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          DASV: Acts 17    

1 Now when Paul and Silas had passed through Amphipolis and
Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a
Jewish synagogue.
2 Paul, as was his custom, went in to them and for three
Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures.
3 He explained and demonstrated that it was necessary for the
Messiah to suffer and to rise again from the dead. He declared,
"This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Messiah."
4 Some of them were persuaded, and joined with Paul and Silas,
along with a great number of devout Greeks, including quite a
few leading women.
5 But the Jews became jealous, recruited some troublemakers and
formed a mob, and set the city into an uproar. They attacked
Jason's house, seeking to bring Paul and Silas out to the people.
6 When they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the
brothers before the city authorities, yelling, "These people who
have turned the world upside down have now come here too.
7 Jason has welcomed them and all of them are acting contrary to
the decrees of Caesar, claiming that there is another king named
Jesus."
8 When they heard these things, the crowd and city authorities
were troubled.
9 After they had gotten bail from Jason and the others, they let
them go.

10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away at night to
Berea. When they arrived there they went into the Jewish synagogue.
11 Now these people were more open-minded than those in
Thessalonica, for they eagerly received the word and examined the
Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were true.
12 Many of them therefore believed, along with a number of high
ranking Greek women and men.
13 But when the Jews of Thessalonica found out that the word of God
was being proclaimed by Paul at Berea, they came there too, agitating
and stirring up the crowds.
14 Then immediately the brothers sent Paul away to the seacoast while
Silas and Timothy stayed behind in Berea.

15 Those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens. Then they
left with instructions for Silas and Timothy that they should come
to him as soon as possible.
16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was perturbed
within him as he saw the city was full of idols.
17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with Jews and devout Gentiles,
and daily in the marketplace with whomever happened to be there.
18 Some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers debated with him. Some said,
"What does this babbler want to say?" Others said, "He seems to be
advocating foreign gods," because he proclaimed the good news about
Jesus and the resurrection.
19 They took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, "May we
learn about this new teaching that you are presenting?
20 For you are bringing some strange things to our ears, so we want
to know what these things mean."
21 (Now all the Athenians and the foreigners staying there spend
their time doing nothing else but telling or hearing something new.)

22 Paul stood in front of the Areopagus, and said, "You men of Athens,
I see that you are very religious.
23 For as I went around and observed your objects of worship, I even
found an altar with this inscription, 'To an Unknown God.' What
therefore you worship as unknown, this is what I proclaim to you.
24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of
heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by human hands,
25 nor is he served by men's hands, as though he needed anything,
since he himself gives everyone life and breath, and all things.
26 He made from one person every nation of humanity to dwell on the
entire face of the earth. He determined their set times and the
boundaries of where they would live,
27 so that they would seek for God, if perhaps they might grope
around for him and find him, though he is not far from any one
of us.
28 For 'in him we live, and move, and have our being,' as even
some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also his offspring.'
29 Since we are God's offspring, we should not think of God like
gold, silver or stone fashioned by craftsmen and human imagination.
30 Although God has overlooked the times of ignorance, now he
is commanding all people everywhere that they should repent
31 because he has set a day on which he will judge the world in
righteousness by the man whom he has appointed. He has given
proof to all men, by raising him from the dead."
32 Now when they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some
mocked, but others said, "We would like to hear you again
about this."
33 After that Paul left them.
34 But some men joined him and believed. Among them were
Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, as well
as others with them.

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