Book of Common Prayer

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.

¹⁶ While Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was moved in him, to see the city given to the worship of idols. ¹⁷ Then he spoke at length in the synagogue with the Jews and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with those who came to him. ¹⁸ Certain philosophers of the Epicures and of the Stoics debated with him. And there were some who said, What will this babbler say? Other said, He seems to be a preacher of new devils, because he preached Jesus and the resurrection to them. ¹⁹ And they took him and brought him into Mars Street, saying, May we not know what this new doctrine is of which you speak? ²⁰ For you bring strange tidings to our ears. We would like to know therefore what these things mean. ²¹ (For all the Athenians and foreigners who were there gave themselves to nothing else but either to tell or to hear new things.)

²² Paul stood in the middle of Mars Street and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are too superstitious. ²³ For as I passed by and saw how you worship your gods, I found an altar on which was written, to the unknown god. Him then, whom you worship without knowledge, I proclaim to you. ²⁴ God, who made the world and everything that is in it, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwells not in temples made with hands. ²⁵ Neither is he worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself gives life and breath to all people everywhere. ²⁶ And he has made from one blood all nations of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, determining beforehand how long, and also the bounds of their habitation, ²⁷ desiring them to seek God, if they might feel after and find him – though he is not far from any one of us. ²⁸ For in him we live and move and have our being, as certain of your own poets have said. For we are also his offspring. ²⁹ Since, then, we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the godhead is as gold, silver, or stone, graven by the craft and imagination of man.

³⁰ And God overlooked the time of this ignorance. But now he bids all people everywhere to repent, ³¹ because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world according to righteousness, by that man whom he has appointed. And he has offered faith to all peoples, after raising him from death.

³² When they heard of the resurrection from death, some mocked, but others said, We would like to hear you again concerning this matter.

³³ Leaving it there, Paul departed from the assembly. ³⁴ However, certain men joined with Paul and believed, among whom was Dionysius, a member of the aristocratic council, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

¹⁰ And he taught in one of their synagogues on the Sabbath days. ¹¹ And behold, there was a woman who had had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years, and was stooped over, and could not lift herself up at all. ¹² When Jesus saw her, he called her to him and said to her, Woman, you are delivered from your disease. ¹³ And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight and glorified God. ¹⁴ But the leader of the synagogue responded with indignation because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day, and he said to the people, There are six days in which men ought to work; in them come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.

¹⁵ Then the Lord answered him and said, Hypocrite, does not each one of you on the Sabbath day loose his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead it to the water? ¹⁶ And ought not this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound now eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?

¹⁷ And when he said this, all his adversaries were ashamed. But all the people rejoiced for all the tremendous deeds that were done by him.