Historical

Paul and Silas in Thessalonica

17 Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to ^(A)Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. ² And ^(B)according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three ^(C)Sabbaths reasoned with them from ^(D)the Scriptures, ^3 [a]explaining and setting before them that the ^[b]Christ ^(E)had to suffer and ^(F)rise again from the dead, and saying, “^(G)This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is that ^[c]Christ.” ^4 (H)And some of them were persuaded and joined ^(I)Paul and Silas, ^[d]along with a great multitude of the ^(J)God-fearing ^(K)Greeks and not a few of the ^(L)leading women. ⁵ But ^(M)the Jews, becoming jealous, taking along some wicked men from the marketplace, and forming a mob, set the city in an uproar. And attacking the house of ^(N)Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the assembly. ⁶ And when they did not find them, they began ^(O)dragging Jason and some brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset ^[e](P)the world have come here also; ^7 [f]and Jason ^(Q)has welcomed them, and they all act ^(R)contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” ⁸ And they disturbed the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things. ⁹ And when they had received the bond from ^(S)Jason and the others, they released them.

In Berea

^10 (T)And the brothers immediately sent ^(U)Paul and Silas away by night to ^(V)Berea, ^[g]and when they arrived, they went into ^(W)the synagogue of the Jews. ¹¹ Now these were more noble-minded than those in ^(X)Thessalonica, ^[h]for they received the word with ^[i]great eagerness, ^[j]examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. ¹² Therefore ^(Y)many of them believed, along with not a few ^(Z)prominent Greek ^(AA)women and men. ¹³ But when the Jews of ^(AB)Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in ^(AC)Berea also, they came there as well, shaking up and disturbing the crowds. ¹⁴ Then immediately ^(AD)the brothers sent Paul out to go as far as the sea; and ^(AE)Silas and ^(AF)Timothy remained there. ¹⁵ Now ^(AG)those who escorted Paul brought him as far as ^(AH)Athens; and after receiving a command for ^(AI)Silas and Timothy to ^(AJ)come to him as soon as possible, they left.

In Athens

¹⁶ Now while Paul was waiting for them at ^(AK)Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols. ¹⁷ So he was reasoning ^(AL)in the synagogue with the Jews and ^(AM)the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be present. ¹⁸ And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were ^[k]conversing with him. Some were saying, “What would ^(AN)this ^[l]idle babbler wish to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was proclaiming the good news of ^(AO)Jesus and the resurrection. ¹⁹ And they ^(AP)took him and brought him ^[m]to the ^[n](AQ)Areopagus, saying, “May we know what ^(AR)this new teaching is ^[o]which you are speaking? ²⁰ For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. So we want to know what these things mean.” ²¹ (Now all the Athenians and the strangers ^(AS)visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something newer.)

²² So Paul stood in the midst of the ^[p]Areopagus and said, “Men of ^(AT)Athens, I observe that you are very ^(AU)religious in all respects. ²³ For while I was passing through and examining the ^(AV)objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what ^(AW)you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. ^24 (AX)The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is ^(AY)Lord of heaven and earth, does not ^(AZ)dwell in temples made with hands; ²⁵ nor is He served by human hands, ^(BA)as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; ²⁶ and ^(BB)He made from one man every nation of mankind to inhabit all the face of the earth, having ^(BC)determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, ²⁷ that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, ^(BD)though He is not far from each one of us; ²⁸ for ^(BE)in Him we live and move and ^[q]exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His offspring.’ ²⁹ Being then the offspring of God, we ^(BF)ought not to suppose that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the craft and thought of man. ³⁰ Therefore having ^(BG)overlooked ^(BH)the times of ignorance, God is ^(BI)now commanding men that everyone everywhere should repent, ³¹ because He has fixed ^(BJ)a day in which ^(BK)He will judge ^[r](BL)the world in righteousness ^[s]through a Man whom He ^(BM)determined, having furnished proof to all ^[t]by ^(BN)raising Him from the dead.”

