²² Then Paul stood before the meeting of the Areopagus. He said, “Men of Athens, I can see that you are very religious in all things. ²³ I was going through your city, and I saw the things you worship. I found an altar that had these words written on it: “TO A GOD WHO IS NOT KNOWN.” You worship a god that you don’t know. This is the God I am telling you about! ²⁴ He is the God who made the whole world and everything in it. He is the Lord of the land and the sky. He does not live in temples that men build! ²⁵ This God is the One who gives life, breath, and everything else to people. He does not need any help from them. He has everything he needs. ²⁶ God began by making one man. From him came all the different people who live everywhere in the world. He decided exactly when and where they must live. ²⁷ God wanted them to look for him and perhaps search all around for him and find him. But he is not far from any of us: ²⁸ ‘By his power we live and move and exist.’ Some of your own poets have said: ‘For we are his children.’ ²⁹ We are God’s children. So, you must not think that God is like something that people imagine or make. He is not like gold, silver, or rock. ³⁰ In the past, people did not understand God, but God ignored this. But now, God tells everyone in the world to change his heart and life. ³¹ God has decided on a day that he will judge all the world. He will be fair. He will use a man to do this. God chose that man long ago. And God has proved this to everyone by raising that man from death!”