Acts, 17

1. When they took the road through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they reached Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.

1. Passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they eventually reached Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.

2. Following his usual custom, Paul joined them, and for three sabbaths he entered into discussions with them from the scriptures,

2. Paul as usual went in and for three consecutive Sabbaths developed the arguments from scripture for them,

3. expounding and demonstrating that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead, and that "This is the Messiah, Jesus, whom I proclaim to you."

3. explaining and proving how it was ordained that the Christ should suffer and rise from the dead. 'And the Christ', he said, 'is this Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you.'

4. Some of them were convinced and joined Paul and Silas; so, too, a great number of Greeks who were worshipers, and not a few of the prominent women.

4. Some of them were convinced and joined Paul and Silas, and so did a great many godfearing people and Greeks, as well as a number of the leading women.

5. But the Jews became jealous and recruited some worthless men loitering in the public square, formed a mob, and set the city in turmoil. They marched on the house of Jason, intending to bring them before the people's assembly.

5. The Jews, full of resentment, enlisted the help of a gang from the market place, stirred up a crowd, and soon had the whole city in an uproar. They made for Jason's house, hoping to bring them before the People's Assembly;

6. When they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city magistrates, shouting, "These people who have been creating a disturbance all over the world have now come here,

6. however, they found only Jason and some of the brothers, and these they dragged before the city council, shouting, 'The people who have been turning the whole world upside down have come here now;

7. and Jason has welcomed them. They all act in opposition to the decrees of Caesar and claim instead that there is another king, Jesus."

7. they have been staying at Jason's. They have broken Caesar's edicts by claiming that there is another king, Jesus.'

8. They stirred up the crowd and the city magistrates who, upon hearing these charges,

8. Hearing this, the citizens and the city councillors were alarmed,

9. took a surety payment from Jason and the others before releasing them.

9. and they made Jason and the rest give security before setting them free.

10. The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas to Beroea during the night. Upon arrival they went to the synagogue of the Jews.

10. When it was dark the brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away to Beroea, where they went to the Jewish synagogue as soon as they arrived.

11. These Jews were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with all willingness and examined the scriptures daily to determine whether these things were so.

11. Here the Jews were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they welcomed the word very readily; every day they studied the scriptures to check whether it was true.

12. Many of them became believers, as did not a few of the influential Greek women and men.

12. Many of them became believers, and so did many Greek women of high standing and a number of the men.

13. But when the Jews of Thessalonica learned that the word of God had now been proclaimed by Paul in Beroea also, they came there too to cause a commotion and stir up the crowds.

13. When the Jews of Thessalonica came to learn that the word of God was being preached by Paul in Beroea as well, they went there to make trouble and stir up the people.

14. So the brothers at once sent Paul on his way to the seacoast, while Silas and Timothy remained behind.

14. So the brothers arranged for Paul to go immediately as far as the coast, leaving Silas and Timothy behind.

15. After Paul's escorts had taken him to Athens, they came away with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.

15. Paul's escort took him as far as Athens, and went back with instructions for Silas and Timothy to rejoin Paul as soon as they could.

16. While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he grew exasperated at the sight of the city full of idols.

16. Paul waited for them in Athens and there his whole soul was revolted at the sight of a city given over to idolatry.

17. So he debated in the synagogue with the Jews and with the worshipers, and daily in the public square with whoever happened to be there.

17. In the synagogue he debated with the Jews and the godfearing, and in the market place he debated every day with anyone whom he met.

18. Even some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers engaged him in discussion. Some asked, "What is this scavenger trying to say?" Others said, "He sounds like a promoter of foreign deities," because he was preaching about 'Jesus' and 'Resurrection.'

18. Even a few Epicurean and Stoic philosophers argued with him. Some said, 'What can this parrot mean?' And, because he was preaching about Jesus and Resurrection, others said, 'He seems to be a propagandist for some outlandish gods.'

19. They took him and led him to the Areopagus and said, "May we learn what this new teaching is that you speak of?

19. They got him to accompany them to the Areopagus, where they said to him, 'Can we know what this new doctrine is that you are teaching?

20. For you bring some strange notions to our ears; we should like to know what these things mean."

20. Some of the things you say seemed startling to us and we would like to find out what they mean.'

21. Now all the Athenians as well as the foreigners residing there used their time for nothing else but telling or hearing something new.

21. The one amusement the Athenians and the foreigners living there seem to have is to discuss and listen to the latest ideas.

22. Then Paul stood up at the Areopagus and said: "You Athenians, I see that in every respect you are very religious.

22. So Paul stood before the whole council of the Areopagus and made this speech: 'Men of Athens, I have seen for myself how extremely scrupulous you are in all religious matters,

23. For as I walked around looking carefully at your shrines, I even discovered an altar inscribed, 'To an Unknown God.' What therefore you unknowingly worship, I proclaim to you.

23. because, as I strolled round looking at your sacred monuments, I noticed among other things an altar inscribed: To An Unknown God. In fact, the unknown God you revere is the one I proclaim to you.

24. The God who made the world and all that is in it, the Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries made by human hands,

24. 'Since the God who made the world and everything in it is himself Lord of heaven and earth, he does not make his home in shrines made by human hands.

25. nor is he served by human hands because he needs anything. Rather it is he who gives to everyone life and breath and everything.

25. Nor is he in need of anything, that he should be served by human hands; on the contrary, it is he who gives everything -- including life and breath -- to everyone.

26. He made from one the whole human race to dwell on the entire surface of the earth, and he fixed the ordered seasons and the boundaries of their regions,

26. From one single principle he not only created the whole human race so that they could occupy the entire earth, but he decreed the times and limits of their habitation.

27. so that people might seek God, even perhaps grope for him and find him, though indeed he is not far from any one of us.

27. And he did this so that they might seek the deity and, by feeling their way towards him, succeed in finding him; and indeed he is not far from any of us,

28. For 'In him we live and move and have our being,' as even some of your poets have said, 'For we too are his offspring.'

28. since it is in him that we live, and move, and exist, as indeed some of your own writers have said: We are all his children.

29. Since therefore we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the divinity is like an image fashioned from gold, silver, or stone by human art and imagination.

29. 'Since we are the children of God, we have no excuse for thinking that the deity looks like anything in gold, silver or stone that has been carved and designed by a man.

30. God has overlooked the times of ignorance, but now he demands that all people everywhere repent

30. 'But now, overlooking the times of ignorance, God is telling everyone everywhere that they must repent,

31. because he has established a day on which he will 'judge the world with justice' through a man he has appointed, and he has provided confirmation for all by raising him from the dead."

31. because he has fixed a day when the whole world will be judged in uprightness by a man he has appointed. And God has publicly proved this by raising him from the dead.'

32. When they heard about resurrection of the dead, some began to scoff, but others said, "We should like to hear you on this some other time."

32. At this mention of rising from the dead, some of them burst out laughing; others said, 'We would like to hear you talk about this another time.'

33. And so Paul left them.

33. After that Paul left them,

34. But some did join him, and became believers. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the Court of the Areopagus, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

34. but there were some who attached themselves to him and became believers, among them Dionysius the Aeropagite and a woman called Damaris, and others besides.