Acts 17

Modern

Literal

The Uproar in Thessalonica

¹When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.

¹And having passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.

²As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbaths he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

²And according to the custom of Paul, he went in to them, and for three Sabbaths he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

³explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ,” he declared.

³opening and setting forth that it was necessary for the Christ to have suffered and to have risen out from the dead, and that “this Jesus whom I proclaim to you is the Christ.”

⁴Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few leading women.

⁴And some of them were obedient and joined themselves to Paul and to Silas, along with a great multitude of the worshiping Greeks and not a few of the leading women.

⁵The Jews, however, became jealous. So they brought in some troublemakers from the marketplace, formed a mob, and sent the city into an uproar. They raided Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas, hoping to bring them out to the people.

⁵But the Jews, having become jealous and having taken along certain wicked men of the market-loungers, and having collected a crowd, set the city in uproar. And having assailed the house of Jason, they were seeking them to bring out to the people.

⁶But when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have now come here,

⁶But not having found them, they dragged Jason and certain brothers before the city authorities, crying out, “These ones, having upset the world, have come here also,

⁷and Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, named Jesus!”

⁷whom Jason has received. And these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, proclaiming another to be king—Jesus!”

⁸On hearing this, the crowd and city officials were greatly disturbed.

⁸And they stirred up the crowd and the city authorities hearing these things.

⁹And they collected bond from Jason and the others and then released them.

⁹And having taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.

The Character of the Bereans

¹⁰As soon as night had fallen, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went into the Jewish synagogue.

¹⁰And the brothers sent away both Paul and Silas immediately by night to Berea, who, having arrived, went into the synagogue of the Jews.

¹¹Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.^a

¹¹Now these, who were more noble than those in Thessalonica, received the word with all readiness, every day examining the Scriptures, if these things were so.

¹²As a result, many of them believed, along with quite a few prominent Greek women and men.

¹²Therefore many of them indeed believed, and not a few of the prominent Grecian women and men.

¹³But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that Paul was also proclaiming the word of God in Berea, they went there themselves to incite and agitate the crowds.

¹³But when the Jews from Thessalonica knew that the word of God also was proclaimed by Paul in Berea, they came there also, stirring up and agitating the crowds.

¹⁴The brothers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy remained in Berea.

¹⁴And then immediately the brothers sent away Paul to go as to the sea. And both Silas and Timothy remained there.

¹⁵Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then returned with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.

¹⁵And those escorting Paul brought him unto Athens, and having received a command to Silas and Timothy that as quickly as possible they should come to him, they departed.

Paul in Athens

¹⁶While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply disturbed in his spirit to see that the city was full of idols.

¹⁶Now Paul in Athens waiting for them, his spirit was provoked in him, seeing the city to be utterly idolatrous.

¹⁷So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles, and in the marketplace with those he met each day.

¹⁷So indeed he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and those worshiping, and in the marketplace on every day with those meeting.

¹⁸Some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others said, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was proclaiming the good news of Jesus and the resurrection.

¹⁸And also some of the Epicureans and Stoics, philosophers, encountered him, and some were saying, “What may this babbler desire to say?” but others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange gods,” because he was proclaiming the gospel—Jesus and the resurrection.

¹⁹So they took Paul and brought him to the Areopagus,^a where they asked him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?

¹⁹And having taken hold of him, they brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “Are we able to know what this new teaching is that is spoken by you?

²⁰For you are bringing some strange notions to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.”

²⁰For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. We resolve, therefore, to know what these things wish to be.”

²¹Now all the Athenians and foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing more than hearing and articulating new ideas.

²¹Now all the Athenians and the visiting foreigners spent their time on nothing other than to say something and to hear something new.

Paul’s Address in the Areopagus

²²Then Paul stood up in the meeting^a of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that in every way you are very religious.

²²And Paul, having stood in the midst of the Areopagus, was saying, “Men, Athenians, in all things I perceive you as very religious.

²³For as I walked around and examined your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription:

TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.

Therefore what you worship as something unknown, I now proclaim to you.

²³For passing through and examining your objects of worship, I even found an altar on which had been inscribed: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore whom you worship without knowing, this I proclaim to you.

²⁴The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made by human hands.

²⁴The God having made the world and all things that are in it, He, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in hand-made temples,

²⁵Nor is He served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.

²⁵nor is He served by hands of men as needing anything—He who gives to all life and breath and all things.

²⁶From one man^a He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands.

²⁶And He made out of one man every nation of men to dwell upon all the face of the earth, having determined the appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,

²⁷God intended that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.

²⁷to seek God, if perhaps indeed they might feel after Him and might find Him. And indeed, He is not far from each one of us.

²⁸‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’^a As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’^b

²⁸‘For in Him we live and move and are.’ As also some of the poets among you have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’

²⁹Therefore, being offspring of God, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man’s skill and imagination.

²⁹Therefore, being offspring of God, we ought not to consider the Divine Being to be like gold or silver or stone, a graven thing of man’s craft and imagination.

³⁰Although God overlooked the ignorance of earlier times, He now commands all people everywhere to repent.

³⁰Indeed, therefore, God, having overlooked the times of ignorance, now commands all men everywhere to repent,

³¹For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”

³¹because He set a day in which He is about to judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He appointed, having provided a guarantee to all, having raised Him out from the dead.”

³²When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some began to mock him, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this topic.”

³²Now having heard of a resurrection of the dead, some indeed began mocking, but some said, “We will hear you concerning this again also.”

³³At that, Paul left the Areopagus.

³³Thus Paul went out from their midst.

³⁴But some joined^a him and believed, including Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others who were with them.

³⁴But some men, having joined themselves to him, believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.