Acts 17:13-34
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 17
13But when the Jews of Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Berea also, they came there as well, agitating and stirring up the crowds. 14Then immediately the brothers sent Paul out to go as far as the sea; and Silas and Timothy remained there. 15Now those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left.
16Now while Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he observed that the city was full of idols.
17So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be present.
18And some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers as well were conversing with him. Some were saying, 'What could this scavenger of tidbits want to say?' Others, 'He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,'—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.
19And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, 'May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming?
20For 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 visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)
22So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, 'Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious in all respects.
23For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN God.’ Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.
24The God who made the world and everything that is in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made by hands;
25nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;
26and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,
27that they would seek God, if perhaps they might feel around for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;
28for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His descendants.’
29Therefore, since we are the descendants of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by human skill and thought.
30So having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now proclaiming to mankind that all people everywhere are to repent,
31because He has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all people by raising Him from the dead.'
32Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to scoff, but others said, 'We shall hear from you again concerning this.'
33So Paul went out from among them.
34But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
King James Version
Chapter 17
13But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people. 14And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea: but Silas and Timotheus abode there still. 15And they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timotheus for to come to him with all speed, they departed.
16Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.
17Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.
18Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.
19And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?
20For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean.
21(For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)
22Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
23For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
24God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
25Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
26And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
27That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
28For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
29Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.
30And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
31Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
32And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.
33So Paul departed from among them.
34Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 17
13But when the Jews from Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul at Berea, they came there too, agitating and upsetting the crowds. 14Then the brothers and sisters immediately sent Paul away to go to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed on there. 15Those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving instructions for Silas and Timothy to come to him as quickly as possible, they departed.
16While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply distressed when he saw that the city was full of idols.
17So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with those who worshiped God, as well as in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.
19They took him and brought him to the Areopagus, and said, "May we learn about this new teaching you are presenting?
20Because what you say sounds strange to us, and we want to know what these things mean."
21Now all the Athenians and the foreigners residing there spent their time on nothing else but telling or hearing something new.
22Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus and said, "People of Athens! I see that you are extremely religious in every respect.
23For as I was passing through and observing the objects of your worship, I even found an altar on which was inscribed, 'To an Unknown God.' Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.
24The God who made the world and everything in it--he is Lord of heaven and earth--does not live in shrines made by hands.
25Neither is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives everyone life and breath and all things.
26From one man he has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live.
27He did this so that they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
28For in him we live and move and have our being, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also his offspring.'
29Since, then, we are God's offspring, we shouldn't think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image fashioned by human art and imagination.
30"Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God now commands all people everywhere to repent,
31because he has set a day when he is going to judge the world in righteousness by the man he has appointed. He has provided proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead."
32When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some began to ridicule him, but others said, "We'd like to hear from you again about this."
33So Paul left their presence.
34However, some people joined him and believed, including Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
New Living Translation
Chapter 17
13But when some Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God in Berea, they went there and stirred up trouble. 14The believers acted at once, sending Paul on to the coast, while Silas and Timothy remained behind. 15Those escorting Paul went with him all the way to Athens; then they returned to Berea with instructions for Silas and Timothy to hurry and join him.
16While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city.
17He went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and he spoke daily in the public square to all who happened to be there.
19Then they took him to the high council of the city. 'Come and tell us about this new teaching,' they said.
20You are saying some rather strange things, and we want to know what it’s all about.'
21(It should be explained that all the Athenians as well as the foreigners in Athens seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest ideas.)
22So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: 'Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way,
23for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.
24He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples,
25and human hands can’t serve his needs — for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need.
26From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.
27His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him — though he is not far from any one of us.
28For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
29And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.
30God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him.
31For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.'
32When they heard Paul speak about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt, but others said, 'We want to hear more about this later.'
33That ended Paul’s discussion with them,
34but some joined him and became believers. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the council, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
English Standard Version
Chapter 17
13But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. 14Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. 15Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.
16Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.
17So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.
18Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.
19And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?
20For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.”
21Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.
22So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious.
23For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.
24The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,
25nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
26And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,
27that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,
28for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’
29Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.
30The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
31because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
New International Version
Chapter 17
13But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. 14The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. 15Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.
16While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.
17So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.
18A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, 'What is this babbler trying to say?' Others remarked, 'He seems to be advocating foreign gods.' They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.
19Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, 'May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?
20You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.'
21(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
22Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: 'People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.
23For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship--and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
24The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.
25And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.
26From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.
27God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.
28For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'
29Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone--an image made by human design and skill.
30In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
31For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.'
32When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, 'We want to hear you again on this subject.'
33At that, Paul left the Council.
34Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.
New King James Version
Chapter 17
13But 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. 14Then immediately the brethren sent Paul away, to go to the sea; but both Silas and Timothy remained there. 15So those who conducted Paul brought him to Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him with all speed, they departed.
16Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols.
17Therefore 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.
19And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak?
20For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.”
21For 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.
23for 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“God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.
25Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.
26And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,
27so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;
28for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’
29Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising.
30Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,
31because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
