The Acts 17
17
1AND when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.
2And Paul, according to his custom, went in unto them; and for three sabbath days he reasoned with them out of the scriptures:
3Declaring and insinuating that the Christ was to suffer, and to rise again from the dead; and that this is Jesus Christ, whom I preach to you.
4And some of them believed, and were associated to Paul and Silas; and of those that served God, and of the Gentiles a great multitude, and of noble women not a few.
5But the Jews, moved with envy, and taking unto them some wicked men of the vulgar sort, and making a tumult, set the city in an uproar; and besetting Jason's house, sought to bring them out unto the people.
6And not finding them, they drew Jason and certain brethren to the rulers of the city, crying: They that set the city in an uproar, are come hither also;
7Whom Jason hath received; and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.
8And they stirred up the people, and the rulers of the city hearing these things,
9And having taken satisfaction of Jason and of the rest, they let them go.
10But the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea. Who, when they were come thither, went into the synagogue of the Jews.
11Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, who received the word with all eagerness, daily searching the scriptures, whether these things were so.
12And many indeed of them believed, and of honourable women that were Gentiles, and of men not a few.
13And when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was also preached by Paul at Berea, they came thither also, stirring up and troubling the multitude.
14And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul, to go unto the sea; but Silas and Timothy remained there.
15And they that conducted Paul, brought him as far as Athens; and receiving a commandment from him to Silas and Timothy, that they should come to him with all speed, they departed.
16Now whilst Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred within him, seeing the city wholly given to idolatry.
17He disputed, therefore, in the synagogue with the Jews, and with them that served God, and in the marketplace, every day with them that were there.
18And certain philosophers of the Epicureans and of the Stoics disputed with him; and some said: What is it, that this word sower would say? But others: He seemeth to be a setter forth of new gods; because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection.
19And taking him, they brought him to the Areopagus, saying: May we know what this new doctrine is, which thou speakest of?
20For thou bringest in certain new things to our ears. We would know therefore what these things mean.
21(Now all the Athenians, and strangers that were there, employed themselves in nothing else, but either in telling or in hearing some new thing.)
22But Paul standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are too superstitious.
23For passing by, and seeing your idols, I found an altar also, on which was written: To the unknown God. What therefore you worship, without knowing it, that I preach to you:
24God, who made the world, and all things therein; he, being Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
25Neither is he served with men's hands, as though he needed any thing; seeing it is he who giveth to all life, and breath, and all things:
26And hath made of one, all mankind, to dwell upon the whole face of the earth, determining appointed times, and the limits of their habitation.
27That they should seek God, if happily they may feel after him or find him, although he be not far from every one of us:
28For in him we live, and move, and are; as some also of your own poets said: For we are also his offspring.
29Being therefore the offspring of God, we must not suppose the divinity to be like unto gold, or silver, or stone, the graving of art, and device of man.
30And God indeed having winked at the times of this ignorance, now declareth unto men, that all should every where do penance.
31Because he hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the world in equity, by the man whom he hath appointed; giving faith to all, by raising him up from the dead.
32And when they had heard of the resurrection of the dead, some indeed mocked, but others said: We will hear thee again concerning this matter.
33So Paul went out from among them.
34But certain men adhering to him, did believe; among whom was also Dionysius, the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
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The Acts 17: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Acts 17
17
Paul and Silas in Thessalonica
1Paul and Silas traveled through the cities of Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to the city of Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue. 2As usual, Paul went into the synagogue. On three consecutive days of rest—holy days, he had discussions about Scripture with the synagogue members. 3He explained and showed them that the Messiah had to suffer, die, and come back to life, and that Jesus, the person he talked about, was this Messiah.
4Some of the Jews were persuaded to join Paul and Silas, especially a large group of Greeks who had converted to Judaism and the wives of many prominent men.
5Then the Jews became jealous. They took some low-class characters who hung around the public square, formed a mob, and started a riot in the city. They attacked Jason’s home and searched it for Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. 6When they didn’t find Paul and Silas, they dragged Jason and some other believers in front of the city officials. They shouted, “Those men who have made trouble all over the world are now here in Thessalonica, 7and Jason has welcomed them as his guests. All of them oppose the emperor’s decrees by saying that there is another king, whose name is Jesus.”
8The crowd and the officials were upset when they heard this. 9But after they had made Jason and the others post bond, they let them go.
10Immediately when night came, the believers sent Paul and Silas to the city of Berea.
Paul and Silas in Berea
When Paul and Silas arrived in the city of Berea, they entered the synagogue. 11The people of Berea were more open-minded than the people of Thessalonica. They were very willing to receive God’s message, and every day they carefully examined the Scriptures to see if what Paul said was true. 12Many of them became believers, and quite a number of them were prominent Greek men and women.
13But when the Jews in Thessalonica found out that Paul was also spreading God’s word in Berea, they went there to upset and confuse the people. 14The believers immediately sent Paul to the seacoast, but Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea.
Paul in Athens
15The men who escorted Paul took him all the way to the city of Athens. When the men left Athens, they took instructions back to Silas and Timothy to join Paul as soon as possible.
16While Paul was waiting for Silas and Timothy in Athens, he saw that the city had statues of false gods everywhere. This upset him. 17He held discussions in the synagogue with Jews and converts to Judaism. He also held discussions every day in the public square with anyone who happened to be there. 18Some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers had discussions with him. Some asked, “What is this babbling fool trying to say?” Others said, “He seems to be speaking about foreign gods.” The philosophers said these things because Paul was telling the Good News about Jesus and saying that people would come back to life.
19Then they brought Paul to the city court, the Areopagus, and asked, “Could you tell us these new ideas that you’re teaching? 20Some of the things you say sound strange to us. So we would like to know what they mean.”
21Everyone who lived in Athens looked for opportunities to tell or hear something new and unusual.
22Paul stood in the middle of the court and said, “Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious. 23As I was going through your city and looking closely at the objects you worship, I noticed an altar with this written on it: ‘To an unknown god.’ I’m telling you about the unknown god you worship. 24The God who made the universe and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth. He doesn’t live in shrines made by humans, 25and he isn’t served by humans as if he needed anything. He gives everyone life, breath, and everything they have. 26From one man he has made every nation of humanity to live all over the earth. He has given them the seasons of the year and the boundaries within which to live. 27He has done this so that they would look for God, somehow reach for him, and find him. In fact, he is never far from any one of us. 28Certainly, we live, move, and exist because of him. As some of your poets have said, ‘We are God’s children.’ 29So if we are God’s children, we shouldn’t think that the divine being is like an image made from gold, silver, or stone, an image that is the product of human imagination and skill.
30“God overlooked the times when people didn’t know any better. But now he commands everyone everywhere to turn to him and change the way they think and act. 31He has set a day when he is going to judge the world with justice, and he will use a man he has appointed to do this. God has given proof to everyone that he will do this by bringing that man back to life.”
32When the people of the court heard that a person had come back to life, some began joking about it, while others said, “We’ll hear you talk about this some other time.”
33With this response, Paul left the court. 34Some men joined him and became believers. With them were Dionysius, who was a member of the court, and a woman named Damaris, and some other people.
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