Passage

Acts 18.12-17

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, 13. 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: 15. but if they are questions about words and names and your own law, look to it yourselves; I am not minded to be a judge of these matters. 16. And he drove them from the judgment-seat. 17. And they all laid hold on Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment-seat. And Gallio cared for none of these things.

And Paul, having tarried after this yet many days, took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila: having shorn his head in Cenchreæ; for he had a vow. 19. And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews. (Acts 18:10-19, 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, 13. 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; 15. but if they are questions about words and names and your own law, look to it yourselves. For I don’t want to be a judge of these matters.” 16. So he drove them from the judgment seat. 17. Then all the Greeks laid hold on Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. Gallio didn’t care about any of these things.

Paul, having stayed after this many more days, took his leave of the brothers, and sailed from there for Syria, together with Priscilla and Aquila. He shaved his head in Cenchreae, for he had a vow. 19. He came to Ephesus, and he left them there; but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews. (Acts 18:10-19, 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, 13. 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: 15. But if it be a question of words and names, and of your law, look ye to it; for I will be no judge of such matters. 16. And he drave them from the judgment seat. 17. Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. And Gallio cared for none of those things.

And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow. 19. And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews. (Acts 18:10-19, 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, 13. 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, 15. but if it is a question concerning words and names, and of your law, look ye yourselves [to it], for a judge of these things I do not wish to be,' 16. and he drave them from the tribunal; 17. and all the Greeks having taken Sosthenes, the chief man of the synagogue, were beating [him] before the tribunal, and not even for these things was Gallio caring.

And Paul having remained yet a good many days, having taken leave of the brethren, was sailing to Syria, and with him [are] Priscilla and Aquilas, having shorn [his] head in Cenchera, for he had a vow; 19. and he came down to Ephesus, and did leave them there, and he himself having entered into the synagogue did reason with the Jews: (Acts 18:10-19, 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

The passage records Paul's hearing before Gallio, proconsul of Achaia. It is short, but it shows how a Roman governor viewed the dispute between the synagogue and the new church, and it is one of the most firmly dated events in the New Testament.

The charge. "This man persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law" (18:13). Which law is meant is ambiguous: the charge may be that Paul's teaching broke Jewish law, or that it was a worship Roman law did not permit. Gallio takes it in the first sense.

Gallio's ruling. Before Paul can speak, Gallio answers: if this were "a matter of wrong or of wicked villany," he would hear it; "but if they are questions about words and names and your own law, look to it yourselves; I am not minded to be a judge of these matters" (18:14-15). He then "drove them from the judgment-seat" (18:16). In effect, Gallio treats the dispute as an internal Jewish matter, not a crime under Roman law. For the time being that left Paul free to preach.

Sosthenes. "They all laid hold on Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment-seat" (18:17). The KJV, following the Received Text, says "all the Greeks." Paul's first letter to Corinth is sent from "Paul... and Sosthenes our brother" (1 Corinthians 1:1); whether this is the same man cannot be settled from the text.

"Gallio cared for none of these things." Gallio's indifference is Luke's last word on the scene. It was not concern for the gospel that protected Paul; it was a governor's refusal to be drawn into a religious quarrel.

The promise kept. The Lord had said, "no man shall set on thee to harm thee" (18:10). Paul is attacked and brought to court, but never has to make a defense. See Acts 18.10, Dating of Paul's Letters and Acts as History (Ramsay's Verification).

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.

G3551 - nomos, nomos, Strong's G3551
G3686 - onoma, onoma, Strong's G3686
G3056 - logos, logos, Strong's G3056
G4314 - pros, pros, Strong's G4314
G3956 - pas, pas, Strong's G3956
G2316 - theos, theos, Strong's G2316

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Church at Corinth
Churches the Disciples Started, via Acts 18.1-18
NT Geographical Reliability, via Acts 18.12
Politarch Inscriptions, via Acts 18.12

Passages:

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.