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Acts 17
Young's Literal Translation
Acts 17
Young's Literal Translation
17 And having passed through Amphipolis, and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was the synagogue of the Jews,
2 and according to the custom of Paul, he went in unto them, and for three sabbaths he was reasoning with them from the Writings,
3 opening and alleging, `That the Christ it behoved to suffer, and to rise again out of the dead, and that this is the Christ -- Jesus whom I proclaim to you.'
4 And certain of them did believe, and attached themselves to Paul and to Silas, also of the worshipping Greeks a great multitude, of the principal women also not a few.
5 And the unbelieving Jews, having been moved with envy, and having taken to them of the loungers certain evil men, and having made a crowd, were setting the city in an uproar; having assailed also the house of Jason, they were seeking them to bring [them] to the populace,
6 and not having found them, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the city rulers, calling aloud -- `These, having put the world in commotion, are also here present,
7 whom Jason hath received; and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying another to be king -- Jesus.'
8 And they troubled the multitude and the city rulers, hearing these things,
9 and having taking security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.
10 And the brethren immediately, through the night, sent forth both Paul and Silas to Berea, who having come, went to the synagogue of the Jews;
11 and these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, they received the word with all readiness of mind, every day examining the Writings whether those things were so;
12 many, indeed, therefore, of them did believe, and of the honourable Greek women and men not a few.
13 And when the Jews from Thessalonica knew that also in Berea was the word of God declared by Paul, they came thither also, agitating the multitudes;
14 and then immediately the brethren sent forth Paul, to go on as it were to the sea, but both Silas and Timothy were remaining there.
15 And those conducting Paul, brought him unto Athens, and having received a command unto Silas and Timotheus that with all speed they may come unto him, they departed;
16 and Paul waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, beholding the city wholly given to idolatry,
17 therefore, indeed, he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the worshipping persons, and in the market-place every day with those who met with him.
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, `Of strange demons he doth seem to be an announcer;' because Jesus and the rising again he did proclaim to them as good news,
19 having also taken him, unto the Areopagus they brought [him], saying, `Are we able to know what [is] this new teaching that is spoken by thee,
20 for certain strange things thou dost bring to our ears? we wish, then, to know what these things would wish to be;'
21 and all Athenians, and the strangers sojourning, for nothing else were at leisure but to say something, and to hear some newer thing.
22 And Paul, having stood in the midst of the Areopagus, said, `Men, Athenians, in all things I perceive you as over-religious;
23 for passing through and contemplating your objects of worship, I found also an erection on which had been inscribed: To God -- unknown; whom, therefore -- not knowing -- ye do worship, this One I announce to you.
24 `God, who did make the world, and all things in it, this One, of heaven and of earth being Lord, in temples made with hands doth not dwell,
25 neither by the hands of men is He served -- needing anything, He giving to all life, and breath, and all things;
26 He made also of one blood every nation of men, to dwell upon all the face of the earth -- having ordained times before appointed, and the bounds of their dwellings --
27 to seek the Lord, if perhaps they did feel after Him and find, -- though, indeed, He is not far from each one of us,
28 for in Him we live, and move, and are; as also certain of your poets have said: For of Him also we are offspring.
29 `Being, therefore, offspring of God, we ought not to think the Godhead to be like to gold, or silver, or stone, graving of art and device of man;
30 the times, indeed, therefore, of the ignorance God having overlooked, doth now command all men everywhere to reform,
31 because He did set a day in which He is about to judge the world in righteousness, by a man whom He did ordain, having given assurance to all, having raised him out of the dead.'
32 And having heard of a rising again of the dead, some, indeed, were mocking, but others said, `We will hear thee again concerning this;'
33 and so Paul went forth from the midst of them,
34 and certain men having cleaved to him, did believe, among whom [is] also Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman, by name Damaris, and others with them.
Acts 17
New International Version
Acts 17
New International Version
In Thessalonica
17 When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica,(A) where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue,(B) and on three Sabbath(C) days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,(D) 3 explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer(E) and rise from the dead.(F) “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,”(G) he said. 4 Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas,(H) as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women.
5 But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city.(I) They rushed to Jason’s(J) house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd.[a] 6 But when they did not find them, they dragged(K) Jason and some other believers(L) before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world(M) have now come here,(N) 7 and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.”(O) 8 When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. 9 Then they made Jason(P) and the others post bond and let them go.
In Berea
10 As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas(Q) away to Berea.(R) On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.(S) 11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica,(T) for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures(U) every day to see if what Paul said was true.(V) 12 As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.(W)
13 But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea,(X) some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. 14 The believers(Y) immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas(Z) and Timothy(AA) stayed at Berea. 15 Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens(AB) and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.(AC)
In Athens
16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue(AD) with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. 18 A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news(AE) about Jesus and the resurrection.(AF) 19 Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus,(AG) where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching(AH) is that you are presenting? 20 You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” 21 (All the Athenians(AI) and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus(AJ) and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.(AK) 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship(AL)—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it(AM) is the Lord of heaven and earth(AN) and does not live in temples built by human hands.(AO) 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.(AP) 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.(AQ) 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.(AR) 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’[b](AS) As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’[c]
29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill.(AT) 30 In the past God overlooked(AU) such ignorance,(AV) but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.(AW) 31 For he has set a day when he will judge(AX) the world with justice(AY) by the man he has appointed.(AZ) He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”(BA)
32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead,(BB) some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” 33 At that, Paul left the Council. 34 Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus,(BC) also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.
Footnotes
- Acts 17:5 Or the assembly of the people
- Acts 17:28 From the Cretan philosopher Epimenides
- Acts 17:28 From the Cilician Stoic philosopher Aratus
New International Version (NIV) 
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