Thematic Bible
Acts 17:1 (show verse)
Now [after they] traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.
Acts 17:2 (show verse)
{And as was his custom}, Paul went in to them and on three Sabbath [days] he discussed with them from the scriptures,
Acts 17:3 (show verse)
explaining and demonstrating that it was necessary [for] the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and [saying], "This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ."
Acts 17:4 (show verse)
And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, and [also] a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few of the prominent women.
Acts 17:5 (show verse)
But the Jews were filled with jealousy and, taking along some worthless men from the rabble in the marketplace and forming a mob, threw the city into an uproar. And attacking Jason's house, they were looking for them to bring [them] out to the popular assembly.
Acts 17:6 (show verse)
And [when they] did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brothers before the city officials, shouting, "These [people] who have stirred up trouble [throughout] the world have come here also,
Acts 17:7 (show verse)
whom Jason has entertained as guests! And these [people] [are] all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king, Jesus!"
Acts 17:8 (show verse)
And they threw the crowd into confusion, and the city officials who heard these [things].
Acts 17:9 (show verse)
And [after] taking money as security from Jason and the rest, they released them.
Acts 17:10 (show verse)
Now the brothers sent away both Paul and Silas at once, during the night, to Berea. {They} went into the synagogue of the Jews [when they] arrived.
Acts 17:11 (show verse)
Now these were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica. {They} accepted the message with all eagerness, examining the scriptures every day [to see] if these [things] were so.
Acts 17:12 (show verse)
Therefore many of them believed, and not a few of the prominent Greek women and men.
Acts 17:13 (show verse)
But when the Jews from Thessalonica found out that the message of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Berea also, they came there too, inciting and stirring up the crowds.
Acts 17:14 (show verse)
So then the brothers sent Paul away at once to go to the sea, and both Silas and Timothy remained there.
Acts 17:15 (show verse)
And those who conducted Paul brought [him] as far as Athens, and [after] receiving an order for Silas and Timothy that they should come to him as soon as possible, they went away.
Acts 17:16 (show verse)
Now while Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was provoked within him [when he] observed the city was full of idols.
Acts 17:17 (show verse)
So he was discussing in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing [Gentiles], and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.
Acts 17:18 (show verse)
And even some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him, and some were saying, "What does this babbler want to say?" But [others said], "He appears to be a proclaimer of foreign deities," because he was proclaiming the good news [about] Jesus and the resurrection.
Acts 17:19 (show verse)
And they took hold of him [and] brought [him] to the Areopagus, saying, "May we learn what [is] this new teaching being proclaimed by you?
Acts 17:20 (show verse)
For you are bringing some astonishing things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what {these things mean}."
Acts 17:21 (show verse)
(Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who stayed there used to spend [their] time in nothing else than telling something or listening to something new.)
Acts 17:22 (show verse)
So Paul stood there in the middle of the Areopagus [and] said, "Men of Athens, I see you [are] very religious {in every respect}.
Acts 17:23 (show verse)
For [as I] was passing through and observing carefully your objects of worship, I even found an altar on which was inscribed, 'To an unknown God.' Therefore what you worship without knowing [it], this I proclaim to you--
Acts 17:24 (show verse)
the God who made the world and all the things in it. This one, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by human hands,
Acts 17:25 (show verse)
nor is he served by human hands [as if he] needed anything, [because] he himself gives to everyone life and breath and everything.
Acts 17:26 (show verse)
And he made from one [man] every nation of humanity to live on all the face of the earth, determining [their] fixed times and the fixed boundaries of their habitation,
Acts 17:27 (show verse)
to search for God, if perhaps indeed they might feel around for him and find [him]. And indeed he is not far away from each one of us,
Acts 17:28 (show verse)
for in him we live and move and exist, as even some of {your own} poets have said: 'For we also are {his} offspring.'
Acts 17:29 (show verse)
Therefore, [because we] are offspring of God, we ought not to think the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by human skill and thought.
Acts 17:30 (show verse)
Therefore [although] God has overlooked the times of ignorance, he now commands all people everywhere to repent,
Acts 17:31 (show verse)
because he has set a day on which he is going to judge the world in righteousness by the man who he has appointed, having provided proof to everyone [by] raising him from the dead."
Acts 17:32 (show verse)
Now [when they] heard about the resurrection of the dead, [some] scoffed, but [others] said, "We will hear you about this again also."
Acts 17:33 (show verse)
So Paul went out from the midst of them.
Acts 17:34 (show verse)
But some people joined him [and] believed, among whom also [were] Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman {named} Damaris and others with them.