Acts 17

Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to ^aThessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: ²and Paul, ^bas his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them ^cout of the scriptures, ^3dopening and alleging, that ^eChrist must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this ^fJesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ. ^4gAnd some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and ^hSilas; and of the ⁱdevout ^kGreeks a great multitude, and of ^lthe chief women not a few. ⁵But ^mthe Jews which believed not, ⁿmoved with envy, took unto them certain ^olewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of ^pJason, and sought to bring them out to the people. ⁶And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain ^qbrethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, ^rThese that have ^sturned ^tthe world upside down are come hither also; ⁷whom Jason hath ^ureceived: and these all do contrary to the ^vdecrees of Cesar, ^wsaying that there is another king, one Jesus. ⁸And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things. ⁹And when they had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let them go.

¹⁰And ^qthe brethren immediately ^xsent away Paul and ^hSilas by night unto Berea: who coming thither ^bwent into the synagogue of the Jews. ¹¹These were more ^ynoble than those in ^aThessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and ^zsearched the scriptures ^adaily, whether those things were so. ¹²Therefore many of them believed; also of ^bhonourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few. ¹³But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at ^cBerea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people. ¹⁴And then immediately the brethren ^dsent away Paul to go as it were to the sea: but ^eSilas and ^fTimotheus abode there still. ¹⁵And they that ^gconducted Paul brought him unto ^hAthens: and ⁱreceiving a commandment unto ^eSilas and ^fTimotheus for to come to him with all speed, they departed.

^16kNow while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. ¹⁷Therefore ^ldisputed he ^min the synagogue with the Jews, and with the ⁿdevout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him. ¹⁸Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because ^ohe preached unto them Jesus, and ^pthe resurrection. ¹⁹And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? ²⁰For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean. ²¹(For all the Athenians and ^qstrangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.) ²²Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said,

Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too ^rsuperstitious. ²³For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this ^sinscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, ^thim declare I unto you. ^24uGod that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is ^xLord of heaven and earth, ^ydwelleth not in temples ^zmade with hands; ²⁵neither is worshipped with men’s hands, ^aas though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all ^blife, and breath, and all things; ²⁶and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath ^cdetermined the times before appointed, and ^dthe bounds of their habitation; ²⁷that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, ^ethough he be not far from every one of us: ²⁸for ^fin him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of ^gyour own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. ²⁹Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, ^hwe ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. ³⁰And the times of this ignorance God ⁱwinked at; but ^know commandeth all men every where to repent: ³¹because he hath appointed a day, in the which ^lhe will judge ^mthe world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ^cordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that ⁿhe hath raised him from the dead.

³²And when they heard of ^othe resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, ^pWe will hear thee again of this matter. ³³So Paul departed from among them. ³⁴Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the ^qAreopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

XVIII.