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The Blue Letter Bible

Acts 17 :: Amplified Bible (AMP)

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Paul at Thessalonica

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:1

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:1 -

Now after Paul and Silas had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:2

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:2 - And Paul entered the synagogue, as was his [fn]custom, and for three Sabbaths he engaged in discussion and friendly debate with them from the Scriptures,

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:3

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:3 - explaining and pointing out [scriptural evidence] that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I am proclaiming to you, is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed).”

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:4

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:4 - And some of them were persuaded to believe and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of the God-fearing Greeks and many of the leading women.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:5

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:5 - But the [unbelieving] Jews became jealous, and taking along some thugs from [the lowlifes in] the market place, they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and then attacking Jason’s house tried to bring Paul and Silas out to the people.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:6

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:6 - But when they failed to find them, they dragged Jason and some brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too;

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:7

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:7 - and Jason has welcomed them [into his house and protected them]! And they all are saying things contrary to the decrees of Caesar, [actually] claiming that there is another king, Jesus.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:8

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:8 - They stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:9

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:9 - And when they had taken security (bail) from Jason and the others, they let them go.

Paul at Berea

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:10

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:10 -

The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea; and when they arrived, they entered the Jewish synagogue.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:11

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:11 - Now these people were more noble and open-minded than those in Thessalonica, so they received the message [of salvation through faith in the Christ] with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:12

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:12 - As a result many of them became believers, together with a number of prominent Greek women and men.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:13

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:13 - But when the Jews of Thessalonica learned that the word of God [concerning eternal salvation through faith in Christ] had also been preached by Paul at Berea, they came there too, agitating and disturbing the crowds.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:14

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:14 - So at that time the brothers immediately sent Paul away to go as far as the sea; but Silas and Timothy remained there [at Berea].

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:15

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:15 - Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens; and [after] receiving instructions [from Paul] for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible, they left.

Paul at Athens

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Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was greatly angered when he saw that the city was full of idols.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:17

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:17 - So he had discussions in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place day after day with any who happened to be there.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:18

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:18 - And some of the [fn]Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to engage in conversation with him. And some said, “What could this idle babbler [with his eclectic, scrap-heap learning] have in mind to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities”—because he was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:19

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:19 - They took him and brought him to the [fn]Areopagus (Hill of Ares, the Greek god of war), saying, “May we know what this [strange] new teaching is which you are proclaiming?

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:20

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:20 - “For you are bringing some startling and strange things to our ears; so we want to know what they mean.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:21

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:21 - (Now all the Athenians and the foreigners visiting there used to spend their [leisure] time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)

Sermon on Mars Hill

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:22

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:22 -

So Paul, standing in the center of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I observe [with every turn I make throughout the city] that you are very religious and devout in all respects.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:23

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:23 - “Now as I was going along and carefully looking at your objects of worship, I came to an altar with this inscription: ‘TO AN [fn]UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you already worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:24

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:24 - “The God who created the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands;

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:25

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:25 - nor is He [fn]served by human hands, as though He needed anything, because it is He who gives to all [people] life and breath and all things.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:26

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:26 - “And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands and territories.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:27

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:27 - “This was so that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grasp for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:28

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:28 - “For in Him we live and move and exist [that is, in Him we actually have our being], as even some of [fn]your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:29

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:29 - “So then, being God’s children, we should not think that the Divine Nature (deity) is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination or skill of man.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:30

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:30 - “Therefore God overlooked and disregarded the former ages of ignorance; but now He commands all people everywhere to repent [that is, to change their old way of thinking, to regret their past sins, and to seek God’s purpose for their lives],

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:31

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:31 - because He has set a day when He will judge the inhabited world in righteousness by a Man whom He has appointed and destined for that task, and He has provided credible proof to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:32

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:32 -

Now when they heard [the term] resurrection from the dead, [fn]some mocked and sneered; but others said, “We will hear from you again about this matter.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:33

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:33 - So Paul left them.

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Unchecked Copy Box Act 17:34

Unchecked Copy BoxAct 17:34 - But some men joined him and believed; among them were Dionysius, [a judge] of the Council of Areopagus, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
See the AMP Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
AMP Footnotes
Paul had earlier announced that he was turning to the Gentiles (13:46), but he nevertheless kept to his practice of speaking to Jews first while focusing primarily on Gentiles.
These were among the leading philosophies of the day. Neither believed in a personal God; indeed, the Epicureans were confirmed atheists. Their goal was to get as much out of life as possible. The Stoics had a strong, fatalistic sense of duty, seeking to improve the inner man.
Also known as Mars Hill, named for Mars, the Roman god of war. It was the place where the ancient Greek Areopagus Council convened and had varying powers in the course of its history. In Roman times it was where the supreme government of Athens met.
While the philosophers had little or no regard for the old mythological gods of the Greeks, the temples to various deities remained and worship practices continued, at least as a formal tradition. The altar to the Unknown seems to have been constructed for the purpose of acknowledging any god who had been overlooked. Paul seized upon it as an opportunity to introduce the Greeks to Christ.
Here Paul uses an unusual word which normally refers to healing. He was educated in classical Greek literature to some extent (see note v 28 and 22:3), and what he says here recalls earlier arguments by Plato (in his dialogues the Euthyphro and the Symposium) which should have struck a responsive chord in the listeners. In the dialogues, Plato represents Socrates as analyzing the nature of service to a god, and points out that the god can only receive actual benefit from service if he is in need or lacking something. Paul masterfully adapts himself to the thinking of the Athenians, demonstrating to them that the gods whom they serve with sacrifices and worship cannot really be gods at all, unless it is possible for a god to have faults or needs that have to be satisfied. This is also a good point for the Christian to bear in mind; believers are to serve God, but this is not a service that in any way actually benefits Him, because He is perfect and in no need of anything which man can supply. The same is true for the sacrificial system of the OT. While God is represented there as demanding sacrifices and sometimes enjoying their pleasant aromas, the sacrifices did not actually benefit Him. In reality they pointed ahead to the supreme sacrifice of Christ, which was the ultimate payment for mankind’s sins.
Paul was probably exposed to Greek literature when he studied with Gamaliel, and quoting or paraphrasing a line from one of their poets would have surprised and kept the attention of the audience. See note 22:3.
See note v 18.
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Acts Chapter 17 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New Living Translation New International Version English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Morphological Greek New Testament Textus Receptus Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras