In Thessalonica
1 Traveling across Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came into Thessalonica, where there was a Judean synagogue. 2 It was Paul’s habit to join them, and for three Sabbaths he debated the scriptures with them. 3 He showed conclusively that Christ had to suffer and then rise from the dead, and that “this Jesus I am proclaiming to you is Christ.” 4 Some of them were convinced and sided with Paul and Silas, including a great number of devout Greeks, a significant portion of which were prominent women.
5 But this filled the Judeans with envy, so they collected some troublemakers and formed a mob to start a riot in the city. Then they prepared to attack Jason’s house and hunt down Paul and Silas so they could be taken to a public trial. 6 But they couldn’t find them, so they dragged Jason and some believers to the city officials and claimed, “These people who are turning the whole world upside down have now come here too, 7 and Jason took them into his home! They are defying the decrees of Caesar and saying there is another king called Jesus.” 8 When they heard these things, the crowd and the city officials were very upset. 9 So they made Jason and the rest post bail, then released them.
In Berea
10 The believers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night into Berea, where they went to the Judean synagogue. 11 But these people were of more noble character than the Thessalonians. They eagerly accepted the Word and studied the scriptures each day to make sure these things were so. 12 In fact, many of them came to faith, including respectable Greek women and a significant number of men.
13 But when the Judeans in Thessalonica found out that Paul was now proclaiming the Word of God in Berea, they went there too, stirring up the crowd. 14 So again the believers immediately sent Paul all the way to the coast, while Silas and Timothy stayed behind. 15 Those who escorted Paul took him as far as Athens, and then they were instructed to tell Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible.
In Athens
16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he became intrigued with the opportunity presented by this idol-saturated city. 17 He held debates with the Judeans in the synagogue, with devout people, and with whoever happened to show up in the markets each day. 18 But then some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers had discussions with him. Some said “What is this babbler trying to say?” while others said “He seems to be proclaiming foreign gods,” since he brought them the good news about Jesus and his resurrection.
19 So they took him to the Areopagos and said, “Tell us more about this new teaching you’ve been talking about. 19 20 It sounds very strange to us, and we really want to know more about it.” 21 (The residents of Athens, both permanent and transitory, loved nothing more than to discuss new ideas.)
22 So Paul stood in the center of the Areopagos and addressed them: “People of Athens! I couldn’t help but notice how very focused you are on all sorts of spiritual things. 23 As I passed through and considered your shrines, I found a particular one with this inscription: ‘To The Unknown God’. Allow me to introduce you to the One you venerate without knowing.
24 “The God who made the world and all it contains is the Master of heaven and earth. So he doesn’t live in temples made by human hands 25 and doesn’t need their help. The One who gives life and breath to all has no need of anything. 26 Further, from just one person he made every ethnic group there is, all over the world. He determined their appointed eras and boundaries 26 27 so that they might seek him out and find him— though certainly he is not far from any of us. 28 For it is due to him that we live and move and exist. Your own poets have said the same: ‘We too are his offspring’.28
29 “So then, being the offspring of God, we should not suppose that the divine is like gold, silver, or stone, or anything crafted by human design. 30 Now God did in fact grant a pass to such ignorance before, but now he requires everyone everywhere to come to him. 31 For he has set a day in which he will fairly judge all the inhabitants of the world via the man he appointed. God vouched for him by raising him from the dead.”
32 Now when they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some jeered but others said, “We would like to hear more about this again sometime.” 33 So Paul left, 34 but some folks joined him because they believed. Among them were Dionysius (a member of the Areopagos), a woman named Damaris, and various others.
- 19 The Areopagos was the legal and financial city center, and its members functioned in a leading capacity.
- 26 “Person” is implied. Many translators use “blood” instead, but there is nothing in the context to indicate this much detail.
- 28 The poets Paul references are Aratois and Keleanthes. He is using the Greeks’ own literature as a “hook” or point of familiarity, rather than promoting the equality of all gods.