Ma`asei (Acts) 17
17
1And having passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonike, where there was a congregation of the Yehuḏim.
2And according to his practice, Sha’ul went in unto them, and for three Sabbaths was reasoning with them from the Scriptures,
3explaining and pointing out that the Messiah had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This is the Messiah, יהושע, whom I proclaim to you.”
4And some of them did believe, and a large number of the worshipping Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Sha’ul and Silas.
5But the Yehuḏim who did not believe, having become envious, took some of the wicked men from the market-place, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and came upon the house of Jason, and were seeking to bring them out to the people.
6But not finding them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers to the city rulers, crying out, “They who have turned the world upside down have come here too,
7whom Jason has received. And all of them are acting contrary to the dogmas of Caesar, saying there is another sovereign, יהושע.”
8And they troubled the crowd and the city rulers when they heard this.
9And when they had received a pledge from Jason and the rest, they let them go.
10And the brothers immediately sent Sha’ul and Silas away by night to Beroia, who, having come, went into the congregation of the Yehuḏim.
11Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonike, who received the word with great eagerness, and searched the Scriptures daily, if these words were so.
12Then many of them truly believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, decent women as well as men.
13And when the Yehuḏim from Thessalonike came to know that the word of Elohim was proclaimed by Sha’ul at Beroia, they came there also and stirred up the crowds.
14And then immediately the brothers sent Sha’ul away, to go to the sea, but both Silas and Timotiyos stayed there.
15And those who arranged for Sha’ul brought him to Athens. And receiving a command for Silas and Timotiyos to join him as soon as possible, they departed.
16But while Sha’ul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred up within him when he saw that the city was utterly idolatrous.
17Therefore, indeed, he was reasoning in the congregation with the Yehuḏim and with the worshippers, and in the market-place daily with those who met there.
18And some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some were saying, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange mighty ones” – because to them he brought the Good News: יהושע and the resurrection!
19So they laid hold of him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “Are we able to know what this fresh teaching is of which you speak?
20For you are bringing some strange matters to our ears. We wish, then, to know what these mean.”
21For all the Athenians and the strangers living there spent their leisure time in doing naught but to speak or to hear what is fresh.
22And having stood in the midst of the Areopagus Sha’ul said, “Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious in every matter.
23“For passing through and observing the objects of your worship, I even found a slaughter-place with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN MIGHTY ONE. Not knowing then whom you worship, I make Him known to you:
24יהוה, who made the world and all that is in it, this One being Master of heaven and earth, does not dwell in dwellings made with hands.#See Acts 7:48
25Nor is He served with men’s hands – as if needing any – Himself giving to all life, and breath, and all else.
26“And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having ordained beforehand the times and the boundaries of their dwelling,
27to seek the Master, if at least they would reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.
28For in Him we live and move and are, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ ”
29“Now then, since we are the offspring of Elohim, we should not think that the Elohim is like gold or silver or stone, an image made by the skill and thought of man.
30Truly, then, having overlooked these times of ignorance, Elohim now commands all men everywhere to repent,”
31because He has set a day on which He is going to judge the world in righteousness by a Man whom He has appointed,#See Acts 10:42 having given proof of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
32And hearing of the resurrection of the dead, some indeed mocked, while others said, “We shall hear you again concerning this.”
33And so Sha’ul went out from among them.
34But some men joined him and believed, among them Dionusios the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
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Ma`asei (Acts) 17: TS2009
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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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