Acts 17
17 1Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they
came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:
2and Paul, as
his custom was, went in unto them, and for three sabbath days reasoned with
them from the Scriptures,
3opening and alleging that it behooved the
Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom,
said he, I proclaim unto you, is the Christ.
4And some of them
were persuaded, and consorted with Paul and Silas, and of the devout Greeks a
great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.
5But the Jews, being
moved with jealousy, took unto them certain vile fellows of the rabble, and
gathering a crowd, set the city on an uproar; and assaulting the house of
Jason, they sought to bring them forth to the people.
6And when they
found them not, they dragged Jason and certain brethren before the rulers of
the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come
hither also;
7whom Jason hath received: and these all act contrary to the
decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.
8And they troubled the multitude and the rulers of the city, when they
heard these things.
9And when they had taken security from Jason and the
rest, they let them go.
10And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and
Silas by night unto Beroea: who when they were come thither went into the
synagogue of the Jews.
11Now these were more noble than those in
Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of the mind,
examining the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so.
12Many of
them therefore believed; also of the Greek women of honorable estate, and of
men, not a few.
13But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that
the word of God was proclaimed of Paul at Beroea also, they came thither
likewise, stirring up and troubling the multitudes.
14And then
immediately the brethren sent forth Paul to go as far as to the sea: and
Silas and Timothy abode there still.
15But they that conducted Paul
brought him as far as Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and
Timothy that they should come to him with all speed, they departed.
16Now
while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as
he beheld the city full of idols.
17So he reasoned in the synagogue with
Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with them that
met him.
18And certain also of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers
encountered him. And some said, What would this babbler say? others, He
seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached Jesus and
the resurrection.
19And they took hold of him, and brought him unto the
Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new teaching is, which is spoken by
thee?
20For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would
know therefore what these things mean.
21(Now all the Athenians and the
strangers sojourning there spent their time in nothing else, but either to
tell or to hear some new thing.)
22And Paul stood in the midst of the
Areopagus, and said, Ye men of Athens, in all things, I perceive that ye are
very religious.
23For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your
worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. What
therefore ye worship in ignorance, this I set forth unto you.
24The God
that made the world and all things therein, he, being Lord of heaven and
earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
25neither is he served by
men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself giveth to all
life, and breath, and all things;
26and he made of one every nation of
men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined their
appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation;
27that they should
seek God, if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he is not
far from each one of us:
28for in him we live, and move, and have our
being; as certain even of your own poets have said, For we are also his
offspring.
29Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that
the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and device
of man.
30The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked; but now he
commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent:
31inasmuch as he
hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the
man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in
that he hath raised him from the dead.
32Now when they heard of the
resurrection of the dead, some mocked; but others said, We will hear thee
concerning this yet again.
33Thus Paul went out from among them.
34But certain men clave unto him, and believed: among whom also was
Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
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