保罗在帖撒罗尼迦传道

17 保罗和西拉经过暗非坡里和亚波罗尼亚,到了帖撒罗尼迦。那里有犹太人的会堂。 保罗照以往的习惯进入会堂,一连三个安息日引用圣经与当地人讨论, 解释、证明基督必须受害,然后从死里复活,又说:“我向你们宣讲的这位耶稣就是基督。” 不少人被说服,成为保罗和西拉的同道,其中有许多是敬畏上帝的希腊人和有地位的妇女。

那些不信主的犹太人却妒火中烧,他们召集了一群市井无赖,在城里引发骚乱,闯进耶孙的家企图把保罗和西拉揪出来示众。 他们找不到保罗和西拉,就把耶孙和几个弟兄拉到当地官员面前,高喊:“那些搅乱天下的人到我们这里来了, 耶孙接待了他们。他们违抗凯撒的命令,说另有一个王叫耶稣。” 百姓和当地官长听后,深感不安。 于是,官长命耶孙等人缴纳保释金,然后释放了他们。

庇哩亚人接受福音

10 弟兄姊妹在夜间把保罗和西拉送往庇哩亚。他们二人一到,就进了犹太会堂。 11 当地的人比帖撒罗尼迦人通情达理,非常乐意接受真道,还天天查考圣经,研究这道是否正确。 12 结果有很多人信了,包括不少有名望的希腊妇女和男子。 13 可是,帖撒罗尼迦的犹太人听到保罗在庇哩亚宣扬上帝的道,就赶来怂恿、煽动众人。 14 庇哩亚的弟兄姊妹立刻送保罗到海边,西拉和提摩太仍然留在庇哩亚。 15 护送保罗的人一直把他送到雅典,然后带着保罗的口信回庇哩亚,交代西拉和提摩太尽快赶去雅典与保罗会合。

保罗在雅典传道

16 保罗在雅典等候他们的时候,看见满城都是偶像,心里非常着急。 17 于是,他在会堂跟犹太人和虔诚的外族人辩论,每天在广场上跟遇见的人辩论。 18 还有一些伊壁鸠鲁和斯多亚学派的哲学家和保罗争论,有人嘲笑他说:“这人在胡说八道些什么呀?”还有人说:“他好像在宣扬外国的神明。”他们这样说是因为保罗在传讲耶稣和祂复活的福音。 19 他们带保罗到一个称为亚略·巴古的论坛,问他:“我们可以知道你所教导的这个新道理吗? 20 你的言论确实稀奇,我们很想知道个究竟。”

21 这些雅典人和侨居在那里的人没有别的嗜好,只喜欢谈论和打听一些新奇的事。

22 保罗在亚略·巴古论坛中站起来说:“各位雅典人,我看得出你们在各方面都非常虔诚。 23 我在街上走的时候,观察了你们所敬拜的对象,发现一座祭坛上面写着‘献给未知之神’。这位你们不认识却在敬拜的神明,我现在介绍给你们。

24 “这位创造宇宙万物的上帝是天地的主宰,并不住在人手建造的庙宇里, 25 也不需要人的侍奉,因为祂一无所缺。祂将生命、气息和万物赐给世人。 26 祂从一人造出万族,让他们散居世界各地,又预先定下他们的期限和居住的疆界, 27 以便他们在其间寻求祂,或许他们可以摸索着找到祂。祂原本就离我们各人不远, 28 我们的生活、行动和存在都靠祂,你们的诗人也说过,‘我们是祂的子孙。’ 29 我们既然是上帝的子孙,就不该认为上帝是人凭手艺和想象用金、银、石头所雕刻的样子。

30 “上帝以往不鉴察世人的无知,现在则命令世上所有的人都要悔改。 31 因为祂已经定了日子,要借祂所设立的人按公义审判这个世界。祂叫那人从死里复活,给了全人类可信的凭据。”

32 听见保罗提到死人复活的事,有些人就嘲笑他,还有些人说:“我们改天再听你讲这个。” 33 于是保罗离开了他们。 34 不过,也有人跟随保罗,信了耶稣,其中有亚略·巴古的会员丢尼修和一位名叫戴玛丽的妇人及其他人。

