Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks
Paul and Silas at Thessalonica
17 After they traveled through[a] Amphipolis[b] and Apollonia,[c] they came to Thessalonica,[d] where there was a Jewish synagogue.[e] 2 Paul went to the Jews in the synagogue,[f] as he customarily did, and on three Sabbath days he addressed[g] them from the scriptures, 3 explaining and demonstrating[h] that the Christ[i] had to suffer and to rise from the dead,[j] saying,[k] “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.”[l] 4 Some of them were persuaded[m] and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large group[n] of God-fearing Greeks[o] and quite a few[p] prominent women. 5 But the Jews became jealous,[q] and gathering together some worthless men from the rabble in the marketplace,[r] they formed a mob[s] and set the city in an uproar.[t] They attacked Jason’s house,[u] trying to find Paul and Silas[v] to bring them out to the assembly.[w] 6 When they did not find them, they dragged[x] Jason and some of the brothers before the city officials,[y] screaming, “These people who have stirred up trouble[z] throughout the world[aa] have come here too, 7 and[ab] Jason has welcomed them as guests! They[ac] are all acting against Caesar’s[ad] decrees, saying there is another king named[ae] Jesus!”[af] 8 They caused confusion among[ag] the crowd and the city officials[ah] who heard these things. 9 After[ai] the city officials[aj] had received bail[ak] from Jason and the others, they released them.
Paul and Silas at Berea
10 The brothers sent Paul and Silas off to Berea[al] at once, during the night. When they arrived,[am] they went to the Jewish synagogue.[an] 11 These Jews[ao] were more open-minded[ap] than those in Thessalonica,[aq] for they eagerly[ar] received[as] the message, examining[at] the scriptures carefully every day[au] to see if these things were so. 12 Therefore many of them believed, along with quite a few[av] prominent[aw] Greek women and men. 13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica[ax] heard that Paul had also proclaimed the word of God[ay] in Berea, they came there too, inciting[az] and disturbing[ba] the crowds. 14 Then the brothers sent Paul away to the coast[bb] at once, but Silas and Timothy remained in Berea.[bc] 15 Those who accompanied Paul escorted him as far as Athens, and after receiving an order for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left.[bd]
Paul at Athens
16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was greatly upset[be] because he saw[bf] the city was full of idols. 17 So he was addressing[bg] the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles[bh] in the synagogue,[bi] and in the marketplace[bj] every day[bk] those who happened to be there. 18 Also some of the Epicurean[bl] and Stoic[bm] philosophers were conversing[bn] with him, and some were asking,[bo] “What does this foolish babbler[bp] want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods.”[bq] (They said this because he was proclaiming the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.)[br] 19 So they took Paul and[bs] brought him to the Areopagus,[bt] saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are proclaiming? 20 For you are bringing some surprising things[bu] to our ears, so we want to know what they[bv] mean.” 21 (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there used to spend their time[bw] in nothing else than telling[bx] or listening to something new.)[by]
22 So Paul stood[bz] before the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious[ca] in all respects.[cb] 23 For as I went around and observed closely your objects of worship,[cc] I even found an altar with this inscription:[cd] ‘To an unknown god.’ Therefore what you worship without knowing it,[ce] this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it,[cf] who is[cg] Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by human hands,[ch] 25 nor is he served by human hands, as if he needed anything,[ci] because he himself gives life and breath and everything to everyone.[cj] 26 From one man[ck] he made every nation of the human race[cl] to inhabit the entire earth,[cm] determining their set times[cn] and the fixed limits of the places where they would live,[co] 27 so that they would search for God and perhaps grope around[cp] for him and find him,[cq] though he is[cr] not far from each one of us. 28 For in him we live and move about[cs] and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’[ct] 29 So since we are God’s offspring, we should not think the deity[cu] is like gold or silver or stone, an image[cv] made by human[cw] skill[cx] and imagination.[cy] 30 Therefore, although God has overlooked[cz] such times of ignorance,[da] he now commands all people[db] everywhere to repent,[dc] 31 because he has set[dd] a day on which he is going to judge the world[de] in righteousness, by a man whom he designated,[df] having provided proof to everyone by raising[dg] him from the dead.”
32 Now when they heard about[dh] the resurrection from the dead, some began to scoff,[di] but others said, “We will hear you again about this.” 33 So Paul left the Areopagus.[dj] 34 But some people[dk] joined him[dl] and believed. Among them[dm] were Dionysius, who was a member of the Areopagus,[dn] a woman[do] named Damaris, and others with them.
Paul at Corinth
18 After this[dp] Paul[dq] departed from[dr] Athens and went to Corinth.[ds] 2 There he[dt] found[du] a Jew named Aquila,[dv] a native of Pontus,[dw] who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius[dx] had ordered all the Jews to depart from[dy] Rome. Paul approached[dz] them, 3 and because he worked at the same trade, he stayed with them and worked with them[ea] (for they were tentmakers[eb] by trade).[ec] 4 He addressed[ed] both Jews and Greeks in the synagogue[ee] every Sabbath, attempting to persuade[ef] them.
5 Now when Silas and Timothy arrived[eg] from Macedonia,[eh] Paul became wholly absorbed with proclaiming[ei] the word, testifying[ej] to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.[ek] 6 When they opposed him[el] and reviled him,[em] he protested by shaking out his clothes[en] and said to them, “Your blood[eo] be on your own heads! I am guiltless![ep] From now on I will go to the Gentiles!” 7 Then Paul[eq] left[er] the synagogue[es] and went to the house of a person named Titius Justus, a Gentile who worshiped God,[et] whose house was next door to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the president of the synagogue,[eu] believed in the Lord together with his entire household, and many of the Corinthians who heard about it[ev] believed and were baptized. 9 The Lord said to Paul by a vision[ew] in the night,[ex] “Do not be afraid,[ey] but speak and do not be silent, 10 because I am with you, and no one will assault[ez] you to harm[fa] you, because I have many people in this city.” 11 So he stayed there[fb] a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.[fc]
Paul Before the Proconsul Gallio
12 Now while Gallio[fd] was proconsul[fe] of Achaia,[ff] the Jews attacked Paul together[fg] and brought him before the judgment seat,[fh] 13 saying, “This man is persuading[fi] people to worship God in a way contrary to[fj] the law!” 14 But just as Paul was about to speak,[fk] Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of some crime or serious piece of villainy,[fl] I would have been justified in accepting the complaint[fm] of you Jews,[fn] 15 but since it concerns points of disagreement[fo] about words and names and your own law, settle[fp] it yourselves. I will not be[fq] a judge of these things!” 16 Then he had them forced away[fr] from the judgment seat.[fs] 17 So they all seized Sosthenes, the president of the synagogue,[ft] and began to beat[fu] him in front of the judgment seat.[fv] Yet none of these things were of any concern[fw] to Gallio.
Paul Returns to Antioch in Syria
18 Paul, after staying[fx] many more days in Corinth, said farewell to[fy] the brothers and sailed away to Syria accompanied by[fz] Priscilla and Aquila.[ga] He[gb] had his hair cut off[gc] at Cenchrea[gd] because he had made a vow.[ge] 19 When they reached Ephesus,[gf] Paul[gg] left Priscilla and Aquila[gh] behind there, but he himself went[gi] into the synagogue[gj] and addressed[gk] the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay longer, he would not consent,[gl] 21 but said farewell to[gm] them and added,[gn] “I will come back[go] to you again if God wills.”[gp] Then[gq] he set sail from Ephesus, 22 and when he arrived[gr] at Caesarea,[gs] he went up and greeted[gt] the church at Jerusalem[gu] and then went down to Antioch.[gv] 23 After he spent[gw] some time there, Paul left and went through the region of Galatia[gx] and Phrygia,[gy] strengthening all the disciples.
Apollos Begins His Ministry
24 Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, arrived in Ephesus. He was an eloquent speaker,[gz] well-versed[ha] in the scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in[hb] the way of the Lord, and with great enthusiasm[hc] he spoke and taught accurately the facts[hd] about Jesus, although he knew[he] only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak out fearlessly[hf] in the synagogue,[hg] but when Priscilla and Aquila[hh] heard him, they took him aside[hi] and explained the way of God to him more accurately. 27 When Apollos[hj] wanted to cross over to Achaia,[hk] the brothers encouraged[hl] him[hm] and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he[hn] assisted greatly those who had believed by grace, 28 for he refuted the Jews vigorously[ho] in public debate,[hp] demonstrating from the scriptures that the Christ[hq] was Jesus.[hr]
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