Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Athens » A city » A city of greece
Those who were caring for Paul's safety went with him as far as Athens, and then left him, taking a message from him to Silas and Timothy, asking them to join him as speedily as possible. While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was stirred within him when he noticed that the city was full of idols. So he had discussions in the synagogue with the Jews and the other worshippers, and in the market place, day after day, with those whom he happened to meet. read more.
A few of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also encountered him. Some of them asked, "What has this beggarly babbler to say?" "His business," said others, "seems to be to cry up some foreign gods." This was because he had been telling the Good News of Jesus and the Resurrection. Then they took him and brought him up to the Areopagus, asking him, "May we be told what this new teaching of yours is? For the things you are saying sound strange to us. We should therefore like to be told exactly what they mean." (For all the Athenians and their foreign visitors used to devote their whole leisure to telling or hearing about something new.) So Paul, taking his stand in the centre of the Areopagus, spoke as follows: "Men of Athens, I perceive that you are in every respect remarkably religious. For as I passed along and observed the things you worship, I found also an altar bearing the inscription, 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.' "The Being, therefore, whom you, without knowing Him, revere, Him I now proclaim to you. GOD who made the universe and everything in it--He, being Lord of Heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries built by men. Nor is He ministered to by human hands, as though He needed anything--but He Himself gives to all men life and breath and all things. He caused to spring from one forefather people of every race, for them to live on the whole surface of the earth, and marked out for them an appointed span of life and the boundaries of their homes; that they might seek God, if perhaps they could grope for Him and find Him. Yes, though He is not far from any one of us. For it is in closest union with Him that we live and move and have our being; as in fact some of the poets in repute among yourselves have said, 'For we are also His offspring.' Since then we are God's offspring, we ought not to imagine that His nature resembles gold or silver or marble, or anything sculptured by the art and inventive faculty of man. Those times of ignorance God viewed with indulgence. But now He commands all men everywhere to repent, seeing that He has appointed a day on which, before long, He will judge the world in righteousness, through the instrumentality of a man whom He has pre-destined to this work, and has made the fact certain to every one by raising Him from the dead." When they heard Paul speak of a resurrection of dead men, some began to scoff. But others said, "We will hear you again on that subject." So Paul went away from them. A few, however, attached themselves to him and believed, among them being Dionysius a member of the Council, a gentlewoman named Damaris, and some others.
A few of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also encountered him. Some of them asked, "What has this beggarly babbler to say?" "His business," said others, "seems to be to cry up some foreign gods." This was because he had been telling the Good News of Jesus and the Resurrection. Then they took him and brought him up to the Areopagus, asking him, "May we be told what this new teaching of yours is? For the things you are saying sound strange to us. We should therefore like to be told exactly what they mean." (For all the Athenians and their foreign visitors used to devote their whole leisure to telling or hearing about something new.) So Paul, taking his stand in the centre of the Areopagus, spoke as follows: "Men of Athens, I perceive that you are in every respect remarkably religious. For as I passed along and observed the things you worship, I found also an altar bearing the inscription, 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.' "The Being, therefore, whom you, without knowing Him, revere, Him I now proclaim to you. GOD who made the universe and everything in it--He, being Lord of Heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries built by men. Nor is He ministered to by human hands, as though He needed anything--but He Himself gives to all men life and breath and all things. He caused to spring from one forefather people of every race, for them to live on the whole surface of the earth, and marked out for them an appointed span of life and the boundaries of their homes; that they might seek God, if perhaps they could grope for Him and find Him. Yes, though He is not far from any one of us. For it is in closest union with Him that we live and move and have our being; as in fact some of the poets in repute among yourselves have said, 'For we are also His offspring.' Since then we are God's offspring, we ought not to imagine that His nature resembles gold or silver or marble, or anything sculptured by the art and inventive faculty of man. Those times of ignorance God viewed with indulgence. But now He commands all men everywhere to repent, seeing that He has appointed a day on which, before long, He will judge the world in righteousness, through the instrumentality of a man whom He has pre-destined to this work, and has made the fact certain to every one by raising Him from the dead." When they heard Paul speak of a resurrection of dead men, some began to scoff. But others said, "We will hear you again on that subject." So Paul went away from them. A few, however, attached themselves to him and believed, among them being Dionysius a member of the Council, a gentlewoman named Damaris, and some others.
So when we could endure it no longer, we decided to remain behind in Athens alone;
Verse Concepts
Curiosity » Instances of » Of the athenians, to hear some new thing
Then they took him and brought him up to the Areopagus, asking him, "May we be told what this new teaching of yours is? For the things you are saying sound strange to us. We should therefore like to be told exactly what they mean." (For all the Athenians and their foreign visitors used to devote their whole leisure to telling or hearing about something new.)
Mar's hill » Hill » Athens
Then they took him and brought him up to the Areopagus, asking him, "May we be told what this new teaching of yours is? For the things you are saying sound strange to us. We should therefore like to be told exactly what they mean." (For all the Athenians and their foreign visitors used to devote their whole leisure to telling or hearing about something new.) read more.
So Paul, taking his stand in the centre of the Areopagus, spoke as follows: "Men of Athens, I perceive that you are in every respect remarkably religious. For as I passed along and observed the things you worship, I found also an altar bearing the inscription, 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.' "The Being, therefore, whom you, without knowing Him, revere, Him I now proclaim to you. GOD who made the universe and everything in it--He, being Lord of Heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries built by men. Nor is He ministered to by human hands, as though He needed anything--but He Himself gives to all men life and breath and all things. He caused to spring from one forefather people of every race, for them to live on the whole surface of the earth, and marked out for them an appointed span of life and the boundaries of their homes; that they might seek God, if perhaps they could grope for Him and find Him. Yes, though He is not far from any one of us. For it is in closest union with Him that we live and move and have our being; as in fact some of the poets in repute among yourselves have said, 'For we are also His offspring.' Since then we are God's offspring, we ought not to imagine that His nature resembles gold or silver or marble, or anything sculptured by the art and inventive faculty of man. Those times of ignorance God viewed with indulgence. But now He commands all men everywhere to repent, seeing that He has appointed a day on which, before long, He will judge the world in righteousness, through the instrumentality of a man whom He has pre-destined to this work, and has made the fact certain to every one by raising Him from the dead." When they heard Paul speak of a resurrection of dead men, some began to scoff. But others said, "We will hear you again on that subject." So Paul went away from them. A few, however, attached themselves to him and believed, among them being Dionysius a member of the Council, a gentlewoman named Damaris, and some others.
