Acts 17:1–16

Paul and Silas in Thessalonica

¹Paul and Silas traveled through the cities of Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to the city of Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue. ²As usual, Paul went into the synagogue. On three consecutive days of rest—holy days, he had discussions about Scripture with the synagogue members. ³He explained and showed them that the Messiah had to suffer, die, and come back to life, and that Jesus, the person he talked about, was this Messiah. 

⁴Some of the Jews were persuaded to join Paul and Silas, especially a large group of Greeks who had converted to Judaism and the wives of many prominent men. 

⁵Then the Jews became jealous. They took some low-class characters who hung around the public square, formed a mob, and started a riot in the city. They attacked Jason’s home and searched it for Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. ⁶When they didn’t find Paul and Silas, they dragged Jason and some other believers in front of the city officials. They shouted, “Those men who have made trouble all over the world are now here in Thessalonica, ⁷and Jason has welcomed them as his guests. All of them oppose the emperor’s decrees by saying that there is another king, whose name is Jesus.” 

⁸The crowd and the officials were upset when they heard this. ⁹But after they had made Jason and the others post bond, they let them go. 

¹⁰Immediately when night came, the believers sent Paul and Silas to the city of Berea. 

Paul and Silas in Berea

When Paul and Silas arrived in the city of Berea, they entered the synagogue. ¹¹The people of Berea were more open-minded than the people of Thessalonica. They were very willing to receive God’s message, and every day they carefully examined the Scriptures to see if what Paul said was true. ¹²Many of them became believers, and quite a number of them were prominent Greek men and women. 

¹³But when the Jews in Thessalonica found out that Paul was also spreading God’s word in Berea, they went there to upset and confuse the people. ¹⁴The believers immediately sent Paul to the seacoast, but Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea. 

Paul in Athens

¹⁵The men who escorted Paul took him all the way to the city of Athens. When the men left Athens, they took instructions back to Silas and Timothy to join Paul as soon as possible. 

¹⁶While Paul was waiting for Silas and Timothy in Athens, he saw that the city had statues of false gods everywhere. This upset him.