Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to ^aThessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And ^aaccording to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three ^bSabbaths reasoned with them from ^cthe Scriptures, 3 ¹explaining and ²giving evidence that the ³Christ ^ahad to suffer and ^brise again from the dead, and saying, “^cThis Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the ⁴Christ.” 4 ^aAnd some of them were persuaded and joined ^bPaul and Silas, ¹along with a large number of the ^cGod-fearing ^dGreeks and ²a number of the ^eleading women. 5 But ^athe Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the market place, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and attacking the house of ^bJason, they were seeking to bring them out to the people. 6 When they did not find them, they began ^adragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset ^1bthe world have come here also; 7 ¹and Jason ^ahas welcomed them, and they all act ^bcontrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” 8 They stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things. 9 And when they had received a ¹pledge from ^aJason and the others, they released them.

10 ^aThe brethren immediately sent ^bPaul and Silas away by night to ^cBerea, ¹and when they arrived, they went into ^dthe synagogue of the Jews. 11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in ^aThessalonica, ¹for they received the word with ²great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. 12 Therefore ^amany of them believed, ¹along with a number of ^bprominent Greek ^cwomen and men. 13 But when the Jews of ^aThessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in ^bBerea also, they came there as well, agitating and stirring up the crowds. 14 Then immediately ^athe brethren sent Paul out to go as far as the sea; and ^bSilas and ^cTimothy remained there. 15 Now ^athose who escorted Paul brought him as far as ^bAthens; and receiving a command for ^cSilas and Timothy to ^dcome to him as soon as possible, they left.

16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at ^aAthens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols. 17 So he was reasoning ^ain the synagogue with the Jews and ^bthe God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present. 18 And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were ¹conversing with him. Some were saying, “What would ^athis ²idle babbler wish to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was preaching ^bJesus and the resurrection. 19 And they ^atook him and brought him ¹to the ^2bAreopagus, saying, “May we know what ^cthis new teaching is ³which you are proclaiming? 20 For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean.” 21 (Now all the Athenians and the strangers ^avisiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)

22 So Paul stood in the midst of the ¹Areopagus and said, “Men of ^aAthens, I observe that you are very ^breligious in all respects. 23 For while I was passing through and examining the ^aobjects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what ^byou worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. 24 ^aThe God who made the world and all things in it, since He is ^bLord of heaven and earth, does not ^cdwell in temples made with hands; 25 nor is He served by human hands, ^aas though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; 26 and ^aHe made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having ^bdetermined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, 27 that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, ^athough He is not far from each one of us; 28 for ^ain Him we live and move and ¹exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ 29 Being then the children of God, we ^aought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. 30 Therefore having ^aoverlooked ^bthe times of ignorance, God is ^cnow declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, 31 because He has fixed ^aa day in which ^bHe will judge ^1cthe world in righteousness ²through a Man whom He has ^dappointed, having furnished proof to all men ³by ^eraising Him from the dead.”

32 Now when they heard of ^athe resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, “We shall hear you ¹again concerning this.” 33 So Paul went out of their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the ^aAreopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to ^aThessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And ^aaccording to Paul’s custom, he ¹visited them, and for three ^bSabbaths reasoned with them from ^cthe Scriptures, 3 ¹explaining and ²giving evidence that the ³Christ ^ahad to suffer and ^brise from the dead, and saying, “^cThis Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the ⁴Christ.” 4 ^aAnd some of them were persuaded and joined ^bPaul and Silas, ¹along with a large number of the ^cGod-fearing ^dGreeks and ²a significant number of the ^eleading women. 5 But ^athe Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the marketplace, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and they attacked the house of ^bJason and were seeking to bring them out to the people. 6 When they did not find them, they began ^adragging Jason and some brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset ^1bthe world have come here also; 7 ¹and Jason ^ahas welcomed them, and they all act ^bcontrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” 8 They stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things. 9 And when they had received a ¹pledge from ^aJason and the others, they released them.

10 ^aThe brothers immediately sent ^bPaul and Silas away by night to ^cBerea, ¹and when they arrived, they went into ^dthe synagogue of the Jews. 11 Now these people were more noble-minded than those in ^aThessalonica, ¹for they received the word with ²great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. 12 Therefore, ^amany of them believed, ¹along with a significant number of ^bprominent Greek ^cwomen and men. 13 But when the Jews of ^aThessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in ^bBerea also, they came there as well, agitating and stirring up the crowds. 14 Then immediately ^athe brothers sent Paul out to go as far as the sea; and ^bSilas and ^cTimothy remained there. 15 Now ^athose who escorted Paul brought him as far as ^bAthens; and receiving a command for ^cSilas and Timothy to ^dcome to him as soon as possible, they left.