³² Now when they heard about ^(BO)the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, “We shall hear you ^[u]again concerning this.” ³³ In this way, Paul went out of their midst. ³⁴ But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the ^(BP)Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

In Corinth

18 After these things he departed ^(BQ)Athens and went to ^(BR)Corinth. ² And he found a Jew named ^(BS)Aquila, a native of ^(BT)Pontus, and his wife ^(BU)Priscilla, who recently came from ^(BV)Italy because ^(BW)Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome. He came to them, ³ and because he was of the same trade, he was staying with them and ^(BX)they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers. ⁴ And he was reasoning ^(BY)in the synagogue every ^(BZ)Sabbath and trying to persuade both ^(CA)Jews and Greeks.

⁵ But when ^(CB)Silas and Timothy ^(CC)came down from ^(CD)Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly ^(CE)bearing witness to the Jews that ^(CF)Jesus is the ^[v]Christ. ⁶ But when they resisted and blasphemed, he ^(CG)shook out his garments and said to them, “Your ^(CH)blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go ^(CI)to the Gentiles.” ⁷ Then he left there and went to the house of a man named ^[w]Titius Justus, a ^(CJ)God-fearer, whose house was next to the synagogue. ^8 (CK)And Crispus, ^(CL)the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord ^(CM)with all his household, and many of the ^(CN)Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized. ⁹ And the Lord said to Paul in the night by ^(CO)a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent; ¹⁰ for I am with you, and no man will lay a hand on you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.” ¹¹ And he stayed there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

¹² But while Gallio was ^(CP)proconsul of ^(CQ)Achaia, ^(CR)the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before ^(CS)the judgment seat, ¹³ saying, “This man persuades men to worship God contrary to ^(CT)the law.” ¹⁴ But when Paul was about to ^(CU)open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, it would be reasonable for me to put up with you; ¹⁵ but if there are ^(CV)questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves; I am not willing to be a judge of these matters.” ¹⁶ And he drove them away from ^(CW)the judgment seat. ¹⁷ And they all took hold of ^(CX)Sosthenes, ^(CY)the leader of the synagogue, and began beating him in front of ^(CZ)the judgment seat. But Gallio was not concerned about any of these things.

Priscilla, Aquila, and Apollos

¹⁸ And Paul, having remained many days longer, ^(DA)took leave of ^(DB)the brothers and put out to sea for ^(DC)Syria, and with him were ^(DD)Priscilla and ^(DE)Aquila. In ^(DF)Cenchreae ^[x]he ^(DG)had his hair cut, for he was keeping a vow. ¹⁹ And they arrived at ^(DH)Ephesus, and he left them there. Now he himself entered ^(DI)the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. ²⁰ When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he did not consent, ²¹ but ^(DJ)taking leave of them and saying, “I will return to you again ^(DK)if God wills,” he set sail from ^(DL)Ephesus.

²² And when he had landed at ^(DM)Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and went down to ^(DN)Antioch. ²³ And having spent some time there, he left and passed successively through the ^(DO)Galatian region and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

²⁴ Now a Jew named ^(DP)Apollos, an ^(DQ)Alexandrian by birth, ^[y]an eloquent man, arrived at ^(DR)Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures. ²⁵ This man had been instructed in ^(DS)the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with ^(DT)the baptism of John; ²⁶ and ^[z]he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when ^(DU)Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him ^(DV)the way of God more accurately. ²⁷ And when he wanted to go across to ^(DW)Achaia, ^(DX)the brothers encouraged him and wrote to ^(DY)the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly ^[aa]helped those who had believed through grace, ²⁸ for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating ^(DZ)by the Scriptures that ^(EA)Jesus is the ^[ab]Christ.

Paul in Ephesus

19 Now it happened that while ^(EB)Apollos was at ^(EC)Corinth, Paul passed through the ^(ED)upper regions and came to ^(EE)Ephesus and found some disciples. ² And he said to them, “^(EF)Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No, ^(EG)we have not even heard if the Holy Spirit is being received.” ³ And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “^(EH)Into John’s baptism.” ⁴ Then Paul said, “^(EI)John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people ^(EJ)to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” ⁵ And when they heard this, they were ^(EK)baptized ^[ac]in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ And when Paul had ^(EL)laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began ^(EM)speaking with tongues and ^(EN)prophesying. ⁷ Now there were in all about twelve men.

