²⁰ And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city.

^4 (A)You adulterous people!^[a] Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? ^(B)Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

^2 (A)Do not be conformed to this world,^[a] but be transformed by ^(B)the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may ^(C)discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.^[b]

²² But we desire to hear from you what your views are, for with regard to this ^(A)sect we know that everywhere ^(B)it is spoken against.”

The Hatred of the World

^18 (A)“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. ^19 (B)If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because ^(C)you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you: ^(D)‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, ^(E)they will also persecute you. ^(F)If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

³⁴ But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, ^(A)“Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

² And he found a Jew named ^(A)Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife ^(B)Priscilla, because ^(C)Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them,

⁶ And when they could not find them, ^(A)they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, ⁷ and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against ^(B)the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is ^(C)another king, Jesus.” ⁸ And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things.

³ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;

⁸ Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. ^(A)Their laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king's laws, so that it is not to the king's profit to tolerate them. ⁹ If it please the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay 10,000 talents^[a] of silver into the hands of those who have charge of the king's business, that they may put it into the king's treasuries.”