16 Now while Paul was waiting for them in ^aAthens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he observed that the city was full of idols. 17 So he was reasoning ^ain the synagogue with the Jews and ^bthe God-fearing Gentiles, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be present. 18 And some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers as well were ¹conversing with him. Some were saying, “What could ^athis ²scavenger of tidbits want to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was preaching ^bJesus and the resurrection. 19 And they ^atook him and brought him ¹to the ^2bAreopagus, saying, “May we know what ^cthis new teaching is ³which you are proclaiming? 20 For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean.” 21 (Now all the Athenians and the strangers ^avisiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)

22 So Paul stood in the midst of the ¹Areopagus and said, “Men of ^aAthens, I see that you are very ^breligious in all respects. 23 For while I was passing through and examining the ^aobjects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore, what ^byou worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. 24 ^aThe God who made the world and everything that is in it, since He is ^bLord of heaven and earth, does not ^cdwell in temples made by hands; 25 nor is He served by human hands, ^aas though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; 26 and ^aHe made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having ^bdetermined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, 27 that they would seek God, if perhaps they might feel around for Him and find Him, ^athough He is not far from each one of us; 28 for ^ain Him we live and move and ¹exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His descendants.’ 29 Therefore, since we are the descendants of God, we ^aought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by human skill and thought. 30 So having ^aoverlooked ^bthe times of ignorance, God is ^cnow proclaiming to mankind that all people everywhere are to repent, 31 because He has set ^aa day on which ^bHe will judge ^1cthe world in righteousness ²through a Man whom He has ^dappointed, having furnished proof to all people ³by ^eraising Him from the dead.”

32 Now when they heard of ^athe resurrection of the dead, some began to scoff, but others said, “We shall hear from you ¹again concerning this.” 33 So Paul went out from among them. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the ^aAreopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

Now after Paul and Silas had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to ^aThessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul entered the synagogue, ^aas was his ¹custom, and for three ^bSabbaths he engaged in discussion and friendly debate with them from ^cthe Scriptures, 3 explaining and pointing out scriptural evidence that it was necessary for the Christ ^ato suffer and ^brise from the dead, and saying, “^cThis Jesus, whom I am proclaiming to you, is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) .” 4 ^aAnd some of them were persuaded to believe and joined ^bPaul and Silas, along with a large number of the ^cGod-fearing ^dGreeks and many of the ^eleading women. 5 But ^athe unbelieving Jews became jealous, and taking along some thugs from the lowlifes in the market place, they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and then attacking ^bJason’s house tried to bring Paul and Silas out to the people. 6 But when they failed to find them, they ^adragged Jason and some brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned ^bthe world upside down have come here too; 7 and Jason ^ahas welcomed them into his house and protected them! And they all are ^bsaying things contrary to the decrees of Caesar, actually claiming that there is another king, Jesus.” 8 They stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things. 9 And when they had taken security (bail) from ^aJason and the others, they let them go.

10 ^aThe brothers immediately sent ^bPaul and Silas away by night to ^cBerea; and when they arrived, they entered ^dthe Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these people were more noble and open-minded than those in ^aThessalonica, so they received the message of salvation through faith in the Christ with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. 12 As a result ^amany of them became believers, together with a number of ^bprominent Greek ^cwomen and men. 13 But when the Jews of ^aThessalonica learned that the word of God concerning eternal salvation through faith in Christ had also been preached by Paul at ^bBerea, they came there too, agitating and disturbing the crowds. 14 So at that time ^athe brothers immediately sent Paul away to go as far as the sea; but ^bSilas and ^cTimothy remained there at Berea. 15 ^aThose who escorted Paul brought him to ^bAthens; and after receiving instructions from Paul for ^cSilas and Timothy to ^djoin him as soon as possible, they left.

16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at ^aAthens, his spirit was greatly angered when he saw that the city was full of idols. 17 So he had discussions ^ain the synagogue with the Jews and ^bthe God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place day after day with any who happened to be there. 18 And some of the ¹Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to engage in conversation with him. And some said, “What could ^athis idle babbler with his eclectic, scrap-heap learning have in mind to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities”—because he was preaching the good news about ^bJesus and the resurrection. 19 They ^atook him and brought him to the ^1bAreopagus (Hill of Ares, the Greek god of war) , saying, “May we know what ^cthis strange new teaching is which you are proclaiming? 20 For you are bringing some startling and strange things to our ears; so we want to know what they mean.” 21 (Now all the Athenians and the foreigners ^avisiting there used to spend their leisure time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)

22 So Paul, standing in the center of the Areopagus, said: “Men of ^aAthens, I observe with every turn I make throughout the city that you are very ^breligious and devout in all respects. 23 Now as I was going along and carefully looking at your ^aobjects of worship, I came to an altar with this inscription: ‘TO AN ¹UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what ^byou already worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 ^aThe God who created the world and everything in it, since He is ^bLord of heaven and earth, does not ^cdwell in temples made with hands; 25 nor is He ¹served by human hands, ^aas though He needed anything, because it is He who gives to all people life and breath and all things. Is 42:5 26 And ^aHe made from one man every nation of mankind to live on the face of the earth, having ^bdetermined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands and territories. 27 This was so that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grasp for Him and find Him, ^athough He is not far from each one of us. 28 For ^ain Him we live and move and exist that is, in Him we actually have our being, as even some of ¹your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ 29 So then, being God’s children, we ^ashould not think that the Divine Nature (deity) is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination or skill of man. 30 Therefore God ^aoverlooked and disregarded the former ^bages of ignorance; but ^cnow He commands all people everywhere to repent that is, to change their old way of thinking, to regret their past sins, and to seek God’s purpose for their lives, 31 because He has set ^aa day when ^bHe will judge ^cthe inhabited world in righteousness by a Man whom He has ^dappointed and destined for that task, and He has provided credible proof to everyone by ^eraising Him from the dead.” Ps 9:8; 96:13; 98:9

32 Now when they heard the term ^aresurrection from the dead, ¹some mocked and sneered; but others said, “We will hear from you again about this matter.” 33 So Paul left them. 34 But some men joined him and believed; among them were Dionysius, a judge of the Council of ^aAreopagus, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.