18:4a

Sabbath: The Sabbath was the day in the week when the Jews worshiped God. See how you translated this word in 17:2.

he reasoned: The word reasoned indicates that Paul discussed the meaning of the Scriptures with the Jews. Paul tried to convince them that his beliefs about their meaning were correct. Other ways to translate this clause are:

he held discussions (Good News Translation)
-or-
he debated with them

See how you translated this phrase in 17:2.

Paul and the Jews used the Scriptures as a basis to reason from. This basis was the same as in Thessalonica (17:2). In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate or imply another basis. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

• Explain the implied information in a footnote. An example footnote is:

As in Thessalonica (17:2), Paul and the Jews used the Scriptures as a basis to reason from.

• Include the implied information in your translation. For example:

he reasoned ⌊from the Scriptures⌋

synagogue: A synagogue was a building where Jews gathered to pray, read scripture, teach, and worship. The Jews also gathered there for cultural activities. Other ways to translate this word are:

prayer-house of the Jews
-or-
meeting-place of the Jews
-or-
Jewish worship building
-or-
house for Jews to gather together

See how you translated this word in 6:9 or 17:17.

18:4b

trying to persuade Jews and Greeks alike: This phrase in Greek is literally “was persuading Jews and Greeks.” The Greek tense indicates effort for some time to persuade. For example:

and was speaking persuasively to Jews and Greeks
-or-
working at persuading Jews and Greeks

persuade Jews and Greeks alike: The word persuade refers to talking to someone so that he would decide that what you say is true. For example:

convince both Jews and Greeks (Good News Translation)

It is implied that Paul tried to persuade them to believe in Jesus as the Christ (18:5c). In some languages a literal translation would have another meaning. If that is true in your language, you may want to include the implied information in your translation. For example:

persuade Jews and Greeks ⌊about Jesus⌋

Since the clause “Jesus is the Christ” occurs in 18:5c, you should only refer generally to Jesus as in the example above.

Greeks: Since Corinth is in Greece, most of the non-Jewish people were Greeks. But some were probably from other countries. For example:

Gentiles (Contemporary English Version)

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