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.