Book of Common Prayer

Paul goes to Thessalonica, where the Jews set the city on a roar. Paul escapes and goes to Athens, where he preaches the true and unknown God.

17 As they made their journey through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. ² And Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, ³ explaining and showing that the Christ must necessarily have suffered and risen again from death, and that this Jesus was Christ, whom (said he) I preach to you. ⁴ And some of them believed, and came and kept company with Paul and Silas; also of the honourable Greeks a great number, and of the chief women not a few.

⁵ But the Jews who did not believe, being indignant, took some evil men who were vagabonds and gathered a company, and set all the city on a roar, and attacked the house of Jason, and intended to bring Paul and Silas out to the people. ⁶ But when they did not find them, they drew Jason and certain brethren to the officials of the city, shouting, Those men that trouble the world have come here also, ⁷ and Jason took them in. And these people all go contrary to the decrees of Caesar, affirming another king, one Jesus!

⁸ And the people and the officials of the city were troubled when they heard these things. ⁹ But when they were sufficiently answered by Jason and by the others, they let them go.

¹⁰ And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night to Berea. When they arrived there, they entered into the synagogue of the Jews. ¹¹ These were the noblest of birth among those of Thessalonica, and received the word with all diligence of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. ¹² And many of them believed; also noble women who were Greek, and men not a few.

¹³ When the Jews of Thessalonica learned that the word of God was preached by Paul at Berea, they came and stirred up the people there. ¹⁴ And then immediately the brethren sent Paul away to go to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there still. ¹⁵ And the men who guided Paul brought him to Athens, and were given a message for Silas and Timothy to come to him at once, and went their way.

²⁴ From there he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into a house, and wanted no one to know. But he could not be hid. ²⁵ For a certain woman whose daughter had a foul spirit heard of him, and came and fell at his feet. ²⁶ The woman was a Greek out of Syro-Phoenicia, and she besought him to cast the devil out of her daughter. ²⁷ And Jesus said to her, Let the children first be fed. For it is not meet to take the children’s bread and cast it to dogs. ²⁸ She answered and said to him, Quite so, Master. Nevertheless, the dogs also eat under the table of the children’s crumbs. ²⁹ And he said to her, For this saying, go your way; the devil has gone out of your daughter. ³⁰ And when she arrived home, she found the devil departed, and her daughter lying on the bed.

³¹ And he departed again from the region of Tyre and Sidon, and went to the Sea of Galilee through the region of the Ten Cities. ³² And some people brought to him a man who was deaf and stammered in his speech, and asked him to put his hand upon him. ³³ And he took him aside from the people, and put his fingers in his ears, and spat, and touched his tongue, ³⁴ and looked up to heaven and sighed, and said to him, Ephatha; that is to say, Be opened. ³⁵ And straightaway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly.

³⁶ And Jesus directed them to tell no one. But the more he forbad them, so much the more greatly they spoke of it. ³⁷ And they were beyond measure astonished, saying, He has done all things well, and has made both the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak.