Acts 17
1 And having passed through Amphipolis, and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where the synagogue of the Jews was,
After passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia, Paul and Silas came to Thessalonica. Here the Jews had a Synagogue;
2 and according to the custom of Paul, he went in to them, and for three Sabbaths he was reasoning with them from the Writings,
and, following his usual custom, Paul joined them, and for three Sabbaths addressed them, drawing his arguments from the Scriptures.
3 opening and alleging that it was necessary [for] the Christ to suffer, and to rise again out of the dead, and that “this is the Christ—Jesus whom I proclaim to you.”
He laid before them and explained that the Christ must undergo suffering and rise from the dead; and “It is this man,” he declared, “who is the Christ — this Jesus about whom I am telling you.”
4 And certain of them believed, and attached themselves to Paul and to Silas, also a great multitude of the worshiping Greeks, also not a few of the principal women.
Some of the people were convinced, and threw in their lot with Paul and Silas, as did also a large body of Greeks who were accustomed to join in the Jewish services, and a great number of women belonging to the leading families.
5 And the Jews, having been moved with envy, and having taken to themselves certain evil men of the agitators, and having made a crowd, were setting the city in an uproar; having also assailed the house of Jason, they were seeking them to bring [them] to the populace,
But the Jews, becoming jealous, engaged some worthless fellows from the streets, and, getting a mob together, kept the city in an uproar. They attacked Jason’s house, with the intention of bringing Paul and Silas before the Popular Assembly;
6 and having not found them, they drew Jason and certain brothers to the city rulers, calling aloud, “These, having put the world in commotion, are also present here,
and, not finding them there, they proceeded to drag Jason and some of the Brethren before the City Magistrates, shouting out: “These men, who have turned the world upside down, have now come here,
7 whom Jason has received; and all these do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying another to be king—Jesus.”
and have been harboured by Jason! They say that some one else is king — a man called Jesus!”
8 And they troubled the multitude and the city rulers, hearing these things,
On hearing this, the people and the City Magistrates were much concerned;
9 and having taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.
and, before letting them go, they took bail from Jason and the others.
10 And the brothers immediately, through the night, sent forth both Paul and Silas to Berea, who having come, went into the synagogue of the Jews;
That very night the Brethren sent Paul and Silas off to Beroea; and on reaching that place, they went to the Jewish Synagogue.
11 and these were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all readiness of mind, examining the Writings every day [to see] whether those things were so;
These Jews of Beroea were better disposed than those in Thessalonica, for they welcomed the Message with great readiness, and daily examined the Scriptures to see if what was said was true.
12 therefore, many of them, indeed, believed, and not a few of the honorable Greek women and men.
As a consequence, many of them became believers in Christ, besides a considerable number of Greek women of position, and of men also.
13 And when the Jews from Thessalonica knew that also in Berea was the word of God declared by Paul, they came there also, agitating the multitudes;
But, when the Jews of Thessalonica found out that God’s Message had been delivered by Paul at Beroea, they came there too, exciting and disturbing the minds of the people.
14 and then immediately the brothers sent forth Paul, to go on as it were to the sea, but both Silas and Timotheus were remaining there.
Immediately upon that, the Brethren sent Paul off on his way to the sea coast, but both Silas and Timothy stayed behind in Beroea.
15 And those conducting Paul, brought him to Athens, and having received a command to Silas and Timotheus that with all speed they may come to him, they departed;
The friends who escorted Paul took him as far as Athens, and, after receiving a message for Silas and Timothy to join him as quickly as possible, they started on their return.
16 and Paul waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, beholding the city wholly given to idolatry,
While Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his heart was stirred at seeing the whole city full of idols.
17 therefore, indeed, he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the worshiping persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who met with him.
So he argued in the Synagogue with the Jews and with those who joined in their worship, as well as daily in the public Square with those who happened to be there.
