Atos 17

¹ And taking their journey through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.

² And Paul, according to his custom, went in to them, and three sabbath-days discoursed with them from the scriptures,

³ Opening them and evincing, That Christ ought to suffer, and to rise from the dead, and that this is the Christ, even Jesus, whom I declare unto you.

⁴ And some of them believed, and were joined to Paul and Silas, and a great number of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the principal women.

⁵ But the Jews who believed not, filled with zeal, taking to them some of the mean and profligate fellows, and making a mob, set all the city in an uproar; and assaulting the house of Jason, sought to bring them out to the people.

⁶ But not finding them, they dragged Jason and certain brethren to the rulers of the city, crying aloud, These men, that have turned the world upside down, are come hither also:

⁷ Whom Jason hath privately received; and all these men act contrary to the decrees of Cesar, saying, that there is another king, one Jesus.

⁸ And they alarmed the multitude and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things.

⁹ However having taken security of Jason and of the rest, they let them go.

¹⁰ But the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night to Berea, who coming thither, went into the synagogue of the Jews.

¹¹ These were more ingenuous than those of Thessalonica, receiving the word with all readiness of mind, and daily searching the scriptures, whether those things were so?

¹² Therefore many of them believed, and of the Grecian women of considerable rank, and of the men not a few.

¹³ But when the Jews of Thessalonica knew that the word of God was preached by Paul at Berea also, they came thither likewise, and stirred up the multitude.

¹⁴ Then the brethren sent away Paul immediately, to go as it were to the sea; but Silas and Timothy continued there.

¹⁵ And they that conducted Paul, brought him as far as Athens, and having received an order to Silas and Timothy, to come to him with all speed, they departed.

¹⁶ Now, while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him, seeing the city wholly given to idolatry.

¹⁷ He therefore discoursed in the synagogue to the Jews and the devout persons, and in the market-place daily to those whom he met with.

¹⁸ Then some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers incountered him: and some said, What would this babler say? Others, he seemeth to be a proclaimer of strange gods; because he preached to them Jesus, and the resurrection.

¹⁹ And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine is, which is spoken by thee?

²⁰ For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears; we would therefore know, what these things mean?

²¹ (For all the Athenians, and the strangers sojourning there, spent their time in nothing else, but telling or hearing some new thing.)

²² Then Paul standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that ye are greatly addicted to the worship of invisible powers.

²³ For as I passed along and beheld the objects of your worship, I found an altar, on which was inscribed, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD: him therefore whom ye worship without knowing him, I proclaim unto you.

²⁴ God who made the world and all things therein, being the Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands.

²⁵ Neither is he served by men's hands, as though he needed any thing, he himself giving to all life and breath, and all things.

²⁶ And he hath made of one the whole nation of men, to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation:

²⁷ That they might seek God, if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he be not far from every one of us.

²⁸ For in him we live and move, and have our being; as certain likewise of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

²⁹ Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think the Godhead is like gold or silver, or stone, graven by art and contrivance of man.

³⁰ The times of ignorance indeed God overlooked; but he now commandeth all men every where to repent.

³¹ Because he hath appointed a day, in which he will judge the world righteously, by the man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance to all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

³² And when they heard of the resurrection from the dead, some mocked: but others said, We will hear thee again concerning this.

³³ So Paul departed from among them. Howbeit, some clave to him and believed:

³⁴ among whom was even Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.