Acts 17:1-20:6

Evangelical Heritage Version

In Thessalonica

17 When Paul and Silas had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. ² As was his custom, Paul went to the Jews, and on three Sabbath days he led them in a discussion from the Scriptures, ³ explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. He also said, “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.” ⁴ Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great number of God-fearing Greeks and more than a few of the prominent women.

⁵ But the Jews^[a] became jealous and gathered from the marketplace some wicked men, who formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house and searched for Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the mob. ⁶ When they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These men, who have stirred up trouble all over the world, have come here too, ⁷ and Jason has welcomed them as guests! They are all acting contrary to Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, Jesus!” ⁸ The crowd and the city officials were stirred up when they heard these things. ⁹ They took a security bond from Jason and the others and then let them go.

In Berea

¹⁰ That same night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the Jewish synagogue. ¹¹ Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians. They received the word very eagerly and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these things were so.

¹² Many of them believed, along with more than a few prominent Greek women and men.

¹³ But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that the word of God was being proclaimed by Paul in Berea, they also went there to agitate and stir up the crowds. ¹⁴ Then the brothers immediately sent Paul away to the seacoast, but Silas and Timothy stayed there. ¹⁵ Those who escorted Paul brought him all the way to Athens. When they left, they received instructions for Silas and Timothy to join Paul as soon as possible.

In Athens

¹⁶ While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was very distressed to see that the city was full of idols. ¹⁷ So he led a discussion in the synagogue with the Jews and those who feared God, as well as with those who happened to be in the marketplace every day.

¹⁸ Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also debated with him. Some said, “What is this seed picker^[b] trying to say?” Others said, “He seems to be someone who is proclaiming foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.

¹⁹ They took him and brought him to the council of the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are talking about? ²⁰ You seem to be bringing in some ideas that are strange to our ears, so we want to know what these things mean.” ²¹ (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there enjoyed doing nothing more than telling or listening to something new.)

²² Then Paul stood up in front of the council of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious in every way. ²³ For as I was walking around and carefully observing your objects of worship, I even found an altar on which had been inscribed, ‘To an unknown god.’ Now what you worship as unknown—this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

²⁴ “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made with hands. ²⁵ Neither is he served by human hands, as if he needed anything, since he himself gives all people life and breath and everything they have. ²⁶ From one man,^[c] he made every nation of mankind to live over the entire face of the earth. He determined the appointed times and the boundaries where they would live. ²⁷ He did this so they would seek God^[d] and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ²⁸ ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’^[e] As some of your own poets have said, ‘Indeed, we are also his offspring.’^[f]

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 formed by human skill and planning. ³⁰ Although God overlooked the times of ignorance, he is now commanding all people everywhere to repent, ³¹ because he has set a day on which he is going to judge the world in righteousness by the man he appointed. He provided proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

³² When they heard about the resurrection from the dead, some of them started to scoff. But others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” ³³ So Paul left the council. ³⁴ However, some men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them were Dionysius (a member of the council of the Areopagus) and a woman named Damaris, as well as others with them.

In Corinth

18 After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. ² There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them. ³ Because he had the same occupation, he stayed and worked with them, for they were tentmakers by trade. ⁴ Every Sabbath he led a discussion in the synagogue, trying to persuade both Jews and Greeks.

⁵ When Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was entirely devoted to preaching the word,^[g] testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. ⁶ But when they opposed Paul and slandered him, he shook out his clothes and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on, I will go to the Gentiles!”

⁷ He left that place and went to the house of a man named Titius^[h] Justus, a worshipper of God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. ⁸ Crispus, the synagogue leader, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians, when they heard, believed and were baptized.

⁹ One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid, but keep on speaking, and do not be silent. ¹⁰ For I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to harm you, because I have many people in this city.” ¹¹ He stayed there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

¹² But while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the judicial bench. ¹³ They said, “This man is persuading the people to worship God in a way that is against the law.”

¹⁴ But just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to the Jews, “If this were some kind of misdemeanor or vicious crime, I would formally accept the complaint of you Jews. ¹⁵ But since these are disputes about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves. I do not intend to be a judge of these things.” ¹⁶ So he drove them away from the judicial bench. ¹⁷ Then all the Greeks^[i] seized Sosthenes, the synagogue leader, and beat him in front of the judicial bench. But none of these things concerned Gallio.

Return to Antioch in Syria

¹⁸ After Paul stayed many more days, he said good-bye to the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchrea Paul had his head shaved, because he was keeping a vow.

