< Acts 17 >

1 Now after passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica where there was a synagogue of the Jews.
Paul and Silas traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia [towns] and arrived at Thessalonica [city]. There was a Jewish meeting place there.
2 And according to Paul's custom, he went in to them, and for three sabbaths he discoursed with them from the scriptures,
(On the Sabbath/On the Jewish rest day) Paul went into the meeting house, as he usually did. For three weeks [he went there] on each Jewish day of rest. Referring to the Scriptures [about the Messiah], he spoke to the people who were there.
3 explaining and pointing out that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead, and, This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.
He explained and showed that [the prophets wrote that] the Messiah needed to die and (to become alive again/to be raised from the dead [afterwards]). He told them: “This man Jesus, whom I am telling you about, is our Messiah. [He died and became alive again, just like the prophets predicted].”
4 And some of them were persuaded, and joined with Paul and Silas, and of the devout Greeks a great quantity, and of the prominent women not a few.
Some of the Jews [there] were persuaded by {believed} [what Paul had said] and began to associate with Paul and Silas. There were also many non-Jewish people there who worshipped God and many important women [who also believed the message about Jesus], and they began to associate with Paul and Silas.
5 But the disobedient Jews having taken along certain evil men of the marketplaces, and having gathered a mob, were rioting the city. And having stood by the house of Jason, they sought to bring them out to the populace.
But [some leaders of] the Jews there in Thessalonica became jealous [because many people believed what Paul taught]. So they went to the public square and persuaded some lazy men [who were loitering there] to follow them. [In this way, the leaders of] the Jews gathered a crowd and incited them to become noisy and start a riot [against Paul and Silas]. Those [Jews and others] ran to the house of [a man named] Jason. [He was the man who had invited Paul and Silas to stay at his house]. They wanted to bring Paul and Silas outside to where the crowd [of people was waiting].
6 And not having found them, they dragged Jason and some brothers to the city rulers, shouting, The men who have agitated the world, these are present here also,
They discovered that Paul and Silas were not there, but they found Jason [and grabbed him]. They dragged him and some of the [other] believers to where the city officials/authorities and [many other people were gathered]. The men [who had brought Jason] shouted, “Those [two] men have caused trouble [IDM] everywhere [HYP] [they have gone]. Now they have come to our city,
7 whom Jason has received. And all these men are acting against the decrees of Caesar, asserting another man to be king, Jesus.
and [this fellow] Jason invited them to stay at his house. All the people [of this sect] oppose what our Emperor has decreed. They say that another person, whose name is Jesus, is [the real] king!”
8 And they disturbed the multitude and the city rulers when they heard these things.
When the crowd of people [that had gathered] and the city authorities heard that, they became very angry and excited.
9 And after taking bond from Jason and the other men, they released them.
[They wanted to put the believers in jail. But instead], the officials made Jason and the other [believers] pay a fine and told them that they [would give the money back to them if Paul and Silas did not cause any more trouble]. Then the authorities let Jason and those other believers go.
10 And the brothers straightaway sent both Paul and Silas away through the night to Berea, who, when they arrived, went into the synagogue of the Jews.
[So] that same night, the believers sent Paul and Silas [out of Thessalonica] to Berea [town]. When Paul and Silas arrived there, they went to the Jewish meeting place, [on a day when people had gathered there].
11 But these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, who received the word with all willingness, examining the scriptures daily, if it has these things this way.
The [Jews] in Thessalonica had not been very willing to listen to God’s message, but the [Jews] who lived in Berea were very willing to listen, so they listened very eagerly to the message [about Jesus]. Every day they read the Scriptures [for themselves] to find out if what Paul said [about the Messiah] was true.
12 Indeed therefore many of them believed, also of the prominent Greek women, and of men, not a few.
As a result, many of the Jewish people believed [in Jesus], and also some of the important non-Jewish women and many non-Jewish men [believed in him].
13 But when the Jews of Thessalonica also learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea, they came there also, agitating the crowds.
But then the Jews in Thessalonica heard [people tell them] that Paul [was] in Berea and that he was preaching the message from God [about Jesus]. So they went to Berea and [told people there that what Paul was teaching was not true. Thus], they caused many of those people to get angry [at Paul].
14 But then straightaway the brothers sent Paul away to go as far as to the sea, but both Silas and Timothy remained there.
So [several of] the believers [in Berea] took Paul to the coast [to go to another province]. But Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea.
15 And those who brought Paul led him as far as Athens. And after taking a command for Silas and Timothy, that they should come to him quickly, they departed.
When Paul and the other men from Berea [arrived at the coast, they got on a ship and] went to Athens [city]. Then Paul said [to the men who had come with him], “Tell Silas and Timothy to come to me [here in Athens] as soon as they can.” Then those men left [Athens and returned to Berea].
16 But while Paul waited for them in Athens, his spirit was aroused within him, seeing the city being completely idolatrous.
In Athens, Paul waited for Silas and Timothy [to arrive. In the meantime, he walked around in the city. He] became very distressed/disturbed because he saw that throughout [HYP] the city there were many idols.
17 Indeed therefore he was discoursing in the synagogue with the Jews, and with those who worship, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened by.
