Passage

Acts 18.12

Book: Acts · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

10. for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to harm thee: for I have much people in this city. 11. And he dwelt there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

12. But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before the judgment-seat,

saying, This man persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law. 14. But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If indeed it were a matter of wrong or of wicked villany, O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you: (Acts 18:10-14, ASV)

WEB

10. for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many people in this city.” 11. He lived there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

12. But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat,

saying, “This man persuades men to worship God contrary to the law.” 14. But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If indeed it were a matter of wrong or of wicked crime, you Jews, it would be reasonable that I should bear with you; (Acts 18:10-14, WEB)

KJV

10. For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city. 11. And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. ^{continued there: Gr. sat there}

12. And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat,

Saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law. 14. And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you: (Acts 18:10-14, KJV)

YLT

10. because I am with thee, and no one shall set on thee to do thee evil; because I have much people in this city;' 11. and he continued a year and six months, teaching among them the word of God.

12. And Gallio being proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a rush with one accord upon Paul, and brought him unto the tribunal,

saying, 'Against the law this one doth persuade men to worship God;' 14. and Paul being about to open [his] mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, 'If, indeed, then, it was anything unrighteous, or an act of wicked profligacy, O Jews, according to reason I had borne with you, (Acts 18:10-14, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: the narrator of Acts, traditionally Luke
Audience: Theophilus (Acts 1:1) and the reader
Location: Corinth, capital of the Roman province of Achaia, refounded as a Roman colony by Julius Caesar in 44 BC
Time period: c. AD 50-52, on Paul's second missionary journey. Gallio's term as proconsul of Achaia (18:12), dated by an inscription found at Delphi, places the end of the stay about AD 51-52.

Theological reading

"But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before the judgment-seat." The verse opens the one recorded attempt to stop Paul's work in Corinth by Roman law.

Gallio. Gallio was the brother of the philosopher Seneca. A letter of the emperor Claudius inscribed at Delphi names him as proconsul of Achaia, and the letter can be dated to AD 52. Since proconsuls normally served one year, Gallio's term falls about AD 51-52. This makes the verse one of the fixed points for the chronology of Paul's life. See Dating of Paul's Letters.

"Proconsul." Luke's title (Strong's G445) is the correct one. Achaia was a senatorial province governed by a proconsul at this time. Luke's accuracy in such local titles is part of the case for the reliability of Acts; see Acts as History (Ramsay's Verification).

"With one accord." The opponents act together. Luke's timing ("when Gallio was proconsul") may suggest they hoped a new governor would be willing to act against Paul, though the text does not state their reasons.

The judgment-seat. The bema (G968) was the raised platform from which a Roman magistrate heard cases. Paul is brought there as an accused man. The charge comes in the next verse: "This man persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law" (18:13).

The promise tested. The Lord had said, "no man shall set on thee to harm thee" (18:10). Here someone sets on him. The outcome (18:14-16) shows what the promise meant. See Acts 18.12-17.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

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Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.