¹⁹ Next they arrived at Ephesus, where he left Priscilla and Aquila. Paul himself went into the synagogue and led a discussion with the Jews. ²⁰ When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he declined. ²¹ But as he said good-bye, he told them,^[j] “I will come back to you again if it is God’s will.” Then he set sail from Ephesus.

²² When he landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church. Then he went down to Antioch. ²³ After spending some time there, he set out, traveling through one place after another in the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

Apollos

²⁴ A Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man and well versed in the Scriptures. ²⁵ He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. He spoke with burning zeal and taught the facts about Jesus^[k] accurately, although he knew only the baptism of John. ²⁶ He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him home and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

²⁷ When he wanted to cross over to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he provided much help to those who had become believers by grace, ²⁸ because he vigorously refuted the Jews in public, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.

Paul Goes to Ephesus

19 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior districts and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples ² and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?”

“No,” they answered, “we have not even heard that the Holy Spirit was given.”

³ Paul asked, “What were you baptized into then?”

They replied, “Into John’s baptism.”

⁴ Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.^{[l] 5} When they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.”^[m]

⁶ When Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began to speak in other languages and to prophesy. ⁷ There were about twelve men in all.

⁸ Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, leading discussions and trying to persuade them about^[n] the kingdom of God. ⁹ But when some became hardened and refused to believe, even slandering the Way in front of the crowd, he left them. He took the disciples with him and led discussions every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. ¹⁰ This went on for two years, with the result that all who lived in the province of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.

¹¹ God was doing extraordinary miracles through Paul, ¹² so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick; their illnesses left them and the evil spirits went out of them.

The Seven Sons of Sceva

¹³ Then some Jewish exorcists who went from place to place tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits. They said, “I command you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches to come out!” ¹⁴ It was the seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who were doing this. ¹⁵ But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and I am acquainted with Paul, but who are you?” ¹⁶ Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them, overpowered them, and exercised such complete domination over all of them that they fled from that house naked and wounded.

¹⁷ This became known to everyone who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. They were all overcome with fear, and they held the name of the Lord Jesus in high honor. ¹⁸ Also many of those who had become believers came forward, confessing and admitting their actions. ¹⁹ And a large number of those who had practiced magic arts^[o] collected their books and burned them in front of everyone. They added up the cost of the books and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver.^{[p] 20} In this way the word of the Lord was growing and gaining strength.

²¹ After all this had happened, Paul resolved in his spirit^[q] to go to Jerusalem by traveling through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must also see Rome.” ²² After sending two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, he stayed in the province of Asia for a while.

The Riot in Ephesus

²³ During that time there was more than a minor disturbance about the Way. ²⁴ A certain silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in no little income for the craftsmen. ²⁵ He called them together, along with the workers in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity comes from this income. ²⁶ You also see and hear that not merely in Ephesus but throughout almost the entire province of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a large number of people. He says that gods made by hands are not gods at all! ²⁷ Not only is there danger that our trade may be discredited, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be considered worthless. Then she will suffer the loss of her magnificence, although she is worshipped by the whole province of Asia and the world.”

²⁸ When they heard this, they were filled with rage and began to shout, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” ²⁹ The city was filled with confusion, and with one goal in mind they rushed to the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s traveling companions. ³⁰ Paul wanted to enter the public assembly, but the disciples would not let him. ³¹ Even some of the provincial officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater.

³² Some were shouting one thing, others another, because the assembly was in confusion. Most of them did not even know why they had come together. ³³ They made Alexander come out of the crowd.^[r] It was the Jews who pushed him forward. Alexander motioned with his hand and wanted to make his defense to the assembly. ³⁴ But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single cry rose from all of them. For about two hours, they kept shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

³⁵ After the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the keeper of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image that fell from heaven? ³⁶ Therefore, since these things cannot be denied, you need to be quiet and not do anything rash. ³⁷ For you have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our^[s] goddess. ³⁸ If Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them press charges against one another. ³⁹ If you want to pursue something about other matters,^[t] it should be settled in the legal assembly. ⁴⁰ For we are in danger of being charged with rioting today, because we will not be able to give any reason for this disorderly mob.” ⁴¹ After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.

To Macedonia and Greece

20 After the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples and encouraged them. After saying good-bye, he left to go to Macedonia. ² After he had gone through those areas and had spoken many words of encouragement to the people, he came to Greece ³ and stayed there three months.

Because a plot was made against him by the Jews just as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia. ⁴ He was accompanied^[u] by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, along with Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. ⁵ These men went on ahead and waited for us^[v] at Troas. ⁶ We sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and within five days we came to them at Troas, where we stayed seven days.