⁸ And after he entered ^(EO)the synagogue, he continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them ^(EP)about the kingdom of God. ⁹ But when ^(EQ)some were becoming hardened and were not believing, speaking evil of ^(ER)the Way before the multitude, he left them and took away ^(ES)the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. ¹⁰ This took place for ^(ET)two years, so that all who lived in ^[ad](EU)Asia heard ^(EV)the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

Miracles in Ephesus

¹¹ And God was doing ^(EW)extraordinary ^[ae]miracles by the hands of Paul, ^12 (EX)so that cloths or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and ^(EY)the evil spirits went out. ¹³ But also some of the Jewish ^(EZ)exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to invoke over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, “I implore you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.” ¹⁴ Now seven sons of one named Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. ¹⁵ And the evil spirit answered and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” ¹⁶ And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them, subdued all of them, and utterly prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. ¹⁷ And this became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in ^(FA)Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified. ¹⁸ Also, many of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices. ¹⁹ And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and were burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand ^[af](FB)pieces of silver. ²⁰ So ^[ag](FC)the word of the Lord ^(FD)was growing mightily and prevailing.

Riots in Ephesus

²¹ Now after these things were finished, Paul purposed in the ^[ah]Spirit to ^(FE)go to Jerusalem ^(FF)after he had passed through ^(FG)Macedonia and ^(FH)Achaia, saying, “After I have been there, ^(FI)I must also see Rome.” ²² And having sent into ^(FJ)Macedonia two of ^(FK)those who ministered to him, ^(FL)Timothy and ^(FM)Erastus, he himself stayed in ^[ai](FN)Asia for a while.

²³ Now about that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning ^(FO)the Way. ²⁴ For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of ^[aj]Artemis, ^(FP)was bringing no little ^[ak]business to the craftsmen; ²⁵ these he gathered together with the workers of similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity is from this business. ²⁶ And you see and hear that not only in ^(FQ)Ephesus, but in almost all of ^(FR)Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable crowd, saying that ^(FS)things made with hands are not gods. ²⁷ And not only is there danger that this trade of ours fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess ^[al]Artemis be considered as worthless and that she, whom all of ^(FT)Asia and ^(FU)the ^[am]world worship, is even about to be brought down from her majesty.”

²⁸ When they heard this and were filled with rage, they began crying out, saying, “Great is ^[an]Artemis of the ^(FV)Ephesians!” ²⁹ And the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed ^[ao]with one accord into the theater, dragging along ^(FW)Gaius and ^(FX)Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling ^(FY)companions from ^(FZ)Macedonia. ³⁰ And when Paul wanted to go into the ^[ap]assembly, ^(GA)the disciples would not let him. ³¹ Also some of the ^[aq]Asiarchs who were friends of his sent to him and repeatedly urged him not to ^[ar]venture into the theater. ^32 (GB)So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the ^[as]meeting was in confusion and the majority did not know ^[at]for what reason they had come together. ³³ And some of the crowd ^[au]concluded it was Alexander, since the Jews had put him forward; and having ^(GC)motioned with his hand, Alexander was intending to make a defense to the ^[av]assembly. ³⁴ But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single cry arose from them all as they shouted for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” ³⁵ Now after calming the crowd, the city clerk *said, “Men of ^(GD)Ephesus, what man is there after all who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of the image which fell down from heaven? ³⁶ So, since these are undeniable facts, you ought to keep calm and to do nothing rash. ³⁷ For you have brought these men here who are neither ^(GE)robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess. ³⁸ So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are in session and ^[aw](GF)proconsuls are available; let them bring charges against one another. ³⁹ But if you want anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the ^[ax]lawful meeting. ⁴⁰ For indeed we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today’s events, since there is no cause for which we can give as an account for this disorderly gathering.” ⁴¹ After saying this he dismissed the meeting.