Chapter 17

Paul in Thessalonica. When they took the road through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they reached Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.(A) Following his usual custom, Paul joined them, and for three sabbaths he entered into discussions with them from the scriptures, expounding and demonstrating that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead, and that “This is the Messiah, Jesus, whom I proclaim to you.”(B) Some of them were convinced and joined Paul and Silas; so, too, a great number of Greeks who were worshipers, and not a few of the prominent women. But the Jews became jealous and recruited some worthless men loitering in the public square, formed a mob, and set the city in turmoil. They marched on the house of Jason,(C) intending to bring them before the people’s assembly. [a]When they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city magistrates, shouting, “These people who have been creating a disturbance all over the world have now come here, and Jason has welcomed them.(D) They all act in opposition to the decrees of Caesar and claim instead that there is another king, Jesus.”[b] They stirred up the crowd and the city magistrates who, upon hearing these charges, took a surety payment from Jason and the others before releasing them.

Paul in Beroea. 10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas to Beroea during the night. Upon arrival they went to the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These Jews were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with all willingness and examined the scriptures daily to determine whether these things were so.(E) 12 Many of them became believers, as did not a few of the influential Greek women and men. 13 But when the Jews of Thessalonica learned that the word of God had now been proclaimed by Paul in Beroea also, they came there too to cause a commotion and stir up the crowds. 14 So the brothers at once sent Paul on his way to the seacoast, while Silas and Timothy remained behind.(F) 15 After Paul’s escorts had taken him to Athens, they came away with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.

Paul in Athens.[c] 16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he grew exasperated at the sight of the city full of idols. 17 So he debated in the synagogue with the Jews and with the worshipers, and daily in the public square with whoever happened to be there. 18 Even some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers[d] engaged him in discussion. Some asked, “What is this scavenger trying to say?” Others said, “He sounds like a promoter of foreign deities,” because he was preaching about ‘Jesus’ and ‘Resurrection.’ 19 They took him and led him to the Areopagus[e] and said, “May we learn what this new teaching is that you speak of?(G) 20 For you bring some strange notions to our ears; we should like to know what these things mean.” 21 Now all the Athenians as well as the foreigners residing there used their time for nothing else but telling or hearing something new.

Paul’s Speech at the Areopagus. 22 Then Paul stood up at the Areopagus and said:[f]

“You Athenians, I see that in every respect you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around looking carefully at your shrines, I even discovered an altar inscribed, ‘To an Unknown God.’[g] What therefore you unknowingly worship, I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and all that is in it, the Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries made by human hands,(H) 25 nor is he served by human hands because he needs anything. Rather it is he who gives to everyone life and breath and everything. 26 He made from one[h] the whole human race to dwell on the entire surface of the earth, and he fixed the ordered seasons and the boundaries of their regions, 27 so that people might seek God, even perhaps grope for him and find him, though indeed he is not far from any one of us.(I) 28 For ‘In him we live and move and have our being,’[i] as even some of your poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’ 29 Since therefore we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the divinity is like an image fashioned from gold, silver, or stone by human art and imagination.(J) 30 God has overlooked the times of ignorance, but now he demands that all people everywhere repent 31 because he has established a day on which he will ‘judge the world with justice’ through a man he has appointed, and he has provided confirmation for all by raising him from the dead.”(K)

32 When they heard about resurrection of the dead, some began to scoff, but others said, “We should like to hear you on this some other time.” 33 And so Paul left them. 34 But some did join him, and became believers. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the Court of the Areopagus, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