So Paul, taking his stand in the centre of the Areopagus, spoke as follows: "Men of Athens, I perceive that you are in every respect remarkably religious. For as I passed along and observed the things you worship, I found also an altar bearing the inscription, 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.' "The Being, therefore, whom you, without knowing Him, revere, Him I now proclaim to you. GOD who made the universe and everything in it--He, being Lord of Heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries built by men. Nor is He ministered to by human hands, as though He needed anything--but He Himself gives to all men life and breath and all things. He caused to spring from one forefather people of every race, for them to live on the whole surface of the earth, and marked out for them an appointed span of life and the boundaries of their homes; that they might seek God, if perhaps they could grope for Him and find Him. Yes, though He is not far from any one of us. For it is in closest union with Him that we live and move and have our being; as in fact some of the poets in repute among yourselves have said, 'For we are also His offspring.' Since then we are God's offspring, we ought not to imagine that His nature resembles gold or silver or marble, or anything sculptured by the art and inventive faculty of man. Those times of ignorance God viewed with indulgence. But now He commands all men everywhere to repent, seeing that He has appointed a day on which, before long, He will judge the world in righteousness, through the instrumentality of a man whom He has pre-destined to this work, and has made the fact certain to every one by raising Him from the dead." When they heard Paul speak of a resurrection of dead men, some began to scoff. But others said, "We will hear you again on that subject." So Paul went away from them. A few, however, attached themselves to him and believed, among them being Dionysius a member of the Council, a gentlewoman named Damaris, and some others.
Missionary journeys » Ac 13-14 » Second - with silas
After a while Paul said to Barnabas, "Suppose we now revisit the brethren in the various towns in which we have made known the Lord's Message--to see whether they are prospering!" Barnabas, however, was bent on taking with them John, whose other name was Mark, while Paul deemed it undesirable to have as their companion one who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone on with them to the work. read more.
So there arose a serious disagreement between them, which resulted in their parting from one another, Barnabas taking Mark and setting sail for Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas as his travelling companion; and set out, after being commended by the brethren to the grace of the Lord; and he passed through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the Churches. He also came to Derbe and to Lystra. At Lystra he found a disciple, Timothy by name--the son of a Christian Jewess, though he had a Greek father. Timothy was well spoken of by the brethren at Lystra and Iconium, and Paul desiring that he should accompany him on his journey, took him and circumcised him on account of the Jews in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they journeyed on from town to town, they handed to the brethren for their observance the decisions which had been arrived at by the Apostles and Elders in Jerusalem. So the Churches went on gaining a stronger faith and growing in numbers from day to day. Then Paul and his companions passed through Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to proclaim the Message in the province of Asia. When they reached the frontier of Mysia, they were about to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not permit this. So, passing along Mysia, they came to Troas. Here, one night, Paul saw a vision. There was a Macedonian who was standing, entreating him and saying, "Come over into Macedonia and help us." So when he had seen the vision, we immediately looked out for an opportunity of passing on into Macedonia, confidently inferring that God had called us to proclaim the Good News to the people there. Accordingly we put out to sea from Troas, and ran a straight course to Samothrace. The next day we came to Neapolis, and thence to Philippi, which is a city in Macedonia, the first in its district, a Roman colony. And there we stayed some little time. On the Sabbath we went beyond the city gate to the riverside, where we had reason to believe that there was a place for prayer; and sitting down we talked with the women who had come together. Among our hearers was one named Lydia, a dealer in purple goods. She belonged to the city of Thyateira, and was a worshipper of the true God. The Lord opened her heart, so that she gave attention to what Paul was saying. When she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, "If in your judgement I am a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house." And she made us go there. One day, as we were on our way to the place of prayer, a slave girl met us who claimed to be inspired and was accustomed to bring her owners large profits by telling fortunes. She kept following close behind Paul and the rest of us, crying aloud, "These men are the bondservants of the Most High God, and are proclaiming to you the way of salvation." This she persisted in for a considerable time, until Paul, wearied out, turned round and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And it came out immediately. But when her owners saw that their hopes of gain were gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them off to the magistrates in the public square. Then they brought them before the praetors. "These men," they said, "are creating a great disturbance in our city. They are Jews, and are teaching customs which we, as Romans, are not permitted to adopt or practise." The crowd, too, joined in the outcry against them, till at length the praetors ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods; and, after severely flogging them, they threw them into jail and bade the jailer keep them safely. He, having received an order like that, lodged them in the inner prison, and secured their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, when suddenly there was such a violent shock of earthquake that the prison shook to its foundations. Instantly the doors all flew open, and the chains fell off from every prisoner. Starting up from sleep and seeing the doors of the jail wide open, the jailer drew his sword and was on the point of killing himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted loudly to him, saying, "Do yourself no injury: we are all here. Then, calling for lights, he sprang in and fell trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas; and, bringing them out of the prison, he exclaimed, "O sirs, what must I do to be saved?" "Believe on the Lord Jesus," they replied, "and both you and your household will be saved." And they told the Lord's Message to him as well as to all who were in his house. Then he took them, even at that time of night, washed their wounds, and he and all his household were immediately baptized; and bringing the Apostles up into his house, he spread a meal for them, and was filled with gladness, with his whole household, his faith resting on God. In the morning the praetors sent their lictors with the order, "Release those men." So the jailer brought Paul word, saying, "The praetors have sent orders for you to be released. Now therefore you can go, and proceed on your way in peace." But Paul said to them, "After cruelly beating us in public, without trial, Roman citizens though we are, they have thrown us into prison, and are they now going to send us away privately? No, indeed! Let them come in person and fetch us out." This answer the lictors took back to the praetors, who were alarmed when they were told that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. Accordingly they came and apologized to them; and, bringing them out, asked them to leave the city. Then Paul and Silas, having come out of the prison, went to Lydia's house; and, after seeing the brethren and encouraging them, they left