New Living Translation

New American Standard Bible 1995

1Paul and Silas then traveled through the towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.

1Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.

2As was Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with the people.

2And according to Paul's custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

3He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, “This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah.”

3explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ."

4Some of the Jews who listened were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with many God-fearing Greek men and quite a few prominent women.

4And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of the God-fearing Greeks and a number of the leading women.

5But some of the Jews were jealous, so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd.

5But the 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 Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the people.

6Not finding them there, they dragged out Jason and some of the other believers instead and took them before the city council. “Paul and Silas have caused trouble all over the world,” they shouted, “and now they are here disturbing our city, too.

6When they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, "These men who have upset the world have come here also;

7And Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all guilty of treason against Caesar, for they profess allegiance to another king, named Jesus.”

7and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus."

8The people of the city, as well as the city council, were thrown into turmoil by these reports.

8They stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things.

9So the officials forced Jason and the other believers to post bond, and then they released them. Paul and Silas in Berea

9And when they had received a pledge from Jason and the others, they released them.

10That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.

10The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.

11And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.

11Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.

12As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.

12Therefore many of them believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men.

13But when some Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God in Berea, they went there and stirred up trouble.

13But when the Jews of Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Berea also, they came there as well, agitating and stirring up the crowds.

14The believers acted at once, sending Paul on to the coast, while Silas and Timothy remained behind.

14Then immediately the brethren sent Paul out to go as far as the sea; and Silas and Timothy remained there.

15Those escorting Paul went with him all the way to Athens; then they returned to Berea with instructions for Silas and Timothy to hurry and join him. Paul Preaches in Athens

15Now those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left.

16While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city.

16Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols.

17He went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and he spoke daily in the public square to all who happened to be there.

17So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present.

18He also had a debate with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. When he told them about Jesus and his resurrection, they said, “What’s this babbler trying to say with these strange ideas he’s picked up?” Others said, “He seems to be preaching about some foreign gods.”

18And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. Some were saying, "What would this idle babbler wish to say?" Others, "He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,"-- because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.

19Then they took him to the high council of the city. “Come and tell us about this new teaching,” they said.

19And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, "May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming?

20“You are saying some rather strange things, and we want to know what it’s all about.”

20"For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean."

21(It should be explained that all the Athenians as well as the foreigners in Athens seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest ideas.)

21(Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)

22So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way,

22So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects.

23for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.

23"For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.' Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.

24“He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples,

24"The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands;

25and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need.

25nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;

26From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.

26and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,

27“His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us.

27that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;

28For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

28for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His children.'

29And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.

29"Being then the children of God, we ought 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“God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him.

30"Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent,

31For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”

31because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead."

32When they heard Paul speak about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt, but others said, “We want to hear more about this later.”

32Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, "We shall hear you again concerning this."

33That ended Paul’s discussion with them,

33So Paul went out of their midst.

34but some joined him and became believers. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the council, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

34But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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