Footnotes

  1. 17:6–7 The accusations against Paul and his companions echo the charges brought against Jesus in Lk 23:2.
  2. 17:7 There is another king, Jesus: a distortion into a political sense of the apostolic proclamation of Jesus and the kingdom of God (see Acts 8:12).
  3. 17:16–21 Paul’s presence in Athens sets the stage for the great discourse before a Gentile audience in Acts 17:22–31. Although Athens was a politically insignificant city at this period, it still lived on the glories of its past and represented the center of Greek culture. The setting describes the conflict between Christian preaching and Hellenistic philosophy.
  4. 17:18 Epicurean and Stoic philosophers: for the followers of Epicurus (342–271 B.C.), the goal of life was happiness attained through sober reasoning and the searching out of motives for all choice and avoidance. The Stoics were followers of Zeno, a younger contemporary of Alexander the Great. Zeno and his followers believed in a type of pantheism that held that the spark of divinity was present in all reality and that, in order to be free, each person must live “according to nature.” This scavenger: literally, “seed-picker,” as of a bird that picks up grain. The word is later used of scrap collectors and of people who take other people’s ideas and propagate them as if they were their own. Promoter of foreign deities: according to Xenophon, Socrates was accused of promoting new deities. The accusation against Paul echoes the charge against Socrates. ‘Jesus’ and ‘Resurrection’: the Athenians are presented as misunderstanding Paul from the outset; they think he is preaching about Jesus and a goddess named Anastasis, i.e., Resurrection.
  5. 17:19 To the Areopagus: the “Areopagus” refers either to the Hill of Ares west of the Acropolis or to the Council of Athens, which at one time met on the hill but which at this time assembled in the Royal Colonnade (Stoa Basileios).
  6. 17:22–31 In Paul’s appearance at the Areopagus he preaches his climactic speech to Gentiles in the cultural center of the ancient world. The speech is more theological than christological. Paul’s discourse appeals to the Greek world’s belief in divinity as responsible for the origin and existence of the universe. It contests the common belief in a multiplicity of gods supposedly exerting their powers through their images. It acknowledges that the attempt to find God is a constant human endeavor. It declares, further, that God is the judge of the human race, that the time of the judgment has been determined, and that it will be executed through a man whom God raised from the dead. The speech reflects sympathy with pagan religiosity, handles the subject of idol worship gently, and appeals for a new examination of divinity, not from the standpoint of creation but from the standpoint of judgment.
  7. 17:23 ‘To an Unknown God’: ancient authors such as Pausanias, Philostratus, and Tertullian speak of Athenian altars with no specific dedication as altars of “unknown gods” or “nameless altars.”
  8. 17:26 From one: many manuscripts read “from one blood.” Fixed…seasons: or “fixed limits to the epochs.”
  9. 17:28 ‘In him we live and move and have our being’: some scholars understand this saying to be based on an earlier saying of Epimenides of Knossos (6th century B.C.). ‘For we too are his offspring’: here Paul is quoting Aratus of Soli, a third-century B.C. poet from Cilicia.

In Thessalonica

17 When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica,(A) where there was a Jewish synagogue. As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue,(B) and on three Sabbath(C) days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,(D) explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer(E) and rise from the dead.(F) “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,”(G) he said. Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas,(H) as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women.

But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city.(I) They rushed to Jason’s(J) house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd.[a] But when they did not find them, they dragged(K) Jason and some other believers(L) before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world(M) have now come here,(N) and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.”(O) When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. Then they made Jason(P) and the others post bond and let them go.

In Berea

10 As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas(Q) away to Berea.(R) On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.(S) 11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica,(T) for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures(U) every day to see if what Paul said was true.(V) 12 As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.(W)

13 But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea,(X) some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. 14 The believers(Y) immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas(Z) and Timothy(AA) stayed at Berea. 15 Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens(AB) and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.(AC)

In Athens

16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue(AD) with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. 18 A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news(AE) about Jesus and the resurrection.(AF) 19 Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus,(AG) where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching(AH) is that you are presenting? 20 You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” 21 (All the Athenians(AI) and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)

22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus(AJ) and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.(AK) 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship(AL)—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

24 “The God who made the world and everything in it(AM) is the Lord of heaven and earth(AN) and does not live in temples built by human hands.(AO) 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.(AP) 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.(AQ) 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.(AR) 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’[b](AS) As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’[c]

29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill.(AT) 30 In the past God overlooked(AU) such ignorance,(AV) but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.(AW) 31 For he has set a day when he will judge(AX) the world with justice(AY) by the man he has appointed.(AZ) He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”(BA)

32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead,(BB) some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” 33 At that, Paul left the Council. 34 Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus,(BC) also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 17:5 Or the assembly of the people
  2. Acts 17:28 From the Cretan philosopher Epimenides
  3. Acts 17:28 From the Cilician Stoic philosopher Aratus