So he went to the Jewish meeting place and talked [about Jesus] with the Jews, and also with the Greeks who had accepted what the Jews believe. He also went to the public square/center every day and talked to the people [whom he met] there.
18 And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, Whatever does this babbler want to say? But others, He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities, because he brought the good news-Jesus and the resurrection.
Paul met some teachers who liked to talk about what people should believe. [People called] some of them Epicureans and [they called] others Stoics. They told Paul [what they believed], and they asked him [what he believed. Then] some of them said [to one another], “This ignorant person is just talking nonsense [RHQ]!” Others said, “[We(exc) think] that he is teaching people about (foreign gods/[new] gods that we [(exc)] have not heard about).” They said that because Paul was telling them that Jesus [had died and] had become alive again [afterwards. They had not heard that message before].
19 And having taken him, they brought him to the Areopagus, saying, Can we understand what this new doctrine is, being spoken by thee?
So they took Paul to the place where the city council met. [When they arrived] there, they said to Paul, “[Please] tell us, what is this new message that you [(sg)] are teaching people?
20 For thou bring some surprising things to our ears. Therefore, we want to know whatever these things aim to be.
You are teaching some things that startle us [(exc)], so we want to know what they mean.”
21 Now all the Athenians, and the foreigners who dwell alien there, were at leisure in nothing else, than to tell or to hear something new.
[They said that, because] the people of Athens and also the people from other regions who lived there continually talked about what was new [to them], or they listened to [others tell] what was new.
22 And having stood in the middle of the Areopagus, Paul said, Athenian men, I perceive you as deity-fearing in all things.
Then Paul stood up before the men of the city council and said, “Citizens of Athens, I see that you (are very religious/think that it is very important to worship many gods).
23 For, passing through and examining your religious objects, I also found an altar on which had been engraved, TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye worship unknowingly, him I proclaim to you.
I [say that] because, while I was walking along and observing the objects [that represent different gods that] you worship, I even saw an altar that had these words [that someone had] carved [on it: THIS HONORS] THE GOD [THAT WE(exc)] DO NOT KNOW. So now I will tell you about [that God] whom you worship but you do not know.
24 The God who made the world and all things in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, dwells not in temples made with hands,
He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Because he rules over all [beings in] heaven and [on] earth, he does not dwell in shrines that people have made.
25 nor is he served by the hands of men, as needing anything, since he himself gives to all life, and breath, with all things.
He does not need to have anything made for him by people [MTY] {to have people [MTY] make [MTY] anything for him}, because everything that exists belongs to him. He is the one who causes (us [(inc)]/all people) to live and breathe, and [he gives us] all the things [that we(inc) need].
26 And he made from one blood every nation of men to dwell upon all the face of the earth, having determined prescribed times, and the limits of their occupancy,
[In the beginning], God created one couple, and from them God produced all (the ethnic groups/the nations) that now live everywhere on the earth. He also decided where each ethnic group of people should live and how long they should live [there].
27 to search for the Lord, if indeed perhaps they might grope for him and find him, although being not far from each one of us.
He wanted people to realize that they need him. Then maybe they would seek him and find him. [God wants us to seek him], although he is [really] close [LIT] to each one of us.
28 For in him we live, and move, and exist, as also some of the performers from you have said, For of him we are also offspring.
As someone has said, ‘[It is only] because he enables us that we [(inc)] live and move and do [what we do].’ And, as some of your own poets have said, ‘We [(inc)] are God’s children.’
29 Being therefore offspring of God, we ought not think the Divine to be like gold, or silver, or stone handiwork of the skill and thought of man.
Therefore, because we are God’s children [and can communicate like God does], we [(inc)] should not think that he is anything like an image [that people have made] of gold or silver or stone [which cannot communicate]. Those images are designed and skillfully made {People design and make those images}, [but they are not alive].
30 Indeed therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God now commands for all men everywhere to repent.
During the times when people did not know [what God wanted them to do], he did not [immediately] punish [them for what they did]. But now God commands all people everywhere to turn away from their evil behavior.
31 Because he appointed a day during which he is going to judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he appointed, having provided assurance to all men because he raised him from the dead.
[He tells us] that on a certain day that he has chosen he is going to judge [all of us(inc) people in] [MTY] the world. He has appointed a [certain] man to judge [us, and that man will judge each of us] fairly/justly. God has shown to all [people that he has appointed that man to judge everyone], because God (caused him to become alive again after he had died/raised him from the dead).”
32 But when they heard the resurrection of the dead, of course they mocked, but others said, We will hear thee again about this.
When the men of the council heard [Paul say] that ([a man] had become alive again after he had died/[someone] had been raised from the dead), some of them laughed scornfully. But others said, “We [(exc)] would like you [(sg)] to tell us more about this, some other time.”
33 And so Paul departed from among them.
After they said that, Paul left the council [meeting].
34 But some men, having joined with him, believed, among whom was also Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
However, some of the people there went along with Paul and became believers. Among those [who believed in Jesus] was a member of the council whose [name was] Dionysius. Also, an [important] woman whose name was Damaris and some other people [who had heard Paul’s message also believed in Jesus].

< Acts 17 >