Acts 17

1 When they had passed through [traveled by way of] Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a [gathering place, assembly] Jewish synagogue [a place of Jewish worship and study]. word study 2 As was his custom [usual practice, according to his manner], Paul [the Roman apostle] went into the synagogue [the Jewish meeting house], and on three [a specific number of] Sabbaths [days of rest and worship] he reasoned [disputed, discussed] with them from the Scriptures [holy Writings, written documents], word study 3 explaining [opening up, revealing] and proving [demonstrating, showing] that the Christ [Messiah, anointed one] had to [it was necessary, must] suffer [experience pain, endure hardship] and rise [be raised, come back to life] from the dead [the state of being lifeless]. “This Jesus [Joshua, God is salvation] I am proclaiming [preaching, declaring publicly] to you is the Christ [the anointed one, Messiah],” he declared. word study 4 Some of the Jews [certain ones, a few] were persuaded [convinced, believed] and joined [united with, associated with] Paul [the apostle, originally named Saul] and Silas, along with a large number [a great multitude, many] of God-fearing [devout, reverent] Greeks [Gentiles, non-Jews] and quite a few [not a few, several] leading [chief, prominent] women [female followers, wives]. word study 5 The Jews [unbelieving, without faith], however, became jealous [moved with envy, stirred up by resentment]. So they brought in some troublemakers [vile fellows, wicked men] from the marketplace [public gathering place, agora], formed a mob [gathered a crowd, rioted], and sent the city [town, community] into an uproar [commotion, tumult]. They raided Jason’s [a Christian’s] house [home] in search of Paul and Silas, hoping to bring them out [lead them forth, produce them] to the people [crowd, multitude]. word study 6 But when they could not find [discover or meet] them, they dragged [pulled or forced] Jason [a Christian who helped Paul and Silas] and some other brothers [fellow believers, brethren] before the city officials [rulers of the town, authorities], shouting [crying out loudly], “These men who have turned [caused trouble, disturbed] the world [the inhabited earth, land] upside down [into chaos, turmoil] have now come [arrived, are present] here [in this place, hither], word study 7 and Jason [has taken in, welcomed hospitably] has welcomed them into his home [as a gesture of hospitality]. They are all [completely, entirely] defying [acting in opposition to, disobeying] Caesar’s [the Roman emperor’s] decrees [official laws, ordinances], saying [proclaiming, declaring] that there is [exists, is present] another [different, distinct] king [sovereign ruler], named [called, known as] Jesus [God is salvation]!” word study 8 On hearing [and understanding, listening with obedience] this, the crowd [multitude, large group of people] and city officials [rulers, authorities, politicians] were greatly [very, extremely] disturbed [troubled, stirred up]. word study 9 And they collected [took as security, received as a guarantee] bond [a pledge, a promise to keep the peace] from Jason [a Christian who helped Paul and Silas] and the others [the remaining ones, the rest of the believers], and then released [set free, let go] them [Jason and the other believers]. word study 10 As soon as night [the time of darkness, under cover of darkness] had fallen, the brothers [fellow Christians] sent Paul [the Roman apostle] and Silas [also known as Silvanus] away to Berea [a city in Macedonia]. On arriving there, they went into the Jewish [of the tribe of Judah] synagogue [a gathering place]. word study 11 Now the Bereans [of noble character, more noble-minded] were more noble-minded [of noble birth, generous] than the Thessalonians, for they received the message [word, divine message] with great eagerness [all readiness of mind, willingness to learn] and examined [investigated, searched carefully] the Scriptures [holy Writings, God’s Word] every day [daily, each day] to see if these teachings [things, truths] were true [so, accurate]. word study 12 As a result [therefore, then], many [a large number, numerous] of them believed [to trust, have faith], along with quite a few [not a few, several] prominent [honorable, noble] Greek [Gentile, non-Jewish] women [females, wives] and men [adult males, husbands]. word study 13 But when the Jews [from the city of Thessalonica, with Jewish descent] from Thessalonica learned [came to know, gained understanding] that Paul was also proclaiming [preaching, declaring publicly] the word [Logos, the divine message] of God [the one true deity] in Berea, they went [traveled, came] there themselves to incite [stir up, agitate] and agitate [trouble, cause unrest] the crowds [large groups of people, multitudes]. word study 14 The brothers [believers, fellow Christians] immediately [at once, without delay] sent Paul [the apostle, originally named Saul] to the coast [as it were to the sea, to travel by sea], but Silas [a Christian companion] and Timothy [dear to God, a faithful disciple] remained [to stay, to endure] in Berea [there, in that place]. word study 15 Those who escorted [conducted, led] Paul brought him to Athens [the city of philosophers and culture] and then returned with instructions [a commandment, a divine order] for Silas [a faithful companion] and Timothy [dear to God] to join him as soon as possible [with all speed, quickly]. word study 16 While Paul [the Roman apostle] was waiting [expecting, looking forward to] for them in Athens [the ancient Greek city, a center of culture and philosophy], he was deeply disturbed [provoked, stirred up] in his spirit [the vital principle, mental disposition] to see [behold, observe] that the city [the town, its people and culture] was full [wholly given, completely devoted] of idols [images of false gods, objects of worship]. word study 17 So he reasoned [disputed, discussed, and argued] in the synagogue [a gathering place for Jewish worship and study] with the Jews [people of Judah, descendants of Abraham] and God-fearing Gentiles [those who reverence and worship God, but are not Jewish], and in the marketplace [a public area for commerce and social interaction] with those he met [encountered, happened to be near] each day [daily, every day, continually]. word study 18 Some Epicurean [followers of a philosophy emphasizing happiness and self-control] and Stoic [emphasizing reason and inner strength] philosophers also began to debate [engage in a formal discussion, confer] with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler [idle talker, seed picker] trying to say?” Others said, “He seems to be advocating [preaching, proclaiming] foreign [strange, new] gods.” They said this because Paul was proclaiming [preaching, announcing] the good news [gospel, message of salvation] of Jesus [the Messiah, God’s Anointed] and the resurrection [rising from the dead, standing up again]. word study 19 So they took [seized, laid hold of] Paul and brought [led, guided] him to the Areopagus [Mars’ Hill, the place of the city council], where they asked [inquired, sought to know] him, “May we know [be able to understand, have knowledge of] what this new [fresh] teaching [doctrine, instruction] is that you are presenting [speaking, proclaiming] [through your words, by your authority]? word study 20 For you are bringing [certain strange things, surprising ideas] some strange notions to our ears [hearing, sense of hearing], and we want [desire, have a willingness] to know [understand, perceive] what they [these things, these ideas] mean [signify, imply].” word study 21 Now all [every single one] the Athenians [citizens of Athens] and foreigners [strangers, non-citizens] who lived there spent their time doing nothing more than [devoting themselves to] hearing [listening to, paying attention to] and articulating [telling, sharing] new [fresh, novel] ideas [things, news]. word study 22 Then Paul stood up [standing upright, taking a prominent position] in the meeting [gathering, assembly] of the Areopagus [a hill in Athens where the highest court met] and said, “Men [adult males, citizens] of Athens, I see [perceive, discern] that in every way [all things, everything] you are very [excessively, extremely] religious [devout, superstitious, having a strong regard for spiritual things]. word study 23 For as I walked around [passing through, traversing] and examined your objects of worship [devotions, things to which you give worship], I even found an altar [a raised platform for sacrifices] with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD [the God of whom there is no knowledge]. Therefore what you worship [show piety, reverence] as something unknown [without knowledge, ignorantly], I now proclaim [declare, announce publicly] to you. word study 24 The God [Elohim, the supreme Creator] who made [created, brought into existence] the world [the cosmos, all things] and everything [all things, the universe] in it is the Lord [the sovereign Master] of heaven [the sky, the spiritual realm] and earth [the land, the material world] and does not live [dwell, reside] in temples [shrines, sacred places] made [constructed, built] by human hands [by human effort, manually]. word study 25 Nor [neither, not at all] is He served [worshipped, ministered to] by human [men’s, people’s] hands, as if He needed [lacked, required] anything, because He Himself [personally, directly] gives [bestows, grants] everyone [all people, all things] life [existence, vitality] and breath [air, spirit] and everything [all things, every necessity] else. word study 26 From one man [the first human, Adam] He made every nation [all ethnic groups, people] of men, that they should inhabit [dwell, live] the whole earth [the entire globe, all land]; and He determined [ordained, appointed] their appointed times [set seasons, specific eras] and the boundaries [fixed limits, borders] of their lands [territories, dwelling places]. word study 27 God [the supreme Creator, Lord of all] intended that they would seek [make search for, try to find] Him [the Lord, God Almighty] and perhaps reach out [feel after, grope for] for Him and find [discover, get knowledge of] Him, though He [the Lord, the Almighty] is not far [at a distance, remote] from each one [every individual, each person] of us. word study 28 ‘For in Him [en, in the sphere of His presence] we live [have life, physically and spiritually] and move [are in motion, stirred by His power] and have our being [exist, are sustained].’ As some of your own poets [doers, writers of verse] have said, ‘We are His offspring [family, descendants, children of God].’ word study 29 Therefore [as a consequence, then], being offspring [children, descendants] of God [the one true deity], we should not think [believe, suppose] that the Divine Being [Godhead, the God-nature] is like [similar to, comparable with] gold [a valuable metal] or silver [a precious metal] or stone [a rock, an idol], an image [a statue, a likeness] formed [created, shaped] by man’s [human] skill [craftsmanship, art] and [including] imagination [reflection, deliberation]. word study 30 Although God [the supreme Deity, Creator of all] overlooked [winked at, disregarded] the ignorance [lack of knowledge, unawareness] of earlier times [the times of this ignorance], He now [at this present time] commands [orders, admonishes] all people [human beings, men] everywhere [in all places, universally] to repent [to change their mind, turn away from sin]. word study 31 For He has set [appointed, determined] a day [a specific time, a day of reckoning] when He will judge [condemn, evaluate] the world [the inhabited earth, all humanity] with justice [righteousness, fairness] by the Man [a specific person, the Messiah] He has appointed [chosen, ordained]. He has given proof [assurance, evidence] of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead [bringing Him back to life, resurrecting Him].” word study 32 When they heard [and understood, to listen with obedience] about the resurrection [standing up again from death] of the dead [lifeless], some began to mock [sneer] him, but others said, “We want to hear [listen] you again [once more] on this topic [matter, thing].” word study 33 At that [in this way, thus], Paul [the Roman apostle] left [went out from, departed] the Areopagus [the council meeting, midst of them]. word study 34 But some [certain men, a few] joined him and believed [trusted in, had faith], including Dionysius [a member of the council] the Areopagite [of the high court], a woman [an important woman, a wife] named Damaris [meaning gentle, wife], and others [different ones, some others] who were with [accompanied, in close association] them. word study