Acts 18-21

English Standard Version

Paul in Corinth

18 After this Paul^[a] left Athens and went to Corinth. ² And he found a Jew named ^(A)Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife ^(B)Priscilla, because ^(C)Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, ³ and ^(D)because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. ⁴ And ^(E)he reasoned in the synagogue ^(F)every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.

^5 (G)When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul ^(H)was occupied with the word, ^(I)testifying to the Jews that the Christ was ^(J)Jesus. ⁶ And when they opposed and reviled him, ^(K)he shook out his garments and said to them, ^(L)“Your blood be on your own heads! ^(M)I am innocent. ^(N)From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” ⁷ And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius ^(O)Justus, ^(P)a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. ^8 (Q)Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together ^(R)with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. ⁹ And the Lord said to Paul ^(S)one night in ^(T)a vision, ^(U)“Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, ^10 (V)for I am with you, and ^(W)no one will attack you to harm you, for ^(X)I have many in this city who are my people.” ¹¹ And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

¹² But when Gallio was ^(Y)proconsul of Achaia, ^(Z)the Jews^[b] made a united attack on Paul and ^(AA)brought him before the tribunal, ¹³ saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to ^(AB)the law.” ¹⁴ But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious ^(AC)crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. ¹⁵ But ^(AD)since it is a matter of questions about words and names and ^(AE)your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things.” ¹⁶ And he drove them from the tribunal. ¹⁷ And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this.

Paul Returns to Antioch

¹⁸ After this, Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of ^(AF)the brothers^[c] and set sail for Syria, and with him ^(AG)Priscilla and Aquila. At ^(AH)Cenchreae ^(AI)he had cut his hair, for he was under a vow. ¹⁹ And they came to ^(AJ)Ephesus, and he left them there, but ^(AK)he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. ²⁰ When they asked him to stay for a longer period, he declined. ²¹ But on taking leave of them he said, “I will return to you ^(AL)if God wills,” and he set sail from Ephesus.

²² When he had landed at Caesarea, he ^(AM)went up and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch. ²³ After spending some time there, he departed and ^(AN)went from one place to the next through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, ^(AO)strengthening all the disciples.

Apollos Speaks Boldly in Ephesus

²⁴ Now a Jew named ^(AP)Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, ^(AQ)competent in the Scriptures. ²⁵ He had been instructed in ^(AR)the way of the Lord. And ^(AS)being fervent in spirit,^[d] he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only ^(AT)the baptism of John. ²⁶ He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when ^(AU)Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him ^(AV)the way of God more accurately. ²⁷ And when he wished to cross to ^(AW)Achaia, ^(AX)the brothers encouraged him and ^(AY)wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, ^(AZ)he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, ²⁸ for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures ^(BA)that the Christ was Jesus.

Paul in Ephesus

19 And it happened that while ^(BB)Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed ^(BC)through the inland^[e] country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. ² And he said to them, ^(BD)“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, ^(BE)we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” ³ And he said, ^(BF)“Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into ^(BG)John's baptism.” ⁴ And Paul said, ^(BH)“John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people ^(BI)to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” ⁵ On hearing this, ^(BJ)they were baptized in^[f] the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ And ^(BK)when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and ^(BL)they began speaking in tongues and ^(BM)prophesying. ⁷ There were about twelve men in all.

⁸ And ^(BN)he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them ^(BO)about the kingdom of God. ^9 (BP)But when some became stubborn and ^(BQ)continued in unbelief, speaking evil of ^(BR)the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus.^{[g] 10} This continued for ^(BS)two years, so that ^(BT)all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

The Sons of Sceva

¹¹ And ^(BU)God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, ^12 (BV)so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and ^(BW)the evil spirits came out of them. ¹³ Then some of the itinerant Jewish ^(BX)exorcists ^(BY)undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, ^(BZ)“I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” ¹⁴ Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. ¹⁵ But the evil spirit answered them, ^(CA)“Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” ¹⁶ And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all^[h] of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. ¹⁷ And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and ^(CB)the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. ¹⁸ Also many of those who were now believers came, ^(CC)confessing and divulging their practices. ¹⁹ And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. ²⁰ So the word of the Lord ^(CD)continued to increase and prevail mightily.

A Riot at Ephesus

²¹ Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit ^(CE)to pass through ^(CF)Macedonia and Achaia and ^(CG)go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, ^(CH)I must also see Rome.” ²² And having sent into Macedonia two of ^(CI)his helpers, ^(CJ)Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia ^(CK)for a while.

²³ About that time ^(CL)there arose no little disturbance concerning ^(CM)the Way. ²⁴ For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, ^(CN)brought no little business to the craftsmen. ^25 (CO)These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. ²⁶ And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, ^(CP)saying that ^(CQ)gods made with hands are not gods. ²⁷ And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the ^(CR)great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”

²⁸ When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, ^(CS)“Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” ²⁹ So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and ^(CT)Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul's ^(CU)companions in travel. ³⁰ But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him. ³¹ And even some of the Asiarchs,^[i] who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater. ^32 (CV)Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. ³³ Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander, ^(CW)motioning with his hand, wanted to make a defense to the crowd. ³⁴ But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, ^(CX)“Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

³⁵ And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from ^(CY)the sky?^{[j] 36} Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. ³⁷ For you have brought ^(CZ)these men here who are neither ^(DA)sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. ³⁸ If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are ^(DB)proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. ³⁹ But if you seek anything further,^[k] it shall be settled in the regular assembly. ⁴⁰ For we really are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.” ⁴¹ And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.

Paul in Macedonia and Greece

20 After the uproar ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he said farewell and ^(DC)departed for Macedonia. ² When he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece. ³ There he spent three months, and when ^(DD)a plot was made against him by the Jews^[l] as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. ⁴ Sopater the Berean, son of Pyrrhus, accompanied him; and of the Thessalonians, ^(DE)Aristarchus and Secundus; and ^(DF)Gaius of Derbe, and ^(DG)Timothy; and the Asians, ^(DH)Tychicus and ^(DI)Trophimus. ⁵ These went on ahead and were waiting for ^(DJ)us at ^(DK)Troas, ⁶ but we sailed away from Philippi after ^(DL)the days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we came to them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days.

Eutychus Raised from the Dead

^7 (DM)On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together ^(DN)to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight. ⁸ There were many lamps in ^(DO)the upper room where we were gathered. ⁹ And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer. And being overcome by sleep, he ^(DP)fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. ¹⁰ But Paul went down and ^(DQ)bent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, ^(DR)“Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.” ¹¹ And when Paul had gone up and ^(DS)had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed. ¹² And they took the youth away alive, and were not a little comforted.

¹³ But going ahead to the ship, we set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there, for so he had arranged, intending himself to go by land. ¹⁴ And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and went to Mitylene. ¹⁵ And sailing from there we came the following day opposite Chios; the next day we touched at Samos; and^[m] the day after that we went to Miletus. ¹⁶ For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia, for he was hastening ^(DT)to be at Jerusalem, if possible, ^(DU)on the day of Pentecost.

Paul Speaks to the Ephesian Elders

¹⁷ Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called ^(DV)the elders of the church to come to him. ¹⁸ And when they came to him, he said to them:

^(DW)“You yourselves know ^(DX)how I lived among you the whole time ^(DY)from the first day that I set foot in Asia, ^19 (DZ)serving the Lord ^(EA)with all humility and with ^(EB)tears and with trials that happened to me through ^(EC)the plots of the Jews; ²⁰ how I ^(ED)did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and ^(EE)teaching you in public and from house to house, ^21 (EF)testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of ^(EG)repentance toward God and of ^(EH)faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.^{[n] 22} And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained ^(EI)by^[o] the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, ²³ except that ^(EJ)the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that ^(EK)imprisonment and ^(EL)afflictions await me. ²⁴ But ^(EM)I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only ^(EN)I may finish my course and ^(EO)the ministry ^(EP)that I received from the Lord Jesus, ^(EQ)to testify to ^(ER)the gospel of ^(ES)the grace of God. ²⁵ And now, behold, ^(ET)I know that none of you among whom I have gone about ^(EU)proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. ²⁶ Therefore ^(EV)I testify to you this day that ^(EW)I am innocent of the blood of all, ²⁷ for ^(EX)I did not shrink from declaring to you ^(EY)the whole counsel of God. ^28 (EZ)Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all ^(FA)the flock, in which ^(FB)the Holy Spirit has made you ^(FC)overseers, ^(FD)to care for ^(FE)the church of God,^[p] which he ^(FF)obtained ^(FG)with his own blood.^{[q] 29} I ^(FH)know that after my departure ^(FI)fierce wolves will come in among you, ^(FJ)not sparing the flock; ³⁰ and ^(FK)from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. ³¹ Therefore ^(FL)be alert, remembering that ^(FM)for three years I did not cease night or day ^(FN)to admonish every one ^(FO)with tears. ³² And now ^(FP)I commend you to God and to ^(FQ)the word of his grace, which is able to ^(FR)build you up and to give you ^(FS)the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. ^33 (FT)I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. ^34 (FU)You yourselves know that ^(FV)these hands ministered to my necessities and ^(FW)to those who were with me. ³⁵ In all things ^(FX)I have shown you that ^(FY)by working hard in this way we must ^(FZ)help the weak and ^(GA)remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed ^(GB)to give than to receive.’”

³⁶ And when he had said these things, ^(GC)he knelt down and prayed with them all. ³⁷ And ^(GD)there was much weeping on the part of all; ^(GE)they embraced Paul and ^(GF)kissed him, ³⁸ being sorrowful most of all because of ^(GG)the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And ^(GH)they accompanied him to the ship.

Paul Goes to Jerusalem

21 And when ^(GI)we had parted from them and set sail, we ^(GJ)came by a straight course to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.^{[r] 2} And having found a ship crossing to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. ³ When we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left we sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload its cargo. ⁴ And having sought out the disciples, we stayed there for seven days. And ^(GK)through the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. ⁵ When our days there were ended, we departed and went on our journey, and they all, with wives and children, ^(GL)accompanied us until we were outside the city. And ^(GM)kneeling down on the beach, we prayed ⁶ and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home.

⁷ When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and we greeted ^(GN)the brothers^[s] and stayed with them for one day. ⁸ On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of ^(GO)Philip ^(GP)the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. ⁹ He had four unmarried daughters, ^(GQ)who prophesied. ¹⁰ While we were staying for many days, a prophet named ^(GR)Agabus came down from Judea. ¹¹ And coming to us, he ^(GS)took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, ^(GT)“Thus says the Holy Spirit, ^(GU)‘This is how the Jews^[t] at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and ^(GV)deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” ¹² When we heard this, we and the people there ^(GW)urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. ¹³ Then Paul answered, ^(GX)“What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For ^(GY)I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem ^(GZ)for the name of the Lord Jesus.” ¹⁴ And since he would not be persuaded, ^(HA)we ceased and said, ^(HB)“Let the will of the Lord be done.”

¹⁵ After these days we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁶ And some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us, bringing us to the house of Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we should lodge.

Paul Visits James

¹⁷ When we had come to Jerusalem, ^(HC)the brothers received us gladly. ¹⁸ On the following day Paul went in with us to ^(HD)James, and all ^(HE)the elders were present. ¹⁹ After greeting them, ^(HF)he related one by one ^(HG)the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ^(HH)ministry. ²⁰ And when they heard it, they ^(HI)glorified God. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all ^(HJ)zealous for the law, ²¹ and they have been told about you that you teach all ^(HK)the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, ^(HL)telling them ^(HM)not to circumcise their children or ^(HN)walk according to ^(HO)our customs. ²² What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. ²³ Do therefore what we tell you. We have four men ^(HP)who are under a vow; ²⁴ take these men and ^(HQ)purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, ^(HR)so that they may shave their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law. ²⁵ But as for the Gentiles who have believed, ^(HS)we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled,^[u] and from sexual immorality.” ²⁶ Then Paul took the men, and the next day ^(HT)he purified himself along with them and ^(HU)went into the temple, giving notice when the days of purification would be fulfilled and ^(HV)the offering presented for each one of them.

Paul Arrested in the Temple

²⁷ When ^(HW)the seven days were almost completed, ^(HX)the Jews from Asia, ^(HY)seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, ²⁸ crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who ^(HZ)is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and ^(IA)the law and ^(IB)this place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and ^(IC)has defiled ^(ID)this holy place.” ²⁹ For they had previously seen ^(IE)Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. ³⁰ Then all the city was stirred up, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and ^(IF)dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut. ^31 (IG)And as they were seeking to kill him, word came to the tribune of ^(IH)the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. ^32 (II)He at once took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. And when they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. ³³ Then the tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him ^(IJ)to be bound ^(IK)with two chains. He inquired who he was and what he had done. ^34 (IL)Some in the crowd were shouting one thing, some another. And as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into ^(IM)the barracks. ³⁵ And when he came to the steps, he was actually carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd, ³⁶ for the mob of the people followed, crying out, ^(IN)“Away with him!”

Paul Speaks to the People

³⁷ As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, “May I say something to you?” And he said, “Do you know Greek? ³⁸ Are you not ^(IO)the Egyptian, then, who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out ^(IP)into the wilderness?” ³⁹ Paul replied, ^(IQ)“I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no obscure city. I beg you, permit me to speak to the people.” ⁴⁰ And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the steps, ^(IR)motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great hush, he addressed them in ^(IS)the Hebrew language,^[v] saying: