New Living Translation

New King James Version

Paul Preaches in Thessalonica

Paul and Silas then traveled through the towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.

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Preaching Christ at Thessalonica

Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.

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As was Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with the people.

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Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

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He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, “This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah.”

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explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.”

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Some of the Jews who listened were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with many God-fearing Greek men and quite a few prominent women.a

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And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas.

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But some of the Jews were jealous, so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd.b

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Assault on Jason’s House

But the Jews [a]who were not persuaded, [b]becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.

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Not finding them there, they dragged out Jason and some of the other believersc instead and took them before the city council. “Paul and Silas have caused trouble all over the world,” they shouted, “and now they are here disturbing our city, too.

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But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.

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And Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all guilty of treason against Caesar, for they profess allegiance to another king, named Jesus.”

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Jason has [c]harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king — Jesus.”

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The people of the city, as well as the city council, were thrown into turmoil by these reports.

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And they troubled the crowd and the rulers of the city when they heard these things.

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So the officials forced Jason and the other believers to post bond, and then they released them.

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So when they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.

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Paul and Silas in Berea

That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.

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Ministering at Berea

Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.

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And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.

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These were more [d]fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

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As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.

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Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men.

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But when some Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God in Berea, they went there and stirred up trouble.

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But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was preached by Paul at Berea, they came there also and stirred up the crowds.

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The believers acted at once, sending Paul on to the coast, while Silas and Timothy remained behind.

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Then immediately the brethren sent Paul away, to go to the sea; but both Silas and Timothy remained there.

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Those escorting Paul went with him all the way to Athens; then they returned to Berea with instructions for Silas and Timothy to hurry and join him.

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So those who conducted Paul brought him to Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him with all speed, they departed.

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Paul Preaches in Athens

While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city.

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The Philosophers at Athens

Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was [e]given over to idols.

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He went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and he spoke daily in the public square to all who happened to be there.

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Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there.

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He also had a debate with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. When he told them about Jesus and his resurrection, they said, “What’s this babbler trying to say with these strange ideas he’s picked up?” Others said, “He seems to be preaching about some foreign gods.”

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[f]Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, “What does this [g]babbler want to say?”
Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,” because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection.

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Then they took him to the high council of the city.d “Come and tell us about this new teaching,” they said.

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And they took him and brought him to the [h]Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak?

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“You are saying some rather strange things, and we want to know what it’s all about.”

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For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.”

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(It should be explained that all the Athenians as well as the foreigners in Athens seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest ideas.)

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For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing.

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So Paul, standing before the council,e addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way,

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Addressing the Areopagus

Then Paul stood in the midst of the [i]Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious;

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for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.

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for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription:
TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.
Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:

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“He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples,

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God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.

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and human hands can’t serve his needs — for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need.

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Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.

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From one manf he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.

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And He has made from one [j]blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,

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“His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him — though he is not far from any one of us.

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so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;

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For in him we live and move and exist. As some of yourg own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

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for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’

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And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.

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Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising.

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“God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him.

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Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,

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For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”

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because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”

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When they heard Paul speak about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt, but others said, “We want to hear more about this later.”

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And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, “We will hear you again on this matter.”

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That ended Paul’s discussion with them,

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So Paul departed from among them.

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but some joined him and became believers. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the council,h a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

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However, some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

Parallel

New Living Translation

New King James Version

Acts 17

Acts 17