Historical
Chapter 17
Paul in Thessalonica.[a] 1 After they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they reached Thessalonica[b] where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 Following his usual practice, Paul went in, and for three Sabbaths he argued with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and rise from the dead. “And the Christ,” he said, “is this Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you.” 4 Some of them were convinced and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many God-fearing Greeks as well as not a few prominent women.
5 However, the Jews became jealous, and they recruited some ruffians from the marketplace, formed a mob, and soon had the city in an uproar. They stormed Jason’s house, intending to bring them out before the crowd. 6 And when they could not find them there, they dragged Jason and some of the brethren before the city magistrates, shouting, “These people who have been causing trouble all over the world have come here also, 7 and Jason has given them shelter. They are all acting in opposition to the decrees of Caesar, claiming that there is another king named Jesus.” 8 Upon hearing this, the mob and the magistrates were greatly agitated. 9 They then took a bond from Jason and the others before releasing them.
10 Paul in Beroea. As soon as it got dark, the brethren sent Paul and Silas away to Beroea. Upon their arrival, they immediately went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 The people there were more receptive than those in Thessalonica. They received the word with great eagerness, and they examined the Scriptures every day to check whether these things were so. 12 Many of them became believers, as did a considerable number of influential Greek women and men.
13 However, when the Jews of Thessalonica learned that the word of God was being proclaimed by Paul in Beroea, they followed him there to cause trouble and stir up the crowds. 14 Therefore, the brethren immediately sent Paul on his way to the coast, while Silas and Timothy remained behind. 15 After Paul’s escorts brought him as far as Athens, they returned with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.
16 Paul in Athens.[c] While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was outraged to note that the city was full of idols. 17 Therefore, he debated in the synagogue with the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles, and also in the city square with whoever chanced to be there. 18 Even a few Epicurean and Stoic philosophers[d] argued with him. Some asked, “What is this man babbling about?” Others said, “Apparently, he is here to promote foreign deities,” because he was preaching about Jesus and the resurrection.
19 Therefore, they took him and brought him to the Areopagus[e] and asked him, “Can you explain to us what this new doctrine is that you are teaching? 20 You are presenting strange ideas to us, and we would like to find out what they all mean.” 21 The major pastime of the Athenians and the foreigners living there was to spend their time telling or listening to the latest ideas.
22 Paul’s Speech at the Areopagus.[f]Then Paul stood before them in the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens, I have seen how religious you are. 23 For as I walked around, looking carefully at your shrines, I noticed among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an Unknown God.’ What, therefore, you worship as unknown, I now proclaim to you.
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it, the Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in shrines made by human hands. 25 Nor is he served by human hands as though he were in need of anything. Rather, it is he who gives to everyone life and breath and all other things. 26 From one ancestor,[g] he created all peoples to occupy the entire earth, and he decreed their appointed times and the boundaries of where they would live.
27 “He did all this so that people might seek God in the hope that by groping for him they might find him, even though indeed he is not far from any one of us. 28 For ‘In him we live and move and have our being.’[h] As even your own poets have said, ‘We are all his offspring.’
29 “Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like an image of gold or silver or stone, fashioned by human art and imagination. 30 God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, but now he commands people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world with justice by a man whom he has appointed. He has given public confirmation of this to all by raising him from the dead.”
32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed, but others said, “We should like to hear you speak further on this subject at another time.” 33 After that, Paul left them. 34 However, some of them joined him and became believers, including Dionysius[i] the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, as well as some others.
Chapter 18
Paul in Corinth.[j] 1 At that point, Paul departed from Athens and moved on to Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius[k] had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. He went to visit them, 3 and because they were tentmakers just as he was, he stayed with them and they worked together.[l] 4 Every Sabbath, he entered into discussions in the synagogue, attempting to convert both Jews and Greeks.
5 After Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul devoted all his efforts to preaching the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. 6 When they opposed him and began to hurl insults, he shook out his garments in protest and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I have a clear conscience. From now on, I will go to the Gentiles.”
7 With that, he left and went to the house of a man named Titus Justus, a worshiper of God, who lived next door to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, became a believer in the Lord along with his entire household. Many Corinthians who heard Paul came to believe and were baptized.
9 One night, the Lord appeared to Paul in a vision[m] and said, “Do not be afraid. Continue with your preaching, and do not be silent, 10 for I am with you. No one will attack you or try to harm you, for there are many in this city who are my people.” 11 And so he remained there for eighteen months, teaching the word of God to them.
12 Accusations before Gallio. However, when Gallio became proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a concerted attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, 13 saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God in ways that are contrary to the Law.”
14 Just as Paul was about to refute them, Gallio said to the Jews, “If you were accusing this man of some crime or fraudulent act, O Jews, I would be more than willing to listen to your complaint. 15 But since your argument is about words and names and your own Law, settle it yourselves. I have no intention of making judgments about such matters.” 16 With that, he dismissed them from the tribunal. 17 Then they all attacked Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio remained unconcerned about their action.
