Paul and Silas in Thessalonica

17 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to ^(A)Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. ² And Paul went in, ^(B)as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them ^(C)from the Scriptures, ^3 (D)explaining and proving that it was necessary for ^(E)the Christ to suffer and ^(F)to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” ⁴ And ^(G)some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did ^(H)a great many of the devout ^(I)Greeks and not a few of the leading women. ^5 (J)But the Jews^{[a] (K)}were jealous, and taking ^(L)some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. ⁶ And when they could not find them, ^(M)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 ^(N)the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is ^(O)another king, Jesus.” ⁸ And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. ⁹ And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.

Paul and Silas in Berea

^10 (P)The brothers^[b] immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they ^(Q)went into the Jewish synagogue. ¹¹ Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, ^(R)examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. ^12 (S)Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek ^(T)women of high standing as well as men. ¹³ But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, ^(U)agitating and stirring up the crowds. ¹⁴ Then the brothers ^(V)immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and ^(W)Timothy remained there. ^15 (X)Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as ^(Y)Athens, and after receiving a command ^(Z)for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.

Paul in Athens

¹⁶ Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was ^(AA)provoked within him as he saw that the city was ^(AB)full of idols. ¹⁷ So ^(AC)he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. ¹⁸ Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, ^(AD)“What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because ^(AE)he was preaching ^(AF)Jesus and the resurrection. ¹⁹ And they took him and brought him to ^(AG)the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this ^(AH)new teaching is that you are presenting? ²⁰ For you bring some ^(AI)strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” ²¹ Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.

Paul Addresses the Areopagus

²² So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. ²³ For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ^(AJ)‘To the unknown god.’ ^(AK)What therefore you worship ^(AL)as unknown, this I proclaim to you. ^24 (AM)The God who made the world and everything in it, being ^(AN)Lord of heaven and earth, ^(AO)does not live in temples made by man,^{[c] 25} nor is he served by human hands, ^(AP)as though he needed anything, since he himself ^(AQ)gives to all mankind ^(AR)life and breath and everything. ²⁶ And ^(AS)he made from one man every nation of mankind to live ^(AT)on all the face of the earth, ^(AU)having determined allotted periods and ^(AV)the boundaries of their dwelling place, ^27 (AW)that they should seek God, ^(AX)and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. ^(AY)Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, ²⁸ for

as even some of ^(BA)your own poets have said,

^29 (BB)Being then God's offspring, ^(BC)we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. ^30 (BD)The times of ignorance ^(BE)God overlooked, but ^(BF)now he ^(BG)commands all people everywhere to repent, ³¹ because he has fixed ^(BH)a day on which ^(BI)he will judge the world ^(BJ)in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and ^(BK)of this he has given assurance to all ^(BL)by raising him from the dead.”

³² Now when they heard of ^(BM)the resurrection of the dead, ^(BN)some mocked. But others said, ^(BO)“We will hear you again about this.” ³³ So Paul went out from their midst. ³⁴ But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius ^(BP)the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

Greeting

1 ^(A)Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

² Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving

^3 (B)We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers,^[a] as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. ⁴ Therefore ^(C)we ourselves boast about you ^(D)in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith ^(E)in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.

The Judgment at Christ's Coming

⁵ This is ^(F)evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be ^(G)considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— ⁶ since indeed God considers it ^(H)just ^(I)to repay with affliction those who afflict you, ⁷ and to grant ^(J)relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when ^(K)the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven ^(L)with his mighty angels ^8 (M)in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those ^(N)who do not know God and on those who ^(O)do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹ They will suffer the punishment of ^(P)eternal destruction, ^(Q)away from^[b] the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, ^10 (R)when he comes on ^(S)that day ^(T)to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our ^(U)testimony to you ^(V)was believed. ¹¹ To this end we ^(W)always pray for you, that our God may ^(X)make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every ^(Y)work of faith by his power, ¹² so that the name of our Lord Jesus ^(Z)may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.