Philippi. Then, passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they went to Thessalonica. Here there was a synagogue of the Jews. Paul--following his usual custom--betook himself to it, and for three successive Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, which he clearly explained, pointing out that it had been necessary for the Christ to suffer and rise again from the dead, and insisting, "The Jesus whom I am announcing to you is the Christ." Some of the people were won over, and attached themselves to Paul and Silas, including many God-fearing Greeks and not a few gentlewomen of high rank. But the jealousy of the Jews was aroused, and, calling to their aid some ill-conditioned and idle fellows, they got together a riotous mob and filled the city with uproar. They then attacked the house of Jason and searched for Paul and Silas, to bring them out before the assembly of people. But, failing to find them, they dragged Jason and some of the other brethren before the magistrates of the city, loudly accusing them. "These men," they said, "who have raised a tumult throughout the Empire, have come here also. Jason has received them into his house; and they all set Caesar's authority at defiance, declaring that there is another Emperor-- one called Jesus." Great was the excitement among the crowd, and among the magistrates of the city, when they heard these charges. They required Jason and the rest to find substantial bail, and after that they let them go. The brethren at once sent Paul and Silas away by night to Beroea, and they, on their arrival, went to the synagogue of the Jews. The Jews at Beroea were of a nobler disposition than those in Thessalonica, for they very readily received the Message, and day after day searched the Scriptures to see whether it was as Paul stated. As the result many of them became believers, and so did not a few of the Greeks--gentlewomen of good position, and men. As soon, however, as the Jews of Thessalonica learnt that God's Message had been proclaimed by Paul at Beroea, they came there also, and incited the mob to a riot. Then the brethren promptly sent Paul down to the sea-coast, but Silas and Timothy remained behind. Those who were caring for Paul's safety went with him as far as Athens, and then left him, taking a message from him to Silas and Timothy, asking them to join him as speedily as possible. While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was stirred within him when he noticed that the city was full of idols. So he had discussions in the synagogue with the Jews and the other worshippers, and in the market place, day after day, with those whom he happened to meet. A few of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also encountered him. Some of them asked, "What has this beggarly babbler to say?" "His business," said others, "seems to be to cry up some foreign gods." This was because he had been telling the Good News of Jesus and the Resurrection. Then they took him and brought him up to the Areopagus, asking him, "May we be told what this new teaching of yours is? For the things you are saying sound strange to us. We should therefore like to be told exactly what they mean." (For all the Athenians and their foreign visitors used to devote their whole leisure to telling or hearing about something new.) So Paul, taking his stand in the centre of the Areopagus, spoke as follows: "Men of Athens, I perceive that you are in every respect remarkably religious. For as I passed along and observed the things you worship, I found also an altar bearing the inscription, 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.' "The Being, therefore, whom you, without knowing Him, revere, Him I now proclaim to you. GOD who made the universe and everything in it--He, being Lord of Heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries built by men. Nor is He ministered to by human hands, as though He needed anything--but He Himself gives to all men life and breath and all things. He caused to spring from one forefather people of every race, for them to live on the whole surface of the earth, and marked out for them an appointed span of life and the boundaries of their homes; that they might seek God, if perhaps they could grope for Him and find Him. Yes, though He is not far from any one of us. For it is in closest union with Him that we live and move and have our being; as in fact some of the poets in repute among yourselves have said, 'For we are also His offspring.' Since then we are God's offspring, we ought not to imagine that His nature resembles gold or silver or marble, or anything sculptured by the art and inventive faculty of man. Those times of ignorance God viewed with indulgence. But now He commands all men everywhere to repent, seeing that He has appointed a day on which, before long, He will judge the world in righteousness, through the instrumentality of a man whom He has pre-destined to this work, and has made the fact certain to every one by raising Him from the dead." When they heard Paul speak of a resurrection of dead men, some began to scoff. But others said, "We will hear you again on that subject." So Paul went away from them. A few, however, attached themselves to him and believed, among them being Dionysius a member of the Council, a gentlewoman named Damaris, and some others. After this he left Athens and came to Corinth. Here he found a Jew, a native of Pontus, of the name of Aquila. He and his wife Priscilla had recently come from Italy because of Claudius's edict expelling all the Jews from Rome. So Paul paid them a visit; and because he was of the same trade--that of tent-maker--he lodged with them and worked with them. But, Sabbath after Sabbath, he preached in the synagogue and tried to win over both Jews and Greeks. Now at the time when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was preaching fervently and was solemnly telling the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. But upon their opposing him with abusive language, he shook his clothes by way of protest, and said to them, "Your ruin will be upon your own heads. I am not responsible: in future I will go among the Gentiles." So he left the place and went to the house of a person called Titius Justus, a worshipper of the true God. His house was next door to the synagogue. And Crispus, the Warden of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, and so did all his household; and from time to time many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and received baptism. And, in a vision by night, the Lord said to Paul, "Dismiss your fears: go on speaking, and do not give up. I am with you, and no one shall attack you to injure you; for I have very many people in this city." So Paul remained in Corinth for a year and six months, teaching among them the Message of God. But when Gallio became Proconsul of Greece, the Jews with one accord made a dead set at Paul, and brought him before the court. "This man," they said, "is inducing people to offer unlawful worship to God." But, when Paul was about to begin his defence, Gallio said to the Jews, "If it had been some wrongful act or piece of cunning knavery I might reasonably have listened to you Jews. But since these are questions about words and names and your Law, you yourselves must see to them. I refuse to be a judge in such matters." So he ordered them out of court. Then the people all set upon Sosthenes, the Warden of the synagogue, and beat him severely in front of the court. Gallio did not concern himself in the least about this. After remaining a considerable time longer in Corinth, Paul took leave of the brethren and set sail for Syria; and Priscilla and Aquila were with him. He had shaved his head at Cenchreae, because he was bound by a vow. They put in at Ephesus, and there Paul left his companions behind. As for himself, he went to the synagogue and had a discussion with the Jews. When they asked him to remain longer he did not consent, but took leave of them with the promise, "I will return to you, God willing." So he set sail from Ephesus. Landing at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and inquired after the welfare of the Church, and then went down to Antioch.
So there arose a serious disagreement between them, which resulted in their parting from one another, Barnabas taking Mark and setting sail for Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas as his travelling companion; and set out, after being commended by the brethren to the grace of the Lord; and he passed through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the Churches. He also came to Derbe and to Lystra. At Lystra he found a disciple, Timothy by name--the son of a Christian Jewess, though he had a Greek father. Timothy was well spoken of by the brethren at Lystra and Iconium, and Paul desiring that he should accompany him on his journey, took him and circumcised him on account of the Jews in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they journeyed on from town to town, they handed to the brethren for their observance the decisions which had been arrived at by the Apostles and Elders in Jerusalem. So the Churches went on gaining a stronger faith and growing in numbers from day to day. Then Paul and his companions passed through Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to proclaim the Message in the province of Asia. When they reached the frontier of Mysia, they were about to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not permit this. So, passing along Mysia, they came to Troas. Here, one night, Paul saw a vision. There was a Macedonian who was standing, entreating him and saying, "Come over into Macedonia and help us." So when he had seen the vision, we immediately looked out for an opportunity of passing on into Macedonia, confidently inferring that God had called us to proclaim the Good News to the people there. Accordingly we put out to sea from Troas, and ran a straight course to Samothrace. The next day we came to Neapolis, and thence to Philippi, which is a city in Macedonia, the first in its district, a Roman colony. And there we stayed some little time. On the Sabbath we went beyond the city gate to the riverside, where we had reason to believe that there was a place for prayer; and sitting down we talked with the women who had come together. Among our hearers was one named Lydia, a dealer in purple goods. She belonged to the city of Thyateira, and was a worshipper of the true God. The Lord opened her heart, so that she gave attention to what Paul was saying. When she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, "If in your judgement I am a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house." And she made us go there. One day, as we were on our way to the place of prayer, a slave girl met us who claimed to be inspired and was accustomed to bring her owners large profits by telling fortunes. She kept following close behind Paul and the rest of us, crying aloud, "These men are the bondservants of the Most High God, and are proclaiming to you the way of salvation." This she persisted in for a considerable time, until Paul, wearied out, turned round and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And it came out immediately. But when her owners saw that their hopes of gain were gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them off to the magistrates in the public square. Then they brought them before the praetors. "These men," they said, "are creating a great disturbance in our city. They are Jews, and are teaching customs which we, as Romans, are not permitted to adopt or practise." The crowd, too, joined in the outcry against them, till at length the praetors ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods; and, after severely flogging them, they threw them into jail and bade the jailer keep them safely. He, having received an order like that, lodged them in the inner prison, and secured their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, when suddenly there was such a violent shock of earthquake that the prison shook to its foundations. Instantly the doors all flew open, and the chains fell off from every prisoner. Starting up from sleep and seeing the doors of the jail wide open, the jailer drew his sword and was on the point of killing himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted loudly to him, saying, "Do yourself no injury: we are all here. Then, calling for lights, he sprang in and fell trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas; and, bringing them out of the prison, he exclaimed, "O sirs, what must I do to be saved?" "Believe on the Lord Jesus," they replied, "and both you and your household will be saved." And they told the Lord's Message to him as well as to all who were in his house. Then he took them, even at that time of night, washed their wounds, and he and all his household were immediately baptized; and bringing the Apostles up into his house, he spread a meal for them, and was filled with gladness, with his whole household, his faith resting on God. In the morning the praetors sent their lictors with the order, "Release those men." So the jailer brought Paul word, saying, "The praetors have sent orders for you to be released. Now therefore you can go, and proceed on your way in peace." But Paul said to them, "After cruelly beating us in public, without trial, Roman citizens though we are, they have thrown us into prison, and are they now going to send us away privately? No, indeed! Let them come in person and fetch us out." This answer the lictors took back to the praetors, who were alarmed when they were told that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. Accordingly they came and apologized to them; and, bringing them out, asked them to leave the city. Then Paul and Silas, having come out of the prison, went to Lydia's house; and, after seeing the brethren and encouraging them, they left Philippi. Then, passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they went to Thessalonica. Here there was a synagogue of the Jews. Paul--following his usual custom--betook himself to it, and for three successive Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, which he clearly explained, pointing out that it had been necessary for the Christ to suffer and rise again from the dead, and insisting, "The Jesus whom I am announcing to you is the Christ." Some of the people were won over, and attached themselves to Paul and Silas, including many God-fearing Greeks and not a few gentlewomen of high rank. But the jealousy of the Jews was aroused, and, calling to their aid some ill-conditioned and idle fellows, they got together a riotous mob and filled the city with uproar. They then attacked the house of Jason and searched for Paul and Silas, to bring them out before the assembly of people. But, failing to find them, they dragged Jason and some of the other brethren before the magistrates of the city, loudly accusing them. "These men," they said, "who have raised a tumult throughout the Empire, have come here also. Jason has received them into his house; and they all set Caesar's authority at defiance, declaring that there is another Emperor-- one called Jesus." Great was the excitement among the crowd, and among the magistrates of the city, when they heard these charges. They required Jason and the rest to find substantial bail, and after that they let them go. The brethren at once sent Paul and Silas away by night to Beroea, and they, on their arrival, went to the synagogue of the Jews. The Jews at Beroea were of a nobler disposition than those in Thessalonica, for they very readily received the Message, and day after day searched the Scriptures to see whether it was as Paul stated. As the result many of them became believers, and so did not a few of the Greeks--gentlewomen of good position, and men. As soon, however, as the Jews of Thessalonica learnt that God's Message had been proclaimed by Paul at Beroea, they came there also, and incited the mob to a riot. Then the brethren promptly sent Paul down to the sea-coast, but Silas and Timothy remained behind. Those who were caring for Paul's safety went with him as far as Athens, and then left him, taking a message from him to Silas and Timothy, asking them to join him as speedily as possible. While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was stirred within him when he noticed that the city was full of idols. So he had discussions in the synagogue with the Jews and the other worshippers, and in the market place, day after day, with those whom he happened to meet. A few of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also encountered him. Some of them asked, "What has this beggarly babbler to say?" "His business," said others, "seems to be to cry up some foreign gods." This was because he had been telling the Good News of Jesus and the Resurrection. Then they took him and brought him up to the Areopagus, asking him, "May we be told what this new teaching of yours is? For the things you are saying sound strange to us. We should therefore like to be told exactly what they mean." (For all the Athenians and their foreign visitors used to devote their whole leisure to telling or hearing about something new.) So Paul, taking his stand in the centre of the Areopagus, spoke as follows: "Men of Athens, I perceive that you are in every respect remarkably religious. For as I passed along and observed the things you worship, I found also an altar bearing the inscription, 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.' "The Being, therefore, whom you, without knowing Him, revere, Him I now proclaim to you. GOD who made the universe and everything in it--He, being Lord of Heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries built by men. Nor is He ministered to by human hands, as though He needed anything--but He Himself gives to all men life and breath and all things. He caused to spring from one forefather people of every race, for them to live on the whole surface of the earth, and marked out for them an appointed span of life and the boundaries of their homes; that they might seek God, if perhaps they could grope for Him and find Him. Yes, though He is not far from any one of us. For it is in closest union with Him that we live and move and have our being; as in fact some of the poets in repute among yourselves have said, 'For we are also His offspring.' Since then we are God's offspring, we ought not to imagine that His nature resembles gold or silver or marble, or anything sculptured by the art and inventive faculty of man. Those times of ignorance God viewed with indulgence. But now He commands all men everywhere to repent, seeing that He has appointed a day on which, before long, He will judge the world in righteousness, through the instrumentality of a man whom He has pre-destined to this work, and has made the fact certain to every one by raising Him from the dead." When they heard Paul speak of a resurrection of dead men, some began to scoff. But others said, "We will hear you again on that subject." So Paul went away from them. A few, however, attached themselves to him and believed, among them being Dionysius a member of the Council, a gentlewoman named Damaris, and some others. After this he left Athens and came to Corinth. Here he found a Jew, a native of Pontus, of the name of Aquila. He and his wife Priscilla had recently come from Italy because of Claudius's edict expelling all the Jews from Rome. So Paul paid them a visit; and because he was of the same trade--that of tent-maker--he lodged with them and worked with them. But, Sabbath after Sabbath, he preached in the synagogue and tried to win over both Jews and Greeks. Now at the time when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was preaching fervently and was solemnly telling the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. But upon their opposing him with abusive language, he shook his clothes by way of protest, and said to them, "Your ruin will be upon your own heads. I am not responsible: in future I will go among the Gentiles." So he left the place and went to the house of a person called Titius Justus, a worshipper of the true God. His house was next door to the synagogue. And Crispus, the Warden of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, and so did all his household; and from time to time many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and received baptism. And, in a vision by night, the Lord said to Paul, "Dismiss your fears: go on speaking, and do not give up. I am with you, and no one shall attack you to injure you; for I have very many people in this city." So Paul remained in Corinth for a year and six months, teaching among them the Message of God. But when Gallio became Proconsul of Greece, the Jews with one accord made a dead set at Paul, and brought him before the court. "This man," they said, "is inducing people to offer unlawful worship to God." But, when Paul was about to begin his defence, Gallio said to the Jews, "If it had been some wrongful act or piece of cunning knavery I might reasonably have listened to you Jews. But since these are questions about words and names and your Law, you yourselves must see to them. I refuse to be a judge in such matters." So he ordered them out of court. Then the people all set upon Sosthenes, the Warden of the synagogue, and beat him severely in front of the court. Gallio did not concern himself in the least about this. After remaining a considerable time longer in Corinth, Paul took leave of the brethren and set sail for Syria; and Priscilla and Aquila were with him. He had shaved his head at Cenchreae, because he was bound by a vow. They put in at Ephesus, and there Paul left his companions behind. As for himself, he went to the synagogue and had a discussion with the Jews. When they asked him to remain longer he did not consent, but took leave of them with the promise, "I will return to you, God willing." So he set sail from Ephesus. Landing at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and inquired after the welfare of the Church, and then went down to Antioch.
Paul » Debates » Mar's hill
While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was stirred within him when he noticed that the city was full of idols. So he had discussions in the synagogue with the Jews and the other worshippers, and in the market place, day after day, with those whom he happened to meet. A few of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also encountered him. Some of them asked, "What has this beggarly babbler to say?" "His business," said others, "seems to be to cry up some foreign gods." This was because he had been telling the Good News of Jesus and the Resurrection. read more.
Then they took him and brought him up to the Areopagus, asking him, "May we be told what this new teaching of yours is? For the things you are saying sound strange to us. We should therefore like to be told exactly what they mean." (For all the Athenians and their foreign visitors used to devote their whole leisure to telling or hearing about something new.) So Paul, taking his stand in the centre of the Areopagus, spoke as follows: "Men of Athens, I perceive that you are in every respect remarkably religious. For as I passed along and observed the things you worship, I found also an altar bearing the inscription, 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.' "The Being, therefore, whom you, without knowing Him, revere, Him I now proclaim to you. GOD who made the universe and everything in it--He, being Lord of Heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries built by men. Nor is He ministered to by human hands, as though He needed anything--but He Himself gives to all men life and breath and all things. He caused to spring from one forefather people of every race, for them to live on the whole surface of the earth, and marked out for them an appointed span of life and the boundaries of their homes; that they might seek God, if perhaps they could grope for Him and find Him. Yes, though He is not far from any one of us. For it is in closest union with Him that we live and move and have our being; as in fact some of the poets in repute among yourselves have said, 'For we are also His offspring.' Since then we are God's offspring, we ought not to imagine that His nature resembles gold or silver or marble, or anything sculptured by the art and inventive faculty of man. Those times of ignorance God viewed with indulgence. But now He commands all men everywhere to repent, seeing that He has appointed a day on which, before long, He will judge the world in righteousness, through the instrumentality of a man whom He has pre-destined to this work, and has made the fact certain to every one by raising Him from the dead." When they heard Paul speak of a resurrection of dead men, some began to scoff. But others said, "We will hear you again on that subject." So Paul went away from them. A few, however, attached themselves to him and believed, among them being Dionysius a member of the Council, a gentlewoman named Damaris, and some others.
Then they took him and brought him up to the Areopagus, asking him, "May we be told what this new teaching of yours is? For the things you are saying sound strange to us. We should therefore like to be told exactly what they mean." (For all the Athenians and their foreign visitors used to devote their whole leisure to telling or hearing about something new.) So Paul, taking his stand in the centre of the Areopagus, spoke as follows: "Men of Athens, I perceive that you are in every respect remarkably religious. For as I passed along and observed the things you worship, I found also an altar bearing the inscription, 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.' "The Being, therefore, whom you, without knowing Him, revere, Him I now proclaim to you. GOD who made the universe and everything in it--He, being Lord of Heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries built by men. Nor is He ministered to by human hands, as though He needed anything--but He Himself gives to all men life and breath and all things. He caused to spring from one forefather people of every race, for them to live on the whole surface of the earth, and marked out for them an appointed span of life and the boundaries of their homes; that they might seek God, if perhaps they could grope for Him and find Him. Yes, though He is not far from any one of us. For it is in closest union with Him that we live and move and have our being; as in fact some of the poets in repute among yourselves have said, 'For we are also His offspring.' Since then we are God's offspring, we ought not to imagine that His nature resembles gold or silver or marble, or anything sculptured by the art and inventive faculty of man. Those times of ignorance God viewed with indulgence. But now He commands all men everywhere to repent, seeing that He has appointed a day on which, before long, He will judge the world in righteousness, through the instrumentality of a man whom He has pre-destined to this work, and has made the fact certain to every one by raising Him from the dead." When they heard Paul speak of a resurrection of dead men, some began to scoff. But others said, "We will hear you again on that subject." So Paul went away from them. A few, however, attached themselves to him and believed, among them being Dionysius a member of the Council, a gentlewoman named Damaris, and some others.
Paul's » First - with barnabas and john mark ac 13-14 » Second - with silas
After a while Paul said to Barnabas, "Suppose we now revisit the brethren in the various towns in which we have made known the Lord's Message--to see whether they are prospering!" Barnabas, however, was bent on taking with them John, whose other name was Mark, while Paul deemed it undesirable to have as their companion one who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone on with them to the work. read more.
So there arose a serious disagreement between them, which resulted in their parting from one another, Barnabas taking Mark and setting sail for Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas as his travelling companion; and set out, after being commended by the brethren to the grace of the Lord; and he passed through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the Churches. He also came to Derbe and to Lystra. At Lystra he found a disciple, Timothy by name--the son of a Christian Jewess, though he had a Greek father. Timothy was well spoken of by the brethren at Lystra and Iconium, and Paul desiring that he should accompany him on his journey, took him and circumcised him on account of the Jews in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they journeyed on from town to town, they handed to the brethren for their observance the decisions which had been arrived at by the Apostles and Elders in Jerusalem. So the Churches went on gaining a stronger faith and growing in numbers from day to day. Then Paul and his companions passed through Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to proclaim the Message in the province of Asia. When they reached the frontier of Mysia, they were about to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not permit this. So, passing along Mysia, they came to Troas. Here, one night, Paul saw a vision. There was a Macedonian who was standing, entreating him and saying, "Come over into Macedonia and help us." So when he had seen the vision, we immediately looked out for an opportunity of passing on into Macedonia, confidently inferring that God had called us to proclaim the Good News to the people there. Accordingly we put out to sea from Troas, and ran a straight course to Samothrace. The next day we came to Neapolis, and thence to Philippi, which is a city in Macedonia, the first in its district, a Roman colony. And there we stayed some little time. On the Sabbath we went beyond the city gate to the riverside, where we had reason to believe that there was a place for prayer; and sitting down we talked with the women who had come together. Among our hearers was one named Lydia, a dealer in purple goods. She belonged to the city of Thyateira, and was a worshipper of the true God. The Lord opened her heart, so that she gave attention to what Paul was saying. When she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, "If in your judgement I am a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house." And she made us go there. One day, as we were on our way to the place of prayer, a slave girl met us who claimed to be inspired and was accustomed to bring her owners large profits by telling fortunes. She kept following close behind Paul and the rest of us, crying aloud, "These men are the bondservants of the Most High God, and are proclaiming to you the way of salvation." This she persisted in for a considerable time, until Paul, wearied out, turned round and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And it came out immediately. But when her owners saw that their hopes of gain were gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them off to the magistrates in the public square. Then they brought them before the praetors. "These men," they said, "are creating a great disturbance in our city. They are Jews, and are teaching customs which we, as Romans, are not permitted to adopt or practise." The crowd, too, joined in the outcry against them, till at length the praetors ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods; and, after severely flogging them, they threw them into jail and bade the jailer keep them safely. He, having received an order like that, lodged them in the inner prison, and secured their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, when suddenly there was such a violent shock of earthquake that the prison shook to its foundations. Instantly the doors all flew open, and the chains fell off from every prisoner. Starting up from sleep and seeing the doors of the jail wide open, the jailer drew his sword and was on the point of killing himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted loudly to him, saying, "Do yourself no injury: we are all here. Then, calling for lights, he sprang in and fell trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas; and, bringing them out of the prison, he exclaimed, "O sirs, what must I do to be saved?" "Believe on the Lord Jesus," they replied, "and both you and your household will be saved." And they told the Lord's Message to him as well as to all who were in his house. Then he took them, even at that time of night, washed their wounds, and he and all his household were immediately baptized; and bringing the Apostles up into his house, he spread a meal for them, and was filled with gladness, with his whole household, his faith resting on God. In the morning the praetors sent their lictors with the order, "Release those men." So the jailer brought Paul word, saying, "The praetors have sent orders for you to be released. Now therefore you can go, and proceed on your way in peace." But Paul said to them, "After cruelly beating us in public, without trial, Roman citizens though we are, they have thrown us into prison, and are they now going to send us away privately? No, indeed! Let them come in person and fetch us out." This answer the lictors took back to the praetors, who were alarmed when they were told that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. Accordingly they came and apologized to them; and, bringing them out, asked them to leave the city. Then Paul and Silas, having come out of the prison, went to Lydia's house; and, after seeing the brethren and encouraging them, they left Philippi. Then, passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they went to Thessalonica. Here there was a synagogue of the Jews. Paul--following his usual custom--betook himself to it, and for three successive Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, which he clearly explained, pointing out that it had been necessary for the Christ to suffer and rise again from the dead, and insisting, "The Jesus whom I am announcing to you is the Christ." Some of the people were won over, and attached themselves to Paul and Silas, including many God-fearing Greeks and not a few gentlewomen of high rank. But the jealousy of the Jews was aroused, and, calling to their aid some ill-conditioned and idle fellows, they got together a riotous mob and filled the city with uproar. They then attacked the house of Jason and searched for Paul and Silas, to bring them out before the assembly of people. But, failing to find them, they dragged Jason and some of the other brethren before the magistrates of the city, loudly accusing them. "These men," they said, "who have raised a tumult throughout the Empire, have come here also. Jason has received them into his house; and they all set Caesar's authority at defiance, declaring that there is another Emperor-- one called Jesus." Great was the excitement among the crowd, and among the magistrates of the city, when they heard these charges. They required Jason and the rest to find substantial bail, and after that they let them go. The brethren at once sent Paul and Silas away by night to Beroea, and they, on their arrival, went to the synagogue of the Jews. The Jews at Beroea were of a nobler disposition than those in Thessalonica, for they very readily received the Message, and day after day searched the Scriptures to see whether it was as Paul stated. As the result many of them became believers, and so did not a few of the Greeks--gentlewomen of good position, and men. As soon, however, as the Jews of Thessalonica learnt that God's Message had been proclaimed by Paul at Beroea, they came there also, and incited the mob to a riot. Then the brethren promptly sent Paul down to the sea-coast, but Silas and Timothy remained behind. Those who were caring for Paul's safety went with him as far as Athens, and then left him, taking a message from him to Silas and Timothy, asking them to join him as speedily as possible. While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was stirred within him when he noticed that the city was full of idols. So he had discussions in the synagogue with the Jews and the other worshippers, and in the market place, day after day, with those whom he happened to meet. A few of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also encountered him. Some of them asked, "What has this beggarly babbler to say?" "His business," said others, "seems to be to cry up some foreign gods." This was because he had been telling the Good News of Jesus and the Resurrection. Then they took him and brought him up to the Areopagus, asking him, "May we be told what this new teaching of yours is? For the things you are saying sound strange to us. We should therefore like to be told exactly what they mean." (For all the Athenians and their foreign visitors used to devote their whole leisure to telling or hearing about something new.) So Paul, taking his stand in the centre of the Areopagus, spoke as follows: "Men of Athens, I perceive that you are in every respect remarkably religious. For as I passed along and observed the things you worship, I found also an altar bearing the inscription, 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.' "The Being, therefore, whom you, without knowing Him, revere, Him I now proclaim to you. GOD who made the universe and everything in it--He, being Lord of Heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries built by men. Nor is He ministered to by human hands, as though He needed anything--but He Himself gives to all men life and breath and all things. He caused to spring from one forefather people of every race, for them to live on the whole surface of the earth, and marked out for them an appointed span of life and the boundaries of their homes; that they might seek God, if perhaps they could grope for Him and find Him. Yes, though He is not far from any one of us. For it is in closest union with Him that we live and move and have our being; as in fact some of the poets in repute among yourselves have said, 'For we are also His offspring.' Since then we are God's offspring, we ought not to imagine that His nature resembles gold or silver or marble, or anything sculptured by the art and inventive faculty of man. Those times of ignorance God viewed with indulgence. But now He commands all men everywhere to repent, seeing that He has appointed a day on which, before long, He will judge the world in righteousness, through the instrumentality of a man whom He has pre-destined to this work, and has made the fact certain to every one by raising Him from the dead." When they heard Paul speak of a resurrection of dead men, some began to scoff. But others said, "We will hear you again on that subject." So Paul went away from them. A few, however, attached themselves to him and believed, among them being Dionysius a member of the Council, a gentlewoman named Damaris, and some others. After this he left Athens and came to Corinth. Here he found a Jew, a native of Pontus, of the name of Aquila. He and his wife Priscilla had recently come from Italy because of Claudius's edict expelling all the Jews from Rome. So Paul paid them a visit; and because he was of the same trade--that of tent-maker--he lodged with them and worked with them. But, Sabbath after Sabbath, he preached in the synagogue and tried to win over both Jews and Greeks. Now at the time when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was preaching fervently and was solemnly telling the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. But upon their opposing him with abusive language, he shook his clothes by way of protest, and said to them, "Your ruin will be upon your own heads. I am not responsible: in future I will go among the Gentiles." So he left the place and went to the house of a person called Titius Justus, a worshipper of the true God. His house was next door to the synagogue. And Crispus, the Warden of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, and so did all his household; and from time to time many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and received baptism. And, in a vision by night, the Lord said to Paul, "Dismiss your fears: go on speaking, and do not give up. I am with you, and no one shall attack you to injure you; for I have very many people in this city." So Paul remained in Corinth for a year and six months, teaching among them the Message of God. But when Gallio became Proconsul of Greece, the Jews with one accord made a dead set at Paul, and brought him before the court. "This man," they said, "is inducing people to offer unlawful worship to God." But, when Paul was about to begin his defence, Gallio said to the Jews, "If it had been some wrongful act or piece of cunning knavery I might reasonably have listened to you Jews. But since these are questions about words and names and your Law, you yourselves must see to them. I refuse to be a judge in such matters." So he ordered them out of court. Then the people all set upon Sosthenes, the Warden of the synagogue, and beat him severely in front of the court. Gallio did not concern himself in the least about this. After remaining a considerable time longer in Corinth, Paul took leave of the brethren and set sail for Syria; and Priscilla and Aquila were with him. He had shaved his head at Cenchreae, because he was bound by a vow. They put in at Ephesus, and there Paul left his companions behind. As for himself, he went to the synagogue and had a discussion with the Jews. When they asked him to remain longer he did not consent, but took leave of them with the promise, "I will return to you, God willing." So he set sail from Ephesus. Landing at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and inquired after the welfare of the Church, and then went down to Antioch.
So there arose a serious disagreement between them, which resulted in their parting from one another, Barnabas taking Mark and setting sail for Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas as his travelling companion; and set out, after being commended by the brethren to the grace of the Lord; and he passed through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the Churches. He also came to Derbe and to Lystra. At Lystra he found a disciple, Timothy by name--the son of a Christian Jewess, though he had a Greek father. Timothy was well spoken of by the brethren at Lystra and Iconium, and Paul desiring that he should accompany him on his journey, took him and circumcised him on account of the Jews in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they journeyed on from town to town, they handed to the brethren for their observance the decisions which had been arrived at by the Apostles and Elders in Jerusalem. So the Churches went on gaining a stronger faith and growing in numbers from day to day. Then Paul and his companions passed through Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to proclaim the Message in the province of Asia. When they reached the frontier of Mysia, they were about to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not permit this. So, passing along Mysia, they came to Troas. Here, one night, Paul saw a vision. There was a Macedonian who was standing, entreating him and saying, "Come over into Macedonia and help us." So when he had seen the vision, we immediately looked out for an opportunity of passing on into Macedonia, confidently inferring that God had called us to proclaim the Good News to the people there. Accordingly we put out to sea from Troas, and ran a straight course to Samothrace. The next day we came to Neapolis, and thence to Philippi, which is a city in Macedonia, the first in its district, a Roman colony. And there we stayed some little time. On the Sabbath we went beyond the city gate to the riverside, where we had reason to believe that there was a place for prayer; and sitting down we talked with the women who had come together. Among our hearers was one named Lydia, a dealer in purple goods. She belonged to the city of Thyateira, and was a worshipper of the true God. The Lord opened her heart, so that she gave attention to what Paul was saying. When she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, "If in your judgement I am a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house." And she made us go there. One day, as we were on our way to the place of prayer, a slave girl met us who claimed to be inspired and was accustomed to bring her owners large profits by telling fortunes. She kept following close behind Paul and the rest of us, crying aloud, "These men are the bondservants of the Most High God, and are proclaiming to you the way of salvation." This she persisted in for a considerable time, until Paul, wearied out, turned round and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And it came out immediately. But when her owners saw that their hopes of gain were gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them off to the magistrates in the public square. Then they brought them before the praetors. "These men," they said, "are creating a great disturbance in our city. They are Jews, and are teaching customs which we, as Romans, are not permitted to adopt or practise." The crowd, too, joined in the outcry against them, till at length the praetors ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods; and, after severely flogging them, they threw them into jail and bade the jailer keep them safely. He, having received an order like that, lodged them in the inner prison, and secured their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, when suddenly there was such a violent shock of earthquake that the prison shook to its foundations. Instantly the doors all flew open, and the chains fell off from every prisoner. Starting up from sleep and seeing the doors of the jail wide open, the jailer drew his sword and was on the point of killing himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted loudly to him, saying, "Do yourself no injury: we are all here. Then, calling for lights, he sprang in and fell trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas; and, bringing them out of the prison, he exclaimed, "O sirs, what must I do to be saved?" "Believe on the Lord Jesus," they replied, "and both you and your household will be saved." And they told the Lord's Message to him as well as to all who were in his house. Then he took them, even at that time of night, washed their