Book of Common Prayer

Paul preaches at Corinth, continuing there a year and a half. He goes again into Syria, and to Ephesus, Caesarea, and Antioch. Of Aquila and Priscilla, and Apollos.

18 After that, Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth. ² And he met a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because the Emperor Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome. And he fell in with them. ³ And because he was of the same craft, he stayed with them and worked; their craft was to make tents. ⁴ And he preached in the synagogue every Sabbath day, and exhorted the Jews and the Gentiles.

⁵ When Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was constrained by the Spirit to testify to the Jews that Jesus was the very Christ. ⁶ And when they contradicted and reviled him, he shook out his clothing and said to them, Your blood is upon your own heads, and from henceforth I go blameless to the Gentiles. ⁷ And moving on from there, he entered into the house of a certain man named Justus, a worshipper of God whose house adjoined the synagogue. ⁸ However one Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians listened and believed and were baptized.

⁹ Then the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision: Do not be afraid, but speak; and do not hold your peace. ¹⁰ For I am with you, and no man will attack you that will hurt you. For I have many people in this city.

¹¹ And Paul continued there a year and six months, and taught the people the word of God.

The conception and birth of John the Baptist. The conception of Christ. The thankful songs of Mary and Zacharias.

1 Since many have taken in hand to compile an account of those things that are known for certain among us, ² as told to us by those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning, and ministered at the doing of them, ³ I determined also that, as soon as I had searched out diligently all things from the beginning, then I would write to you, good Theophilus, ⁴ so that you may know the certainty of those things of which you are informed.

The preaching, baptism, and imprisonment of John. The baptism of Christ. A recital of the lineage of the fathers.

3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius the Emperor (Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch in Iturea and in the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene), ² when Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. ³ And he came into all the country about the Jordan River preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, ⁴ as it is written in the book of the sayings of Isaiah the prophet, which says: The voice of a crier in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord; make his paths straight! ⁵ Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low. And crooked things shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth. ⁶ And all flesh shall see the saviour sent by God.

⁷ Then he said to the people who came to be baptized by him, O offspring of vipers, who has taught you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸ Bring forth the due fruits of repentance, and do not begin to say in yourselves, We have Abraham for our father. For I say to you, God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. ⁹ And now also is the axe laid to the root of the trees, so that every tree that does not bring forth good fruit shall be hewn down and cast into the fire.

¹⁰ And the people asked him, saying, What should we do then? ¹¹ He answered and said to them, He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.

¹² Then there came publicans to be baptized, who asked him, Master, what should we do? ¹³ And he said to them, Require no more than that which is appointed to you.

¹⁴ The soldiers likewise enquired of him, saying, And what should we do? And he said to them, Do violence to no man, neither trouble any man wrongfully, but be content with your wages.