Acts 17
17
Paul and Silas in Thessalonica
1Paul and Silas traveled through the cities of Amphipolis and Apollonia. They came to the city of Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2Paul went into the synagogue to see the Jews as he always did. The next three weeks, on each Sabbath day, he discussed the Scriptures with them. 3He explained the Scriptures to show them that the Messiah had to die and then rise from death. He said, “This Jesus that I am telling you about is the Messiah.” 4Some of the Jews there believed Paul and Silas and decided to join them. Also, a large number of Greeks who were worshipers of the true God and many important women joined them.
5But the Jews who did not believe became jealous, so they got some bad men from around the city center to make trouble. They formed a mob and caused a riot in the city. They went to Jason’s house, looking for Paul and Silas. They wanted to bring them out before the people. 6When they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the other believers to the city leaders. The people shouted, “These men have made trouble everywhere in the world, and now they have come here too! 7Jason is keeping them in his house. They all do things against the laws of Caesar. They say there is another king called Jesus.”
8When the city leaders and the other people heard this, they became very upset. 9They made Jason and the other believers deposit money to guarantee that there would be no more trouble. Then they let them go.
Paul and Silas Go to Berea
10That same night the believers sent Paul and Silas to another city named Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11The people in Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica. They were so glad to hear the message Paul told them. They studied the Scriptures every day to make sure that what they heard was really true. 12The result was that many of them believed, including many important Greek women and men.
13But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was telling people God’s message in Berea, they came there too. They upset the people and made trouble. 14So the believers immediately sent Paul away to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea. 15Those who went with Paul took him to the city of Athens. They returned with a message for Silas and Timothy to come and join him as soon as they could.
Paul in Athens
16While Paul was waiting for Silas and Timothy in Athens, he was upset because he saw that the city was full of idols. 17In the synagogue he talked with the Jews and with the Greeks who were worshipers of the true God. He also went to the public square every day and talked with everyone who came by. 18Some of the Epicurean and some of the Stoic philosophers argued with him.
Some of them said, “This man doesn’t really know what he is talking about. What is he trying to say?” Paul was telling them the Good News about Jesus and the resurrection. So they said, “He seems to be telling us about some other gods.”
19They took Paul to a meeting of the Areopagus council. They said, “Please explain to us this new idea that you have been teaching. 20The things you are saying are new to us. We have never heard this teaching before, and we want to know what it means.” 21(The people of Athens and the foreigners who lived there spent all their time either telling or listening to all the latest ideas.)
22Then Paul stood up before the meeting of the Areopagus council and said, “Men of Athens, everything I see here tells me you are very religious. 23I was going through your city and I saw the things you worship. I found an altar that had these words written on it: ‘to an unknown god.’ You worship a god that you don’t know. This is the God I want to tell you about.
24“He is the God who made the whole world and everything in it. He is the Lord of the land and the sky. He does not live in temples built by human hands. 25He is the one who gives people life, breath, and everything else they need. He does not need any help from them. He has everything he needs. 26God began by making one man, and from him he made all the different people who live everywhere in the world. He decided exactly when and where they would live.
27“God wanted people to look for him, and perhaps in searching all around for him, they would find him. But he is not far from any of us. 28It is through him that we are able to live, to do what we do, and to be who we are. As your own poets have said, ‘We all come from him.’
29“That’s right. We all come from God. So we must not think that he is like something people imagine or make. He is not made of gold, silver, or stone. 30In the past people did not understand God, and he overlooked this. But now he is telling everyone in the world to change and turn to him. 31He has decided on a day when he will judge all the people in the world in a way that is fair. To do this he will use a man he chose long ago. And he has proved to everyone that this is the man to do it. He proved it by raising him from death!”
32When the people heard about Jesus being raised from death, some of them laughed. But others said, “We will hear more about this from you later.” 33So Paul left the council meeting. 34But some of the people joined with Paul and became believers. Among these were Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus council, a woman named Damaris, and some others.
Currently Selected:
Acts 17: ERV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
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.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.