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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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
The Acts 17
17
Paul and Silas in Thessalonica
1Paul and Silas traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica. In that city there was a Jewish synagogue. 2Paul went into the synagogue as he always did. On each Sabbath day for three weeks, Paul talked with the Jews about the Scriptures. 3He explained and proved that the Christ must die and then rise from death. He said, “This Jesus I am telling you about is the Christ.” 4Some of the Jews were convinced and joined Paul and Silas. Many of the Greeks who worshiped the true God and many of the important women joined them.
5But the Jews became jealous. They got some evil men from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot. They ran to Jason’s house, looking for Paul and Silas. The men wanted to bring Paul and Silas out to the people. 6But they did not find them. So they dragged Jason and some other believers to the leaders of the city. The people were yelling, “These men have made trouble everywhere in the world. And now they have come here too! 7Jason is keeping them in his house. All of them do things against the laws of Caesar. They say that there is another king called Jesus.”
8When the people and the leaders of the city heard these things, they became very upset. 9They made Jason and the others put up a sum of money. Then they let the believers go free.
Paul and Silas Go to Berea
10That same night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. There Paul and Silas went to the Jewish synagogue. 11These Jews were better than the Jews in Thessalonica. They were eager to hear the things Paul and Silas said. These Jews in Berea studied the Scriptures every day to find out if these things were true. 12So, many of them believed. Many important Greek men and women also believed. 13But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God in Berea, they came there, too. They upset the people and made trouble. 14So the believers quickly sent Paul away to the coast. But Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea. 15The men who took Paul went with him to Athens. Then they carried a message from Paul back to Silas and Timothy. It said, “Come to me as soon as you can.”
Paul in Athens
16Paul was waiting for Silas and Timothy in Athens. He was troubled because he saw that the city was full of idols. 17In the synagogue, he talked with the Jews and the Greeks who worshiped the true God. He also talked every day with people in the marketplace.
18Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers# Philosophers were those who searched for truth. Epicureans believed that pleasures, especially pleasures of the mind, were the goal of life. Stoics believed that life should be without feelings of joy or grief. argued with him. Some of them said, “This man doesn’t know what he is talking about. What is he trying to say?” Paul was telling them the Good News of Jesus’ rising from death. They said, “He seems to be telling us about some other gods.” 19They got Paul and took him to a meeting of the Areopagus.# A council or group of important leaders in Athens. They were like judges. They said, “Please explain to us this new idea that you have been teaching. 20The things you are saying are new to us. We want to know what this teaching means.” 21(All the people of Athens and those from other countries always used their time talking about all the newest ideas.)
22Then Paul stood before the meeting of the Areopagus. He said, “Men of Athens, I can see that you are very religious in all things. 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 A GOD WHO IS NOT KNOWN.” You worship a god that you don’t know. This is the God I am telling you about! 24He 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 that men build! 25This God is the One who gives life, breath, and everything else to people. He does not need any help from them. He has everything he needs. 26God began by making one man. From him came all the different people who live everywhere in the world. He decided exactly when and where they must live. 27God wanted them to look for him and perhaps search all around for him and find him. But he is not far from any of us: 28‘By his power we live and move and exist.’ Some of your own poets have said: ‘For we are his children.’ 29We are God’s children. So, you must not think that God is like something that people imagine or make. He is not like gold, silver, or rock. 30In the past, people did not understand God, but God ignored this. But now, God tells everyone in the world to change his heart and life. 31God has decided on a day that he will judge all the world. He will be fair. He will use a man to do this. God chose that man long ago. And God has proved this to everyone by raising that man from death!”
32When the people heard about Jesus being raised from death, some of them laughed. They said, “We will hear more about this from you later.” 33So Paul went away from them. 34But some of the people believed Paul and joined him. One of those who believed was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus. Also a woman named Damaris and some others believed.
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