wounds, and he and all his household were immediately baptized; and bringing the Apostles up into his house, he spread a meal for them, and was filled with gladness, with his whole household, his faith resting on God. In the morning the praetors sent their lictors with the order, "Release those men." So the jailer brought Paul word, saying, "The praetors have sent orders for you to be released. Now therefore you can go, and proceed on your way in peace." But Paul said to them, "After cruelly beating us in public, without trial, Roman citizens though we are, they have thrown us into prison, and are they now going to send us away privately? No, indeed! Let them come in person and fetch us out." This answer the lictors took back to the praetors, who were alarmed when they were told that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. Accordingly they came and apologized to them; and, bringing them out, asked them to leave the city. Then Paul and Silas, having come out of the prison, went to Lydia's house; and, after seeing the brethren and encouraging them, they left Philippi. Then, passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they went to Thessalonica. Here there was a synagogue of the Jews. Paul--following his usual custom--betook himself to it, and for three successive Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, which he clearly explained, pointing out that it had been necessary for the Christ to suffer and rise again from the dead, and insisting, "The Jesus whom I am announcing to you is the Christ." Some of the people were won over, and attached themselves to Paul and Silas, including many God-fearing Greeks and not a few gentlewomen of high rank. But the jealousy of the Jews was aroused, and, calling to their aid some ill-conditioned and idle fellows, they got together a riotous mob and filled the city with uproar. They then attacked the house of Jason and searched for Paul and Silas, to bring them out before the assembly of people. But, failing to find them, they dragged Jason and some of the other brethren before the magistrates of the city, loudly accusing them. "These men," they said, "who have raised a tumult throughout the Empire, have come here also. Jason has received them into his house; and they all set Caesar's authority at defiance, declaring that there is another Emperor-- one called Jesus." Great was the excitement among the crowd, and among the magistrates of the city, when they heard these charges. They required Jason and the rest to find substantial bail, and after that they let them go. The brethren at once sent Paul and Silas away by night to Beroea, and they, on their arrival, went to the synagogue of the Jews. The Jews at Beroea were of a nobler disposition than those in Thessalonica, for they very readily received the Message, and day after day searched the Scriptures to see whether it was as Paul stated. As the result many of them became believers, and so did not a few of the Greeks--gentlewomen of good position, and men. As soon, however, as the Jews of Thessalonica learnt that God's Message had been proclaimed by Paul at Beroea, they came there also, and incited the mob to a riot. Then the brethren promptly sent Paul down to the sea-coast, but Silas and Timothy remained behind. Those who were caring for Paul's safety went with him as far as Athens, and then left him, taking a message from him to Silas and Timothy, asking them to join him as speedily as possible. While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was stirred within him when he noticed that the city was full of idols. So he had discussions in the synagogue with the Jews and the other worshippers, and in the market place, day after day, with those whom he happened to meet. A few of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also encountered him. Some of them asked, "What has this beggarly babbler to say?" "His business," said others, "seems to be to cry up some foreign gods." This was because he had been telling the Good News of Jesus and the Resurrection. Then they took him and brought him up to the Areopagus, asking him, "May we be told what this new teaching of yours is? For the things you are saying sound strange to us. We should therefore like to be told exactly what they mean." (For all the Athenians and their foreign visitors used to devote their whole leisure to telling or hearing about something new.) So Paul, taking his stand in the centre of the Areopagus, spoke as follows: "Men of Athens, I perceive that you are in every respect remarkably religious. For as I passed along and observed the things you worship, I found also an altar bearing the inscription, 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.' "The Being, therefore, whom you, without knowing Him, revere, Him I now proclaim to you. GOD who made the universe and everything in it--He, being Lord of Heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries built by men. Nor is He ministered to by human hands, as though He needed anything--but He Himself gives to all men life and breath and all things. He caused to spring from one forefather people of every race, for them to live on the whole surface of the earth, and marked out for them an appointed span of life and the boundaries of their homes; that they might seek God, if perhaps they could grope for Him and find Him. Yes, though He is not far from any one of us. For it is in closest union with Him that we live and move and have our being; as in fact some of the poets in repute among yourselves have said, 'For we are also His offspring.' Since then we are God's offspring, we ought not to imagine that His nature resembles gold or silver or marble, or anything sculptured by the art and inventive faculty of man. Those times of ignorance God viewed with indulgence. But now He commands all men everywhere to repent, seeing that He has appointed a day on which, before long, He will judge the world in righteousness, through the instrumentality of a man whom He has pre-destined to this work, and has made the fact certain to every one by raising Him from the dead." When they heard Paul speak of a resurrection of dead men, some began to scoff. But others said, "We will hear you again on that subject." So Paul went away from them. A few, however, attached themselves to him and believed, among them being Dionysius a member of the Council, a gentlewoman named Damaris, and some others. After this he left Athens and came to Corinth. Here he found a Jew, a native of Pontus, of the name of Aquila. He and his wife Priscilla had recently come from Italy because of Claudius's edict expelling all the Jews from Rome. So Paul paid them a visit; and because he was of the same trade--that of tent-maker--he lodged with them and worked with them. But, Sabbath after Sabbath, he preached in the synagogue and tried to win over both Jews and Greeks. Now at the time when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was preaching fervently and was solemnly telling the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. But upon their opposing him with abusive language, he shook his clothes by way of protest, and said to them, "Your ruin will be upon your own heads. I am not responsible: in future I will go among the Gentiles." So he left the place and went to the house of a person called Titius Justus, a worshipper of the true God. His house was next door to the synagogue. And Crispus, the Warden of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, and so did all his household; and from time to time many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and received baptism. And, in a vision by night, the Lord said to Paul, "Dismiss your fears: go on speaking, and do not give up. I am with you, and no one shall attack you to injure you; for I have very many people in this city." So Paul remained in Corinth for a year and six months, teaching among them the Message of God. But when Gallio became Proconsul of Greece, the Jews with one accord made a dead set at Paul, and brought him before the court. "This man," they said, "is inducing people to offer unlawful worship to God." But, when Paul was about to begin his defence, Gallio said to the Jews, "If it had been some wrongful act or piece of cunning knavery I might reasonably have listened to you Jews. But since these are questions about words and names and your Law, you yourselves must see to them. I refuse to be a judge in such matters." So he ordered them out of court. Then the people all set upon Sosthenes, the Warden of the synagogue, and beat him severely in front of the court. Gallio did not concern himself in the least about this. After remaining a considerable time longer in Corinth, Paul took leave of the brethren and set sail for Syria; and Priscilla and Aquila were with him. He had shaved his head at Cenchreae, because he was bound by a vow. They put in at Ephesus, and there Paul left his companions behind. As for himself, he went to the synagogue and had a discussion with the Jews. When they asked him to remain longer he did not consent, but took leave of them with the promise, "I will return to you, God willing." So he set sail from Ephesus. Landing at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and inquired after the welfare of the Church, and then went down to Antioch.