. Remember that our Lord Jesus said, “More blessings come from giving than from receiving.”

³⁶ After Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. ³⁷ Everyone cried and hugged and kissed him. ³⁸ They were especially sad because Paul had told them, “You will never see me again.”

Then they went with him to the ship.