Acts 17
17
Paul and Silas Arrive in Thessalonica
1Paul and those traveling with him passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia. They came to Thessalonica. A Jewish synagogue was there. 2Paul went into the synagogue as he usually did. For three Sabbath days in a row he talked with the Jews about the Scriptures. 3He explained and proved that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am telling you about is the Messiah!” he said. 4His words won over some of the Jews. They joined Paul and Silas. A large number of Greeks who worshiped God joined them too. So did quite a few important women.
5But other Jews were jealous. So they rounded up some evil people from the market place. Forming a crowd, they started all kinds of trouble in the city. The Jews rushed to Jason’s house. They were looking for Paul and Silas. They wanted to bring them out to the crowd. 6But they couldn’t find them. So they dragged Jason and some other believers to the city officials. “These men have caused trouble all over the world,” they shouted. “Now they have come here. 7Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all disobeying Caesar’s commands. They say there is another king. He is called Jesus.” 8When the crowd and the city officials heard this, they became very upset. 9They made Jason and the others give them money. The officials did this to make sure they would return to the court. Then they let Jason and the others go.
Paul and Silas Are Sent to Berea
10As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. When they arrived, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11The Berean Jews were very glad to receive Paul’s message. They studied the Scriptures carefully every day. They wanted to see if what Paul said was true. So they were more noble than the Thessalonian Jews. 12Because of this, many of the Berean Jews believed. A number of important Greek women also became believers. And so did many Greek men.
13But the Jews in Thessalonica found out that Paul was preaching God’s word in Berea. So some of them went there too. They stirred up the crowds and got them all worked up. 14Right away the believers sent Paul to the coast. But Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea. 15The believers who went with Paul took him to Athens. Then they returned with orders that Silas and Timothy were supposed to join him as soon as they could.
Paul Preaches in Athens
16Paul was waiting for Silas and Timothy in Athens. He was very upset to see that the city was full of statues of gods. 17So he went to the synagogue. There he talked both with Jews and with Greeks who worshiped God. Each day he spoke with anyone who happened to be in the market place. 18A group of Epicurean and Stoic thinkers began to argue with him. Some of them asked, “What is this fellow chattering about?” Others said, “He seems to be telling us about gods we’ve never heard of.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus. He was telling them that Jesus had risen from the dead. 19They took him to a meeting of the Areopagus. There they said to him, “What is this new teaching you’re giving us? 20You have some strange ideas we’ve never heard before. We would like to know what they mean.” 21All the people of Athens spent their time talking about and listening to the latest ideas. People from other lands who lived there did the same.
22Then Paul stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus. He said, “People of Athens! I see that you are very religious in every way. 23As I walked around, I looked carefully at the things you worship. I even found an altar with
To an Unknown God
written on it. So you don’t know what you are worshiping. Now I am going to tell you about this ‘unknown god.’
24“He is the God who made the world. He also made everything in it. He is the Lord of heaven and earth. He doesn’t live in temples built by human hands. 25He is not served by human hands. He doesn’t need anything. Instead, he himself gives life and breath to all people. He also gives them everything else they have. 26From one man he made all the people of the world. Now they live all over the earth. He decided exactly when they should live. And he decided exactly where they should live. 27God did this so that people would seek him. And perhaps they would reach out for him and find him. They would find him even though he is not far from any of us. 28‘In him we live and move and exist.’ As some of your own poets have also said, ‘We are his children.’
29“Yes, we are God’s children. So we shouldn’t think that God is made out of gold or silver or stone. He isn’t a statue planned and made by clever people. 30In the past, God didn’t judge people for what they didn’t know. But now he commands all people everywhere to turn away from their sins. 31He has set a day when he will judge the world fairly. He has appointed a man to be its judge. God has proved this to everyone by raising that man from the dead.”
32They heard Paul talk about the dead being raised. Some of them made fun of this idea. But others said, “We want to hear you speak about this again.” 33So Paul left the meeting of the Areopagus. 34Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed in Jesus. Dionysius was one of them. He was a member of the Areopagus. A woman named Damaris also became a believer. And so did some others.
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Acts 17: NIrV
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Acts 17
17
Trouble in Thessalonica
1After Paul and his friends had travelled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they went on to Thessalonica. A Jewish meeting place was in that city. 2So as usual, Paul went there to worship, and on three Sabbaths he spoke to the people. He used the Scriptures 3to show them that the Messiah had to suffer, but that he would rise from death. Paul also told them that Jesus is the Messiah he was preaching about. 4Some of them believed what Paul had said, and they became followers with Paul and Silas. Some Gentiles#17.4 Gentiles: See the note at 14.1. and many important women also believed the message.
5The Jewish leaders were jealous and got some worthless louts who hung around the market place to start a riot in the city. They wanted to drag Paul and Silas out to the mob, and so they went straight to Jason's home. 6But when they did not find them there, they dragged out Jason and some of the Lord's followers. They took them to the city authorities and shouted, “Paul and Silas have been upsetting things everywhere. Now they have come here, 7and Jason has welcomed them into his home. All of them break the laws of the Roman Emperor by claiming that someone named Jesus is king.”
8The officials and the people were upset when they heard this. 9So they made Jason and the other followers pay bail before letting them go.
People in Berea welcome the message
10That same night the Lord's followers sent Paul and Silas on to Berea, and after they arrived, they went to the Jewish meeting place. 11The people in Berea were much nicer than those in Thessalonica, and they gladly accepted the message. Day after day they studied the Scriptures to see if these things were true. 12Many of them put their faith in the Lord, including some important Greek women and several men.
13When the Jewish leaders in Thessalonica heard that Paul had been preaching God's message in Berea, they went there and caused trouble by turning the crowds against Paul.
14Straight away the followers sent Paul down to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea. 15Some men went with Paul as far as Athens, and then returned with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.
Paul in Athens
16While Paul was waiting in Athens, he was upset to see all the idols in the city. 17He went to the Jewish meeting place to speak to the Jews and to anyone who worshipped with them. Day after day he also spoke to everyone he met in the market. 18Some of them were Epicureans#17.18 Epicureans: People who followed the teaching of a man named Epicurus, who taught that happiness should be the main goal in life. and some were Stoics,#17.18 Stoics: Followers of a man named Zeno, who taught that people should learn self-control and be guided by their consciences. and they started arguing with him.
People were asking, “What is this know-all trying to say?”
Some even said, “Paul must be preaching about foreign gods! That's what he means when he talks about Jesus and about people rising from death.”#17.18 people rising from death: Or “a goddess named ‘Rising from Death’.”
19They brought Paul before a council called the Areopagus, and said, “Tell us what your new teaching is all about. 20We have heard you say some strange things, and we want to know what you mean.”
21More than anything else the people of Athens and the foreigners living there loved to hear and to talk about anything new. 22So Paul stood up in front of the council and said:
People of Athens, I see that you are very religious. 23As I was going through your city and looking at the things you worship, I found an altar with the words, “To an Unknown God.” You worship this God, but you don't really know him. So I want to tell you about him. 24This God made the world and everything in it. He is Lord of heaven and earth, and he doesn't live in temples built by human hands.#1 K 8.27; Is 42.5; Ac 7.48. 25He doesn't need help from anyone. He gives life, breath, and everything else to all people. 26From one person God made all nations who live on earth, and he decided when and where every nation would be.
27God has done all this, so that we will look for him and reach out and find him. He isn't far from any of us, 28and he gives us the power to live, to move, and to be who we are. “We are his children,” just as some of your poets have said.
29Since we are God's children, we must not think that he is like an idol made out of gold or silver or stone. He isn't like anything that humans have thought up and made. 30In the past, God forgave all this because people did not know what they were doing. But now he says that everyone everywhere must turn to him. 31He has set a day when he will judge the world's people with fairness. And he has chosen the man Jesus to do the judging for him. God has given proof of this to all of us by raising Jesus from death.
32As soon as the people heard Paul say that a man had been raised from death, some of them started laughing. Others said, “We will hear you talk about this some other time.” 33When Paul left the council meeting, 34some of the men put their faith in the Lord and went with Paul. One of them was a council member named Dionysius. A woman named Damaris and several others also put their faith in the Lord.
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