Acts 17
1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where 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 Paul, as his manner was, went in to them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of 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 Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach to you, is 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 believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief 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 Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took to them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.
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 when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brothers to the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come 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 these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one 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 troubled the people and the rulers of the city, 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 when they had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let them go.
[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 immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night to Berea: who coming thither 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 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
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 Therefore many of them believed; also of honorable women which were Greeks, 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 had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people.
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 And then immediately the brothers sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea: but Silas and Timotheus stayed there still.
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 they that conducted Paul brought him to Athens: and receiving a commandment to Silas and Timotheus for to come to him with all speed, 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 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.
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 Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.
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 Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seems to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached to them 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 they took him, and brought him to Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof you speak, is?
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 you bring certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean.
You are teaching some things that startle us [(exc)], so we want to know what they mean.”
21 (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)
[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 Then Paul stood in the middle of Mars’ hill, and said, You men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are too superstitious.
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 as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore you ignorantly worship, him declare I 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 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is 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 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he gives to all life, and breath, and 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 has made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
[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 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every 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 have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his 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 For as much then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like to gold, or silver, or stone, graven by are and man’s device.
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 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commands all men every where 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 has appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he has ordained; whereof he has given assurance to all men, in that he has 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 And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear you again of this matter.
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 So Paul departed from among them.
After they said that, Paul left the council [meeting].
34 However, certain men joined to him, and believed: among the which was 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].
