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Paul visits Corinth

18 After Paul had spoken to the important officers of Athens, he left the city. He went from there to the city of Corinth.[a]

In Corinth, he met a man called Aquila. Aquila was a Jew. He had been born in the region of Pontus. At that time, Caesar Claudius had said that all Jews must leave Rome. So Aquila had left Italy and he had just arrived in Corinth with his wife Priscilla. Paul went to visit them. They knew how to make tents which they could sell to people. Paul also made tents, so he stayed with them and he worked with them.

Every Jewish day of rest, Paul taught both Jews and Greek people in the Jewish meeting place. He wanted them all to believe the good news about Jesus.

Then Silas and Timothy arrived there from the country called Macedonia. After that, the only work that Paul did was to teach people God's message. He told the Jews clearly that Jesus is God's Messiah. The Jews did not agree with Paul and they insulted him. So he shook the dirt off his clothes at them.[b] He said to them, ‘If God punishes you, then you have caused it to happen. It will not be because of me. Now I will go to the Gentiles and I will teach them God's message.’

So Paul did not speak in the Jewish meeting place any more.[c] Instead, he went to the house of Titius Justus, which was next to the meeting place. Justus was a Gentile who now worshipped God. A man called Crispus was the leader of the Jewish meeting place there. He, and everyone else who lived in his house, believed in the Lord Jesus. Many other people in Corinth heard Paul's message and they believed in Jesus. When they became believers, someone baptized them.

But one night, the Lord appeared to Paul in a vision. He said, ‘Do not be afraid of those people who are against you. Continue to speak my message to the people here. Do not stop speaking to them. 10 I am here with you. Nobody will hurt you. There are many people in this city who will believe in me.’

11 So Paul stayed in Corinth for 18 months and he taught the people God's message about Jesus.

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Footnotes

  1. 18:1 Corinth is a city in Greece, about 75 kilometres from Athens.
  2. 18:6 Paul cleaned the dirt off his clothes. This meant that Paul did not want to speak to those Jews again.
  3. 18:7 Paul continued to teach in Corinth. But now he usually taught those who were not Jews. Most people who lived in Corinth were Greek.