Priscilla

1After this, Paul left the city of Athens. He went to the city of Corinth.

After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth;

NoteAthens and Corinth are cities in Greece. Corinth was busy and full of ships and traders. Paul walked and sailed a long way between the two.

2There he met a Jew named Aquila, who was born in Pontus. Aquila had just come from Italy with his wife, Priscilla. They came because Claudius, the ruler of Rome, had ordered all Jews to leave that city. Paul went to see them.

And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them.

NoteJews are God's people, the family of Israel. Pontus was a land far away, by the Black Sea. Rome was the biggest, strongest city in the world then. Its ruler could order people to move away, and they had to go.

3Paul stayed with them and worked with them. They made tents for a living, and so did Paul.

And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.

NoteTents were made of tough cloth or leather, sewn by hand. Travelers and soldiers slept in them. Teachers like Paul often had a trade so they could pay for their own food.

4Every Sabbath, the Jewish day of rest, Paul talked with people in the synagogue, the place where Jews met to worship. He tried to help both Jews and Greeks believe.

And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.

NoteThe Sabbath was the day each week when Jews rested. They did no work and met to worship God. Greeks were people who were not Jews. Many of them came to listen too.

18Paul stayed in Corinth a good while longer. Then he said goodbye to the believers there. In the town of Cenchrea he had his head shaved, because he had made a promise to God. Then he sailed for Syria, and Priscilla and Aquila went with him.

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.

NoteSometimes a person made a special promise to God. Until it was finished, he would not cut his hair. Then he shaved his head to show the promise was kept. Cenchrea was the harbor town near Corinth, where ships waited.

19They came to the city of Ephesus, and Paul left them there. He himself went into the synagogue and talked with the Jews.

And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews.

NoteEphesus was a large city across the sea from Greece. It had a busy port and a famous temple.

20They asked him to stay with them longer. But he said no.

When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not;

21He said goodbye to them. He told them, "I must go to Jerusalem for this feast. But I will come back to you if God wants me to." Then he sailed away from Ephesus.

But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus.

NoteA feast was a holiday that lasted several days. Jews traveled to Jerusalem to keep it and worship God.

24A Jew named Apollos came to Ephesus. He was born in the city of Alexandria. He spoke very well, and he knew the Scriptures well.

And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.

NoteAlexandria was a city in Egypt famous for its books and schools. The Scriptures are the holy writings of God's people. We now call them the Old Testament.

25Apollos had been taught about the way of the Lord. He was eager and full of life. He spoke and taught carefully about Jesus. But he knew only about the baptism that John had preached.

This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.

NoteJohn the Baptist told people to turn away from wrong and be baptized. Apollos knew that part of the story. He had not yet heard everything about Jesus.

26Apollos began to speak bravely in the synagogue. Aquila and Priscilla heard him. So they took him aside and explained God's way to him more fully.

And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.

NoteAquila and Priscilla are the same friends Paul lived and worked with in Corinth.

27Apollos wanted to sail over to Achaia. The believers wrote a letter asking the followers there to welcome him. When he arrived, he helped them very much. They had come to believe through God's kindness.

And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace:

NoteA letter like this told strangers that a visitor could be trusted. Grace means a kind gift that nobody has to earn.

28In front of everyone, he showed the Jews that they were wrong. He used the Scriptures to prove that Jesus is the Christ.

For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.

NoteHe spoke where anyone could stop and listen. People enjoyed watching two sides talk things out.

3Say hello to Priscilla and Aquila. They work with me in serving Christ Jesus.

Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus:

NotePriscilla and Aquila were a wife and husband. They made tents for a living. They had lived in Rome, then moved away, and now they were back.

4They risked their own lives to save mine. I thank them. So do all the churches of people who are not Jewish.

Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.

NoteThe King James says they "laid down their own necks" for Paul. That is an old way of saying they put themselves in danger. They could have been killed for helping him.

5Say hello to the church that meets in their house. Say hello to my dear friend Epaenetus. He was the very first person in Achaia to trust Christ.

Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my well-beloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.

NoteThere were no church buildings yet. Believers met in someone's house to sing, pray, and learn. The King James calls Epaenetus the "firstfruits" of Achaia. Firstfruits meant the very first fruit picked from a tree. Here it means he was the first person there to trust Jesus. Achaia was a part of the land we now call Greece.

19The churches in Asia say hello to you. Aquila and Priscilla send you warm greetings in the Lord. So does the church that meets in their house.

The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.

NoteAsia here means a small area, not the whole continent. It was land we now call Turkey. Aquila and Priscilla were a husband and wife who helped Paul. Their house was where the believers met.

19Say hello for me to Prisca and Aquila. Say hello to the family of Onesiphorus.

Salute Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.

NoteA household meant everyone who lived in one house together. That was the family and also the helpers who worked there.