Let All Peoples Praise the Lord

Praise to God for His Everlasting Mercy

Preaching Christ at 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 Then Paul, as his custom was, ^(B)went in to them, and for three Sabbaths ^(C)reasoned with them from the Scriptures, ³ explaining and demonstrating ^(D)that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.” ^4 (E)And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and ^(F)Silas.

Assault on Jason’s House

⁵ But the Jews ^[a]who were not persuaded, ^[b]becoming ^(G)envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of ^(H)Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. ⁶ But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, ^(I)“These who have turned the world upside down have come here too. ⁷ Jason has ^[c]harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, ^(J)saying there is another king—Jesus.” ⁸ And they troubled the crowd and the rulers of the city when they heard these things. ⁹ So when they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.

Ministering at Berea

¹⁰ Then ^(K)the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. ¹¹ These were more ^[d]fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and ^(L)searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. ¹² Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men. ¹³ But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was preached by Paul at Berea, they came there also and stirred up the crowds. ^14 (M)Then immediately the brethren sent Paul away, to go to the sea; but both Silas and Timothy remained there. ¹⁵ So those who conducted Paul brought him to Athens; and ^(N)receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him with all speed, they departed.

The Philosophers at Athens

¹⁶ Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, ^(O)his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was ^[e]given over to idols. ¹⁷ Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there. ^18 [f]Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, “What does this ^[g]babbler want to say?”

Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,” because he preached to them ^(P)Jesus and the resurrection.

¹⁹ And they took him and brought him to the ^[h]Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak? ²⁰ For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.” ²¹ For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing.

Addressing the Areopagus

²² Then Paul stood in the midst of the ^[i]Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; ²³ for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription:

TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.

Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: ^24 (Q)God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is ^(R)Lord of heaven and earth, ^(S)does not dwell in temples made with hands. ²⁵ Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He ^(T)gives to all life, breath, and all things. ²⁶ And He has made from one ^[j]blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and ^(U)the boundaries of their dwellings, ^27 (V)so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, ^(W)though He is not far from each one of us; ²⁸ for ^(X)in Him we live and move and have our being, ^(Y)as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ ²⁹ Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, ^(Z)we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. ³⁰ Truly, ^(AA)these times of ignorance God overlooked, but ^(AB)now commands all men everywhere to repent, ³¹ because He has appointed a day on which ^(AC)He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by ^(AD)raising Him from the dead.”

³² And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, “We will hear you again on this matter.” ³³ So Paul departed from among them. ³⁴ However, some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

Ministering at Corinth

18 After these things Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth. ² And he found a certain Jew named ^(AE)Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla (because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome); and he came to them. ³ So, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them ^(AF)and worked; for by occupation they were tentmakers. ^4 (AG)And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.

^5 (AH)When Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was ^(AI)compelled ^[k]by the Spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. ⁶ But ^(AJ)when they opposed him and blasphemed, ^(AK)he shook his garments and said to them, ^(AL)“Your blood be upon your own heads; ^(AM)I am clean. ^(AN)From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” ⁷ And he departed from there and entered the house of a certain man named ^[l]Justus, one who worshiped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. ^8 (AO)Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.

⁹ Now ^(AP)the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; ^10 (AQ)for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.” ¹¹ And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

¹² When Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him to the ^[m]judgment seat, ¹³ saying, “This fellow persuades men to worship God contrary to the law.”

¹⁴ And when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or wicked crimes, O Jews, there would be reason why I should bear with you. ¹⁵ But if it is a ^(AR)question of words and names and your own law, look to it yourselves; for I do not want to be a judge of such matters.” ¹⁶ And he drove them from the judgment seat. ¹⁷ Then ^[n]all the Greeks took ^(AS)Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. But Gallio took no notice of these things.

Paul Returns to Antioch

¹⁸ So Paul still remained ^[o]a good while. Then he took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria, and Priscilla and Aquila were with him. ^(AT)He had his hair cut off at ^(AU)Cenchrea, for he had taken a vow. ¹⁹ And he came to Ephesus, and left them there; but he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. ²⁰ When they asked him to stay a longer time with them, he did not consent, ²¹ but took leave of them, saying, ^(AV)“I^[p] must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, ^(AW)God willing.” And he sailed from Ephesus.

²² And when he had landed at ^(AX)Caesarea, and ^[q]gone up and greeted the church, he went down to Antioch. ²³ After he had spent some time there, he departed and went over the region of ^(AY)Galatia and Phrygia ^[r]in order, ^(AZ)strengthening all the disciples.

Ministry of Apollos

^24 (BA)Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. ²⁵ This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being ^(BB)fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, ^(BC)though he knew only the baptism of John. ²⁶ So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. ²⁷ And when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him; and when he arrived, ^(BD)he greatly helped those who had believed through grace; ²⁸ for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, ^(BE)showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.