^18:12Now while Gallio⁴³ was proconsul⁴⁴ of Achaia,⁴⁵ the Jews attacked Paul together⁴⁶ and brought him before the judgment seat,⁴⁷^18:13saying, “This man is persuading⁴⁸ people to worship God in a way contrary to⁴⁹ the law!” ^18:14But just as Paul was about to speak,⁵⁰ Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of some crime or serious piece of villainy,⁵¹ I would have been justified in accepting the complaint⁵² of you Jews,⁵³^18:15but since it concerns points of disagreement⁵⁴ about words and names and your own law, settle⁵⁵ it yourselves. I will not be⁵⁶ a judge of these things!” ^18:16Then he had them forced away⁵⁷ from the judgment seat.⁵⁸^18:17So they all seized Sosthenes, the president of the synagogue,⁵⁹ and began to beat⁶⁰ him in front of the judgment seat.⁶¹ Yet none of these things were of any concern⁶² to Gallio.

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Footnotes

43 Gallio was proconsul of Achaia from a.d. 51–52. This date is one of the firmly established dates in Acts. Lucius Junius Gallio was the son of the rhetorician Seneca and the brother of Seneca the philosopher. The date of Gallio’s rule is established from an inscription (W. Dittenberger, e.d., Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum 2.3 no. 8). Thus the event mentioned here is probably to be dated July–October a.d. 51.
44 The proconsul was the Roman official who ruled over a province traditionally under the control of the Roman senate.
45 Achaia was a Roman province created in 146 b.c. that included the most important parts of Greece (Attica, Boeotia, and the Peloponnesus).
46 Grk “with one accord.”
47 Although βῆμα 3 gives the meaning “tribunal” for this verse and a number of modern translations use similar terms (“court,” ; “tribunal,” ), there is no need for an alternative translation here since the bema was a standard feature in Greco-Roman cities of the time. The judgment seat (βῆμα, bēma) was a raised platform mounted by steps and sometimes furnished with a seat, used by officials in addressing an assembly or making pronouncements, often on judicial matters. The judgment seat was a familiar item in Greco-Roman culture, often located in the agora, the public square or marketplace in the center of a city. So this was a very public event.
48 Or “inciting.”
49 Grk “worship God contrary to.” παρά C.6 has “against, contrary to” for Acts 18:13. The words “in a way” are not in the Greek text, but are a necessary clarification to prevent the misunderstanding in the English translation that worshiping God was in itself contrary to the law. What is under dispute is the manner in which God was being worshiped, that is, whether Gentiles were being required to follow all aspects of the Mosaic law, including male circumcision. There is a hint of creating public chaos or disturbing Jewish custom here since Jews were the ones making the complaint. Luke often portrays the dispute between Christians and Jews as within Judaism.
50 Grk “about to open his mouth” (an idiom).
51 ῥᾳδιούργημα states, “From the sense ‘prank, knavery, roguish trick, slick deed’ it is but a short step to that of a serious misdeed, crime, villainy … a serious piece of villainy Ac 18:14 (w. ἀδίκημα).”
52 According to ἀνέχω 3 this is a legal technical term: “Legal t.t. κατὰ λόγον ἂν ἀνεσχόμην ὑμῶν I would have been justified in accepting your complaint Ac 18:14.”
53 Grk “accepting your complaint, O Jews.”
54 Or “dispute.”
55 Grk “see to it” (an idiom).
56 Or “I am not willing to be.” Gallio would not adjudicate their religious dispute.
57 Grk “driven away,” but this could result in a misunderstanding in English (“driven” as in a cart or wagon?). “Forced away” conveys the idea; Gallio rejected their complaint. In contemporary English terminology the case was “thrown out of court.” The verb ἀπήλασεν (apēlasen) has been translated as a causative since Gallio probably did not perform this action in person, but ordered his aides or officers to remove the plaintiffs.
58 See the note on the term judgment seat in .
59 That is, “the official in charge of the synagogue”; ἀρχισυνάγωγος (archisunagōgos) refers to the “leader/president of a synagogue” (so and L&N 53.93). See the note on synagogue in .
60 The imperfect verb ἔτυπτον (etupton) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.
61 See the note on the term judgment seat in .
62 L&N 25.223 has “ ‘none of these things were of any concern to Gallio’ Ac 18:17.” Rome was officially indifferent to such disputes. Gallio understood how sensitive some Jews would be about his meddling in their affairs. This is similar to the way Pilate dealt with Jesus. In the end, he let the Jewish leadership and people make the judgment against Jesus.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law.” But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. But since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things.” And he drove them from the tribunal. 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.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews of Corinth made a united attack on Paul and brought him to the place of judgment. “This man,” they charged, “is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law.”

Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to them, “If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you. But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law—settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things.” So he drove them off. Then the crowd there turned on Sosthenes the synagogue leader and beat him in front of the proconsul; and Gallio showed no concern whatever.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack against Paul and brought him to the tribunal. “This man,” they said, “is persuading people to worship God in ways contrary to the law.”

As Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or of a serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to put up with you Jews. But if these are questions about words, names, and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of such things.” So he drove them from the tribunal. And they all seized Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal, but none of these things mattered to Gallio.

NLTNew Living Translation

But when Gallio became governor of Achaia, some Jews rose up together against Paul and brought him before the governor for judgment. They accused Paul of “persuading people to worship God in ways that are contrary to our law.”

But just as Paul started to make his defense, Gallio turned to Paul’s accusers and said, “Listen, you Jews, if this were a case involving some wrongdoing or a serious crime, I would have a reason to accept your case. But since it is merely a question of words and names and your Jewish law, take care of it yourselves. I refuse to judge such matters.” And he threw them out of the courtroom.

The crowd then grabbed Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and beat him right there in the courtroom. But Gallio paid no attention.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Now when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews rose up with one purpose against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat, saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law!” But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it was some crime or wicked villainy, O Jews, I would have been justified in accepting your complaint. But if it is questions concerning a word and names and your own law, see to it yourselves! I do not wish to be a judge of these things.” And he drove them away from the judgment seat. So they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and began beating him in front of the judgment seat. And none of these things was a concern to Gallio.

KJV 1900King James Version

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. 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: 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. And he drave them from the judgment seat. 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.

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