18 And certain of the Epicurean and of the Stoic philosophers, were meeting together to see him, and some were saying, “What would this seed picker wish to say?” And others, “He seems to be an announcer of strange demons”; because he proclaimed to them Jesus and the resurrection as good news,
Among others, some Epicurean and Stoic Philosophers joined issue with him. Some would ask “What is this prater wanting to make out?”, while others would say “He seems to be a Preacher of foreign Deities.” (This was because he was telling the Good News about Jesus and the Resurrection).
19 having also taken him, they brought [him] to the Areopagus, saying, “Are we able to know what this new teaching [is] that is spoken by you,
So they laid hold of him and took him to the Court of Areopagus. “May we hear,” they asked, “what new teaching this is which you are giving?
20 for you bring certain strange things to our ears? We resolve, then, to know what these things would wish to be”;
For you are bringing some strange things to our notice, and we should like to know what they mean.”
21 and all Athenians, and the strangers sojourning, for nothing else were at leisure but to say something, and to hear some newer thing.
(All Athenians and the foreigners staying in the city found no time for anything else but telling, or listening to, the last new thing.)
22 And Paul, having stood in the midst of the Areopagus, said, “Men, Athenians, in all things I perceive you as over-religious;
So Paul took his stand in the middle of the Court, and said — “Men of Athens, on every hand I see signs of your being very devout.
23 for passing through and contemplating your objects of worship, I also found an altar on which had been inscribed: To God—unknown; whom, therefore—not knowing—you worship, this One I announce to you.
For as I was going about, looking at your sacred shrines, I came upon an altar with this inscription — ‘To an Unknown God.’ What, therefore, you worship in ignorance, that I am now proclaiming to you.
24 God, who made the world, and all things in it, this One, being Lord of Heaven and of earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands,
The God who made the world and all things that are in it — he, Lord as he is of Heaven and Earth, does not dwell in temples made by hands,
25 neither is He served by the hands of men—needing anything, He giving life to all, and breath, and all things;
nor yet do human hands minister to his wants, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives, to all, life, and breath, and all things.
26 He also made every nation of man of one blood, to dwell on all the face of the earth—having ordained times before appointed, and the bounds of their dwellings—
He made all races of the earth’s surface — fixing a time for their rise and fall, and the limits of their settlements —
27 to seek the LORD, if perhaps they felt after Him and found, though, indeed, He is not far from each one of us,
That they might search for God, if by any means they might feel their way to him and find him. And yet he is not really far from any one of us;
28 for in Him we live, and move, and are; as certain of your poets have also said: For we are also His offspring.
for in him we live and move and are. To use the words of some of your own poets — ‘His offspring, too, are we.’
29 Being, therefore, offspring of God, we ought not to think the Godhead to be like to gold, or silver, or stone, [an] engraving of art and imagination of man;
Therefore, as the offspring of God, we must not think that the Deity has any resemblance to anything made of gold, or silver, or stone — a work of human art and imagination.
30 therefore indeed God, having overlooked the times of ignorance, now commands all men everywhere to convert,
True, God looked with indulgence on the days of men’s ignorance, but now he is announcing to every one everywhere the need for repentance,
31 because He set a day in which He is about to judge the world in righteousness, by a Man whom He ordained, having given assurance to all, having raised Him out of the dead.”
because he has fixed a day on which he intends to ‘judge the world with justice,’ by a man whom he has appointed — and of this he has given all men a pledge by raising this man from the dead.”
32 And having heard of a resurrection of the dead, some, indeed, were mocking, but others said, “We will hear you again concerning this”;
On hearing of a resurrection of the dead, some began jeering, but others said that they would hear what he had to say about that another time.
33 and so Paul went forth from the midst of them,
And so Paul left the Court.
34 and certain men having cleaved to him, believed, among whom [is] also Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman, by name Damaris, and others with them.
There were, however, some men who joined him, and became believers in Christ. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the Court of Areopagus, a woman named Damaris, and several others.