18 Return to Antioch in Pisidia.[n] After he remained in Corinth for some considerable time, Paul took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae, he had his hair cut because he had taken a vow.
19 When they reached Ephesus,[o] he left them there. He himself went into the synagogue and had discussions with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay longer, he declined, 21 but on taking leave of them he promised, “I will return to you, if God wills.” Then he set sail from Ephesus. 22 When he landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the Church,[p] and then he went down to Antioch.
Ephesus[q]
Paul’s Third Missionary Journey[r]
23 Paul Strengthens the Churches. After spending some time there, he departed and traveled through the regions of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.
24 Apollos.[s] Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria and an eloquent speaker, came to Ephesus. He was well-versed in the Scriptures, 25 and he had been instructed in the Way of the Lord. Filled with spiritual fervor, he spoke and taught accurately about Jesus, although he had experienced only the baptism of John.
26 He then began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him more accurately the Way. 27 And when he expressed a wish to cross over to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there, asking that they make him welcome. From the time of his arrival, he was of great help to those who by the grace of God had become believers. 28 For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public, establishing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.
Chapter 19
Paul in Ephesus.[t] 1 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. 2 He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They replied, “No. We have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 He asked, “Then how were you baptized?” They answered, “With the baptism of John.”
4 Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve of them in all.
8 He then entered the synagogue, and during the next three months he spoke out fearlessly and argued persuasively about the kingdom of God. 9 But some remained stubborn in their disbelief and began to malign the Way publicly. So he withdrew from them, taking the disciples with him, and began to hold daily discussions in the hall of Tyrannus. 10 This continued for two years, with the result that all the residents of the province of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.
11 New Encounter of the Church with Magic.[u] So extraordinary were the wonders God worked through Paul 12 that when handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, they were cured of their diseases and the evil spirits came out of them.
13 Then some itinerant Jewish exorcists used the name of the Lord Jesus over those possessed by evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” 14 Seven sons of a Jewish leading priest named Sceva were among those who were doing this. 15 But the evil spirit responded, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?” 16 Then the man with the evil spirit sprang at them, overpowered them, and prevailed over them so violently that they fled out of the house battered and naked.
17 When this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, everyone was awestruck, and the name of the Lord Jesus came to be held in ever increasing honor. 18 Moreover, many of those who had become believers came forward and openly confessed their deeds, 19 while a great number of those who practiced magic collected their books and burned them publicly. When the value of these books was calculated, it was found to come to fifty thousand silver pieces.[v] 20 In such ways did the word of the Lord spread ever more widely and successfully.
21 Paul’s Future Plans.[w] After all this had been accomplished, Paul decided in the Spirit to visit Macedonia and Achaia and then return to Jerusalem. “And after I have been there,” he said, “I must also visit Rome.” 22 Then he sent two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he himself stayed a while longer in the province of Asia.
23 The Riot of the Silversmiths. About that time, a serious disturbance broke out concerning the Way. 24 A man named Demetrius was a silversmith who crafted silver shrines of Artemis[x] that provided considerable employment for the craftsmen. 25 He called a meeting of these craftsmen and of those in similar trades, and addressed them: “As you men know, our prosperity depends upon this business. 26 And as you can now see and hear, not only in Ephesus but also throughout most of the province of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people by insisting that gods fashioned by human hands are not gods.
27 “Therefore, we are facing a dangerous situation. Not only may our business be discredited, but it could also happen that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will become an object of scorn, and that she who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the entire world will be deprived of her greatness.”
28 When they heard this, they became enraged and began to shout, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 The entire city was in an uproar, and the people all rushed to the theater, dragging along with them Gaius and Aristarchus,[y] Macedonians who were Paul’s traveling companions. 30 Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not permit him to do so. 31 Even some officials of the province of Asia who were friendly to him sent him a message urging him not to venture into the theater.[z]
32 Meanwhile, some were shouting one thing, some another, for the assembly was in an uproar, and most of the people had no idea why they had all come together. 33 Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had pushed forward. Then Alexander motioned for silence and tried to offer some type of defense. 34 However, as soon as the crowd recognized him to be a Jew, all of them shouted in unison for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
35 Finally, the town clerk quieted the crowd and said, “Citizens of Ephesus, is there anyone who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the guardian of the temple[aa] of the great Artemis and of her statue that descended from heaven? 36 Since these things cannot be denied, you ought to remain calm and do nothing rash. 37 These men whom you have brought here are not temple robbers, nor have they uttered any blasphemy against our goddess.
38 “Therefore, if Demetrius and his fellow artisans have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and proconsuls are available. Let them bring charges there against one another. 39 If there are further charges to present, let these be settled in the lawful assembly. 40 As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting today. There is no reason for it, and we will be unable to offer any justification for this commotion.” 41 When he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.
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