{"book":"Acts","slug":"acts","ch":17,"genre":"prose","sub":"The Acts of the Apostles","prev":"acts/16","next":"acts/18","verses":[{"v":1,"t":"[When] they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.","f":[],"h":"The Uproar in Thessalonica","style":"reg"},{"v":2,"t":"As was [his] custom, Paul went into [the synagogue], and on three Sabbaths he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,","f":[]},{"v":3,"t":"explaining 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 ].","f":[]},{"v":4,"t":"Some 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.","f":[]},{"v":5,"t":"The 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.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":6,"t":"But 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,","f":[]},{"v":7,"t":"[and] Jason has welcomed them into his home. They {are} all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, [ named ] Jesus!”","f":[]},{"v":8,"t":"On hearing this, the crowd and city officials were greatly disturbed.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":9,"t":"And they collected bond from Jason and the others [and then] released them.","f":[]},{"v":10,"t":"As soon as night [had fallen], the brothers sent Paul and Silas {away} to Berea. On arriving [there], they went into the Jewish synagogue.","f":[],"h":"The Character of the Bereans","style":"reg"},{"v":11,"t":"Now [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.","f":["Literally with great eagerness, every day examining the Writings, whether these things were so."]},{"v":12,"t":"As a result, many of them believed, along with [quite] a few prominent Greek women and men.","f":[]},{"v":13,"t":"But 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.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":14,"t":"The brothers immediately sent Paul to the [coast], [but] Silas and Timothy remained [in Berea].","f":[]},{"v":15,"t":"Those who escorted Paul brought [him] to Athens and then [returned] with instructions for Silas and Timothy to [join] him as soon as possible.","f":[]},{"v":16,"t":"[While] Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply disturbed in his spirit to see that the city was full of idols.","f":[],"h":"Paul in Athens","style":"reg"},{"v":17,"t":"So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and God-fearing [Gentiles], and in the marketplace with those he met each day.","f":[]},{"v":18,"t":"Some 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.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":19,"t":"So they took [Paul] [and] brought [him] to the Areopagus, [where] they asked [him],“ May we know what this new teaching [is] [that] you are presenting?","f":["Or Ares Hill or Mars Hill; also in verse 22 and added for clarity in verse 33"],"style":"reg"},{"v":20,"t":"For you are bringing some strange notions to our ears, [and] we want to know what [they] mean.”","f":[]},{"v":21,"t":"Now all [the] Athenians and foreigners who lived there spent their time [doing] nothing [more] than hearing and articulating new [ideas].","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":22,"t":"Then Paul stood up in [the] meeting of the Areopagus [and] said,“ Men [of] Athens, I see that in every way you [are] very religious.","f":["Literally in the middle"],"h":"Paul’s Address in the Areopagus","style":"reg"},{"v":23,"t":"For 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.","f":[],"lines":[{"style":"","t":"For as I walked around and examined your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription:"},{"style":"reg","t":"TO AN UNKNOWN GOD."},{"style":"reg","t":"Therefore what you worship as something unknown, I [now] proclaim to you."}],"style":"reg"},{"v":24,"t":"The 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.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":25,"t":"Nor is He served by human hands, as if He needed anything, [because] He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything [else].","f":[]},{"v":26,"t":"From one [man] 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.","f":["Literally From one; BYZ and TR From one blood"]},{"v":27,"t":"[ God 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.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":28,"t":"‘ For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your [own] poets have said,‘ We are [His] offspring.’","f":["This is probably a quote from the Cretan philosopher Epimenides of Knossos.","This is probably a quote from the poem “Phainomena” by the Cilician philosopher Aratus."]},{"v":29,"t":"Therefore, 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.","f":[]},{"v":30,"t":"Although God overlooked the ignorance of [earlier] times, He now commands all people everywhere to repent.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":31,"t":"For 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.”","f":[]},{"v":32,"t":"[When] 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].”","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":33,"t":"At that, Paul left [the Areopagus].","f":[]},{"v":34,"t":"But some joined him [and] believed, including Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others [who were] with them.","f":["Literally some men"]}]}